The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a scathing attack on Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela, demanding he immediately withdraw the appointments of three new Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) administrators, whom the opposition party has labelled as “unfit” and implicated in corruption.
In a tense television interview on Wednesday, DA spokesperson and member of the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education, Karabo Khakhau, outlined a two-pronged rejection of the appointments of Oupa Nkoane, Lehlohonolo Masoga, and Zukile Mvalo as administrators of the Construction (CETA), Services, and Local Government (LGSETA) SETAs respectively.
The party’s primary objection is based on the appointees’ alleged histories. The DA claims the individuals have been “implicated in corruption, mismanagement, [and] fraud in previous government jobs or have proved themselves useless in the SETA space already.”
Khakhau cited unspecified forensic reports that she claimed point to “direct involvement in the mismanagement of public funds.” When challenged that these were allegations and not criminal convictions, Khakhau retorted that forensic reports provide the grounds for pursuing criminality and accused the government of “sweeping matters under the carpet.”
The controversy took a new turn with allegations of procedural irregularities. Khakhau revealed that one of the appointees, Oupa Nkoane, had allegedly claimed he discovered his new role through media reports after the official gazetting, rather than through a formal appointment letter.
“This points to there being an inconsistency in truth,” Khakhau stated, arguing that a formal appointment and acceptance must precede a public announcement. She labelled the ministry’s defence—that gazetting can come first for administrative efficiency—as “political spin” that “doesn’t make sense in any way.”
In response to the crisis, the DA has taken two key steps. The party has written an urgent letter to Minister Manamela directly, demanding he politically reconsider and withdraw the appointments. Simultaneously, Khakhau has written to the chairperson of the portfolio committee to summon both the minister and the National Skills Authority (NSA) to Parliament to explain the appointments and justify their decision-making process.
The DA argues that the minister is legally required to make such appointments in consultation with the NSA, and Parliament must exercise its oversight role.
While acknowledging that Parliament cannot legally force the minister to reverse his decision—a power reserved for the courts or the minister’s own volition—the DA is applying significant political pressure. Khakhau insisted the party’s goal is to “safeguard the integrity of SETAs” and “detox them from being plagued by maladministration, corruption, [and] fraud.”
The Ministry of Higher Education and Training, through its spokesperson Matipo Sidat, declined to appear on the program but defended the procedural soundness of the appointments off-air.
The escalating fight threatens to plunge the critical SETA system, responsible for skills development and training, into further controversy and political gridlock.