President Fails to Proclaim Full SIU Investigation Into National Skills Fund

Dear Editor

Despite repeated calls by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for a full Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into the National Skills Fund (NSF), President Cyril Ramaphosa has only initiated an investigation into a select few programs, despite mounting indications of corruption and mismanagement at the NSF and its projects.

The President’s limitation of the SIU investigation to only certain NSF projects are weak and the DA calls on the scope of the investigation to be broadened to include all NSF projects.

The NSF is meant to provide funding for skills development initiatives but instead appears to be failing at this mandate because of corruption and mismanagement.

Since 2023, the DA has been calling for the President to initiate a full SIU investigation into the NSF, following the damming findings of the Nexus investigation that uncovered corruption, lack of good governance, unfilled vacant posts, and poor financial systems and project management to the tune of R5 billion.

The Nexus investigation, due to limitations was only able to investigate 10 projects, which the President has now conservatively proclaimed as the subject of the SIU investigation.

While we welcome the SIU investigations, in the hope that at least some of the money can be recovered for the benefit of South Africa, we believe these projects might be just the tip of the iceberg.

The time for delays is over. With the current budget crisis, there is no room for NFS projects that waste money due to corruption and poor financial management. The President must act now and extend the SIU investigation into the entire NSF till date, ultimately putting the wellbeing of students first, recovering lost money, and rooting out corruption. Credibility must be restored.

Regards

Desiree van der Walt MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Higher Education