The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the Western Cape welcomes the decision by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS] Board to place on leave of absence the scheme’s CEO, Mr Andile Nongogo and to institute an investigation into his questionable role in the appointment of certain service providers that are responsible for the problematic Pay Direct project.

The union believes the rot at NSFAS is deeper than what is happening with the Pay Direct Project and calls on the Board to extend the terms of reference of the investigation to include a probe into appointments of all the service providers and consultants at the scheme. 

As NEHAWU, we have raised serious concerns with the Board in July this year about the overreliance on service providers and consultants by NSFAS management. We could see then that there was a systematic effort to ensure certain individuals are given contracts to enrich themselves with taxpayers’ money because NSFAS management started taking away certain duties from our members and outsourcing them to service providers and consultants,”.

We believe that the probe was inevitable because the union has been applying pressure on all fronts in a bid to ensure that maladministration at NSFAS was uprooted. On the 26th of July 2023, NEHAWU held a picket programme in front of NSFAS Offices in Cape Town where the union submitted a memorandum of demands which included a call to the Board to probe the very same issue of overreliance on service providers by NSFAS.

We have been concerned that money intended to benefit poor students and to improve the working conditions of workers was now being used to enrich friends of certain people at NSFAS and we wanted the Board to probe that and force management to cut down on service providers. We are glad to see that the wheels have started to grind. 

NEHAWU will be making a written submission to the investigating authority, once appointed, with a view to assist the process and will also be available to give oral evidence if so necessary.

END

Issued by NEHAWU Western Cape Secretariat

For more information, please contact: Cde Baxolise Mali (NEHAWU Western Cape Provincial Secretary) at 066 3050 591 or Baxolise@nehawu.org.za Or Cde Lucky Bopape (Western Cape Provincial Deputy Secretary) at 083 719 0692 or email: LBopape@gmail.com