Johannesburg — A TOP director in the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department has been reinstated to his plum R375 000-a-year job - despite being found guilty in an internal inquiry of mismanaging more than R2.5-million of taxpayers' money.

Arts and Culture head Hamilton Ntshangase was found guilty on 12 charges of mismanagement by the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department's internal disciplinary committee in February this year.

At the time, he was let off with only a written warning.

Two weeks ago, the department's chief executive officer, Professor Charles Dlamini, asked him to return to his post.

But now the province's Finance Department has asked for the controversial decision to let Ntshangase off with a written warning to be reviewed in the Labour Court.

The manager of legal services in the Education Department, Sarie Lapping, said the Finance Department was the applicant in the matter because "we cannot review our own decision".

"We see it [the reinstatement of Ntshangase] as inappropriate and want the decision to be reviewed," Lapping said.

Earlier this year, Lapping said the official had been let off with a "mere slap on the wrist".

Ntshangase - from Umlazi, south of Durban - was suspended with full pay in August 2000 pending an investigation into several irregularities relating to Reconstruction and Development money earmarked for skills development and training for underprivileged and disadvantaged youth.

A report compiled by the presiding officer in the hearing, Wentworth Dorkin, showed that Ntshangase:

Disbursed over R1-million in bursaries to his two nephews, as well as several associates, friends and relatives of Education Department officials;

Irregularly procured the purchase of R524 610 worth of office and computer equipment, of which R208 683 still remains unaccounted for ;

Appointed two senior employees without having the authority to do so; and,

Flouted department policies and procedure when granting bursaries.

Speaking on behalf of Dlamini, Manqoba Gumede, the acting chief director for human resource management, said that Ntshangase's reinstatement was procedurally correct. "The presiding officer gave a final written warning and there was nothing we could do," he said.

Gumede said criminal charges had not been instituted because an investigation by the department's internal audit unit was still being carried out. Ntshangase declined to comment.

In May, KwaZulu-Natal's Premier Lionel Mtshali wrote a letter to the former superintendent-general of education, Simeon Shamase, asking for Ntshangase's reinstatement.

But a spokesman for Mtshali's office, Mahlathi Tembe, said this week that the minister did not wish to be drawn into the affair and referred the matter to the Education Department.

ANC MPL and spokesman on education, Mtholephi Mthimkhulu, said that Ntshangase had gotten off lightly .

"The Education Department is riddled with corruption. We are absolutely flummoxed to hear that a person found guilty for squandering taxpayers' money can be let off scot-free," he said.