DIEPSLOOT – More than 300 young people who took part in an Agricultural Short Skills Programme under Vhangona Skills Academy say they have not received their full stipends, months after completing their training.
Learners told Diepsloot News that the programme, which began on 1 July 2025 and was meant to run for three months, promised a monthly stipend of R2 000. According to them, only the first payment was made — and even that came after they protested.
“We were told not to read the contracts we signed, and when we asked for updates, they said the Department of Employment and Labour had not released the funds,” said one participant.
The learners were trained at Diepsloot Skills Centre, but say the venue often changed and no fixed training premises were provided. One participant added that they were divided into three groups of about 80 learners each.
When contacted by Diepsloot News, Vhangona Skills Academy confirmed the payment delays, blaming the Department of Employment and Labour (DEAL) for not releasing the funds.
“We have not received funds for August and September from DEAL. The invoice was forwarded to Head Office on 10 October and is still with the finance department,” said a representative from the academy.
However, learners claim that officials from the Department of Labour in Pretoria told them it’s “not possible” that the department has not yet processed payments. They also allege that some participants were given second-hand clothes to sell to make ends meet while waiting for their stipends.
Diepsloot News contacted a woman named Bulelwa, who claimed to be working with Vhangona on the project, but she deleted several of her messages after being questioned about her role. She referred our team to someone named Peter, also identified as Mr Chauke, who allegedly prepared the invoices for payment — though some learners say they’ve never heard of him.
Director Rudzani Mmbodi has reportedly refused to share the company’s physical address with learners, raising further concern among participants.
“We attended classes, wrote assignments and did projects, but they used us. It’s painful,” one learner said.
Learners in Olivenhoutbosch and other areas also report similar experiences under the same programme.
At the time of publishing, no official confirmation of payment from either Vhangona Skills Academy or the Department of Employment and Labour had been received.
Diepsloot News will continue to follow this developing story.
Hello i am one of the diepsloot learners with VSA and currently was doing the New venture creature learnership under them. My group, we started on the 28th july and just ended the program days back. We worst part haven’t even got paid anything, not even one payment. This is really heartbreaking what they doing, using unemployed youth for their own gain.
Hello i am one of the diepsloot learners with VSA and currently was doing the New venture creature learnership under them. My group, we started on the 28th july and just ended the program days back. We worst part haven’t even got paid anything, not even one payment. This is really heartbreaking what they doing, using unemployed youth for their own gain.This is painful as us youth whom are unemployed we thought this learnership will be the best of us but we heart broken