SAFTU CALLS ON NSFAS TO FIRE CEO NONGOGO
Written by Neo Molefi on October 20, 2023
By: Tasha Siziba
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) calls on the board of the National Student
Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to release the report into allegations on the “appointment of direct
payment service providers.”
Payment for the NSFAS bursary has been mired in controversy and blatant errors that have seen
some students are not paid on time, and others are not financed.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) National Spokesperson Trevor Shaku says
though NSFAS argued it defunded non-deserving students, there are needy students from extremely
poor families (one of these students contacted SAFTU) who have been defunded.
Shaku says, the appointment of these service providers was controversial from the beginning,
On Wednesday, NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khosa gave the preliminary findings of a probe
conducted by law firm Werkmans Attorneys and advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC.
The findings showed that the CEO of the financial scheme Andile Nongogo participated in choosing
companies to disburse allowances to students of the R47 billion fund.
“NSFAS changed its disbursement method from direct payments into NSFAS bursary recipients’ bank
accounts by hiring the service providers (Coinvest, Tenet, Norraco and eZAGA) for disbursement and
to provide account holding services for students. Students have correctly rejected the new payment
system especially as it came with exorbitant service fees that outstrip the bank fees in commercial
banks.”
Students have criticized the system, which has been tainted by delays in the delivery of student
allowances, with the backing of civic organizations and political parties.
SAFTU further calls on the NSFAS board to fire the NSFAS CEO, Andile Nongogo, with immediate
effect as over 80 000 students not receiving their allowances on time.
NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo has four days to plead his case with its board on why he should not be
fired.
