CAPE TOWN, Western Cape — A landmark NSFAS board reinstatement ruling by the High Court has intensified political pressure on Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) declaring the judgment a total vindication of their warnings against state capture. Following the court’s decision to suspend administrator Prof. Hlengani Mathebula and restore the dissolved board, the opposition party is now unequivocally calling for the minister to step down, citing severe procedural failures and unlawful financial decisions.
Sihle Lonzi, an EFF MP serving on the higher education portfolio committee, stated that the party had anticipated this legal backlash. He recalled a formal petition submitted on May 29, demanding the minister explain his rationale for placing the student funding scheme under administration. According to Lonzi, bypassing a standard governance model—which relies on the checks and balances of a board, a CEO, and executive management—to hand unilateral control to a single administrator creates a fertile environment for political elites to loot resources meant for the youth.
The financial fallout of the administration has drawn particularly sharp rebukes. Lonzi contrasted Manamela’s tenure with that of his predecessor, noting that while the former minister faced scrutiny over questionable appointments and parliamentary arrogance, her actions never resulted in adverse court orders or direct financial liabilities. Conversely, the current administration has allegedly bypassed Section 17C of the NSFAS Act, which mandates that the Minister of Finance must approve the remuneration of advisors. Despite lacking this crucial authorization, Lonzi revealed that consultants were billing the entity up to R500,000 for a single month. Had the planned 24-month administration proceeded, the fiscal drain on the state would have been immense.
Describing the minister’s grasp of the law as incoherent and his leadership as incompetent, Lonzi argued that Manamela’s actions are actively embarrassing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
Beyond administrative fees, the EFF is targeting a systemic reliance on costly third-party contractors. During recent parliamentary engagements, student accommodation representatives disclosed that the funder pays roughly R267 million annually to just four “solution providers” acting as housing middlemen. When combined with exorbitant ICT and operational consultancy fees, the EFF argues the entity has lost its core purpose as a direct intermediary between the government and learning institutions.
To rectify this, the EFF is proposing a radical decentralization strategy. Lonzi suggested shifting the funding application process directly to university and TVET college campuses, empowering local institutions to handle the logistics. This would eliminate the need for students to wait months for approvals from what Lonzi described as “luxurious” and unnecessarily expensive headquarters in Cape Town, arguing instead that the organization should operate from standard, cost-effective government buildings to build internal state capacity.
The controversy also touches on the motives behind the initial dissolution of the board, which the reinstated members claim was a tactical maneuver by the minister to block the hiring of a permanent CEO. Aligning with the principles of the King Code on corporate governance, the EFF has pledged strict oversight over the upcoming executive appointment process to prevent political interference.
Lonzi drew alarming parallels to the systemic chaos witnessed in the National Skills Fund and various SETAs, alleging a recurring modus operandi where ministers deliberately destabilize functioning entities to install loyal “comrades” and entrench patronage networks. As the reinstated board prepares for looming review proceedings later this year, the EFF insists that protecting the integrity of the student funder requires insulating it from arbitrary political interference, ensuring that financial aid reaches students seamlessly and transparently.
