Johnathan Paoli
THE Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande has responded to the recent startling report on allegations of bribery made by Outa saying they were “concerning”.
Nzimande said he rejected the allegations and wanted to reassure the public that he never used any money from any of the department’s entities for the purpose of funding the SACP.
Nzimande said that he viewed the allegations as reckless and largely based on gossip and are intended to undermine a smooth start to the 2024 academic year.
The minister said that due to the potential damage of the allegation, he reserved his right to take possible legal action in response to the report.
Nzimande said that he wished to reaffirm his and the department’s commitment to clean governance within the department and its entities, and focused on preparations for the start of the 2024 academic year.
Nsfas responded to the report by defending both Nzimande and the chair of the Board Ernest Khosa and said that both Khosa as well as the board strongly dismissed with contempt the voice recording and insinuation of possible corruption between him, the minister, the SACP and other third parties.
The Board similarly called into question the motives of OUTA and said that it was now apparent that the NGO was gradually drifting away from its claimed high moral values and as an impartial organisation by perpetually venturing into politics, informed by the quest to influence the South African political landscape.
Nsfas defended the implementation of the Werksmans report and said that the Board remained committed to transformation and assisting the students of the country.
The Board said that it would work in conjunction with law enforcement agencies to further probe and investigate the recordings released by the organisation.
“The Nsfas Board Chairperson will at an appropriate time take the public into confidence on the recordings in circulation and attempted threats on his life, by some unscrupulous individual following the implementation of the Werksmans Attorneys report and the fight against corruption within Nsfas,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the PAC has cautiously approved the recent OUTA allegations against Nzimande and the SACP, and said that allegations against the minister using the higher education sector as a way to channel money for himself and the communist party was not new.
In a statement on Friday the party referred to the incident as an example of the negative impact of the Fanonian concept of “national petty bourgeois class” which arose after 1994 and enriched themselves at the expense of the people.
The PAC said that the latest recording proved once more the important need to remove Nzimande from cabinet and called on the SIU to thoroughly investigate the corruption at Nsfas and the department of higher education.
However, whilst agreeing with the findings of the report, the party said that it remains concerned of the possible agenda behind certain NGO actions, and that it was no coincidence that OUTA started being interested in corruption at the funding scheme, after white capital was denied the tender to manage direct payments to students.
“While we must vigorously call out the petty bourgeois parasitic class, we must not lose site of the invisible hand of white power in trying to take back power and control of the country back into their hands,” the party said.
INSIDE EDUCATION
