Nsfas board terminates CEO Andile Nongogo’s contract

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) board has terminated CEO Andile Nongogo’s contract after an investigation into allegations related to the appointment of direct payment service providers.

Nsfas board chairperson Ernest Khosa made the announcement during a presentation to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday.

Scopa also received an update from the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, regarding investigations into the National Skills Fund (NSF) and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).

Nsfas CEO allegations

Nongogo was placed on special leave in August amid uproar over the scheme’s direct payment contract.

This followed a report by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) concerning the “questionable” awarding of the Nsfas direct payment contract.

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Nongogo was accused of a conflict of interest in the appointment of these service providers.

In August, Outa filed a criminal complaint against Nongogo, who was also the former CEO of the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SSETA).

After numerous calls for his suspension until investigations into the allegations were completed, Nsfas placed Nongogo on special leave while launching its own investigation.

Last week, a report by Werksmans Attorneys and Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi revealed a potential conflict of interest in the appointment of fintech service providers.

ALSO READ: Don’t let Andile Nongogo near public money – Outa

Another concern raised in the report was the failure to conduct thorough due diligence on the service providers.

In light of these findings, Nsfas board chair Ernest Khosa announced that the board had written a letter to Nongogo, granting him an opportunity to explain why his contract should not be terminated.

“All staff members associated with wrongdoing, as outlined in the report, will also be subject to a disciplinary inquiry,” Khosa said.

ALSO READ: Nsfas CEO’s contract in question after damning investigation

The four direct payment service providers were also informed that their contracts would be terminated, with a commitment to minimise negative effects on students.

“All of these decisions will be progressively implemented from today, 18 October 2023,” he said.