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The DA issues a direct challenge to Minister Buti Manamela to use his address to the Press Club tonight to play his cards openly with South Africa about the mounting scandals of the NSFAS “Administration.”

The Minister must, without hiding the truth, come clean to the people of South Africa about his decisions to place the multi-billion Rand NSFAS under an Administrator who has lurched from scandal to scandal.

Our students are desperate for their NSFAS payments: they are missing accommodation payments, food payments and book payments. They struggle desperately for funds - but the Minister is completely distracted by his “Administration” of NSFAS, which is not going well at all.

At yesterday’s appearance before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee, the Minister failed to provide clear answers to critical questions about decisions taken under his authority. Those unanswered questions, and the mounting concerns arising from the NSFAS Administration he instituted, contributed to a marathon Committee meeting that continued until after 02:00 this morning.

1. Why is NSFAS under Administration?

2. How was Professor Hlengani Mathebula selected as the Administrator, and what is the agreed remuneration structure? Why has the Minister proposed an outrageous remuneration for Prof Mathebula (R5.5 million annually) that was so offensive that National Treasury has to override the Minister and reject it?

3. Why and how were four “Advisers” appointed to advise the highly-paid Administrator, and what process was followed? The Minister approved them, but will not answer why and how.

4. Why are these untransparent, unaccountable “Advisers” sending invoices through private companies for their services, amounting to almost R500,000.00 in fees?

5. Why is the Administrator approving invoices from private companies to pay the fees of his Advisers?

The Minister's appalling failure to answer questions in Parliament yesterday shows that there is a lot to hide. But he cannot sweep this under the carpet.

If companies with no contractual relationship with NSFAS could invoice the entity, have those invoices processed through Finance, and ultimately be approved by the Administrator, financial controls have clearly failed.

It also raises the question of whether these payments will now be reviewed and, should they be found to have been incorrectly made, whether the money will be recovered.

More concerning still, Minister Buti Manamela, who approved the appointment of the four Advisers, could not tell the Committee last night how much they were being paid or clearly account for whether he had approved those amounts.

This leaves South Africa with an extraordinary set of unanswered questions: the Administrator personally identified and approached the Advisers; the Minister approved their appointment but could not account for their remuneration; Treasury concurrence is reportedly outstanding; companies that were not contracted to NSFAS submitted invoices; and those invoices were processed through Finance and signed by the Administrator.

South Africans deserve to know who authorised this expenditure and on what lawful basis.

The DA directly challenges Minister Buti Manamela: Come clean when you address the National Press Club tonight.

Issued by Dr Delmaine Christians MP - DA Spokesperson on Higher Education and Training