By Edwin Naidu
The fiasco over some of the comrade-friendly appointments by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, to head Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) boards shows that her honeymoon is over.
Wrong decisions without putting South Africa first will be challenged. Opposition that holds the government accountable, in this instance, the Economic Freedom Fighters, must be welcomed.
Ministers can no longer act without putting South Africa first. Nkabane erred.
But she deserves credit for being decisive in overturning the initial appointments, which featured the son of her former boss, Gwede Mantashe.
She must carefully determine South Africa’s citizens’ skills and training needs. Nkabane must not pay lip service to South Africans’ needs—she has no choice but to do something tangible about the millions of young people who have been served a raw deal.
Some of the Setas have nothing to show except skills qualifications, which do not lead to employment. It is time to audit what Setas achieved in three decades of democracy. Who benefited most? The learners or those in charge of the purse strings?
Many are aware that she and others in the ANC have been filling boards with comrades who did not get government jobs after the Government of National Unity resulted in a drastic cutback in people on the gravy train. That is why the decision backfired.
Her actions indicated that the ANC sometimes seems to have amnesia about it no longer being solely in charge of South Africa, having ceded governance in coalition with a variety known as the GNU.
The clearest reminder should come from the fact that Nkabane would have received the unwanted news over the weekend that she made it to “Mampara of the week” in the national weekend newspaper, the Sunday Times, famous for parodying those in power who forget that they are answerable to the people.
At least the minister took the steps to recalibrate the process, which she said was overseen by an independent panel, in the public interest. One cannot fault her for having the ear of the people, even if one may argue she had no choice.
Previously, ministers would do as they wished – and people had to suck it up. Nkabane is more savvy than such arrogance and seems committed to using skills to make a difference, not to make friends wealthy.
She decided to ensure accountability for the appointment process in the interest of good governance and transparency. Finding such commitment from her predecessor would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The minister plans to establish a new independent panel to process the nominations and recommend candidates. This process will emphasise merit, competencies and relevant experiences, with balanced representations in terms of race, gender, youth, and persons living with disabilities.
Like the previous process, all recommended candidates must pass the screening and vetting processes. Last week the minister deemed it necessary to present data on the qualifications of previously recommended board chairs in the interest of transparency and good governance.
From the 20 SETA board chairs that were previously recommended, three had Doctoral Degrees (NQF Level 10), at least 15 had Master’s Degrees (NQF 09), and two were medical doctors. Their competencies ranged from engineers to chartered accountants, auditors, advocates, medical doctors and governance experts.
One would argue that multiple degrees should not be the main criterion because the many troubles at SETAs over the past few years have been under the watch of well-qualified people. We need skilled people who exhibit conduct based on ethical values and integrity.
Now that the fuss has died down, and the minister returned to the drawing board, one hopes that she is given a chance to serve South Africa, using the transformative power of skills to change society, tackle unemployment and make the SETAs become known for the purpose intended in the Skills Development Act.
Otherwise, one will be subject to the ongoing stories we have seen under herpredecessor, under whose watch half of the country’s 21 SETAS previously received adverse audits from the Auditor-General. He was a disaster.
I beg to differ. Nkabane is no mampara. She has the qualifications and the compassion to make a difference. One cannot attach unfair labels to people who visibly understand the growing impatience among citizens. She is committed to taking action to ensure integrity and ethical leadership. Let’s give her a chance.
SETAs must respond to the rapid pace of industry change by integrating digital skills such as e-commerce, cybersecurity, cloud computing and digital marketing into their training programs. In that case, they need the right people at the helm.
Therefore, resetting this process must ensure the needs of South Africans are put first – Gwede Mantashe must take care of his turf, and Nkabane must take care of South Africa’s skills revolution.
Edwin Naidu is the Editor of Inside Education.
INSIDE EDUCATION
