JOHANNESBURG – A scandal involving the alleged misappropriation of millions of rands from the Department of Higher Education and Training’s National Skills Fund (NSF) has left over 1 000 unemployed young people in Mabaalstad, North West, in limbo.
The funds, intended for an agricultural skills development programme, appear to have instead financed the lavish lifestyle of Chief Edward Moefi Mabalane and his business ventures.
In May 2023, the NSF announced a R46 million initiative to train over 1 000 young people in agricultural skills, specifically poultry farming. Mabalane’s company, Medirwe Investments, was appointed project manager, with Beyond Expectations acting as the implementing party. The project was meant to begin in March 2024.
However, the project stalled after a R5 million payment, intended as a second tranche to supplement R3 million from a previous phase, was deposited into Medirwe Investments’ account on 12 December 2023. Instead of being used for the intended purpose, the money fuelled a spending spree by Chief Mabalane.
Evidence obtained by City Press reveals a series of extravagant purchases made shortly after the funds were received. These included at least R56 000 spent at Rockets, an exclusive Bryanston club and restaurant; R100 000 at a Rosebank restaurant; and a staggering R200 000 at the Louis Vuitton store in Sandton. Furthermore, R180 000 was spent on an engagement ring for his fiancée, Brinnette Seopela, a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, and an engagement event featuring expensive champagne.
When questioned about the expenditure, Chief Mabalane, according to minutes from a 3 July 2024 meeting between NSF officials and the service provider, blamed the fund. He claimed the money was deposited into his general business account, not a designated NSF account, and was therefore used for "other business interests."
The minutes state: "Funds were transferred to the Medirwe business account and not the Medirwe NSF account and were used for his other business interest. Kgosi [Mabalane] indicated that the second tranche of funds were deposited by the Treasury directly into the Medirwe personal business account, that some of the money was transferred to other funds and that a part of it was used for other operations for this project."
Lebogang Modise, a representative from Beyond Expectations, confirmed to officials that the company was awaiting funds to proceed with the learnership programme and denied any communication breakdown with the NSF.
The minutes read: "It must be noted that the facilitators’ contracts have been cancelled because of the delay of the payment towards the learnership programme. Clarification was given that there is no gap in communication between Beyond Expectations and the issue of [that company] reporting directly to the NSF, because NSF requested reports directly from Beyond Expectations during February 2024 and subsequently, and further reports were requested about two weeks ago, which were submitted."
The meeting minutes also record an agreement to reconcile the Medirwe business and NSF accounts within seven working days (by 12 July 2024), with the intention of transferring funds to Beyond Expectations to restart the programme. However, a later participant in the meeting, another official from Mabalane’s team, contradicted the chairperson of the Baphiring Tribal Council, claiming that the funds were still available.
The minutes state: "Following the reconciliation, money must be transferred to Beyond Expectations to commence with the learnership programme, since the funds disbursed in December 2023 are still available."
Despite the alleged misappropriation, Chief Mabalane has since requested a new implementing agent for the project and, months ago, reportedly wrote to the NSF relinquishing his involvement while requesting direct payment to the service provider to complete the training.
Sources close to the project indicate that the NSF is now considering continuing payments to complete the learnership programme while pursuing the recovery of misappropriated funds from the traditional leader. At the time of publication, neither the NSF nor Chief Mabalane had responded to City Press’ inquiries regarding these claims and the possibility of further funding.
Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training, Nkosinathi Sishi, confirmed that the NSF is investigating the unapproved expenditures.
He stated: "We can confirm that the skills development provider has been informed that the transactions related to the second tranche payment of R5.3 million, which was intended to fund the learnership programme, were not approved by the NSF due to the failure to commence the programme as planned. Despite numerous attempts to conduct verification site visits, these could not be performed due to the unavailability of the skills development provider."
He further explained that a verification visit to the facility had been conducted, and further investigations were underway to determine the total amount to be reimbursed by Medirwe Investments, including the unapproved second tranche and any other discrepancies. While some reports suggest a total misappropriation of R8 million, the NSF cannot confirm this figure until the verification process is complete.
Regarding the affected students, Sishi assured that the NSF is working to mitigate the impact of the delay.
"We’re in the process of engaging with all stakeholders, with the objective of proceeding with the delivery of the learnership programme. The NSF is prioritising the interests of the students and we’re working towards ensuring that the programme commences without further delays.
"A follow-up meeting and an oversight visit to the project site have been scheduled to monitor progress and ensure that the students begin their training as soon as possible. The NSF remains committed to holding all parties accountable for the proper use of public funds and will continue recovering any misappropriated amounts. We’re also dedicated to ensuring that the project proceeds and that the students receive the training that was envisaged,” he said.
The scandal highlights the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public funds intended for youth development.
