Nothing better illustrates the contempt our elected public representatives show the public than the behaviour of higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane. No wonder that President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked for an explanation of her attitude during a meeting of parliament’s higher education portfolio committee. But if past experience is any guide, we shouldn’t expect much to come of this.
At the heart of the debacle — aside from the gum-chewing minister’s show of disdain and arrogance for MPs — lies her decision to put forward the names of ANC bigwigs as chairs of the accounting bodies of the sector education and training authorities (Setas).
Not only are they contentious party-political figures, but the process behind their selection is controversial.
After the first unveiling, Nkabane withdrew the list, saying she was doing so only because of the “public outcry” over the names — one of them is a son of mineral & petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe. But if the procedures followed were legitimate, why did she back down, all the while insisting party affiliation played no part in her choices?
As committee chair Tebogo Letsie put it: “Let’s be clear, the process was not beyond reproach and to suggest otherwise is misleading.”
Of particular concern is the minister’s claim that an “independent panel” provided the names — yet she refuses to say who sits on the panel. Where’s the transparency in that? The accountability?
Nkabane must be reprimanded, and return to parliament with answers to the questions put to her. And then she must come up with suitable names to fill these vital roles in such a way as to justify the billions spent on Setas each year.
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