[ad_1]
NSFAS Administrator, Dr. Randall Carolissen (Jenni Evans, News24)
- Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande praised NSFAS Administrator Randall Carolissen for his great improvement.
- Nzimande said that people who filed complaints against Randall at The Higher Education, Science and Technology Portfolio Committee were the same ones that faced disciplinary action and possible legal action.
- He added that there was nothing wrong with his former chief of staff getting a job at NSFAS.
National Student Financial Aid Program (NSFAS) administrator Randall Carolissen says he and his wife have had to obtain armed protection following a series of allegations of nepotism and misconduct under his administration.
“My reputation can stand on its own, fortunately, but there are people who work with me and they are very good people who are being tarnished and tainted from the left, right and center and some of us are going to take action. We are not going to be the receiver. of abuse and defamation campaigns.
“As we speak, my wife and I are under 24-hour armed protection, that’s not okay, not while we are trying to serve the country,” Carolissen said.
In July, City Press reported that the UDM had filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against him accusing him of racism, mismanagement and nepotism.
He denied the allegations and said that none of his family members worked at NSFAS.
Carolissen spoke at a briefing on Thursday in which Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande briefed the media on the progress of higher education institutions during Covid-19.
Nzimande on the allegations against Carolissen
Nzimande came to Carolissen’s defense, saying that there had been a great improvement at NSFAS in recent years.
“Let me say this without fear of contradiction, the state that NSFAS was 29 months ago is very different from where NSFAS is now. I mean that without any contradiction, people with different points of view can hold their views, but like the minister responsible for NSFAS I see changes, “said Nzimande.
“The director of NSFAS has done a great job, as a minister, anyone can come and challenge me. There are many good things that I can mention, such as the systems configuration, although others are not complete. It is not perfect, but we must remember that NSFAS is a very complex operation, “he added.
Nzimande also spoke about those who made statements before the Higher Education, Science and Technology Portfolio Committee about the allegations at NSFAS.
“Some of the people who have complained to the portfolio committee are people who are being disciplined by NSFAS, so they are trying to find another opportunity.
“That is why Parliament must be careful not to allow its platforms to be used by people who are being disciplined and also by some [those] people are going to be turned over to the Hawks for corruption in NSFAS and now they are trying to find another way to discredit the administrator, “he said.
“Nobody is an angel, we are not saying that the administrator is an angel, but he has done a good job,” he added.
Appointment of the former chief of staff
On the issue of his former chief of staff, Sibongile Mncwabe, being appointed to a high-level position at NSFAS, Nzimande said: “I scornfully reject this idea, which is often driven by the opposition, that someone who worked as my boss Cabinet is not supposed to work in any part of government.
“Yes, Sibongile Mncwabe has been employed by NSFAS and she was my chief of staff, she applied for and went through the process of being interviewed and if she deserves [the job], she must be employed.
“That thing of those personnel who have been working for the ministers are imp with horns on their heads, we must reject that, it is an agenda of the opposition.
“I never sat down and discussed her job that was done by NSFAS. She is a competent woman, she doesn’t need me to hold her hand,” he added.
