Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande on Sunday said he had dissolved the board with immediate effect on Thursday after consistently raising his grievances about the inability of NSFAS to carry out and implement some of the most basic responsibilities allocated to it. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Implementing the findings of a soon-to-be-completed Tshisevhe Gwina Ratshimbilani Inc (TGR Attorneys) report investigating the veracity of fraud and corruption allegations against former National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board chairperson Ernest Khosa will be among the priorities topping the agenda of the entity’s administrator, Freeman Nomvalo.
Nomvalo has been handed the mammoth task of cleaning up an entity in shambles and will oversee the implementation of the report’s findings.
Nomvalo, who took over governance, management and administration of NSFAS as of Friday, will also see to necessary forensic and implementation of other investigations, including the Werksmans Attorneys report.
This is according to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande following concerns raised over accountability and consequence management over fraud and corruption allegations at NSFAS.
Nzimande on Sunday said he had dissolved the board with immediate effect on Thursday after consistently raising his grievances about the inability of NSFAS to carry out and implement some of the most basic responsibilities allocated to it.
Earlier that day, the embattled Khosa resigned as the board’s chairperson. He had been on special leave following allegations against him by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
Nzimande painted a picture of a board that was to a large extent divided, with some willing to work and others doing the opposite.
He cited “the inability to fully implement the recommendations of the Werksmans Report, key among which is the termination of the contracts of the direct payment service providers, who had been appointed irregularly.
“People need to be charged and brought before the disciplinary (process) of the employees. The TGR Attorneys report is close to completion. It will have to be submitted to the administrator to act accordingly, because it was commissioned by the board, then be given to me,” said Nzimande.
He praised administrator Nomvalo’s extensive 25 years of working experience, 17 of which were at senior level in both the public and private sectors.
The administrator will be in charge for about two years.
“Nomvalo also holds the distinction of being the first African and longest-serving accountant-general of a democratic South Africa. Nomvalo’s mandate will include ensuring the effectiveness in terms of the finalisation of funding guidelines of the loan scheme for the ‘missing middle’; and to put in place the necessary management and governance controls to ensure that all risks of the 2025 student funding cycle are appropriately managed, with the support of the department and institutions as necessary,” said Nzimande.
NSFAS has been embroiled in a series of controversies which have caused instability at some universities and TVET colleges owing to unpaid student allowances, outstanding payments from the previous academic year and allegations of allowances disappearing from students’ accounts hours after payments.
NSFAS chief operating officer Errol Makhubela confirmed that to mitigate the student pay issues, the entity has now resolved to request universities to continue with the distribution of all types of allowances from this month until July.
“On April 12, the scheme made upfront or advanced payments to universities to disburse outstanding allowances from April 15. This includes catch-up allowances. Institutions have been requested to prioritise catch-up payments.
“The extension of four months to universities to disburse allowances underscores the scheme’s efforts for students to receive uninterrupted monthly allowances without delays.
TVET catch-up payments will also be done tomorrow but through the direct payment service providers,” said Makhubela.
Nzimande said TVET colleges did not have the capacity to disburse funds like universities and a meeting to come up with solutions was expected this month.
Portfolio committee on higher education chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa said while dissolving the board was not ideal for governance stability in the sector, the decision was the only option given the perpetual challenges that the scheme was experiencing.
“Under this board, NSFAS has been unable to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate of disbursing funds to students and has also failed to timeously table in Parliament annual reports for two financial years, 2021/22 and 2022/23, respectively.
“Furthermore, the information technology systems-related inadequacies have not been addressed, causing delays in the disbursements of funds to universities and allowances to students,” she said.
Mkhatshwa has applied to Parliament for the committee to have an urgent meeting with NSFAS on Tuesday to address the current challenges facing students and progress in the implementation of the Werksmans investigative report recommendations.
Cape Times
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