‘Broke’ Jacob G Zuma Foundation cannot pay university fees

President Jacob Zuma’s foundation has reportedly run out of money and cannot pay university fees for students it promised to fund, the Sunday Times reports.

According to the newspaper, the Jacob G Zuma Foundation is said to have admitted this year that it was unable to honour bursaries for at least 30 students. The foundation’s chairperson, Dudu Myeni, maintains no bursaries have been cancelled.

The foundation is said to have admitted in a letter to the University of Zululand (UniZulu), on January 24, that 2016 had been a “challenging” year and it would not be able to meet its financial commitments before the end of the year.

It is also reported that bursary students at North-West University were let down by the foundation, with last year’s fees being settled only this year for the about half a dozen bursary holders.

But it remains unclear if and how the 2017 bursary holders were affected, according to the report.

In the January letter to UniZulu, the foundation said it would make outstanding payments for 2016 “over the next couple of weeks” and also requested the university’s help to get the affected students on to National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursaries for 2017.

Zuma’s spokesperson, Bongani Ngqulunga, said the president had sponsored 20,000 students to date through the Jacob G Zuma Foundation and the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust.

Ngqulunga said funding students wasn’t without its own challenges and urged the private sector to support needy students where the foundation had faced difficulties.

“The students must be assisted to obtain funding, and co-operation – rather than blame – would be more helpful in this regard,” he said.

Meanwhile, Myeni confirmed to Sunday Times the issue had been discussed with UniZulu’s leadership, but she was convinced that “no bursary has been cancelled”.

When asked whether the 2016 payments were made to the university, Myeni said: “We will save this answer and respond when you tell us why you are interested in the Jacob G Zuma Foundation and which other former presidents’ foundations you are pursuing.

“We continue to honour our debt and make sure that students continue to study. It must be pointed out that, over the years, we have assisted many students and we continue to do so with limited resources.

“You are aware that President Zuma does not benefit from conglomerates owned by white monopoly capital. We receive donations like other NGOs,” she added.

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