News24 reports that according to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, it was the matter of financial discrepancies that led to the suspension of his director general (DG), Gwebinkundla Qonde.

In a statement on Thursday, the higher education department dismissed "with contempt" claims by Qonde "that the minister wanted him out of the department since 2019" and indicated that the decision to place Qonde under precautionary suspension emanated from an adverse audit report by the Auditor-General of SA (AGSA). The statement indicated: “The AGSA found that much of a total amount of just under R5 billion could not be properly accounted for over two financial years by the National Skills Fund [NSF].” Qonde was suspended with full pay and benefits. His term ends on 6 September. In the statement, Nzimande said there were indeed huge sums of money that the AGSA found could not be properly accounted for. "The DG of the [department], by virtue of this position, is also the accounting authority of the NSF. He therefore has the responsibility for all the funds and their expenditure. Whilst DG Qonde has not as yet been found guilty, a precautionary suspension is necessary so that a comprehensive forensic investigation into the NSF can be done. The need for such an investigation has also been called for by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts," Nzimande advised. He said it was a "smokescreen" to say Qonde was suspended for "any other reason than for conducting an investigation into this serious matter".

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kaveel Singh at News24

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