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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventeen people, including former school governing body members, made their first appearance in the Atlantis Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 10 March. Aged between 35 and 60, they face 24 charges related to defrauding Atlantis Secondary School of an estimated R2.2-million from a </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-01-18-thousands-of-learners-still-dont-have-transport-to-school/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scholar transport</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> grant.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Western Cape education department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond told </span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GroundUp</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that in 2007, the department had asked the provincial Forensic Investigation Unit to look into suspected financial mismanagement at Atlantis Secondary School.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hammond said the matter was reported to the South African Police Service, and “we are pleased that the Western Cape Commercial Crimes Investigations have acted in this regard”. She said eight of the 17 arrested were employed by the department, five were staff at the school and some of the others were former school governing body members.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were all arrested on Thursday, 9 March, following lengthy investigations.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Friday, 16 of the accused were released on R3,000 bail each, while one was released on a warning only.</span>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<strong>Visit <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><em>Daily Maverick's</em> home page</a> for more news, analysis and investigations</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said 16 of the accused had been charged with 24 counts of fraud.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read in </span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick:</span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> “</span></i><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-03-02-high-court-slaps-codeta-taxi-firm-with-interdict-barring-interference-with-khayelitsha-school-transport/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High court slaps Codeta taxi firm with interdict barring interference with Khayelitsha school transport</span></i></a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">”</span></i>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said that the arrests followed months of “intricate investigative work into the unlawful expansion of the Western Cape education department’s learner transport grant”. Potelwa said Commercial Crimes Investigations detectives had executed 17 warrants of arrest in a “staggered fashion” in Paarl, Atlantis, Philadelphia and Wellington.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1606197\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Groundup-school-transport-fraud2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"475\" /> Police arrest a man suspected of defrauding Atlantis Secondary School and the education department. (Photo: Supplied by SAPS)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Ashley Poole, an Atlantis community activist, Atlantis Secondary School dismissed classes by noon on Friday “as staff left to support their arrested colleagues at court”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“As the saying goes, ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Obviously, there will be an investigation and lifestyle audit,” he said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case was postponed to 24 April. </span><b>DM</b>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First published by</span></i> <a href=\"https://www.groundup.org.za/article/former-wced-staff-and-atlantis-secondary-sgb-members-face-24-fraud-charges-in-court/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GroundUp</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>",
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Police arrest a man suspected of defrauding Atlantis Secondary School and the education department. (Photo: Supplied by SAPS)