Please find attached soundbites in English, isiZulu and Sesotho.
The DA will refer the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, to the ethics committee for misleading the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education when she stated that all members of the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) Board Chairpersons Selection and Evaluation Panel were independent.
This afternoon, the Minister finally released the names of the panel, which reportedly assisted her in appointing ANC-aligned individuals to SETA board positions through a process that has raised concerns about its transparency.
The panel includes:
- Adv Terry Motau: He was the chairperson of the panel, yet never attended any of the meetings. Which then begs the question; who chaired the meetings?
- Asisipho Solani: Former South African Students Congress (SASCO) leader, former a member of the Western Cape ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) interim leadership, and current advisor to the Higher Education Minister;
- Nelisiwe Semane: Chief of Staff in the Office of the Higher Education Minister;
- Mabuza Ngubane: a Chief Director for SETA Coordination; and
- Rhulani Ngwenya: Current Deputy Director-General: Corporate Services: Department of Higher Education and Training, and former Deputy Director-General Corporate Management: Department of Tourism.
Furthermore, the Minister failed to reveal all the names as the name of one of the panel members concealed. The Minister cited that the person was not comfortable with their name being disclosed. The Minister also concealed two other names from the National Skills Authority (NSA) Selection and Evaluation Panel, as well as one from the Universities Council Ministerial Appointments and the Selection and Evaluation Panel for the Council for Higher Education (CHE).
The DA will request that all minutes of the panel be made available to the committee in full, as well as the reports sent to the National Skills Authority (NSA) for final consideration of the appointments.