Minister defends controversial Seta appointments claiming they are based on ‘professional competence’

Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela says his three new Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) administrators are not insolvent or criminals, and that they bring reputations of integrity and experience in government, despite MPs arguing that they are incapable and linked to corruption.

On Friday, 19 September 2025, Manamela was grilled at the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education over the newly appointed administrators. MPs questioned their credibility as well as the process followed to appoint Oupa Nkoane as Construction Seta (Ceta) administrator, Lehlogonolo Masoga as Services Seta (SSeta) administrator and Zukile Mvalo as Local Government Seta (LGSeta) administrator.

These Setas were placed under administration on 19 August 2025 by Manamela citing governance failures, procurement irregularities, lapses in oversight and board instability. He said the Ceta and LGSeta were failing to do their jobs. Instead of developing skills, Ceta was consumed by internal battles, and the LGSeta’s problems were even worse, with unlawful appointments and potential criminal activity that had stalled municipal projects and left learners without stipends.

Manamela said there was wasteful expenditure of nearly R80-million at Ceta and that “instead of financing skills for the construction and built environment, Ceta had become consumed by battles over tenders and internal power”. 

According to Manamela, the Skills Development Act, Section 15(4), allowed the dissolution of a Seta’s accounting authority and the appointment of a person, where the Seta has failed to perform its functions or mismanaged its finances. The Act allows for urgent intervention without consultation if such consultation would be impractical or defeat the purpose.

Read more: Broken promises — how SA’s Seta system leaves young job seekers behind.

Accountability

Mnqobi Msezane (of the uMkhonto Wesizwe party) questioned Manamela about his relationship with Nkoane, who was one of 12 officials named in a 2017/18 forensic report that revealed the loss of R872-million in “unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure” at the Emfuleni Local Municipality. “There’s an allegation. […] We found that there are no implications against him. The forensic was presented to Oupa, and he gave us responses, and we were satisfied. The fact that someone is tainted or alleged, it doesn’t mean that the person is guilty of a crime,” Manamela said.

Read more: ‘Corrupt and incapable’ — education minister’s appointments of Seta administrators slammed by DA and EFF.

Meanwhile, Sihle Lonzi (of the Economic Freedom Fighters), lambasted Manamela along with the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Nkosinathi Sishi. Lonzi said that African National Congress (ANC) comrades should not be in the departments of higher education. He questioned Manamela about the number of individuals who were headhunted for the administrator position and the policy of headhunting. Manamela said he did not have the exact number, and Sishi responded that there was no headhunting policy.

Masoga, the SSeta administrator, is linked to the ANC Youth League and served as deputy chair of his local ANC branch. From 2009 to 2019, he was MEC for Roads and Transport and Deputy Speaker in the Limpopo provincial legislature.

Manamela said “the appointments were based on professional competence and proven ability, not on political affiliation. Political membership, including that of the ANC, as some may have raised, neither disqualifies nor qualifies anyone in this regard. What matters is the capacity to restore governance and ensure stability in our skills development institutions,” Manamela said.

Litigation against DHET

The CEOs of both LGSeta and Ceta, Ineeleng Molete and Malusi Shezi, have initiated legal action against Manamela and his department, claiming the decision to place the Setas under administration was “unlawful and prejudicial”. 

Lonzi asked whether the Setas CEOs had been consulted before the decision was made. Sishi initially said no but then changed his position, claiming they had been consulted. This contradictory response prompted ANC MP Sedukanelo Louw to demand that the minister charge Sishi with “dereliction of duty for failing to perform”.

“The DG should be charged with dereliction of duty and be declared a delinquent director for failing to follow lawful process. He has been at the department, and things keep falling, including NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme],” Louw said.

Sishi noted that the LGSeta matter would be heard in Johannesburg High Court on 30 September 2025.

ANC MP and portfolio committee chair Tebogo Letsie  pointed out that MerSeta (the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Related Industries Seta) was another entity facing significant financial issues. “These people have spent over R2-billion, and we cannot find an impact. […] MerSeta is an example. There are many others,” Letsie said, directly contradicting Manamela’s claim that all Setas in his view were fine.

Calls to withdraw

Karabo Khakhau (of the Democratic Alliance) called for the appointments to be withdrawn, citing Mvalo’s long-standing connection to the department and Nkoane’s link to the forensic report. 

In response, Manamela said: “There has not been any judicial finding against them. I would deem that to be quite unfair [to withdraw]. I mean, getting that from someone who belongs to the Democratic Alliance, a liberal political party, to suggest that we should not consider anybody on the basis that there are allegations against them, I think that would be unfair and unconstitutional.”

The minister also said that the DHET had conducted its own vetting of the three administrators and found no issues. However, the Daily Maverick has reported that Manamela asked the Public Service Commission to probe his own appointments, with the investigation currently ongoing.

Read more: Minister Buti Manamela faces backlash over controversial Seta appointments amid corruption allegations.

The administrators, who start their work on 22 September 2025, will provide monthly reports to the department. The committee has also requested that the department provide minutes of the meeting between the department and the CEOs of the three Setas before they were placed under administration. 

“Administrators will table their 90-day reports in November. In October, I will present a ministerial statement on Seta reform. Parliament will be kept fully informed,” Manamela said, concluding his responses to the committee. DM