ACTIONSA Youth Forum chairwoman Hluphi Gafane said they will continue to fight for the students and ensure that they're well taken care of.
Gafane said this when the party opened a case against the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) CEO, Ernest Khosa, at Lyttelton Police Station in Tshwane on Tuesday, 9 January.
The charges against Nzimande and Khosa follow a damning report by the organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) implicating them in corrupt kickbacks related to contracts at Nsfas.
The recordings are believed to be from two meetings (meeting one and meeting two) between Khosa and a representative of a service provider, who has since been identified as Thula Ntumba of Coinvest Africa (Pty) Ltd.
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Coinvest Africa (Pty) Ltd is among the four service providers that have been awarded the contract to facilitate direct payments to students from July 2023, which means that more than 20 000 students will now not receive payments.
The report also revealed that at least R1 million was paid to the South African Communist Party, of which Nzimande is national chairman, which he has since denied. Gafane said the party believed that the information contained in Outa's report indicated criminal behaviour in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 2004.
Gafane said it was now up to the police, as the relevant law enforcement agency, to conduct a full investigation and ensure that every person involved is identified and held accountable to the full extent of the law.
She said the party was committed to ensuring that justice previals to the nearly one million students who suffered as a result of this fraud and the corrupt machinations of a syndicate of corrupt businessmen, government officials and public servants.
Minister Nzimande rubbished the allegations, claiming he is not a thief and further hinting that he was considering taking legal action against Outa. However, the organisation is also not giving in without a fight.
This is a developing story.
