DA Blasts Minister Nkabane Over SETA Panel ‘Stacked With Loyalists’

Opposition says “independent panel” was anything but, and Parliament was misled

It started as a question of oversight. It’s now snowballed into accusations of political patronage, misleading Parliament, and what some are calling a quiet attempt to capture South Africa’s skills development agenda.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is up in arms over what it claims is a deliberate move by Higher Education Minister Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane to pack the board selection panel for South Africa’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) with people closely linked to the ANC and her own office.

At the heart of the storm is whether the panel responsible for choosing SETA board chairpersons was genuinely independent, as the Minister previously claimed. The DA says: absolutely not.

Who Was Really on the Panel?

After weeks of stalling and a heated stand-off with Parliament, Nkabane finally named the panel members. The names included:

• Adv. Terry Motau SC (Chairperson) – who reportedly never attended a single meeting

• Asisipho Solani – an advisor to the minister and former SASCO and ANC Youth League leader

• Nelisiwe Semane – the minister’s chief of staff

• Mabuza Ngubane – chief director for SETA coordination

• Rhulani Ngwenya –  deputy director-general for corporate services

To the DA, this lineup reads less like a panel of impartial experts and more like an ANC insider club.

“It’s disingenuous to tell the public this process was independent,” said DA MP Karabo Khakhau, who also sits on the higher education committee. “These are people who either work directly for the minister or are clearly aligned to the ANC.”

She added that the absence of Adv. Motau, the official chair, raised deeper questions: who really led the panel’s work?

Transparency Delayed, Not Delivered

What seems to have aggravated MPs most was Nkabane’s initial refusal to name the panelists, despite repeated requests from Parliament.

In a now-infamous committee meeting, the Minister reportedly clashed with MPs and refused to disclose the panel’s composition, claiming one panelist had requested anonymity.

But pressure mounted and this week, she caved.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee Chairperson Tebogo Letsie called the disclosure “long overdue” and said it should have happened from the start.

“Public institutions like SETAs are funded by taxpayers. It’s baffling that the minister needed to be reminded of such a basic requirement for transparency in our democracy,” Letsie said.

A Broader Issue of Trust

This scandal is not just about names on a list — it’s about who controls South Africa’s skills pipeline.

SETAs are critical institutions meant to drive vocational training and upskill the nation’s workforce. If those at the helm are politically appointed, critics say, there’s a real risk of skills development becoming politicised, instead of serving the public interest.

For communities relying on SETAs for workplace readiness, the controversy strikes a nerve. On social media, South Africans are asking:

“Are these boards really about skills, or are they about jobs for comrades?”

“Why do we keep recycling political appointments into every space that’s meant to build the country?”

The DA Wants Action

The DA says it isn’t letting this go. It plans to refer Minister Nkabane to Parliament’s ethics committee, accusing her of misleading the House by claiming the panel was independent.

They also want full access to the minutes of the panel’s meetings and all reports submitted to the National Skills Authority (NSA).

Further complicating the issue is the minister’s admission that she withheld names from other panels, including those involved in appointing members to the Universities Council and the Council for Higher Education (CHE).

Minister’s Response: Ready to Account

Despite the backlash, Nkabane’s office says she remains willing to cooperate.

“She will respond to all further requests from the committee,” said her spokesperson.

Still, the damage may already be done. Trust in government appointments is once again under scrutiny and the line between public service and political loyalty appears blurrier than ever.

In a democracy that values transparency and fair governance, the SETA saga is a reminder: the process matters just as much as the people involved. And right now, South Africans are watching both very closely.

{Source: IOL}

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