By Thapelo Molefe
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has vowed to tighten controls across the post-school education and training sector after Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigations uncovered alleged corruption, procurement failures and misuse of public funds at institutions including TVET colleges.
Manamela said his department would act on SIU recommendations, including changes to procurement processes, governance, financial controls and oversight.
The department would also monitor how institutions respond to findings and referrals arising from the investigations, including criminal, disciplinary and regulatory processes.
“We must not only investigate what went wrong; we must fix the systems that allowed it to happen,” Manamela said.
He was speaking after receiving a briefing from SIU head Leonard Lekgetho and his team on investigations into allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration across the post-school education and training sector.
The briefing covered investigations involving the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), National Skills Fund, University of Fort Hare, Vaal University of Technology and the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority.
The investigations have exposed a range of problems at TVET colleges, including payments for training that allegedly never took place, incomplete projects, irregular procurement and weak monitoring of service providers.
At Ingwe TVET College in the Eastern Cape, the SIU investigated an R187 million project intended to support the turnaround of the college and artisan development in Lusikisiki and Bizana.
The SIU found that service provider Ada Holdings received R132.98 million from the National Skills Fund but allegedly failed to train learners despite receiving payment.
Investigators also found that training facilities were not completed according to the required specifications.
More than R105 million was transferred between companies linked to the service provider, including R52.49 million paid to Artisan Development, R45.03 million to Umbani and R7.39 million to PWC Institute.
The SIU said it was investigating the financial transfers to establish why the money was moved between the companies.
Some lecturers involved in the project also told investigators they had not received certificates for training that was allegedly conducted.
The SIU appointed a quantity surveyor to determine the amount spent on the incomplete buildings and indicated that it could approach the Special Tribunal to recover funds.
In another investigation, the SIU examined a National Skills Fund project involving Rubicon Communications, where about R2.7 million was paid for a training programme. Investigators found that no training had taken place.
At Vaal University of Technology, SIU intervention resulted in the cancellation of a security contract, preventing an estimated R109 million in future expenditure.
The investigations have also resulted in recoveries.
According to the department, more than R2 billion in NSFAS-related funds has been recovered from universities and TVET colleges.
The University of Fort Hare investigation resulted in acknowledgements of debt worth about R5.4 million, while an acknowledgement of debt of about R2.7 million, plus interest and costs, was recorded in the Rubicon Communications matter involving the National Skills Fund.
Repayments in the Rubicon matter are under way.
Manamela said the government could not allow wrongdoing in the sector to continue without consequences.
“Where public resources have been misused, there must be consequences. Where wrongdoing is established, those responsible must be held accountable. Where money can be recovered, it must be recovered and redirected to its intended purpose,” he said.
He said the impact of losses extended beyond the financial cost.
“Behind every rand lost or misused is an opportunity denied to a student,” Manamela said.
“Every skills-development programme that is funded but not delivered robs a young person and our economy of an opportunity.”
Manamela also warned that wrongdoing involving qualifications could damage the credibility of the education system and devalue legitimate qualifications.
“Any qualification improperly or fraudulently obtained undermines the integrity of our education system and devalues the qualifications of those who have worked hard to earn them,” he said.
The department said it would strengthen its monitoring of SIU matters and hold affected accounting authorities, councils and management structures accountable for implementing recommendations.
Manamela stressed that the SIU must be allowed to conduct its investigations independently, while the rights of people affected by ongoing investigations must be respected.
He said people implicated in ongoing investigations should not be treated as having been found guilty before the relevant processes had been completed.
The department said it would continue working with the SIU, law-enforcement agencies and other authorities to pursue corruption cases and implement reforms across the sector.
“Our ultimate objective is to build a PSET system in which public resources are protected, institutions are properly governed, qualifications retain their integrity and students can have confidence that the system is working in their interests,” Manamela said.
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