Forer Higher Education minister Dr Blade Nzimande. Picture: Chris Collingridge
The DA, through its deputy spokesperson on Higher Education, Desiree van der Walt, and the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently address the issue of embezzled funds from the National Skills Fund (NSF).
On Tuesday, the union said in a statement it was highly concerned about the loss of more than R213 million expropriated by corrupt service providers contracted by the NSF.
NSF reportedly uncovered the misuse of funds intended for the improvement of underprivileged communities across the country who should have benefited from development projects to uplift them.
This comes after Nexus Forensic Services report flagged a strong of irregularities involving millions of monies.
“Fedusa strongly condemns the allocation of funds meant for skills enhancement and poverty alleviation. The report sheds light on concerning irregularities, including failures in service delivery, exaggerated project expenses and a lack of accountability among service providers and NSF personnel. The misappropriation of R123 million for a rabbit breeding initiative that yielded 200 rabbits of the planned 10500 serves as a stark illustration of the depth of this misconduct,” Fedusa said.
As such, the federation has called on the enforcement of law and the arrest of those who are responsible for the theft of public funds.
“We call for the prompt prosecution of those found guilty of misconduct and appeal to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (Hawks) and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) to accelerate their investigation and legal action against individuals implicated in those activities,” it said.
Reacting to the Nexus Forensic Services report, the DA condemned the theft of millions belonging to NSF.
Van der Walt called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to proclaim a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into all the projects that have been undertaken by the NSF to date.
Van der Walt said last year, the DA made a similar call, but former Higher Education minister Dr Blade Nzimande blocked efforts in order to keep the Nexus Forensic Services report confidential.
“While the SIU indicated that it had drawn up papers requesting a proclamation that would allow the unit to investigate the NSF, it seems the President has yet to issue one,” Van der Walt said.
According to media reports, the Nexus Forensic Services investigated 10 NSF projects, which revealed corruption, lack of good governance, unfilled vacant posts and poor financial systems and project management processes in place at NSF to the tune of R5 billion – more than the whole budget for the NSF for the financial year.
“These projects might just be the tip of the iceberg. Given the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s (OUTA) exposé allegedly tying Minister Nzimande and his South African Communist Party to corruption at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, it is clear that the department needs to investigated top to bottom now that it’s free from Minister Nzimande’s influence,“ Van der Walt added.
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
.