Millions of rands from the Department of Higher Education’s National Skills Fund (NSF) disappeared, after being deposited into a bank account belonging to a traditional leader.
Chief Edward Moefi Mabalane’s lifestyle and business enterprises were boosted as a result.
The fund provides money for education and training programmes, learnerships, skills development initiatives, and capacity-building. Over 1000 unemployed youth in Mabaalstad, North West, were intended to receive skills in agriculture. The initiative ended as a result.
The chief’s company, Medirwe Investments, was appointed as project manager.
The NSF transferred R5 million into the account, which was added to R3 million paid for a previous phase of the project.
City Press reveals that, days after the money was deposited into the chief’s bank account, he went on a spending spree.
He spent R56 000 at Rockets, an exclusive club and restaurant in Bryanston, R100 000 at a restaurant in Rosebank and R200 000 at the Louis Vuitton store in Sandton. He also spent R180 000 on a ring for his fiancée.
According to the minutes of a meeting held on 3 July 2024 between officials from the fund and the service provider, Mabalane blamed the fund for his spending of the money, saying that it had been transferred into his company’s business account and not the one linked to the skills fund.
Despite the chief’s alleged misappropriation of the funds meant for the training, he now wants another company to be appointed as the implementing agent.
This comes months after he allegedly wrote to the fund, relinquishing his involvement in the project and requesting that it pay the service provider directly to ensure that the training was completed.
[Photo: Screenshot/Chief Edward Moefi Mabalane]