Africa-Press – South-Africa. The DA will lay criminal charges against higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane over her botched handling of Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) board chairpersons.
The party plans to open a criminal case at the Cape Town Central police station on Tuesday morning ahead of Nkabane’s tabling of the department’s budget vote in the National Council of Provinces.
Nkabane is accused of lying to parliament about the “independent panel” she claimed had approved politically connected individuals for Seta boards. In the list of panel members, Nkabane falsely claimed legal expert advocate Terry Motau was part of it. She later apologised, saying it was a misunderstanding.
She is facing scrutiny and growing calls to resign from MPs and the SA Students Congress.
Last week, DA MP Karabo Khakhau wrote an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging him to fire Nkabane.
“She [Nkabane] has used a strategy of lying to parliament to try to cover her tracks after she made brazen ANC cadre deployment appointments to the Seta boards,” Khakhau said.
“South Africans were rightfully outraged. Once exposed, and once public pressure mounted, Nkabane made an effective admission of her infringements by withdrawing the appointments. Her ANC cadre deployment had been exposed and roundly criticised and she had to admit defeat.”
Ramaphosa recently fired the DA’s deputy minister Andrew Whitfield, leading to the party giving him a 48-hour ultimatum to act against corruption-accused ANC ministers such as Nkabane, human settlements minister Thembi Simelane and deputy minister of water and sanitation David Mahlobo.
After the expiration of the ultimatum, the DA announced it would withdraw support for the budgets of the ministries and its participation in the national dialogue. The party also said it is considering tabling a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa.
“It is clear the DA is in the process of losing confidence in his ability to act as a leader, not of the ANC, but of the government of national unity, of which we are the second-largest component,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said.
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