Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) laid criminal charges against the SETA leadership following reports that more than R630 million in discretionary grants at the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA) has seemingly vanished.
The shocking failure of governance under the leadership of Acting CEO, Ms Nokukhanya Mafahla, the former CEO, Mrs Nombulelo Sesi Nxesi and the ETDP SETA’s Accounting Authority, warrants criminal investigation under the Public Finance Management Act.
The DA fights to protect public money against looting.
Our charges outline serious governance failures, missing financial records, and potential violations of the Public Finance Management Act and anti-corruption laws.
We submit that the accounting officers at the ETDP SETA acted in a grossly negligent and willful manner by failing to:
- Prevent unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure, as well as losses caused by criminal conduct;
- Take appropriate disciplinary action against any official who fails to comply with this Act or undermines the department’s financial management and internal control systems;
- Keep full and proper financial records in line with prescribed norms and standards;
The specific charges are:
Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 – Section 86 (1) and (2)
Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (PACCA)
Section 34 (1) and (2) and Common Law Offence of Fraud
The DA will not allow such gross mismanagement to go unaccounted.
According to the Auditor-General, ETDP SETA failed to maintain adequate records to support the expenditure, making it impossible to verify whether funds meant for skills development, bursaries, and youth training were properly used.
The SAPS have opened the case, and we are now in possession of a CAS Number provided by the police. The case is open and will now move to assign an investigating officer.
We demand a full criminal investigation, accountability for those implicated, and urgent steps to recover any lost public funds. Ultimately, we also call for jail time.