By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has called for the immediate resignation of Blade Nzimande after information surfaced on Thursday, suggesting that the Minister of Higher Education and Training has been swindling money from the department that is meant to assist students at tertiary institutions.
Malema addressed the issue while speaking at a media briefing in Durban on Friday, ahead of the EFF’s manifesto launch in February.
“The EFF is affirmed in our long-held view that at the centre of the collapse of higher education sector is Blade Nzimande who has now been exposed through leaked voice recordings for having secret meetings with service providers.
“Nzimande has been anti-students ever since he was placed in that department for factional reasons. He must resign and he must resign now.”
Since Nzimande took over, the department has been facing crippling challenges which undermine the interests of the poor and working-class students.
For the first time since the advent of the scheme, almost 100 000 students wrote their end-year examinations in 2023 on empty stomachs without food, toiletries, sanitary products, transport and some even accommodation due to problem with the NSFAS payment system.
“Further to this, the EFF is affirmed in our long-held view that at the centre of the collapse of the Higher Education Sector is Nzimande, who has now been exposed through leaked voice recordings for having secret meetings with service providers, who have repordetly donated more than R1 million to the SACP during his tenure as its General Secretary,” Malema added.
OUTA released voice recordings of two meetings between NSFAS Board Chair, Dr. Ernest Khoza and a representative of a service provider which reveal how millions of rands were allegedly paid in kickbacks to Nzimande and Khoza, as well as at least R1 million to the SACP.
The alleged payments were done in return for tenders and protection for service providers.
These recordings and OUTA’s accompanying report are the latest bombshell exposing corruption and mismanagement at NSFAS. The scheme admitted earlier this week that at least 20 000 students countrywide are still waiting for their 2023 allowances to be paid.