---
title: "NSFAS boss and Minister Manamela grilled over unapproved payments to four advisers"
description: "NSFAS administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula, along with Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela, were questioned over how they appointed four advisers, of whom two were paid using private companies without the approval of Treasury and SCM processes."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY"
author: "Siyabonga Goni"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/siyabonga-gooni/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-13-nsfas-boss-and-minister-manamela-grilled-over-unapproved-payments-to-four-advisers/"
published: "2026-08-13T00:22:58"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 781
---

# NSFAS boss and Minister Manamela grilled over unapproved payments to four advisers

> NSFAS administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula, along with Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela, were questioned over how they appointed four advisers, of whom two were paid using private companies without the approval of Treasury and SCM processes.

By Siyabonga Goni · Published 13 August 2026, 02:22 SAST

## Key points
- NSFAS boss Hlengani Mathebula and Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela were hauled before MPs after it emerged four advisers were appointed – and two were paid via private companies without National Treasury sign‑off; banking records show a R459,140.18 batch payment to Change EQ and Nonisa.
- The legal snag: Sections 17B/17C of the NSFAS Act allow appointing experts but require the finance minister’s concurrence on remuneration – Manamela admitted he did not have Enoch Godongwana’s approval and insisted he thought it wasn’t needed.
- Mathebula confirmed all four advisers have been paid (two on payroll, two through companies), conceded procurement and SCM steps weren’t followed and said the SCM manager flagged the error; parliamentary officials called the payments illegal without Treasury approval.
- The four advisers cost about R9.9m a year in total – the row exposes potential PFMA and procurement breaches at NSFAS and sets up further scrutiny and investigations.

## Content

Officials from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) – including the administrator, Professor Hlengani Mathebula, and Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela – faced intense heat from MPs on Wednesday, 12 August, over the appointment of Mathebula’s four advisers.

The questioning focused on two advisers who were paid without approval from the National Treasury. Under section 17B of the NSFAS Act, an administrator may hire qualified experts with the minister’s approval. However, section 17C requires the minister of higher education to secure concurrence from the minister of finance before setting remuneration and allowances for the administrator and support staff.

![Siya-NSFAS-Advisorspaid](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Bw_CmtLPXujSnKoz80xHlkINumk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/NSFASpaystwoadvisorsclosetoR500000foradvisoryfeesDocumentsupplied_117829.jpg)

*Internal NSFAS banking records show a single FNB batch payout of R459,140.18 on 31 July 2026 to private adviser companies Change EQ and Nonisa. (Photo: Supplied)*

But recently Daily Maverick reported that two top advisers to Mathebula billed nearly R500,000 a month through private firms.

[Read more

NSFAS claims procurement rules ‘don’t apply’ to R500k adviser deals — Treasury disagrees

August 11, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/C0un5IfJhyiH7Z-IzS0PHlMoNCU=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/Siya_NSFAS_772089.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-11-nsfas-claims-procurement-rules-don-t-apply-to-r500k-adviser-deals-treasury-disagrees/)

![Siya-Manamela-NSFAS](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/12ZGvEfCHox2h-ODJPRI3ZKV0Io=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/ED_568556_596494.jpg)

*The Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela. (Photo: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images)*

On Wednesday, MPs zeroed in on Chapter 2A of the NSFAS Act, which governs ministerial interventions and administrator appointments during operational or governance failures. MP Gaolatlhe Kgabo pressed Manamela on whether he had secured approval from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana regarding Mathebula’s salary, as required by Section 17C.

Manamela admitted he had not yet received Treasury approval, but expressed confidence that an agreement would be reached. When Kgabo further asked whether Godongwana had approved the pay for Mathebula’s two advisers, Manamela responded that he believed Treasury authorisation was unnecessary.

Another MP, Mnqobi Msezane, asked Manamela where he got the advice to pay the advisers of Mathebula. “From the department,” replied Manamela.

MPs pressed for clarity on how the compensation was determined. After MP Sihle Lonzi (EFF) cited the NSFAS Act to outline what the advisers should have been paid, a struggling Manamela said he wished to submit his response at a later stage.

![Siya-NSFAS-Parly](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/U39G_jHQlY3N3oQR3giiSXpYH5A=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-03-at-18.34.02.jpeg)

*The EFF’s Sihle Lonzi. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament)*

“You’re telling me you don’t remember whether or not you approved how much advisers must be paid. You don’t remember? And there’s no record in any of your devices that your PAs don’t know, your PLOs don’t know, your advisers don’t know whether or not you approved whether advisers must be paid?” asked Lonzi.

“No,” responded Manamela.

Lonzi pushed further, asking if the advisers had already been paid. “Well, as far as I know, they are,” Manamela replied, though he admitted he did not have documentation on hand to confirm the approved amounts. Pressed again by Lonzi on whether the finance minister had authorised their pay, Manamela conceded: “No.”

Following the struggles to provide clear answers to the questions raised by MPs to Manamela, Ashley Sauls of the Patriotic Alliance concluded, “The administrator, together with yourself, has done something illegal: paying advisers without the approval of the minister of finance.”

![Siya-Manamela-Budget](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/dfoNq9D4z11GCzj4xMxh_K8UNT4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/WhatsAppImage2026-05-26at130630_564509.jpeg)

*The Patriotic Alliance’s Ashley Sauls. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament)*

In a statement dated 14 July 2026, the ministry had said that the combined annual remuneration of the four advisers amounted to about R9.9-million.

### **Mathebula under fire**

MPs pressed Mathebula on whether proper internal procedures were followed in paying his four advisers. Under questioning from Lonzi, Mathebula confirmed that all four had received payment.

Explaining the payment methods, Mathebula said, “Two went through the payroll system, the other two through their companies.” NSFAS processes payments through two distinct channels: the Human Resources payroll for direct employees and statutory office-bearers, and the Supply Chain Management procurement channel for external corporate service providers. Under the Public Finance Management Act, contracts routed through the SCM must undergo competitive bidding.

Lonzi questioned whether private companies could simply be paid by NSFAS without following due process.

“It appears like you could, right,” said Mathebula. “In the instance where this has been wrong, we then have to fix that. I actually called in the senior manager responsible for SCM about what happened in this instance.

“He did flag to me that the mistake that happened there is that these companies were not submitted to \[undergo\] spot checks... Alternatively, what should have happened is that ... in the contracting, we should have then contracted the company so that we pay through that particular company.”

Letsie also pressed Mathebula on whether he understood that section 17C of the NSFAS Act required Treasury concurrence. Struggling to answer, Mathebula responded: “I’m saying section 17C is what it is... Where I’m sitting, I sit with the Government Gazette that says I must appoint technical experts to assist me with the concurrence of the minister of higher education, and that has been done.” **DM**