State-owned PetroSA sought a R3.5-billion grant from the National Skills Fund in May 2024 to train 5,500 artisans, but documents reveal R1.2-billion was intended for repairing its offshore oil rig. The scheme, proposed by Equator Holdings, ultimately collapsed without funding. It highlights vulnerabilities in the fund meant for youth training amid high unemployment.
In May 2024, PetroSA, a state-owned fuel company under Minister Gwede Mantashe's portfolio, approached the National Skills Fund (NSF) for a R3.5-billion grant. The funds, sourced from a 1% skills development levy on employers' payrolls, were earmarked for training unemployed youth, bursaries, and TVET colleges. The proposal, crafted by Lawrence Mulaudzi of Equator Holdings, outlined training 5,500 artisans for the oil and gas sector, including 2,000 three-year apprenticeships, 1,500 two-year graduate programs, and 2,000 in-service training slots.
However, internal documents showed R1.2-billion allocated to refurbish PetroSA's FA platform, an offshore rig 80km from Mossel Bay. This rig, requiring helicopter or boat access and costing R260-million annually in logistics, was unsuitable for mass training. The proposal's budget included R242-million in administration fees for PetroSA and Equator, R363-million for training, R780-million for accommodation, and R826-million in student stipends, totaling R634,000 per trainee—far above the typical R200,000 for a three-year apprenticeship.
Equator Holdings had signed a 2023 deal with PetroSA to secure up to R22-billion for infrastructure by June 2024, after failed attempts with the Industrial Development Corporation (R1-billion), Corban Energy ($200-million), and Hilong Petroleum. PetroSA, facing insolvency with debts exceeding assets and a SARS attachment on its Mossel Bay refinery, desperately needed revival.
NSF acting director Tendani Moila initially engaged enthusiastically but later clarified interest only in PetroSA's Centre of Excellence, which could train just 120 learners annually, not Equator or infrastructure. Mulaudzi claimed the NSF showed 'huge appetite' for the proposal, but the fund denied advancement beyond initial talks. PetroSA's then-CEO Xolile Sizani questioned the plan's feasibility, noting no capacity for thousands.
Mantashe distanced himself: 'Whether I’m aware or not, it doesn’t matter. I am not an operator, I’m doing political oversight.' He added, 'If they are training artisans, I would support them.' The NSF, plagued by underspending (R1.2-billion last year, R3.7-billion in 2023/24) and past fraud like a R39-million rabbit-farming scandal yielding only 450 animals, approved an investigation into the proposal in December 2025. No funds were disbursed, and both parties withdrew.
