Nzimande vows to get to bottom of missing millions at National Skills Fund
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande says his department remains committed to the fight against corruption despite the R5 billion which went missing from the National Skills Fund.
The auditor-general earlier in the year flagged the missing millions from the fund which was set up to fund skill development projects,
Speaking at the tabling of the department's mid-term budget vote on Thursday, Nzimande said a forensic company has been appointed to look into the missing funds.
"As a department, we are steadfast to deal with instances of maladministration and corruption at the National Skills Fund.
"I have appointed a forensic company to conduct a full-scale forensic investigation into financial affairs of the NSF after an amount of just under R5 billion could not be properly accounted for over two financial years.
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"I equally appointed a Ministerial Task Team to conduct a strategic review of the NSF, the general operations of the NSF, its efficiency and relevance with regards to the national skills priorities of the country."
An amount of R130 billion has been budgeted for the 2022/2023 financial year.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been allocated R49 billion, of which R45.9 billion comes from the department.
"This includes funding reprioritised from the departmental budget, to ensure that the full shortfall for the NSFAS is addressed in 2022/23 to support students during the 2022 academic year," said Nzimande.
