By Johnathan Paoli
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education chairperson Tebogo Letsie has welcomed the long-awaited submission of the names of the nomination panel tasked with recommending board chairpersons for the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
Letsie said that the committee has consistently held the view that Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane was constitutionally obligated to disclose the names of the panel members to Parliament.
“We are pleased that sanity has prevailed, and that the minister has now complied with this requirement. The committee believes this disclosure should have occurred from the outset,” Letsie said.
The list was submitted by Nkabane on Tuesday, following weeks of mounting pressure from Parliament and political parties.
The committee had previously expressed concern about delays and the minister’s initial refusal to provide the names, citing the Protection of Personal Information Act.
This, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other opposition parties argued, was a misapplication of the law to evade parliamentary oversight.
The deadline to submit the names, originally set for 11 June, was missed, prompting calls from the DA for the minister to be formally summoned to account before Parliament.
In the end, Nkabane released the names of the six-member panel, which includes prominent legal and administrative figures.
Terry Motau, a respected Senior Counsel known for leading high-profile forensic investigations, including the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, was chair of the appointment panel.
However, Motau did not attend any of the panel’s meetings.
Other members included an advisor to the minister, Asisipho Solani, Nkabane’s chief of staff Nelisiwe Semane, the department’s chief director of SETA coordination Mabuza Ngubane, and Deputy Director-General Rhulani Ngwenya.
While the panel has now been officially disclosed, concerns remain over the process it followed.
Nkabane initially withdrew a list of SETA board chairpersons following public outrage and leaked reports alleging that ANC-linked individuals were being rewarded with lucrative positions.
DA national spokesperson Karabo Khakhau, a member of the portfolio committee, previously accused Nkabane of “blatant arrogance” and evading transparency.
“The chickens are coming home to roost. Minister Nkabane cannot run away from being held accountable for her attempted politicisation of the SETA boards,” Khakhau said last week.
She welcomed the withdrawal of the politically aligned appointments, describing it as “a step in the right direction” and a rejection of ANC patronage.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) echoed this criticism, calling the appointments corrupt and politically motivated.
It lambasted Nkabane’s initial secrecy as part of the ANC’s broader strategy of cadre deployment.
The minister, through a media statement issued by her office, reaffirmed her willingness to appear before the committee and explain the panel’s role in vetting the 573 applicants for SETA board chairperson roles.
Letsie reiterated that transparency was non-negotiable.
“We are dealing with public institutions funded through parliamentary appropriations. It was therefore baffling that the committee had to strongly remind the minister of such a basic accountability requirement in our democratic governance system,” he said.
The committee will now scrutinise the process followed in selecting the chairpersons for the 21 SETAs, which play a central role in youth skills development, vocational training and economic empowerment.
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