AfriForum opens corruption case against student funder

This week yet more expenditure irregularities have come to light at the National Financial Aid Scheme for Students (Nsfas).

This was after AfriForum Youth laid criminal charges against Nsfas at the Lyttelton police station in Centurion on Wednesday.

AfriForum spokesperson René van der Vyver said the case was filed in terms of the Public Financial Management Act.

Van der Vyver said this comes after they studied the 2020/2021 and 2019/2020 audits which, according to them, exposed irregularities at the institution.

“It shows that Nsfas is guilty of serious misappropriation of funds. From 2020 to 2021, Nsfas was solely responsible for the misappropriation of R77.49-billion,” Van der Vyver said.

He said the special investigation unit (SIU) announced in August that it would investigate allegations of maladministration and corruption at Nsfas, but nothing has happened sincet.

“It is frightening that this large amount of money, which could have been used to provide needy students with the opportunity to study, is so misappropriated.

“While higher education minister Blade Nzimande boasts of Nsfas funding more than 700 000 students, it is unacceptable that there are thousands of other needy students who do not have access to these public funds because they are being misused.”

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told Rekord that it was investigating the matter but would not divulge further information.

“Investigations are still ongoing. We can therefore not give any update until there are outcomes,” Kganyago said.

Earlier this week, the SIU also announced that they would investigate allegations against Nsfas CEO, Andile Nongogo, and his board for maladministration, nepotism and corruption.

This came about after an employee asked the unit to probe Nsfas management.

The employee claimed that corruption was rampant under Nongogo and his board. Nongogo took over from administrator Dr Randall Carolissen.

Nongogo had not commented at the time of going to press.

In the meantime, Nzimande was investigating the R5-billion that the national skills fund can’t account for.

This was after the institution failed to account for the money spent or disbursed over the past two financial years.

In 2017, Walter Sisulu University student Sibongile Mani was accidentally paid R14-million instead of R1 400 by Cape Town-based company, Intellimali, on behalf of Nsfas.

Mani has since been found guilty by the East London regional court after she spent over R800 000 of that money.

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