The Emfuleni Local Municipality’s R6.6 million mayoral bursary programme has come under scrutiny after the municipality refused to disclose the names of beneficiaries, citing lack of consent, while admitting it cannot confirm whether recipients are linked to officials or politicians.
The disclosure, confirmed to The Star by mayoral spokesperson Mphikeleli Msibi, has raised questions about transparency in a programme intended to support disadvantaged students, but which now faces allegations of possible political influence.
DA Emfuleni mayoral candidate Kingsol Chabalala said the party had uncovered troubling signs in the allocation process, warning that the system may be vulnerable to favouritism.
“The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned after having received troubling information that suggests Emfuleni mayoral bursaries appear to have been allocated through blatant favouritism and political patronage,” he said.
In response, Msibi said the municipality does not collect information that would allow it to determine whether bursary recipients are related to councillors or officials, making it impossible to identify potential conflicts of interest.
“The Municipality’s External Bursary Policy does not include a provision enquiring applicants to disclose whether they are related to municipal employees or councilors. As such, the municipality does not possess the necessary information to confirm or deny the existence of such relationships among bursary recipients,” he said.
Despite this gap, the municipality maintains that the selection process is fair and safeguarded through a 10-member bursary committee, consisting of six community representatives and four councillors, alongside verification visits conducted by social workers.
However, the absence of transparency around beneficiary identities has become the central point of dispute.
Chabalala said the system was failing the very students it was meant to assist.
“Instead of these bursaries being allocated to the disadvantaged members of the general public in Emfuleni, they have rather been unfairly awarded to associates, comrades and family members of local officials and politicians,” he said.
The municipality confirmed that 65 students have benefited from the bursary scheme over the past three financial years but declined to release the list of recipients to The Star, stating that the names cannot be shared without individual consent.
That decision has now triggered formal legal steps. Chabalala has filed a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to compel the municipality to release the full list of beneficiaries.
The municipality has also acknowledged a key weakness in its policy framework, indicating that changes may be considered going forward.
“The Bursary Committee does concede that the exclusion of the disclosure clause by application is a serious oversight and as such is considering amending the policy to enable applicants to disclose if there are any relationships, either with municipal officials or councillors,” Msibi said.
For the DA, the matter extends beyond administrative gaps.
“This undermines fair access to opportunities, shutting out deserving young people in favour of politically connected individuals,” Chabalala said.
The party has since escalated the matter to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, where it is seeking further oversight and accountability.
“The DA has subsequently raised questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to demand accountability and transparency and will continue to pursue this matter through all available oversight mechanisms.” Chabalala said.
The Star