The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has called for a speedy investigation into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) chief executive, Andile Nongogo’s “unacceptable” conduct in the awarding of bids at NSFAS.
The call comes after Nongogo was placed on special leave by the NSFAS board following concerns that he could be involved in dodgy financial dealings with other companies.
NSFAS issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that its board will be investigating the allegations, with a particular focus on the new direct payment project.
In a statement, the scheme said that the allegations were related to Nongogo's work with the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SSETA) and how he conducted the awarding of bids at the scheme.
Nongogo, who is the former CEO of the SSETA, is implicated in the alleged tender irregularities involving R37 million of public funds.
Despite Outa’s call, it also welcomed the announcement that Nongogo will be on leave of absence while the investigation continues.
According to Outa, it started exposing the irregularities as early as September 2022. It said the scheme declined their request to apply for the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
Some of the exposed information was that the four companies that won the tenders to implement the new direct payment system were ill-equipped for the task and were not registered as financial service providers.
However, Outa blamed the Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, for turning a blind eye to the students’ pleas over the NSFAS new direct payment.
Meanwhile, NSFAS-funded students are being evicted from student accommodation for not paying their rental fees.
Gold Buffalo Group in Cape Town evicted 360 Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) NSFAS students from their premises after the scheme failed to pay them.
In a statement, the group said they had been experiencing ongoing payment issues from NSFAS via CPUT. It said the estimated amount owed to them was about R6.3 million.
“We have had many meetings with the Financial Aid Office at CPUT, but unfortunately, they have not delivered on the resolution of our last meeting. We have tried to reach out to senior management, but they have failed to respond,” the group said.
It highlighted that the issue was not only with them, but also with other landlords.