The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has released the findings of a preliminary investigation into the Insurance Sector Student Fund (ISSF), uncovering what appears to be an extraordinary increase in the fund’s budget from about R20 million a year to more than R442 million during the 2024/25 financial year.
The investigation raises serious questions about procurement, financial oversight and governance at INSETA. It follows the precautionary suspension of INSETA CEO Gugu Mkhize by the INSETA Board on 3 June 2026 amid investigations into failures in the bursary payment system that reportedly left 879 students without funding for months.
According to OUTA’s investigation, the ISSF was managed internally between 2021 and 2024, with annual project values consistently ranging between R18.6 million and R20 million. During the 2024/25 financial year, however, the approved project value increased to R442,783,502, with recorded expenditure of R158,719,495 under project code INPROJ000369.
OUTA believes this dramatic increase warrants full public scrutiny and is calling for the release of the project’s general ledger to establish exactly how the funds were allocated and spent.
Tender cancelled, yet service provider appointed
OUTA’s investigation found that INSETA advertised a competitive tender in 2022 for a project management service provider to administer the ISSF. Three bids were received before the tender was officially cancelled, with bidders informed that there was insufficient funding.
Despite this, media reports indicate that Mabophe Business Solutions (Pty) Ltd was later appointed to administer the fund.
If confirmed, OUTA believes the appointment raises serious concerns about compliance with Supply Chain Management requirements, Section 217 of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
Students paid the price. The governance concerns have had significant human consequences.
According to reports referenced in OUTA’s investigation, approximately R70 million was advanced to Mabophe Business Solutions to administer bursary payments. Yet 879 students reportedly went unpaid during the first five months of the year, leaving many facing eviction, food insecurity and possible academic exclusion.
INSETA was subsequently forced to make emergency payments of R4.6 million directly to accommodation providers to prevent students from losing their housing.
For OUTA, this is the most disturbing aspect of the matter. Public money intended to support students appears to have failed the very people it was meant to assist.
Questions over Mabophe’s appointment. OUTA also examined Mabophe Business Solutions as part of its investigation.
The organisation could find no company website or publicly available information demonstrating experience in administering large-scale student bursary programmes.
The investigation found that the company’s known public sector work spans different sectors, including fundraising and project management, raising further questions about its appointment to manage a fund of this size.
OUTA also verified documentation relating to a student accommodation provider that alleged it had not received payment despite invoices being submitted through Mabophe, adding further weight to concerns that bursary beneficiaries may have been adversely affected.
Rudie Heyneke, OUTA Senior Project Manager, said:
“Since 2018, OUTA has investigated corruption, maladministration and financial mismanagement across South Africa’s higher education sector. Our preliminary investigation into INSETA raises serious questions about governance, procurement and financial oversight. At the centre of this are hundreds of students whose education was placed at risk because the system failed them.”
He added:
“The financial records point to an unprecedented increase in the ISSF budget during the 2024/25 financial year. We now need complete transparency. The general ledger for project INPROJ000369 must be released so investigators can establish precisely how public money was spent and whether every rand reached its intended beneficiaries.”
OUTA calls on INSETA and the relevant oversight authorities to:
- Release the general ledger and supporting financial records for project INPROJ000369.
- Investigate the appointment of Mabophe Business Solutions and determine whether procurement laws and internal processes were followed.
- Account for all expenditure linked to the ISSF.
- Ensure every affected student receives the financial support they were promised.
- Hold anyone responsible for irregular expenditure or maladministration accountable.
Students who rely on bursaries should never bear the cost of governance failures. OUTA believes the public deserves a full account of how hundreds of millions of rand were managed, who benefited from the expenditure and whether the procurement process complied with the law.
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