Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande. Images via Pixabay and Flickr
NSFAS reportedly pays R20m rent for offices not occupied
While scores of students are struggling to access funding, NSFAS reportedly paid almost R20 million rent for office space it did not occupy.
Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande. Images via Pixabay and Flickr
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allegedly paid almost R20 million in rent for office space that it did not occupy from December 2021 to September 2022.
The alleged wasteful expenditure was revealed by United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa in a letter written to the Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime and Investigation.
NSFAS R20 MILLION ALLEGED WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE
According to the letter, NSFAS recently moved to another building using a turn-key solution, from a building where the rent had been R500 000 per month to one where the rent is reportedly R1 968 647 per month.
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Holomisa said he had been reliably informed that many offices in the new building remain unused.
“It was wasteful expenditure in another sense since much of this period fell in the Covid-19 lockdown, and the staff was working from home in any event, and there was no rush to occupy the new building.
“Strangely enough, since NSFAS had moved out of their old building and their new building was not yet ready, they had rented space at the Rockefeller Hotel for a period of time. So, while they were blowing R1 968 647 per month on unusable office space, they essentially doubled up their expenses,” Holomisa said.
SASSA COULD BE PART OF FINANCIAL AID CORRUPTION
In 2022, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande said he suspected the entry point to corruption over NSFAS funding was through the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
ALSO READ: CONFIRMED: Here are the NSFAS allowances for 2023
Nzimande revealed that his department, along with SASSA, will be probing how qualifying students were approved. This investigation will be focused on students who are currently receiving funding.
Nzimande said that SASSA would be called into the investigation to help with verifying data that has been submitted to NSFAS. The aim is to deal with students who were revealed to be receiving illegal funding
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