Africa-Press – South-Africa. More people have come out to deny being part of higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane’s panel to appoint the board chairs of the sector education and training authorities (Setas).
The pressure continues to pile on Nkabane after her own chief of staff Nelisiwe Semane, director of Seta co-ordination in the department Mabuza Ngubane, and deputy director-general for corporate services Rhulane Ngwenya wrote to parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training.
The three declared they were not involved in the now-reversed process that recommended the appointment of ANC-linked cadres to chair some of the 21 Seta boards.
This is despite Nkabane last month revealing names of a panel which she said was independent and had recommended names of ANC cadres to lead the Seta boards.
The trio’s denial comes just weeks after advocate Terry Motau, whom Nkabane said chaired the panel, denied his involvement.
In a letter dated June 24, Semane said she was involved only with the advisory panel that recommended the board members. She said this was a different process altogether to the one that recommended the board chairs.
Semane said she did not make a clear distinction between the two processes.
“I did not participate in the selection and recommendation of Seta accounting authority chairpersons — but participated in the process for the recommendation of Seta accounting authorities — and not board chairpersons,” said Semane.
“The minister’s list of panel members was all-inclusive and did not make a distinction between participation in accounting authorities and participation in Seta board chair selection and recommendations.”
Ngwenya said she was appointed to provide secretarial support to the independent advisory panel and it was in this role that she engaged with Motau, but also distanced herself from the appointments of the board chairs.
“I was not involved in the approval process of the 21 nominees who were ultimately appointed as chairpersons of Seta accounting authority,” said Ngwenya.
Ngubane said as much he was appointed as the chair of the panel he did not arrange any meetings of the panel and was not part of the screening process for the nominated candidates who were to serve as chairs of the Setas.
Only Asisipho Solani, Nkabane’s adviser, confirmed that he was part of the independent panel — which he said did not come with additional remuneration.
The letters to the portfolio by the trio denying their involvement has heightened the calls for Nkabane’s head.
Nkabane will have to answer to the portfolio committee on Friday. She had provided the same list to her boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had asked her to submit a report detailing everything that had happened in the entire debacle.
Despite this, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has defended Nkabane, saying she did not lie to parliament and insisting that she did not need a panel to make the appointments.
However, it was Nkabane who publicly and in parliament said she had made the questionable appointments based on the recommendation of the independent panel consisting of Motau, Solani, Semane, Ngwenya and Ngubane.
“The minister — did she lie? We say no, she didn’t lie. She went to parliament and gave the information,” said Mbalula in a media briefing on Monday.
Mbalula’s comments are in stark contradiction with what the ANC chief whip in parliament, Mdumiseni Ntuli, said last week.
Ntuli said it had become evident that there were inconsistencies with what Nkabane told parliament and what she had said in her correspondence.
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