LISTEN | DA to take legal action against Nzimande over NSFAS 'kickback' saga as parties call for his resignation

DA leader John Steenhuisen announced on Monday his party will take legal action against education minister Blade Nzimande over allegations he received kickback payments from service providers contracted by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Last week, a series of leaked recordings released by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse revealed details of what the DA calls “a criminal cartel” operating inside NSFAS. It is alleged that service providers which were awarded multimillion-rand tenders to administer direct payments to students paid kickbacks to Nzimande, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the chairperson of the NSFAS board, Ernest Khosa.

The opposition party said they are preparing criminal charges against Nzimande and briefing their legal team to declare the NSFAS board delinquent.

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“This legal action is in keeping with the findings of the state capture commission, which recommended that it should become standard practice to declare board members involved in capture and corruption as delinquent,” said Steenhuisen

The DA leader said his party will immediately submit a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act to obtain a copy of the Werksmans report into the awarding of the direct payment tenders.

In addition, they have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to demand that the scope of the SIU’s investigation be broadened to include the alleged kickbacks to Nzimande and the SACP. The SIU has been investigating NSFAS since 2022.

Steenhuisen said the tentacles of corruption that feed the ANC have now identified a new target: South African students.

“While the youth of this country struggle against the odds to build a better future, the ANC is stealing their dreams. According to Outa [the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse], 'This was done in return for tenders and protection for service providers.' 

“Instead of supporting students who are working hard to rise above hardship to build a better future for themselves and our country, the ANC only sees another opportunity to loot.”

The DA leader said the NSFAS corruption has not been a victimless crime, citing cases of students receiving their allowances late, if at all, leaving them unable to buy food.

“The awarding last year by NSFAS of direct payment tenders to companies with no proven track record has resulted in students being charged exorbitant fees for every transaction.

“Thanks to the recently released recordings, we now know why these lucrative tenders were awarded to companies no one had ever heard of: [allegedly] in exchange for kickback payments to Nzimande, Khosa and the SACP. Every time a student uses their NSFAS card, they are effectively forced to help fund Nzimande’s [allegedly] corrupt scheme.”

Steenhuisen raised alarm on the questions swirling around another set of tenders awarded by NSFAS to manage student accommodation.

“In addition to cutting the accommodation allowance by R15,000 per year last year, the scheme now also requires educational institutions and private accommodation providers to obtain accreditation at a cost of up to R200 per bed. Once accredited, NSFAS then also deducts 5% from the rental amount for what it refers to as a licence fee.

“Like the exorbitant bank charges introduced last year, this is clearly another lucrative way for cadres and their preferred service providers to milk students and accommodation providers,” he alleged.

“Last year already saw scenes of students forced to sleep in libraries, hallways and bathrooms. But things are about to get a whole lot worse.

“By the end of last year, only 6.5% of the beds required for the 2024 academic year had been accredited under the new system.”

The official opposition leader warned the alleged systemic corruption evident at NSFAS and the department of higher education is likely to trigger a serious crisis when students return to campuses later this month, only to find that they cannot access accommodation and face heavy charges every time they try to buy food.

“ANC corruption and mismanaging has created a funding shortfall of over R1.1bn, which means that funding will be withdrawn from over 87,000 students, in addition to the 20,000 students who were already deprived last year. And yet, despite this existential crisis that threatens to derail our education sector, President Cyril Ramaphosa remains absent as usual.

“Instead of firing Nzimande and Khosa, he has remained silent, while the ANC has meekly suggested that Nzimande may appear before its so-called integrity committee. The constitution spells out that only the president has the responsibility to act against corrupt cabinet ministers.

“When a minister commits corruption or undermines the cabinet, it is the job of a real leader to deal with that person decisively. Ramaphosa cannot outsource that responsibility to some toothless committee populated by ANC cadres, many of whom are just as tainted as the person they are supposed to investigate.”

Steenhuisen announced that his party, including through its student organisation, will initiate mass mobilisation campaigns at campuses across the country to force Ramaphosa to fire Nzimande.

Several political formations have joined in on the call to unseat Nzimande over this saga, including the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and ActionSA.

The ATM said the brazen acts of corruption exposed in these recordings warrant not only a change in leadership but also a comprehensive examination of the broader higher education sector to root out any further malfeasance.

“This alleged mismanagement directly affects the dreams and aspirations of countless students who, due to the misallocation and misappropriation of funds, are left without the financial support they need to pursue higher education,” it said.

“The very essence of NSFAS is to uplift the underprivileged, yet the corruption within the system jeopardises the academic futures of those who rely on it. The dreams of these students are shattered, not because of a lack of potential or determination, but because corruption has eroded the very foundation meant to support them in realising their educational goals.”

ActionSA youth forum chairperson Hluphi Gafane said these revelations come as no surprise as the party had concerns over the “questionable nature of the minister's and NSFAS board's staunch defence” of the direct payment of allowances scheme.

“Shamefully, as tens of thousands of students suffered the consequence of the incompetence of the fraudulently appointed service providers administering the allowance scheme, we are again confronted with the reality that a network of unscrupulous tenderpreneurs and public office bearers prioritised filling their pockets over the collective wellbeing of nearly 1-million students.” 

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