Remaining members of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board are challenging higher education minister Buti Manamela’s decision to dissolve the board and put the entity under administration.
The seven ousted members filed an urgent application at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday to halt and reverse Manamela’s decision. They hope their matter will be heard by June 2.
The applicants have also asked the court to interdict Prof Hlengani Mathebula from “taking over the management, governance and administration of NSFAS, and from performing any functions of NSFAS”.
The axed members have told the court that they wish to resume their duties, should they be granted the relief they seek.
“The applicants are authorised and directed to continue in the management, governance and administration of NSFAS and to perform any functions of NSFAS, pending the final determination of part B of this application.”
Part B, as set out in the papers that this publication has seen, wants the court to force Manamela to reverse his decision to appoint Mathebula.
“The decision must be reviewed, declared unlawful and invalid, and set aside.
“It is declared that the board of NSFAS remains extant and has not been dissolved alternatively, the dissolution of the board is reviewed, declared unlawful and invalid, and set aside.”
The NSFAS board is central to the operation and fulfilment of its mandate to provide financial assistance to students in the form of bursaries and loans. Among others, the board is responsible for allocating funds and for the financial reporting and accountability of NSFAS.
The advocate representing the aggrieved wrote in the affidavit that the entity has previously been plagued by incessant allegations of maladministration and corruption and that its financial affairs have been in disarray for years.
“Over the last decade, it has been in and out of administration twice and has had three separate boards (two dissolved) and nine different CEOs in nine years. This volatility in its management and administration has resulted in internal instability and a lack of continuous, responsible leadership and governance.”
It is essential that the administrator is a fit and proper person whose integrity is beyond reproach. With respect, Prof Mathebula does not qualify as such and should not be permitted single-handedly to run NSFAS.
— Affidavit by the aggrieved
The advocate argued that the NSFAS board appointed by former minister Nobuhle Nkabane, which includes the applicants, had embarked on a turnaround strategy that has now been stopped in its tracks.
Mathebula was appointed by Manamela earlier this month, marking the third time since 2018 that NSFAS had been placed under administration.
The dissolved board challenged Mathebula’s appointment, calling it unlawful and invalid.
“The minister may only appoint an administrator in the circumstances set out in section 17A(1) of the NSFAS Act. In this case, none of the jurisdictional prerequisites to appointment was present. On the contrary, the NSFAS board was fulfilling its statutory mandate effectively.”
Instead, the aggrieved parties have raised eyebrows at the decision to dissolve their board and appoint an administrator, saying that the decision appears motivated by an ulterior motive.
“It is certainly not done in the interests of NSFAS or higher education and training in an open and democratic society. The appointment of the administrator and board dissolution was done without consulting the board, even though that was practicable ― and without affording the directors a proper opportunity to be heard. It was procedurally unfair.”
The applicants have hit back at the board’s placement under an administrator, saying it removes the checks and balances inherent in a multi-person board.
To this effect, they questioned Mathebula’s fitness for office.
“It is essential that the administrator is a fit and proper person whose integrity is beyond reproach. With respect, Prof Mathebula does not qualify as such and should not be permitted single-handedly to run NSFAS.”
The Sunday Times recently reported on a week of high drama and internal fighting over who should lead NSFAS, which resulted in some board members jumping ship, a ministerial warning to dissolve the leadership structure, a fightback and the board ultimately deciding to appoint a permanent CEO, the first in 30 months.
The resignations by former acting board chairperson Mugwena Maluleke and another board member Karabo Mohale were allegedly orchestrated to frustrate a quorum and block the appointment of the CEO.
But the remaining board members proceeded and named NSFAS CFO and acting CEO Waseem Carrim as the new appointee.
According to sources, Manamela was opposed to Carrim’s appointment and preferred a different candidate.
Days later, he dissolved the defiant board and appointed Mathebula as the NSFAS administrator.
The cohort is expecting their legal challenge to be ventilated in court in June.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.