A Sunday newspaper reported that the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, has requested to keep the findings of a forensic investigation a secret.
The request was made to Parliament, asking that a report on the National Skills Fund's (NSF) be kept under wraps.
The Minister has since come out and disputed the newspaper's allegations, stating the report was never to be kept a secret but that a request was made.
“I never wanted to keep this report under wraps, but all that I requested was for the Standing Committee on Public Account (SCOPA) to treat this report in terms of rule 189 of the National Assembly, especially sub-rule (1) (c) read with sub rule (4) (a) until all processes before the law enforcement agencies and internal departmental disciplinary processes are concluded,” Nzimande said.
The reason for treating the reports as confidential, Nzimande says, was to wait until all the processes were finalised and the relevant people were informed, "in terms of due process."
However, the Minister's request to SCOPA was not accepted.
For this probe into the NSF (which was called for earlier this year), has seen Nzimande appoint a forensic investigation company to conduct a full-scale investigation into the financial affairs of the Fund, after amounts of just under R5 billion could not be properly accounted for over two financial years.
In addition to appointing a forensic investigation company, the Minister also appointed a Ministerial Task Team (MTT) to "conduct a strategic review of the NSF, its general operations and its efficiency and relevance with regards to the national skills priorities of the country."
Nzimande said that both of these appointments were meant to ensure that the NSF takes accountability for the resources that were allocated to it, as well as to deal with the instances of maladministration and corruption.
“Both the reports were submitted to me, and we have begun in earnest the process of implementing the recommendations of both these reports,” the Minister said.
In light of the findings uncovered by the forensic investigating team and the MTT, a police case has been opened by the Department of Higher Education and Training against those involved in the missing funds at the NSF.
Nzimande has warned that those internally and externally, as well companies that may have benefitted from the maladministration, will "face the full might of the law."
He added that the Department has already commenced engaging the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies, including initiating internal departmental disciplinary processes to ensure that this process in concluded speedily.
“I have nothing to hide, but I have a duty, on my part, to follow due process in implementing the recommendations of the forensic investigation. We will implement these recommendations to the letter,” concluded Nzimande.
