The DA wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign a proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe all the projects that were undertaken by the National Skills Fund (NSF).
This is the second time the party has made the request after a similar call for the proclamation was not heeded last year.
The party’s call comes after a news report surfaced at the weekend that an investigative report uncovered fraud, forgery and non-delivery of services by companies in an NSF-funded R123 million project.
The news report implicated former higher education and training minister Blade Nzimande for trying to keep the investigative report confidential.
The investigation was undertaken at the insistence of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) after the NSF obtained a disclaimer of audit opinion from the auditor-general .
DA MP Désirée van der Walt said they were not surprised that their plea for the proclamation was not heeded last year, and blamed Nzimande for keeping the Nexus Forensic Services report confidential.
“While the SIU indicated that it had drawn up papers requesting a proclamation that would allow the unit to investigate the NSF, it seems the president has yet to issue one,” Van der Walt said.
She said Nexus Forensic Services investigated 10 NSF projects, which revealed corruption, lack of good governance, unfilled vacant posts and poor financial systems and project management processes in place at NSF to the tune of R5 billion.
“We hope that the new Government of National Unity Minister of Higher Education, Nobuhle Nkabane, will not follow in the footsteps of her predecessor.
“We hope that with the help of her deputy ministers, she will put the well-being of students first and root out the corruption that seems rife in her department,” Van der Walt said.
Meanwhile, Nzimande, who is now the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said the weekend report relied entirely on innuendo to suggest unethical conduct by him without providing the slightest material evidence to support a smear story.
He said the newspaper did not even bother to seek his comment prior to publication.
Nzimande said he had instituted in 2021 the forensic investigation into the finances of NSF after he learnt that just under R5bn could not be properly accounted for over two financial years.
The minister said he had also appointed a ministerial task team to conduct a strategic review of the NSF, its general operations and its efficiency and relevance to the national skills priorities of the country.
Nzimande said he had instructed the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2022 to open a case at the Pretoria Central police station and engage the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies, including initiating internal departmental disciplinary processes to ensure that those responsible for corruption or irregular activities were held accountable.
Nzimande said he remained unfazed and unshaken by the latest attempts to tarnish his name.
‘‘I remain focused on my mission to drive our country’s science, technology and innovation policy agenda with the view of ensuring that we use science, technology and innovation to solve our most urgent national challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality,” he said.
Cape Times