Parliament grills NSF after stipend delays and project failures leave trainees stranded

Parliament has pressed the National Skills Fund (NSF) over recurring stipend payment failures that have affected hundreds of young people on an artisan and aviation training programme, leaving some trainees unable to pay for accommodation, food and transport while attending training.

What Parliament heard

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training received an update from the NSF on Wednesday that focused on stipend payments for beneficiaries of a programme previously implemented by Phila Jordan Capital (PJC). The committee heard that payment problems had disrupted learners’ ability to continue with training.

Extent of the payment problems

According to the NSF presentation, the original PJC project was approved at R353.99 million to train 800 beneficiaries under the Artisan Development Programme. The NSF recorded that 757 beneficiaries were paid their April stipends and 701 were paid for July. The presentation said the August stipend was due to be paid by 11 September. It also recorded that one beneficiary remained outstanding for April and 57 beneficiaries remained outstanding for July because of the reconciliation of supporting documents. May and June stipends had not been paid.

Contract termination and project rescue

The NSF terminated its agreement with PJC on 26 May 2026 citing persistent non-compliance. The fund said PJC had relocated beneficiaries without approval, interrupted learning and incurred expenditure that could not be reconciled. The presentation recorded that some beneficiaries were left destitute and that accommodation, transport and attendance problems disrupted the project.

To continue the programme, the NSF appointed Denel Technical Academy. The Denel project was approved for R170.04 million to support 761 remaining beneficiaries. The NSF reported that 557 beneficiaries were in apprenticeship programmes and 204 were in work-integrated learning. The NSF said the transition from PJC to Denel created implementation gaps, including challenges with onboarding beneficiaries, contract signing, physical verification and the Basic Accounting System. It added that Denel, in consultation with the NSF, provided interim assistance for stipend payments and accommodation while registration and fund-transfer processes were finalised.

Parliamentary concerns and next steps

Committee members questioned whether the NSF had accurate information about stipend payments and whether the fund’s project management had failed to detect warning signs earlier in the year. Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said delayed payments affected more than individual beneficiaries.

“Every delay places them under immense pressure and threatens their ability to continue with the programme,”

Letsie said. He added:

“So, if you are not paying, you are not only affecting one learner; there’s an entire ecosystem that you disturb.”

The committee recommended visiting affected beneficiaries, alongside the Minister of Higher Education and Training and the NSF, to hear directly from them. The NSF’s recovery plan, as presented to the committee, includes stabilising the Denel project, improving monitoring, ensuring consistent stipend payments and finalising outstanding financial reconciliations. The NSF expects the stabilisation process to be completed by the end of October. The committee said it would examine the NSF’s project management shortcomings more closely, including failures in communication, payment monitoring and oversight.

Legal and financial caution

The NSF noted in its presentation that a legal opinion had indicated payment in some instances could constitute possible fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The committee questioned why problems were being attributed to third parties rather than to the fund’s own oversight responsibilities.