Allegations of mismanagement and wasteful expenditure are swirling around the National Housing Finance Corporation, where a CEO under investigation is currently the sole accounting authority.
The amount that board members can be paid in the South African public sphere has been capped by the Treasury since 2022 at R5,716 per meeting, for the chairs of the boards of the largest state-owned entities.
But at one little-known parastatal, the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC), board members have been taking home R23,321 per meeting, with the chair netting R47,413.
The NHFC should play a critical role in affording underprivileged South Africans access to finance to buy a home. Instead, insiders allege, the institution has become a playground for irregular procurement and ballooning spending under the outgoing board and the leadership of CEO Azola Mayekiso, while the latest annual report shows that the NHFC is meeting just 39% of its targets.
Mayekiso is under investigation, while also being the current sole accounting authority for the NHFC, with the entire board’s membership terms having lapsed on 28 March. This means that investigative reports into her own conduct will be sent to her — a situation about which sources have expressed alarm to Daily Maverick.
Exodus of top executives under Mayekiso
Mayekiso (nee Zuma) was appointed as CEO of the NHFC in February 2023. The subject of glowing media profiles, Mayekiso appeared headed for superstardom in the private sector after being made CEO of Sanlam Investment Management in June 2016. But just over three years later she and Sanlam parted ways, with Mayekiso declaring herself to be on “a sabbatical from her financial services career”.
Sources within the NHFC would not talk on record about Mayekiso’s leadership as they feared reprisals, alleging that the CEO had attempted to target whistle-blowers who approached Parliament, as well as workers embarking on industrial action through the union Nehawu.
Several key executives have left the institution due primarily to clashes with Mayekiso.
One resignation letter seen by Daily Maverick cites, among the reasons for leaving, “lack of communication and failure to hold one-on-one meetings by the CEO … continuous disregard of procurement policies and Treasury regulations … the unnecessary retention of external contractors … [and the] non-transparent process of recruiting new executives”.
The resigning executive summed up the work environment at the NHFC as “intolerable and uncaring”.
Whistle-blowers have approached Parliament to allege unprofessional conduct on the part of Mayekiso, ranging from lavish spending on alcohol to attempts to track down perceived enemies in the organisation. The findings of a report into these allegations are yet to be made public.
A more recent claim is that Mayekiso conducted a Zoom meeting while in the bath.
“The NHFC conducts all its virtual meetings on Microsoft Teams, so any reference to a Zoom call is pure fiction,” the CEO told Daily Maverick.
“I have been a financial services professional for 18 years and worked for listed companies in senior positions, and there is no record of either misconduct nor unprofessional behaviour,” she said.
“I have become accustomed to being accused of many things by either non-performing employees or by those who are hell-bent on trying to besmirch my name to undermine the turnaround efforts I am driving at the NHFC.”
Another concern from whistle-blowers has been the amount spent by the NHFC on travel over the past three years: according to answers given in Parliament, more than R2-million, with a significant portion of this — roughly one-third — going towards the CEO and board members.
Mayekiso told Daily Maverick that all her local travel was signed off by the board, and her international travel by the minister of human settlements.
She said the travel was not only justified but essential: “In the context where South Africa is undergoing austerity measures, we are actively looking for funders outside South Africa to either inject money into the NHFC balance sheet or to fund directly into South African human settlements projects; so that we can earnestly address the affordable housing crisis that is facing ordinary South Africans,” she said.
“We made it very clear in our response that this travel will continue because we are executing on the strategy of the organisation and the trips are not frivolous.”
The CEO is also under investigation for the alleged misuse of a company credit card.
“The issue pertaining to the credit card is pure fiction, patently false and has no basis in fact. A disgruntled employee tried to create a false impression of me and my professional conduct. There is no evidence whatsoever of any expenses that were unrelated to the work of the NHFC,” said Mayekiso.
The lease that had to happen
One of the biggest sources of internal turmoil at the NHFC has been its office location: 90 Grayston Drive, Sandton. Mayekiso herself was allegedly hell-bent on securing the lease, from Redefine Properties, even though Redefine’s original bid was disqualified for failing to submit some of the necessary documentation, including the Building Compliance Certificate.
Once the initial lease expired, the NHFC was so intent on renewing it for a three-year period, to the tune of R15-million, that it sought permission to do so by deviating from normal procurement processes.
The Auditor-General flagged the issue as problematic and escalated it to the National Treasury, which agreed — yet Mayekiso is adamant that their concern is misplaced.
“The NHFC went through a thorough procurement process regarding the office rental space. A detailed report on this process was submitted to the portfolio committee, which proves beyond reasonable doubt that Redefine Properties won the bid from a well-documented procurement process.”
She further claims: “Both the [Attorney-General] and National Treasury are reviewing their initial findings on this matter.”
Luyolo Mphithi, a DA MP who has done more than anyone else to try to bring the goings-on at the NHFC to light, told Daily Maverick: “The Auditor-General has already reported that the procurement was irregular. Yet there’s been no reversal of that procurement.”
The lease issue has caused consternation within the NHFC, not merely because of Mayekiso’s apparent insistence on that particular building, but because to justify the use of the space, Mayekiso announced an abrupt end to work-from-home practices.
According to a letter sent by Nehawu, some NHFC workers based in other provinces were informed that they would need to report to work in Sandton daily with just three weeks’ notice.
“On the 8th May 2024 the CEO met with employees and directed them to return back to work by the 1st June 2024,” Nehawu’s letter read.
“Some of the workers were working from their provincial homes, which meant that they were not renting for almost 4 years and all of a sudden the employer gave them 20 days to find accommodation right at the time when cost of living is rocket high [sic].”
The union said that for some workers, the move meant additional transport costs of more than R5,000 per month.
Outgoing board chair says they inherited whopping fees
The outgoing NHFC board was chaired by Luthando Vutula, the CEO of the Bigen Group. In responses to questions from Daily Maverick this week, Vutula implied that the board had kicked several thorny matters for touch.
Asked whether the board had approved the use of an NHFC credit card by Mayekiso, for instance, Vutula replied: “At the time of our exit, this matter was under investigation and the incoming board will apply its mind to the issue.”
On the matter of probing allegations of misconduct against the CEO: “In instances where reports were not concluded, the board recommended to the minister [of human settlements] that the incoming board takes the necessary decisions.”
Vutula acknowledged that the board had approved the 90 Grayston Drive lease, claiming it would lead to savings of “millions of rands” compared to the old lease.
“This matter is still under discussion with the AG and National Treasury,” said Vutula.
“Unfortunately, the matter was not resolved before our term ended.”
Vutula defended the board’s exorbitant fees on the grounds that the members “inherited fees that were approved in prior years”, and that “for the period (three years) that we were on the board we never increased the fees, not even by a cent”.
At the most recent meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, director-general Alec Moemi informed MPs that since the board’s term had lapsed in late March without a replacement board in place, the Department of Human Settlements was invoking section 49 of the Public Finance Management Act to install Mayekiso as the accounting authority of the entity until a board is in place.
This practice has been criticised by the courts: in the 2020 Unite Behind v Minister of Transport judgment, the court set aside the then transport minister, Fikile Mbalula’s attempt to appoint an individual as the accounting authority of Prasa in place of a board.
The director-general of transport at the time of the judgment: Alec Moemi.
Another troubling aspect of the decision is that the investigative reports into Mayekiso’s conduct will land on her desk.
“It means that the reports would go through the CEO, who is implicated,” says the DA’s Mphithi.
“That cannot be correct.”
At the same parliamentary meeting, Mphithi asked why the current board’s term could not be extended to process the outstanding reports. He was told the suggestion would be “noted”.
Ministers of human settlements see/hear no evil
Mphithi has been tearing his hair out in recent months over attempts to engage the Department of Human Settlements on issues around the NHFC and other entities falling under the department’s ambit.
“There’s huge, huge, huge issues across the board,” Mphithi told Daily Maverick this week.
He termed it a “catastrophic collapse of governance across several housing entities”.
The then minister of human settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, was shuffled out of her position in December 2024 to make room for Thembi Simelane, who was removed from her post as minister of justice following corruption allegations reported on by Daily Maverick and News24.
Kubayi repeatedly denied knowledge of any problems at the NHFC.
Mphiti asked her in a parliamentary question last year: “What steps has [the minister] taken to address the allegations of financial mismanagement and fraud at the National Housing Finance Corporation?”
Kubayi’s response: “I am not aware of financial mismanagement or fraud at the National Housing Finance Corporation. Should any substantive information be brought to my attention confirming such, the matter will be investigated, and corrective steps will be taken, including consequence management.”
EFF MP Noluvuyo Tafeni posed an almost identical question to Kubayi: “What steps has she taken recently to investigate the widespread allegations of gross mismanagement and poor administration at the National Housing Finance Corporation?”
Kubayi’s response: “I am not aware of gross mismanagement or poor administration at the National Housing Finance Corporation. Should any substantive information be brought to my attention confirming such, the matter will be investigated and corrective steps will be taken, including consequence management.”
Kubayi also told Parliament in September last year, in response to questions from Mphithi: “There are no members of the board with legal judgments [against them]. As part of the renewal of the directors’ and officers’ indemnity cover, members are requested to advise this status on an annual basis.”
Daily Maverick has established, however, that at least two members of the outgoing board have civil judgments against them.
Simelane, meanwhile, has claimed ignorance of the matter in Parliament on the grounds of arriving in her post relatively recently.
“Minister Simelane’s reasoning is to say she has only been in office for four months and is still trying to learn,” said Mphithi.
“But these issues were raised under Kubayi. Why then have these [investigative] reports taken so long to be finalised? Why has the CEO not been suspended?”
Azole Mayekiso (left) visits former president Jacob Zuma in Nkandla with a family member in December 2023. (Photo: Facebook)
Mayekiso’s apparent untouchability to date at the NHFC has led some to speculate that she benefits from political protection. Asked by Daily Maverick if she was related to former president Jacob Zuma, she said that her maiden name of Zuma was purely a coincidence — although a 2016 profile reported that she was “very distantly related” to the former president.
“I met him for the first time in 2016, when he was President and President Ramaphosa was his deputy, and they had called black professionals into Mahlamba Ndlopfu [the President’s official residence in Pretoria] to have an engagement with them,” Mayekiso told Daily Maverick.
Asked to clarify the context of a picture showing her visiting Zuma at Nkandla over Christmas in 2023, Mayekiso said: “On this occasion, I had accompanied my sister, who had never met the President before, to Nkandla to go meet him.” DM
Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane had failed to comment by the time of publication, despite committing to do so. Her comment will be added if received.
Department of Human Settlements’ responses to Daily Maverick:
DM: Can you confirm that the NHFC board membership terms have expired and that there are currently no NHFC board members?
Answer: The NHFC board term expired on the 28th March 2025.
DM: The DG informed Parliament that, although there is no board, the NHFC CEO will serve as the accounting authority. Courts have previously found that this contravenes section 49 of the PFMA. Your comment, please?
Answer: The National Department of Human Settlements has received an opinion and articulation from the National Treasury on the matter. The opinion has been obtained; thus, the latter’s guidance will be considered.
DM: Why was the membership of the outgoing board allowed to lapse without a replacement board ready?
Answer: The review of the Memorandum of Incorporation for the entity indicated that the Minister does not have expressed powers of extending the terms of Office of the Board without following the full Cabinet process. While we are not happy that we currently have no board at the NHFC, we can confirm that the process to appoint the new board is at an advance stage. The Minister has directed that this process be
concluded by May 2026, latest.
DM: Is it appropriate to have the CEO appointed as accounting authority when there are several allegations of poor performance and financial mismanagement against her?
Answer: We have taken note of the allegations and the final preliminary report. An appropriate decision will be taken by the incoming Board in line with the applicable good governance principles.
DM: When can we expect a new board to be in place?
Answer: The Minister expects that this process should be concluded by the end of May 2025. The Minister also takes cognisance that this process has a number of inter- dependencies and may were deemed necessary have to go beyond the planned and
scheduled deadline.
DM: Were you aware that two outgoing board members had past civil judgments against them?
Answer: No, the Minister is not aware. These members were appointed in the previous cycle and their term of office has come to an end. The Minister is currently overseeing the current process and accordingly, will ensure that a security checks and vetting process in administered on all short-listed candidates to ensure that only compliant candidates are appointed to the Board following due process.
DM: On 4 April, you told the portfolio committee on human settlements that a report into the conduct of the CEO had been finalised. What were the findings?
Answer: While the final preliminary report has been finalised, the internal process is currently unfolding. We appeal that we allow this process to be concluded. It would be unfair to share the findings at this stage.
DM: Treasury has agreed with the AGSA that the current lease agreement for 90 Grayston Drive is irregular. What are the next steps there?
Answer: The incoming board will take the matter forward including the implementation required.
DM: What was the result of an investigation into the use of an NHFC credit card?
Answer: The incoming board will take the matter forward including the implementation required
DM: Why has the NHFC CEO not been suspended as yet?
Answer: As it may be appreciated the Employer/Employee relationship for the CEO is between the Board and the CEO. The Minister will impress upon the in-coming Board to prioritise and to be seized with all outstanding matters from the outgoing board will be prioritised by the incoming board.