NSFAS cleared of fault in R14m pay to student

Intellimali accepts responsibility

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has moved to clarify the details surrounding the erroneous payment of R14m into the account of Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student Sibongile Mani.

This comes after Mani was found guilty and convicted of theft by the East London regional court last week. The scheme said it welcomed the ruling which proved that it was not involved in the erroneous payment made by Intellimali, an independent service provider responsible for the disbursement of funds at WSU.

Kagiso Mamabolo, NSFAS spokesperson, reiterated that the scheme did not suffer any loss of funding due to the erroneous payment. No payment of R14m was transferred into any student or university account intended for Mani by NSFAS, he said.

“The scheme authorised and paid the normal monthly R1,400 to WSU intended for Mani.

“The CEO of Intellimali confirmed that Intellimali takes full administrative and financial responsibility for the incident,” Mamabolo said.

The payment was made into Mani’s account on June 1 2017. She allegedly spent R20,000 within two hours of receiving the payment, on items like cigarettes and alcohol. She returns to court on March 8 for pre-sentencing reports.

Source: Government of South Africa