By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance has escalated its call for urgent parliamentary oversight of Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela, accusing the African National Congress of shielding him from scrutiny over his appointment of administrators to three Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
On Friday, DA national spokesperson and member of the Higher Education and Training Portfolio Committee, Karabo Khakhau, confirmed that she had formally written to Cedrick Frolick, the Chair of Chairs in the National Assembly, requesting his intervention.
“The DA will not allow ANC cadres and their allies to treat SETAs as cash cows while unemployed South Africans are robbed of skills development opportunities. We demand that minister Manamela be called before Parliament without further delay, and that Cedrick Frolick ensures that proper accountability takes place,” Khakhau said.
The move comes after committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie rejected the DA’s request to summon Manamela, calling it “premature”.
Earlier this week, Manamela gazetted the appointment of three administrators to take charge of the Construction SETA (CETA), Services SETA (SSETA) and Local Government SETA (LGSETA).
The appointees are Oupa Nkoane, a former municipal manager at Emfuleni, Lehlohonolo Masoga, a former ANC Limpopo MEC and deputy speaker, and Zukile Mvalo, the current deputy director-general for skills development in the department.
Manamela justified the move by citing chronic governance failures, procurement irregularities and leadership instability across the SETAs.
Section 15 of the Skills Development Act allows the minister to dissolve a SETA board and appoint an administrator after consulting the National Skills Authority.
But the DA says the chosen administrators themselves carry baggage of corruption and maladministration.
In its letter, the DA argues that these appointments cannot be justified as corrective measures.
Adding to the controversy, it was reported that Nkoane himself claimed he had not been informed of his appointment as CETA administrator, despite the minister publishing the appointments in the Government Gazette.
If true, Khakhau warned this would constitute maladministration and possibly an unlawful appointment.
A tip-off received by the party alleges that advocate Mojanku Gumbi could be appointed to LGSETA, senior counsel Tembeka Ngcukaitobi to CETA, and academic Mary Metcalfe to SSETA.
While none of these names has been confirmed, Khakhau warned that even if replacements were made, Manamela could not escape explaining why he initially appointed figures with tainted records.
Letsie defended his decision not to immediately summon the minister, noting that he had already written to Manamela requesting written reasons for the intervention.
He argued that the committee’s packed third-term schedule did not allow for an additional briefing before the minister’s response was received.
“I have also written to the minister on 19 August 2025, to request detailed reasons in placing the three SETAs under administration. It will be premature to schedule the requested briefing before the minister has responded to the committee. The third term also comprises three weeks and one week is already taken by the committee’s strategic planning workshop and the remaining two weeks have agenda items,” Letsie replied.
Khakhau, however, countered that Rule 138(2) of the National Assembly empowered committees to summon any person at any time, regardless of whether prior correspondence has been exchanged.
She further pointed out that committee agendas in the past have been adjusted or extended to accommodate urgent issues of oversight.
The DA insists that the scandal touches the heart of South Africa’s fight against unemployment, as SETAs are tasked with bridging the skills gap and providing training opportunities for millions of jobless citizens.
Meanwhile, News24 reported on Friday that LGSETA CEO Ineeleng Molete has given Manamela until Monday to reverse his decision or face urgent court action.
The CEO has rejected the minister’s claims of governance failures as “generalised” and “defamatory”, arguing that the authority has improved measurably under his leadership since January 2021.
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