Higher education & training minister Nobuhle Nkabane reversed her controversial appointment of chairs of sector education and training authority (Seta) boards after President Cyril Ramaphosa read her the riot act.
Well-placed officials in the government told the Sunday Times yesterday that on Tuesday, immediately after learning Nkabane had appointed controversial ANC cadres to lead at least 22 Setas, Ramaphosa called her and told her to withdraw the appointments.
Nkabane stunned the nation on Tuesday when it emerged she had packed the boards of 22 Setas with senior ANC members such as former KwaZulu-Natal MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, Johannesburg municipal council member Loyiso Masuku, and former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
Also on the list of the now ill-fated board appointments were former higher education director-general Gwebs Qonde, now an adviser to mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe, and Mantashe’s son, Buyambo Mantashe.
The name of former deputy minister of communications Philly Mapulane also featured on the list of the appointees.
Departmental insiders blew the whistle on the saga this week, questioning whether politicians were suitable to be appointed to lead the Setas, which control billions of rands in skills development funding.
After Ramaphosa’s call, a red-faced Nkabane sent letters to her deployed cadres telling them their appointments had been cancelled, and that the process would be “recalibrated” or begun afresh.
Other sources in the Presidency told the Sunday Times that, while Ramaphosa had intervened and ordered the appointments be reversed, his office did not want to make a “song and dance” about the matter.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, would only say that “the president engages with ministers on a regular basis on a variety of matters, including issues of concern and general performance”.
Ramaphosa himself hinted he had intervened when he was asked about the issue during a doorstep media interview in the Northern Cape on Friday, where he was attending the induction of newly elected regional and provincial ANC leaders in the province.
“Well, there was a problem, an issue, which the minister is trying to correct now,” the president said. “And I think it’s important to realise that where, for instance, as a public sector mistakes are made, immediately we are able to listen to the criticism, the voices of those in the community, and immediately take corrective measures. So that’s what this is. We should also be grateful we have a government that listens even when it has made mistakes. Mistakes are made, and the important thing is to listen and to correct.”
Nkabane had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
We should also be grateful we have a government that listens even when it has made mistakes.
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
In her withdrawal statement on Thursday night, Nkabane claimed she had made her appointments on the advice of an independent panel.
But senior officials in her department poured cold water on this assertion.
“Who chaired that panel? How was the panel selected? If it’s independent, how come it made these kinds of appointments? There’s nothing like that, mark my words,” said one of the officials.
It is also understood that other top ANC leaders at Luthuli House raised concerns about the board appointments after the public outcry this week.
The DA was the first to raise the alarm about the questionable appointments on Tuesday, saying they represented “the politicisation of institutions meant to serve all South Africans”.
The matter was also the subject of public clash between EFF and ANC MPs on Wednesday.
MPs from Ramaphosa’s party blocked their red beret counterparts from asking higher education officials questions on the issue during a meeting of the higher education portfolio committee.
But on Friday, Tebogo Letsie, chair of the higher education committee, said committee members were still demanding answers from Nkabane despite her withdrawal of the appointments.
“Public trust in governance depends on transparency and adherence to procedures. As a committee, we are deeply concerned by the minister’s actions, which seem to suggest standard procedures were not followed.
“If there was nothing to hide, there would be no need to reverse the appointments. We are deeply concerned about the panel appointed by the minister to consider the nomination and recommendation of candidates to be appointed by the minister. Furthermore, we are concerned about the advice given to the minister by the National Skills Authority on the appointed persons,” Letsie said.
Chairs and members of Seta boards are paid between R4,000 and R8,000 a day for meetings. Higher education officials with intimate knowledge of the issue said board members tended to draw out meetings for several days or weeks so they could inflate their fees.
Other sources claimed that some ANC leaders were using Setas as sources of patronage for their cadres, as there were limited positions in government since the formation of the government of national unity and the ANC’s diminished representation in parliament.
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