The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Thursday welcomed the announcement by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board that it would place the scheme’s CEO, Andile Nongogo, on a leave of absence while it investigates allegations of unacceptable conduct in the awarding of tenders at NSFAS, and other irregularities relating to Nongogo’s tenure at the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta).

Outa explained that the investigation into Nongogo’s involvement needs to be expedited, and it is urging the board to take corrective action to address the contracts with service providers.

Outa began exposing irregularities as early as September 2022, and in October of the same year the organisation’s request for further information from NSFAS, through an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), was turned down.

“Our investigation continued and we published our report in February 2023, which showed that the four companies who won the tenders to implement the new direct payment system were ill-equipped for the task and were not registered as financial service providers. Two of the service providers were not registered as VAT vendors. One service provider had links with dubious tenders awarded by the Services Seta during Nongogo’s tenure as CEO there, which Outa had previously exposed,” Outa said.

Outa head of investigations Rudie Heyneke explained that the allegations were extremely serious, saying after a swift assessment of Outa’s reports and other available information, disciplinary hearings should be conducted.

“It is a shame that scarce public resources continue to be wasted like this, while legitimate concerns by civil society and people who are directly affected by poor government decisions – in this case, students who rely on financial aid – are ignored by those in power. The actions of executives at higher education institutions have a huge impact on the youth and the future of our country and should always be above suspicion,” said Heyneke.

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage noted that there was an urgent need for more robust oversight regarding procurement processes.

“Officials with Andile Nongogo’s qualifications and experience should be well acquainted with the Public Finance Management Act. Gross negligence of fiduciary duties and waste of public money should be dealt with harshly,” he said.

He urged Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande and the NSFAS board to work with Outa in tackling corruption in the higher education sector.

NSFAS is currently being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit and Outa has shared its investigation reports with the unit.