Please find attached soundbite by Karabo Khakhau MP.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is outraged by reports that more than R630 million in discretionary grants at the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA) cannot be accounted for. We have written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training to urgently call the entity’s leadership before the committee to answer for this shocking failure of governance.
According to the Auditor-General’s findings, a staggering R637.6 million in grant expenditure could not be substantiated due to missing records, with auditors unable to confirm the validity of the spending. These funds were intended to support critical skills development programmes, including bursaries, internships, and work-integrated learning opportunities for young South Africans. Instead, they have effectively vanished without proper oversight or accountability.
This is an administrative failure and a direct betrayal of young people who rely on SETAs to access training and employment pathways. At a time when South Africa faces a deepening youth unemployment crisis, such gross mismanagement undermines both economic growth and public trust.
The Auditor-General further exposed systemic governance failures, including poor record-keeping, material misstatements in financial reporting, and a complete breakdown of internal controls. Despite massive expenditure, key performance targets were not met, with some programmes utilising as little as 22% of their allocated budgets. This raises serious questions about whether funds were not only mismanaged but potentially misappropriated.
Equally concerning is the apparent absence of consequence management. The report indicates that no consistent disciplinary action has been taken against officials responsible for irregular or wasteful expenditure. This entrenches a culture of impunity within an institution tasked with empowering the next generation.
The DA will demand full accountability from the ETDP SETA’s executive leadership, as well as the board. We will push for a comprehensive explanation of how such a vast sum of public money could be spent without adequate records, and what steps will be taken to recover any lost funds.
Increasingly, the entire SETA system looks to be a massive scheme for misappropriation where billions disappear, and ANC cadres are appointed to the highest levels.
South Africans deserve a skills development system that is transparent, effective, and focused on delivering opportunities. The DA will not allow this matter to be swept under the rug.