Committee chairperson recommends minister take action against Nsfas administrator and advisors repay remuneration immediately.
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The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) administrator, Professor Hlengani Mathebula, and Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela faced sharp questioning after Mathebula effected payment for four advisors without Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Manamela’s approval.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Nsfas administrator, Mathebula, didn’t wait for approval from Manamela and Godongwana on the payments of four advisors. Instead, Mathebula effected payments for their services.
Nsfas administrator paid advisors without Godongwana and Manamela’s approval
This was revealed during a briefing on progress made by the scheme’s administrator before parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training. Manamela placed NSFAS under administration on 4 May 2026.
During the briefing, the committee tried to get clarity from the Department of Higher Education and Training (Dhet) and Nsfas on whether approval was received from Godongwana on the remuneration and allowances as required by the NSFAS Act.
A tense exchange subsequently erupted between the minister and the members of parliament (MPs) over the advisor’s appointment and remuneration.
“You appoint an administrator, and then the administrator writes to you and says, ‘I need four people to assist me in administration’. And of course, when the administrator writes to you, he will give you the remuneration package because, in any case, this is what you submit to the finance minister,” EFF MP Sihle Lonzi said.
“Are you telling me that the only letter that came from the administrator was that I appointed this person as my advisor and that’s it? Is that what you are telling this parliament?”
Manamela told the MPs that the department will supply the information, finding it difficult to respond directly.
Process legally flawed, says committee chair
This situation prompted more questions from the committee over how the advisors could be paid without clarity on who approved their payments.
The committee chairperson, Tebogo Letsie, said it was evident that the process was carried out in a way that was both legally and procedurally flawed.
“I therefore recommend that this matter be carefully examined, and we want the minister to take action against the administrator for his actions that are totally against the mandate given to him of turning Nsfas around,” said Letsie.
“We have concluded that payments made to these advisors were flawed and therefore recommend that they pay back all the monies received as remuneration with immediate effect.”
Mathebula told the committee that while four of his advisors received their payments using their bank accounts, others opted to use their companies.
The committee said this was concerning, as Nsfas Supply Chain advised the administrator regarding procedures for payments to companies.
R10.49bn owed to universities in 2026 tuition
“You have wasted an hour on something you could have just admitted was wrong in the first place. It’s an unnecessary debate that we have engaged in when we could have moved to other issues,” said Letsie.
The committee suggested that there should be procedures to close the gap and proof that approvals were requested but not granted in situations where Manamela does not receive consent from Godongwana.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the briefing, the minister told the committee that Dhet was doing its best to try and turn the scheme and that he was aware of hundreds of students whose appeals are still outstanding.
He said there were challenges with the loan schemes, ICT and data issues and that the department and Nsfas were addressing both immediate student-facing problems and historical systemic weaknesses.
The administrator said accommodation payments have been transferred back in-house from Solution Partners, and the scheme has been moved from an institution-centred model to four regional support hubs within current budgetary limits.
Matheubula added that although 59.2% of TVET and 61.5% of university allocations have been paid, the R10.49 billion in 2026 tuition owed to universities is still the largest unresolved issue.
