THE suspended Director-General of the Higher Education Department, Gwebinkundla Qonde, has accused Minister Dr Blade Nzimande of abusing his ministerial powers, including giving him the go-ahead to flout procurement processes in favour of certain beneficiaries.
These shocking claims were revealed by City Press on Sunday in which Qonde details how Nzimande allegedly set up a ministerial task team specifically for the procurement of laptops for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) beneficiaries.
The DG also said he tried to alert President Cyril Ramaphosa about Nzimande’s conduct, but the president paid no attention.
Qonde was suspended with full pay and benefits after a disclaimer audit opinion by the Auditor-General of South Africa in July.
This comes amidst a pending forensic investigation into the National Skills Fund (NSF), which found the budget to have been underspent by R1.8 billion.
The entity also did not have adequate records of commitments of earmarked
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