Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande says he will not resign after the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) claimed he received kickbacks from National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) service providers.
OUTA also claimed the South African Communist Party (SACP) was given at least R1 million.
The kickbacks were allegedly in return for tenders and protection for service providers.
Dr Nzimande says there’s a nefarious campaign to have him axed after he acted on corruption at NSFAS.
Nzimande, whose name was mentioned in leaked audio recordings, insists he is innocent.
“I’m not going to resign, why should I resign? Some recording mentions my name. Let me tell you, ministers’ names are dropped everywhere, almost all the time. Sometimes you come across someone and they say, ‘Minister, I’ve been told this and that’.”
“Sometimes you get a person who complains, ‘I’ve applied to a particular SETA, but they haven’t responded to me’. As a public representative, I can’t say go away,” adds Nzimande.
Below is the full address by the Minister:
