EFF MP Sihle Lonzi has questioned Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane who recommended the withdrawn Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA) chairs, suggesting it could include “her boyfriend or family members.”
The matter was brought before the Committee of Higher Education and Training on Friday where Nkabane faced sharp criticism from opposition MP’s.
Nkabane repeatedly refused to disclose the names of members of the panel that recommended the now-withdrawn chairpersons of the SETAs.
This comes after Nkabane faced backlash over leaked appointments to SETA boards, which included several ANC-linked individuals, among them, former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Buyambo Mantashe, son of ANC national chairperson and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe.
Nkabane appeared before the committee last week on Friday after she rescinded the appointments in response to the public outcry.
Despite that, she insisted the process adhered to legal and governance standards.
“The integrity of the process was beyond scrutiny and reproach,” Nkabane said.
She told the Committee forHigher Education and Training on Friday that the panel had operated under the guidance of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance.
Nkabane said a dedicated structure to oversee nominations was recommended by the Auditor-General in 2020.
According to her, the department received 573 nominations, of which only 20 were recommended by an independent panel.
Nkabane emphasised that the panel members were reputable individuals who volunteered their services and did not act on behalf of the ministry.
“They don’t claim to execute this responsibility on behalf of the minister,” she said.
However, when Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Letta Maseko asked her to name the panelists, Nkabane declined.
“There is no need for me to come and declare my volunteers, the people who assisted me voluntarily to execute my responsibilities,” she said.
“If something wrong happened, then hold accountable the person empowered by legislation, the minister, not them.”
Asked again, Nkabane said, “I can’t share the names. Whatever comes, the responsibility lies with the minister. I am not going to drag them…”
Umkhonto weSizwe Party MP Mnqobi Msezane said the panel’s identity was a matter of public interest and accused the department of appointing “ghost people.”
Meanwhile, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Lonzi said he did not accept the minister’s claim that the process was above board.
“We want to know who those people are,” Lonzi said, as he questioned the legitimacy of decisions made by the unknown group.
“Who are the profiles of this independent panel that you take so seriously, who told you who to put in the SETAs, NSFAS board, and university councils? Who are your advisers? Is it your mother? Is it your sister? Is it your friend? Is it your boyfriend? Is it your girlfriend?”
Lonzi accused Nkabane of sidelining department officials and suggested that decisions could be made informally or even “in a tavern.”
“Why can’t you say the DG advises you, or the DDG advises you?” Lonzi asked.
“There is a group, a clique, in higher education that advises the minister, yet the minister does not want to tell us who they are.”
Nkabane responded: “This is not a court. It is not compulsory for me to disclose the independent panel that is assisting the minister. I will find out from them if they are happy for me to disclose their names. I need to comply with…”
The department has restarted the nominations of the SETA boards’ chairpersons, and nominations are open until June 12.
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