DASO exposes maladministration of NMMU student funds

2 September 2014

Today DASO presidential candidate, Hlomela Bucwa, and I revealed the maladministration of the NMMU SRC budget.

Under the leadership of the SASCO led SRC there has been gross maladministration and wasteful expenditure going on behind the scenes. This is unacceptable and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

It is common cause that the Department of Student Governance and Development exercises oversight on the budget of the SRC. However the effectiveness of this oversight function is brought into question for two reasons.

The first being that, it is evident from the financial records of the SRC that the SRC Officer employed for this function by the Department has on numerous occasions approved expenses that are against the resolution of the Management Committee regarding SRC expenditure. 

Secondly, in most transactions, the expenditure is dramatically different from the proposed budget which was tabled before and approved by the student body at the first sitting of student parliament.

We have found that:

R 37 409 went to SASCO members personnel academic fees. 258 students paid for these 7 SASCO members education.

R 169 138.80 was spent by the SASCO lead SRC at restaurants and other catering services. Often in small amounts just over R150, which is enough to feed one person at a restaurant.

SASCO has bought their lunch with students' money.

1167 students paid for SASCO SRC members to have lunch and meetings when students still do not have meal allowances with NSFAS

R 78 034 was spent on SASCO members sleeping in guesthouses. R 21 000 was spent on Jabula lodge, specifically.

R 103 580 was given to one person, SV Ncalu.

The SASCO lead SRC paid their treasuries and Secretary General an extra R 22 000.

Sitha Gqomfa, who served on the SRC for 3 months, received multiple payments of over R 12 000.

The current SRC Secretary General was also paid R 10 000.

Recently, R 5000 worth of sponsorships were allocated from the SRC to SASCO for an event.

The SRC has an operational budget of R 1 918 806. The SASCO lead SRC has spent R 1 671 356 by the 7th of August 2014, which is only half way through the year. 

The SRC used student funds to hire vehicles which is in contravention of University policy

Please click on the following link for access to the NMMU financial statement (here).

The Treasurer General is required to prepare and present financial reports quarterly. However this has been ignored, and the Department of Student Governance and Development has allowed it. The SRC Constitution goes as far as also mandating a compulsory yearly audit. This too, is a sanction the Department of Student Governance and Development has failed to oversee for a number of years.

It raises serious questions of integrity. DASO NMMU demands that the Department of Student Governance and Development look into this matter, as a matter of urgency. 

We are demanding that the SASCO led SRC be held to account for their actions and repay these public funds that essentially should belong to all students. We will not accept this!

Statement issued by Yusuf Cassim, DA Youth Chairperson, September 2 2014

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