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Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has described the Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane‘s failure to appear before Parliament as an act of defiance.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has called Nkabane to appear before it to explain the process of appointing members to the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) boards. This comes after concerns were raised about the independence of the panel that assisted her in making the appointments.
Advocate Terry Motau says he was not formally appointed to chair an independent panel to oversee the appointment of the SETA board chairpersons. He says Dr Nkabane misled Parliament when she said she had appointed him.
Nkabane has faced allegations of appointing individuals who are politically connected. This has sparked allegations of political interference in the selection process of the SETA boards.
Motau sought to clear his name when he appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Friday. He, however, says that misleading does not imply lying.
“If you are talking about misleading, which is something different from a lie-when the minister knows all these facts and says I chaired. I was appointed and I chaired, and I did not attend, that’s misleading. But when you talking about lying-lying is an intention to say why you didn’t do it knowing these facts and knowing these facts are incongruent with the true objectives facts which is not what the purpose of my engagement with the minister was and that is why I can’t say she lied as to when I didn’t inquire as to the motives.”
Motau says he became aware of the process of the appointment of SETA board chairpersons through Asisipho Solani, who is the adviser to Nkabane.
He says discussions around that intended process also included the involvement of the former Central Energy Fund Chairperson, Luvo Makasi, and Deputy Director-General, Rhulani Ngwenya.
He says that after such talks, there was nothing material that came up until he learned through media reports that he was the chairperson of the panel.
“How I got to know about this process and the Minister’s letter landing in my email is that Mr Makhasi initially contacted me. Like I had said, somebody I know said the Minister wants assistance. The Minister is looking at appointing an independent panel to assist with the appointment of Chairpersons of SETA boards. The history of the SETA boards and good governance is something close to my heart. He asked if I would be willing to assist and I agreed to it,” says Motau.
[WATCH] The DA has laid a fraud charge against Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the Cape Town Central Police Station, accusing her of misleading Parliament over the appointment of SETA board chairpersons, which she later reversed. pic.twitter.com/v5Hmzp3BD4
— SABC News (@SABCNews) July 1, 2025
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