DA accuses Nkabane of evading responsibility

Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training says that Minister Nobuhle Nkabane will not appear before it today.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has suggested that Nkabane appear before it to explain the process of appointing members to the Sector Education and Training Authority boards.

This after concerns were raised about the independence of the panel that assisted the Minister in making the appointments.

Nkabane had been grilled about the appointment of the individuals said to be politically connected.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has described Nkabane’s absence as an act of defiance, saying that she is trying to abdicate accountability.

The DA’s National spokesperson Karabo Khakhau says, “The back foot here and the problem that we have is the fact that one – the Minister is not going to be in the meeting herself, she is going to be in Buffalo City – so effectively running away from accountability; Two – her chief of staff, Nelisiwe Semane, has sent a notice to say she’s on sick leave and so she’s not going to be in that meeting. Nonetheless, we’re going in to have a conversation but it’s an awkward one because the person that made the decision about the said panel, whether it exists or not, is not going to be in the meeting, which is a clear indication again of how Nobuhle Nkabane operates in contempt of Parliament all the time.”