Daily Dispatch

‘Mani’ trail must be followed up

SO MUCH has been said about Sibongile Mani, the Walter Sisulu University student who had R14.1-million mistakenly credited to her government-funded food allowance card.

Just as with any topical issue, there have been differing views as to how to deal with the matter. Some have accused her of being selfish by not immediately alerting authorities that instead of the R1 400 NSFAS food allowance, a whopping R14.1-million had been deposited into her account.

Others have defended her, saying she was right by going on a spending spree and blowing R11 000 a day on average on cellphones, expensive weaves, parties and alcohol.

While she was wrong to spend the money – R818 000 in 73 days – she should not be prosecuted for the error she did not commit, others have argued.

Fingers have been pointed at her almost solely. Not much has been said about the person who added extra zeros when depositing the food allowance government loan into her NSFAS account.

As a result of the media attention, the 27year-old second year accounting student has been reportedly been stressed out. She has reportedly started seeing a psychologist to help her her cope with the debacle.

IntelliMali, the company responsible for depositing the money into NSFAS beneficiaries’ accounts, Walter Sisulu University and the police are investigating how the money was loaded to Mani’s card in error.

While calls have been made for charges to be laid against Mani, the official who committed the “error” has not had as much spotlight shone on them.

We can only hope that security agencies probing the matter will not limit their investigation to Mani but all those who might be involved in the saga that has made national headlines since last week.

In line with getting to the bottom of the matter, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has called for the responsible official to be held accountable for the “error”.

While it is good to call for action to be taken against the official, the minister must actually follow up on the matter and ensure that the official is held to account.

Sasco student leaders at the institution have likened the saga to a money laundering scheme and urged WSU and IntelliMali to leave no stone unturned in exposing “the inside job”.

Throughout the whole media frenzy, one pertinent question has not been answered: how did Mani manage to convert the loan – meant only for food for financially struggling students – into cash to buy plane tickets, alcohol and other luxuries?

In order for authorities to get to the bottom of this, that question has to be answered. To simply say Mani must pay back the money will not solve the problem.

Currently she will not be able to afford to pay back the money as she is unemployed. But she has herself to blame for the huge debt that she now has to settle.

Also whoever committed the “error” should be held accountable and that investigation and its outcome should be transparent.