Nzimande denies claims of kickbacks

• Minister reacts to allegations of corruption made against him and NSFAS chair Ernest Khoza by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

Higher education & training minister Blade Nzimande has denied the allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and says he will voluntarily submit himself to the ethics bodies of the ANC and the SACP. Outa released a report describing secret voice recordings of two meetings between National Student Financial Aid Scheme chair Ernest Khoza and a service provider.

Higher education & training minister Blade Nzimande has denied the allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and says he will voluntarily submit himself to the ethics bodies of the ANC and his own party, the SACP.

Outa released a 51-page report last week describing secret voice recordings of two meetings between National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) chair Ernest Khoza and an unnamed service provider. It alleges the recordings provide evidence that kickbacks were paid to Nzimande, Khosa and the SACP in return for tenders and protection for service providers.

Nzimande, who chairs the SACP, said his conscience is clear and he has nothing to hide.

“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 [the] NSFAS or any of the other entities falling under my departments,” he said at a media briefing on Monday.

The NSFAS provides financial support to about 1.1-million students at universities and technical and vocational education colleges. In 2022, it appointed four service providers — Coinvest Africa, Tenet Technology, Ezaga Holdings and Norraco Corporation — to make direct payments to NSFAS beneficiaries. The NSFAS’s payment systems were subsequently racked with problems, leaving thousands of students without the means to pay for food or accommodation.

An investigation by law firm Werksmans found the four direct payment service providers had been appointed irregularly, and recommended that their contracts be terminated.

Nzimande said the leaked voice recordings were part of a fightback campaign intended to undermine the NSFAS board’s decision to follow through on Werksmans’ recommendations, and the timing of the report was calculated to disrupt the start of the academic year. “My suspicion is the same people Outa was attacking before [the service providers], it is now colluding with because there is a bigger prize: the head of Blade Nzimande,” the minister said.

Nzimande said he is seeking legal advice.

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said the organisation is engaging with whistleblowers with the aim of addressing corruption in the department of higher education. “We are not funded by any of these service providers in order for them to expose any disgruntlement they may have with the department,” he said.

“We take our work seriously and do not put out reports and statements that we cannot substantiate. Furthermore, we have no benefit or interest in disrupting the start to the academic year, as the minister claimed.”

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party will lay criminal charges against Nzimande and has briefed its legal team to have the NSFAS board declare delinquent.

The DA said it will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to demand that the scope of the SIU’s current investigation into the NSFAS be expanded to include the alleged kickbacks paid to Nzimande and the SACP.

The party will also submit a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) to obtain a copy of the Werksmans report into the awarding of the direct payment tenders.

NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi denied Outa’s allegation that Khoza had received kickbacks. “He has confirmed he has not been party to any scheme to receive money for his personal use,” he said.

Khoza had received “continuous threats to himself and his family”, which he had brought to

I HAVE NEVER USED ANY MONEY FROM ANY OF MY DEPARTMENT’S ENTITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUNDING THE SACP

the attention of law enforcement agencies.

The SACP denied receiving money from the NSFAS. “To set the record straight, the SACP has never approached or delegated any person to approach any entity, public or private, to request funds illegitimately. We both reject and denounce the allegation that the NSFAS funded the party with the contempt it deserves,” it said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

The SACP said it has never received funding in return for favours, and it will lay criminal charges against any person or entity that seeks to do so.