Mamotloga Ramohlale
The auditor general is investigating possible fraud and corruption in the Eastern Cape government after tens of thousands of rands earmarked for bursaries for needy students did not reach the recipients.
According to MEC for Finance Enoch Gondongwana’s office, the bursaries were awarded to between 650 to 700 students a year. About R7-million is allocated to the scheme annually.
Students from all walks of life in the Eastern Cape are encouraged to apply, and those who qualify can register at any institution of their choice. The minimum fee at universities is about R13 000 a year.
Gondongwana’s representative Zama Mpondwana said the department had paid students. “All students’ records are in order as we keep the files and to our knowledge no student has launched a complaint,” he said.
But the auditor general believes that the money was not paid into the students’ bank accounts. His office has written letters to the students asking them to verify the information received from the Eastern Cape Department of Finance.
An accounting student at the Eastern Cape Technikon first qualified for the bursary in 1997.
“It was the best moment in my entire life. The letter came at a time when my hopes to study at tertiary level were fading. No one in my family could afford to pay for my tuition,” he said.
But at the end of the year he was unable to get his results because he had a balance outstanding.
Despite several attempts to get an explanation from the finance department officials, the student says no one was interested in his problems.
“I was sent from pillar to post. To make things even worse, I had not enough money to call every official at the department. Fortunately my institution helped me find a loan to enable me to pay the outstanding amount.”
Other students who received the bursaries were forced to drop out because their accounts were not paid.
Ronald Pillay, a representative of the auditor general’s office, confirmed that it is investigating possible fraud and corruption in the Eastern Cape Department of Finance.
“We have quite a number of students who complained about the same problem,” Pillay said.