Pandor warns ANC will continue to face electoral decline unless it makes changes

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) member and former cabinet minister Naledi Pandor says the party will continue to face electoral decline unless it actively addresses the needs of South Africans. 

The ANC's poor showing in the May 29 elections led to it losing its parliamentary majority and losing a significant presence in three provinces. 

In an interview on EWN's Politricking podcast with Tshidi Madia, Pandor emphasised that the ANC needs to start addressing its mistakes.

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"If the ANC improves substantively on public service efficiency, I believe the people’s faith will be restored. But if they don’t address that, if you continue to have failings, if people cannot identify where there has been a change, you’re not gonna get a majority for the ANC," said Pandor. 

STATE OF NSFAS

Pandor has expressed dismay at the current condition of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), indicating it has deviated from its original objective. 

Pandor played a significant role in establishing the organisation in the early 90s when it was known as the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (TEFSA).

"I'm very concerned and I hope the minister is going to be able to resolve the issues that have bedevilled the scheme for several years now," said Pandor.

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Pandor suggests that NSFAS has diverged from its founding principles. 

"When we first wanted to establish such a scheme, we hadn't seen it as one that would address so many students in need. It was really for working class and poor students coming from backgrounds that could never afford higher education. I think now the scheme has perhaps tried to be all things and we should have perhaps looked and different modelling for different needs," she said.

At the same time, former higher education minister Blade Nzimande revealed in Parliament earlier this year that NSFAS has lost an average of R21 million to corruption every year since 2017.