By Staff Reporter
POLOKWANE-It may be the end of the road for NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo in his time at the government bursary scheme. This comes after it was revealed that there may have been a relationship between key individuals including the CEO and the Fintech companies appointed to pay allowances directly to students.
Media reports indicate that Andile Nongogo, the CEO of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), has had his employment contract terminated. Nongogo is facing corruption allegations linked to a contract valued at R47 billion.
The decision to terminate Nongogo’s time as CEO was officially taken by the NSFAS board on Monday evening.
NSFAS Board Chairperson Ernest Khosa announced this development during a session in Parliament on Tuesday, as the NSFAS provided updates to the Parliament’s public accounts committee regarding ongoing investigations within the organisation.
Khosa explained that the decision to dismiss Nongogo was made by the NSFAS board on Monday night. He cited both a violation of policy and a breach of trust as the reasons for this action.
I should make the committee aware that last night the board of NSFAS took a decision to terminate the contract of the CEO
Earlier this week, Khosa responded to media reports with allegations coming from the Nongogo.
If it is indeed true that it comes from him, I am utterly disappointed. The bottom line is that there are serious findings and recommendations against him which cannot be wished away by involving distant distractions.
Nongogo had been on special leave since August 2023. NSFAS took the decision to place him on special leave as the investigation into allegations of corruption proceeded.
The Werksman attorney’s NSFAS investigation specifically focused on irregularities related to Bid NO. SCMN022/2021, which involved the appointment of service providers for direct payments of NSFAS allowances.
In 2022, NSFAS Introduced a direct allowance payment system for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The direct system was expanded to include universities in 2023.
The investigation sought to determine whether these service providers are registered financial entities and whether there is a historical business and tender relationship between the CEO and the directors of these companies.
The investigation found that there may have been possible relationships between key individuals including NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo and the Fintech companies appointed to pay allowances directly to students.
It was also revealed that there was active involvement of the CEO in the presentation to the Bid Evaluation Committee and potential conflicts of interest in the appointment of service providers.
The report also has several other issues including a lack of a feasibility study and amendments to the bid specifications.
Alarm bells were raised regarding Nongogo’s conduct by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). These allegations stem from Nongogo’s time at the ServicesSETA (SSETA).
