The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) CEO Andile Nongogo has been fired.
This follows the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) finding into allegations that he had irregularly authorised the awarding of contracts to direct payment service providers amounting to R47 billion.
The SIU briefed the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).
NSFAS Board chairperson Ernest Khosa says at the heart of the decision was the breach of policy and there was no longer a relationship of trust between the Board and the CEO.
“Just to assure you honourable chair, honourable members from the outset that these challenges, the Board is more hands-on. [The Board is] acting very firmly on the directives of the shareholder, the minister [Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande] whose directives include among others, the need to act more firmly on matters related to our system and on matters to our appeal systems, and the need not to be responsive on our enquiries,” adds Khosa.
The video below reports on the NSFAS direct payment system:
On Sunday, Universities South Africa, an umbrella body representing public universities, welcomed the move to scrap the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS) controversial direct payment system eZaga.
CEO of Universities South Africa, Dr Phethiwe Matutu says, “Universities South Africa welcomes the report, and the response by the Board of NSFAS to terminate the contracts of the four service providers, further investigate the NSFAS staff which is associated with wrongdoing in this and review the NSFAS supply chain management.”
“None of the effects of this can be measured in rands and cents because some of the students are sitting at home. It was a very costly experiment.”
The audio file below reports more on the story:
