Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande hit back at allegations that he and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board chairperson Ernest Khosa received kickbacks from service providers who were contracted to do work for NSFAS, during a media briefing on Monday. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board chairperson Ernest Khosa and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande have both hit back at allegations that they received kickbacks from service providers who were contracted to do work for NSFAS.
These claims, which were made by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), have led to calls for Nzimande and Khosa to resign from their posts.
Outa claimed it had voice recordings of meetings which allegedly revealed how service providers paid millions of rand in kickbacks to Nzimande and Khosa, and at least R1 million to the SACP.
In an exclusive interview with The Mercury's sister newspaper The Star, Khosa, vehemently denied the allegations and condemned the purported recordings.
He categorically denied any prior acquaintance with the service providers implicated in the controversy before the release of the Werksmans Attorneys report. “These allegations are much ado about nothing,” Khosa stated.
He described the recording as highly manipulated, choreographed to align with Outa's narrative and its questionable sources.
“I deny having ever met the owners of any direct payment service providers before the release of the Werksmans report," said Khosa. He expressed surprise at later discovering he was conversing with individuals directly linked to the alleged criminal NSFAS activities.
He highlighted the Werksmans report and said its findings and recommendations were unchallenged and were being implemented.
Khosa was referring to an an independent investigation carried out by Werksmans Attorneys and advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi which found irregularities and conflicts of interest during the selection process of the four service providers for the direct payment system.
He argued that the recordings, whose authenticity has not yet been confirmed, are being misused to detract from the critical revelations of the Werksmans/Ngqukaitobi report.
Khosa further accused Outa of harbouring ulterior motives, particularly concerning student accommodation.
"This year, NSFAS is piloting a new policy to diversify the ownership of student accommodation, and this seems to have triggered these attacks," he said.
In a media briefing, Nzimande said he is not guilty of any wrongdoing and was consulting his legal team to take action against Outa.
“I wish to once again assure the South African public that, as Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, I have never used any money from any of my department’s entities for the purpose of funding the SACP, as maliciously suggested in the Outa report. Nor have I received any personal kickbacks from any of the service providers to NSFAS or any of the other entities falling under my departments.”
Nzimande added that he wanted to dismiss this “baseless insinuation” by Outa.
“These are all lies that emanate from a malicious fight-back campaign. My conscience is clear, and I have nothing to hide or fear. I reserve my rights to take the necessary legal action and I have voluntarily decided that I am going to subject myself to the relevant legal processes and ethics bodies of the ANC and the SACP.”
Meanwhile DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party would write to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Special Investigating Unit to demand an investigation into the matter.
Mkhuleko Hlengwa, IFP national spokesperson, said Nzimande has been “key and central” to every scandal and failure of the Department of Higher Education & Training and NSFAS since 2009.
“He must resign with immediate effect and Parliament and the law enforcement agencies must launch a full-scale investigation into this latest revelation of corruption.”
The Mercury