President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane on Friday to cancel a trip to China — when she was already in the departure lounge at OR Tambo International Airport.
In what could presage a cabinet reshuffle later today when the president addresses the nation, Ramaphosa told Nkabane — who is accused of lying to parliament — not to go anywhere until after his speech, government sources told the Sunday Times.
Nkabane, embroiled in a row over her appointments to the boards of sector education & training authorities (Setas), had thought she was going to be part of the delegation accompanying Deputy President Paul Mashatile to Beijing.
Mashatile attended the funeral of his predecessor David Mabuza in Mpumalanga yesterday and is due to leave for China tonight.
She had already checked in. As she was supposed to leave, she received a letter from the Presidency saying she must not leave ... You can see it’s leading to a reshuffle of some sort
— Source
It is understood that Nkabane had already checked in for her flight when she received the instructions from the Presidency in a letter on Friday afternoon.
The letter, according to several government insiders, gave no details beyond the instruction to Nkabane to remain in South Africa.
Nkabane is said to have been shocked, because the president had previously approved her participation in the China trip.
“Nkabane was at the airport travelling to join the deputy president,” one source said.
“She had already checked in. As she was supposed to leave, she received a letter from the Presidency saying she must not leave ... You can see it’s leading to a reshuffle of some sort.”
Nkabane is said to have to have asked one of her deputies on Thursday to stand in for her at an event on Friday.
Others in the delegation to China include:
- Parks Tau, minister of trade, industry & competition;
- Stella Ndabeni, minister of small business development;
- Patricia de Lille, minister of tourism;
- Pemmy Majodina, minister of water & sanitation;
- Mzamo Buthelezi, public service & administration; and
- DA leader John Steenhuisen, minister of agriculture.
But Nkabane said yesterday Ramaphosa’s address this evening is only about the allegations against police minister Senzo Mchunu by KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and has nothing to do with her.
She acknowledged she had received “correspondence” from Ramaphosa, that she declined to discuss the details.
“I receive a number of correspondences from time to time from the president … I can’t share such information with the media,” she said. “The communication is between me and him, hence I’m appointed by him to execute a constitutional mandate of the department of higher education & training.”
Nkabane is due to appear before parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education on Friday to answer charges that she misled parliament about the “independent advisory panel” that she claims recommended the names of chairs for the 21 Seta boards.
So far, at least four of the six people she said were on the panel — including her own chief of staff, Nelisiwe Semane — have written to parliament to deny their involvement in the panel.
Advocate Terry Motau told parliament he never chaired the “independent panel”, as the minister alleged he did when she appeared before the portfolio committee.
She is facing a probe by parliament’s joint ethics committee following a complaint by the DA, which has also brought criminal charges against her.
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