Of the 21 medical students sent to study in Cuba by the department of defence, at a cost of R2.7m each, only six have been accepted at the University of Pretoria’s School of Medicine on their return.
And auditor-general (AG) Tsakani Maluleke says the students could have done the same course in South Africa for just R1.1m. This means the department paid R33.6m more for the students to study abroad.
In addition, a group of biomedical engineering students who were also sent to study in Cuba are unable to register with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as their degree is not recognised locally. Registration with the council is required for candidate engineers to complete their two-year practical training.
Maluleke's report to parliament's portfolio committee on defence and military veterans on October 8 found that the programme, which is part of a bilateral agreement with Cuba implemented in 2015, had come at a great financial cost to South African taxpayers.
I foresee that this has to be evaluated properly because we cannot say the AG's findings are right or wrong. This agreement was entered into a long time ago but it has to be looked into
— Deputy minister of defence Bantu Holomisa
The AG said 108 students had been sent to Cuba to study psychology, medicine and biomedical engineering, yet the department had no plan in place to develop their careers on their return.
“Only six medicine students of the 21 students (first cohort) were successful in the initial 18-month integration course at University of Pretoria. The successful Bpsych students did not enrol in further studies to qualify as professional clinical psychologists and are utilised for general and psychology-related administrative activities. Biomedical engineering students would not be able to register with ECSA as candidate engineers to complete their two-year practical training as prescribed by ECSA upon returning from Cuba,” said Maluleke.
She recommended that the department consider collaborating with the health department on their model.
It is unclear why only six could successfully integrate, as the department did not respond to questions sent by the Sunday Times.
Deputy minister of defence Bantu Holomisa said the department might have to ask for an extension to respond to the AG's findings. “I foresee that this has to be evaluated properly because we cannot say the AG's findings are right or wrong. This agreement was entered into a long time ago but it has to be looked into. As much as Cuba is well respected in terms of medicine, students can't be sent overseas at such a cost and struggle to learn a new language, but not get to work.”
Apart from the education programme, Operation Thusano — the name of the project under the bilateral agreement — has cost taxpayers close to R2bn as it has been irregularly extended through supplementary agreements that did not follow any procurement processes or deviation approval from the National Treasury.
Under Operation Thusano the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) exchanges personnel as well as training in aircraft maintenance, vehicle upgrades and refurbishing, and dental and medical equipment repair and maintenance.
Maluleke’s report suggests that the bilateral agreement is not of benefit to the department of defence and recommends that it be reviewed.
“Current existing medical posts could not be filled; certain services could not be provided in-house... Students not practising their professional careers on return resulting in skills obtained from training dissipating,” the report reads.
“Lack of research, including an assessment of the course content against Saqa (South African Qualifications Authority) accreditation and statutory body registration requirements before students were sent to Cuba. No plan for further career development and professional qualifications of students before returning from Cuba.”
The department of defence accounted for the vast majority of irregular expenditure recorded over the last five years, at R14.39bn, the AG's office told the standing committee on appropriations last month. Cumulative irregular expenditure by 38 government departments over the last five years amounted to R50.65bn, with defence accounting for nearly double that of the second worst offender, basic education, at R6.89bn.
Maluleke said in her audit findings on the department: “The full extent of irregular expenditure remains unknown since this was not quantified and disclosed. There is a risk of misappropriation of assets due to lack of proper record keeping and monitoring controls. Because of the uncorrected misstatements, the financial statements are not reliable and credible for decision-making.”
Maluleke found various breaches by the department in Operation Thusano, which is expected to have cost about R3bn by the time it ends next year. She told parliament in 2022 that “the department did not follow any procurement processes nor did they obtain any deviations prior to entering into the various supplementary agreements with the Cuban entity ... the expenditure incurred under Operation Thusano was deemed to be irregular and the department should disclose it as such in the annual financial statements”.
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