By Johnathan Paoli
Parliament’s Higher Education Portfolio Committee has firmly rejected Minister Nobuhle Nkabane’s apology for missing Friday’s crucial hearing on the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) board appointment controversy, ordering her to appear before the committee on Tuesday next week.
Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie opened Friday’s sitting with a firm rebuke of the minister’s latest apology, describing her absence as a direct affront to Parliament’s constitutional oversight mandate.
“I accept the apology for 16 July due to Cabinet responsibilities, but not for 18 July. This committee resolved on this meeting over a month ago, and accountability cannot be optional,” Letsie said.
The move follows mounting outrage over her, her chief of staff Nelisiwe Semane’s, as well as ministerial advisor Asisipho Solani’s absence and testimony from Senior Counsel Terry Motau, who denied any formal role in the panel the minister claimed he chaired in relation to the SETAs.
Nkabane had cited overlapping commitments, including a Gender-Based Violence campaign in the Eastern Cape and a TVET leadership induction programmenin her 15 July apology.
She later proposed rescheduling to 22 or 23 July.
Letsie dismissed this as unacceptable, reiterating Section 92(2) of the Constitution, which mandated individual ministerial accountability to Parliament.
MPs from across the political spectrum responded with outrage.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Karabo Khakhau described the minister’s behaviour as “a spit in the face of Parliament”, while African Nation Congress MP Gaolathle Kgabo said the minister and DG had “misled and disrupted” the committee’s work and called for immediate referral to the Powers and Privileges Committee.
DA MP Desiree van der Walt said the minister was “avoiding us because she is guilty” and demanded subpoenas for all absentees.
Inkatha Freedom Party MP Sanele Zondo added that “lies have short legs”, and that she could not run forever, while uMkhonto weSizwe Party MPs Joel Ngubane and Siphetho Mkhize alleged internal bullying and manipulation by the minister’s office to prevent officials from testifying.
Economic Freedom Fighter’s Sihle Lonzi warned that the director-general’s interference was “borderline sabotage” and said even the president “can’t cancel a meeting of Parliament”.
Committee members debated the next steps.
Khakhau called for both an ethics complaint and possible criminal proceedings, citing “deliberate misinformation”.
Kgabo preferred to go straight to the ethics committee, while Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Sauls urged the committee to exhaust parliamentary mechanisms first, including compelling the minister’s attendance.
Deputy Ministers Buti Manamela and Mimmy Gondwe, who were present at the meeting, distanced themselves from the SETA panel appointment process.
Both confirmed they had no role or authority under the relevant legislation to make or influence such decisions.
Senior Counsel Terry Motau SC appeared before Parliament for the alleged appointment by Nkabane to chair the independent advisory panel that evaluated nominees for SETA board chairpersonships.
Central to the probe is his role, whom the minister had identified as chair of the independent panel responsible for evaluating SETA board nominees.
However, in a scathing letter dated 25 June, he made it clear that he was never formally appointed, never briefed and never participated in any aspect of the process.
Motau explained that although he received a letter of intent from the minister on 18 March, the required legal procedures, including a formal attorney’s instruction, were never followed.
He had attempted to arrange a meeting with departmental officials to resolve the matter, but both Ngwenya and Solani failed to attend a scheduled 23 March meeting at his chambers.
He heard nothing further until he saw in the media that appointments had been made.
On 12 June, the minister wrote to Motau asking about his involvement.
In his 16 June reply, he reiterated that he had no role whatsoever.
He was then surprised to learn that, despite his clear written and verbal communication, the minister told Parliament that he had chaired the panel but failed to attend meetings.
Following Motau’s testimony and departmental confusion, including a claim from Ngwenya that the meeting had been cancelled based on an internal memo from the DG’s office, the committee has decided to move forward decisively.
Letsie confirmed the committee would sit again on Tuesday from 9am to 2pm, where the minister was now formally expected to appear.
Other officials, including Solani, would be formally summoned due to their failure to cooperate.
Semane’s absence, while accepted by the chair following her submission of a valid medical certificate, was nevertheless questioned by the committee and she would be expected back alongside the minister next week.
Letsie made it clear that should the minister fail to appear again, the committee would invoke all parliamentary mechanisms to compel her presence.
Meanwhile, Nkabane has defended her decision, stressing the importance of her attention to the TVET sector, despite committee member’s observation that both it and GBV within the department fell under the auspices of the deputy ministers.
“It was important for me to be present at the Annual National Student Leadership Induction Programme. The TVET sector plays a critical role in shaping ethical, conscious, and socially responsible leaders, and building a culture of safety, dignity, and accountability must begin with student leadership,” she said.
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