Indebted students will not be blacklisted under new amendments to the national credit act

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition says its new amendments to the National Credit Act are not aimed at "blacklisting" indebted students.

The department recently gazzetted for public comment draft amendments to the National Credit Act of 2005.

It said the amendments aimed to strengthen consumer protections and how credit bureaus handled customer information and conduct affordability assessments.

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One of the eye-catching amendments proposed by the department said credit bureaus could now obtain a person’s credit information from educational institutions.

In a media statement released on Friday, the department said this was not aimed at prejudicing people with student debt.

EFF's youth leader and member of Parliament, Sihle Lonzi, said educational facilities should be scrapped from the list of credit information sources.

"Maybe they (students) wanted to start a business, they won't be able to access credit or financing from banks because they have been condemned to permanent poverty by this government of the ANC," said Lonzi.

Public comments on the amendments close on 12 September.