MPS WERE EYEING NKABANE OVER SETAS

Outgoing minister's departure leaves questions on future of higher education sector

- SINENHLANHLA MASILELA and SIYAVUYA MZANTSI

OUTGOING Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane was expected to square off with MPs in Parliament this morning over the controversial appointments of the independent panel responsible for selecting and recommending Chairpersons to the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Buti Manamela as the new Minister of Higher Education and Training following Nkabane’s departure, which she announced in a brief statement yesterday afternoon.

Nkabane faced intense scrutiny, particularly for her alleged misleading of Parliament regarding the process of appointing the SETA board members.

Reports emerged indicating that the list of appointees was heavily influenced by affiliations with the ANC, incorporating figures such as Buyambo, the son of Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe. She was also forced to make a formal apology to Advocate Terry Motau after wrongly naming him as chair of an “independent panel” that allegedly helped appoint SETAs board members.