The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board has terminated the contract of CEO Andile Nongogo following an investigation into allegations related to the appointment of direct payment service providers.
The announcement was made by NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khosa during a presentation to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday.
In August, Nongogo was placed on special leave after an uproar over the scheme’s direct payment contract.
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This came after a report by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) raised concerns about the “questionable” awarding of the Nsfas direct payment contract and accused Nongogo of a conflict of interest in the appointment of these service providers.
Outa subsequently filed a criminal complaint against Nongogo. Following calls for his suspension until investigations were completed, Nsfas launched its investigation while placing Nongogo on special leave.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr BE Nzimande says his department has been steadfast in dealing with corruption in the Post-School Education and Training sector.
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Last week, a report by Werksmans Attorneys and Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi revealed a potential conflict of interest in the appointment of fintech service providers and highlighted the failure to conduct thorough due diligence on the service providers.
Based on these findings, the Nsfas board wrote a letter to Nongogo, allowing him to explain why his contract should not be terminated.
The board also announced that all staff members associated with wrongdoing, as outlined in the report, will be subject to a disciplinary inquiry.
Additionally, the contracts of the four direct payment service providers will be terminated, with a commitment to minimize negative effects on students.
These decisions will be progressively implemented from today, 18 October 2023,” Khosa stated.
