By Johnathan Paoli
While President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged recent failings regarding the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) board chair appointments, the Economic Freedom Fighters has lodged a complaint against what it describes as an abuse of power.
Speaking on the sidelines of the African National Congress’s Northern provincial executive committee induction programme in Kimberley, Ramaphosa addressed the backlash over the controversial appointments made by the Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane.
“Well, there was a problem, an issue which the minister is trying to correct now. And I think it’s important to realise that where, for instance, as the public sector, mistakes are made, immediately we are able to listen to the criticism, the voices of those in the community, and immediately take corrective measures,” Ramaphosa told reporters.
Nkabane withdrew the appointments and announced a new process, amid growing concerns about political interference and procedural irregularities.
“We should also be grateful that we have a government that listens, where it has made mistakes. Mistakes are made, and the important thing is to listen and to correct,” Ramaphosa added.
The president’s comments follow the EFF lodging a formal complaint on Friday over how this issue was handled within a key parliamentary oversight structure.
The EFF escalated its concerns around the SETA appointments by filing an official complaint with Parliament’s Chairperson of Committees, Cedrick Frolick.
The complaint centres on the conduct of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training chairperson (and ANC member) Tebogo Letsie, whom the EFF accuses of silencing valid concerns raised by its MP Sihle Lonzi.
In a letter signed by EFF national chairperson and chief whip, Nontando Nolutshungu, the party describes how during a committee meeting Lonzi attempted to interrogate the legitimacy of the SETA board appointments, flagging issues of nepotism, political bias and procedural violations.
It said rather than engaging the concerns, the committee chair allegedly cut Lonzi off, curtailed his speaking time and attempted to shield the department from scrutiny.
“This conduct was not only irregular, but it also violated the basic tenets of fair and impartial chairing,” Nolutshungu stated, citing Rule 184 of the National Assembly, which guarantees MPs the right to speak and hold the executive accountable.
The EFF also alleges a pattern of behaviour from the chairperson, including using committee platforms for lengthy monologues and responding to dissent with threats of removal, an approach the party says undermines the constitutional function of parliamentary oversight.
The party has requested three corrective actions, including a formal investigation into Letsie’s behaviour, guidance to all parliamentary committee chairs on maintaining impartiality and upholding rules of order, and a written reminder to the implicated chairperson about the responsibilities outlined in Rule 184.
Nolutshungu warned that continued misconduct would prompt the EFF to escalate the matter to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Rules Committee for a formal inquiry.
“We make this submission not to stifle debate, but to protect the very right to it,” the letter emphasised.
Earlier this week, the ANC study group on higher education’s whip Tshepho Louw came to Letsie’s defence, accusing Lonzi of arriving late at the committee meeting and attempting to raise issues that were not part of the agenda.
The SETAs are central to the country’s skills development agenda, tasked with training and upskilling the workforce in key economic sectors, with their boards wielding significant influence over programme funding and national skills strategies.
The controversy over board appointments has reignited long-standing concerns about political patronage and transparency within the Post-School Education Sector and cast a renewed focus on the independence of legislative oversight and the growing tension between executive power and parliamentary scrutiny.
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