Buti Manamela’s appointment of three administrators has raised concerns from opposition parties and civil society about potential political interference. (@ButiManamela/X)
New Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has come under fire following his appointment of administrators to three troubled Sector Education and Training Authorities (Seta).
The appointments have drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society who have raised concerns over their links to the ANC and the potential for political interference.
Ironically, Manamela, who was previously deputy minister, was promoted after President Cyril Ramaphosa axed his former boss Nobuhle Nkabane for lying about the process of appointing Seta board chairs.
On Tuesday, Manamela announced that Oupa Nkoane would oversee the construction Seta, Lehlogonolo Masoga would take charge of the services Seta and Zukile Mvalo would head the local government Seta.
He said these appointments aimed to address longstanding governance failures in these institutions, including financial mismanagement, irregular expenditure and unstable boards.
But the Democratic Alliance (DA), through its MP Karabo Khakhau, raised concerns regarding the appointments, pointing out that Nkoane and Masoga had been implicated in tender fraud and corruption.
Nkoane, a former municipal manager at the ANC-governed Emfuleni local municipality in Gauteng, was implicated in a forensic report documenting the mismanagement of R872 million. Khakhau said this “casts serious doubt” on his capacity to manage public funds responsibly in his new role.
Masoga, a former Limpopo MEC and deputy speaker, was chief executive of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone when a communications contract worth R4.4 million was backdated.
Khakhau said the backdating justified payments that would otherwise have been deemed irregular. She warned that appointing people with histories of alleged financial mismanagement could perpetuate cycles of corruption within the Setas.
“The issue we have with the three people that he has chosen to appoint is that two of them are implicated in corruption involving R872 million and R4.4 million,” Khakhau said, referring to Nkoane and Masoga.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Sihle Lonzi said the Setas are “vital to skills development and employment” and that political interference undermines their mandate.
“It seems like Minister Buti Manamela did not listen to our council because we wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt to say, ‘Don’t repeat the same mistakes of your predecessor,’” Lonzi said.
“Instead of trying to appoint dignified, honest, new board members with integrity to turn around our entities, there seems to be a continued capture which has been taking place in our Setas.
“This is just another ANC deployee being replaced by another corrupt ANC deployee to continue the corruption and the kleptocracy of the ANC government in its attempt to capture our government entities and institutions.”
Manamela defended his appointments, emphasising the professional qualifications and experience of the three administrators. In a statement issued by his department, he said the administrators were chosen to stabilise the Setas, restore operational capacity and ensure that they could fulfil their roles in post-school education and training.
“We cannot allow governance failures to erode the public’s confidence in our skills development system. These administrators have a clear mandate to restore integrity, enforce consequence management where necessary and ensure that learners and workers are not prejudiced by institutional weaknesses,” he said.
In May, Manamela’s predecessor Nkabane appointed 22 people to Seta board chair positions, many of whom were affiliated to the ANC. Her appointments were widely criticised for a lack of transparency and independent oversight.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education summoned Nkabane to explain the appointments but she refused to provide details about the selection process and dismissed questions about the affiliations of the appointees.
This prompted Ramaphosa to intervene, instructing her to withdraw the appointments and initiate a new, independent process. Nkabane was eventually dismissed in July.
Opposition parties have argued that the choice of administrators linked to controversies risks repeating past mistakes. Civil society organisations have called for full transparency in the appointment process and for independent oversight to ensure accountability.
Khakhau said the Setas play a critical role in South Africa’s post-school education and training landscape. They are responsible for administering sector-specific training funds and supporting skills development initiatives across industries.
Governance failures in these institutions have previously resulted in misallocated funds, delayed projects and a lack of accountability, undermining national skills development objectives.
The DA has formally requested that Manamela reconsider the appointments and favour independent candidates. The party said it is essential for the government to demonstrate that appointments are based on competence rather than political connections.
Civil society groups, including the Public Service Accountability Monitor have also voiced concern. Spokesperson Nombuso Dlamini said the appointments “must be accompanied by full transparency and accountability measures to ensure that governance failures of the past are not repeated”.