Outa welcomes Nsfas board’s adoption of direct payment scheme recommendations
Lobby group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has welcomed the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) board’s decision to adopt recommendations on the controversial direct payment scheme introduced by the scheme’s suspended CEO Andile Nongogo.
The board entrusted the law firm Werksmans Attorneys with probing irregularities in the appointment of four companies that were chosen to pay allowances to Nsfas beneficiaries.
The firm found that Nongongo had breached several procurement processes and was directly involved in the awarding of the tender.
During a media briefing on Wednesday, Nsfas announced that Nongogo had four days to prove to the board why he shouldn’t be fired.
The controversial direct payment scheme left thousands of students stranded earlier this year as there were lengthy delays in the disbursement of the monthly allowances.
Students from several higher education institutions took their frustrations to the streets, demonstrating against Nsfas’ decision to appoint firms to pay out allowances to beneficiaries.
Outa’s Rudie Heyneke said the organization had previously warned that Nongogo shouldn’t be allowed to oversee procurement processes.
“This is not the first time Mr Nongogo’s conduct has come under scrutiny. A criminal complaint was submitted by Outa regarding the approval of payments for inflated invoicers when he was the chief executive at Services SETA [Sector Education and Training Authority].”
Heyneke said it is unfair that students suffered due to irregularities that were brought on by the suspended CEO.
-EWN
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