Answers Demanded From Manamela

Statement by Dr Delmaine Christians MP – DA Spokesperson on Higher Education and Training:

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will submit parliamentary questions requiring Minister Buti Manamela to account for the decision to place NSFAS under administration and to provide full details on the advisors appointed, including their roles, remuneration, mandates and the measurable impact they are having in improving NSFAS’s ability to fulfil its responsibilities to students.

South Africa’s students and taxpayers deserve clarity on why NSFAS remains under administration, who has been appointed as “Advisors to the Administrator” and what specific mandate these advisors have been given.

NSFAS is responsible for funding hundreds of thousands of students across the country.

Minister Manamela must explain why another administration process was deemed necessary, what outcomes it is expected to achieve, and how it will address NSFAS issues. He must explain this administration in the context of a decrease in protest this year, over issues NSFAS payments, compared to last year.

The Minister must disclose to Parliament:

• The names and details of all Advisors appointed to support the NSFAS administration;
• Their specific mandates, responsibilities and deliverables;
• The duration and terms of their appointments; and
• The total cost to taxpayers associated with these appointments.
• Whether this will have an impact on staff who were making progress on addressing underlying issues before the administration began.

The DA has consistently warned that repeated interventions cannot become a substitute for fixing the underlying governance failures at NSFAS. Students cannot continue paying the price for instability and poor oversight.

South African students deserve a funding system that works. Taxpayers deserve accountability for every rand spent.