Dear Editor
The Minister of Higher Education & Training, Buti Manamela, is not turning a new leaf, after his predecessor sought to turn the Department into a de facto ANC branch.
He has appointed Mugwena Mauleke as Acting Chairperson of NSFAS, the sitting Secretary General of SADTU, and also affiliated with the Gauteng Department of Education.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appalled by this, as politics has no room in institutions of learning. The ANC seems hellbent on dictating the futures of South Africa’s young people, as opposed to giving them all the opportunities to decide for themselves.
Maluleke’s appointment follows the resignation of Dr Stander, citing bullying and harassment allegations by the NSFAS CEO. Manamela has failed to communicate to the public he represents, or to the Parliament in which he serves the veracity of these allegations, consequence management if necessary, and how this will impact students.
The Minister’s appointment of Maluleke also comes while he is taking a self-review court application to regularise the current Board’s appointment process, an admission that the Board may have been irregularly constituted from the start.
The appointment also creates a conflict of interest. NSFAS requires independent financial governance, not politically aligned.
Students and universities have already endured months of chaos, delayed allowances, and system failures. Instead of rebuilding trust, this appointment deepens the perception that NSFAS is a political playground rather than a credible funding institution.
The DA will again write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education & Training for the Minister’s urgent appearance to account for this growing scandal, and we will also seek the presence of Dr Stander before Parliament.
NSFAS ought to be managed by independent, qualified professionals who do not have political affiliations. Furthermore, as an entity entrusted with billions in public funds our nations future, the DA believes NSFAS is best suited through decentralised administrative functions, and enhanced private sector collaboration to ensure efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. Presently, NSFAS sits large monopoly that locks students out of opportunities due its failures. Decentralisation to competent institutions will see students advance their opportunities and not remain clasped in the entity’s failure
The DA remains adamant in achieving a growing economy and an open, opportunity society for young South Africans. The ANC must introspect on whether they seek the best for South Africa’s youth or its own political network.
Regards
Dr Delmaine Christians MP
DA Spokesperson on Higher Education & Training