Controversial Seta administrators hit back at corruption claims and vow to restore integrity

MPs in the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education recently scrutinised the appointments of the three new Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) administrators made by Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Buti Manamela.

He appointed Oupa Nkoane as Construction Seta administrator, Lehlogonolo Masoga as Services Seta administrator and Zukile Mvalo as Local Government Seta administrator. However, MPs called on Manamela to withdraw their appointments.

The administrators have hit back, saying they should be judged on what they can offer, along with their experience, and not political consciousness.

Read more: Minister defends controversial Seta appointments, claiming they are based on ‘professional competence’

Daily Maverick spoke to the three new administrators, who took office on 12 September 2025. Their mandate from Manamela was “to restore integrity, enforce consequence management where necessary, and ensure that learners and workers are not prejudiced by institutional weaknesses”.

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

ANC-linked Masoga was scrutinised for a R125,000 phone bill from a 2014 trip to the US, with the Public Protector advising partial repayment. He was also allegedly involved in backdating a R4.4-million communications contract as CEO of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone.

Responding to the allegations of the R4.4-million contract and how these past incidents could affect his work at Setas, Masoga said: “The allegations made against me are contained in an inconclusive report produced without my side of the story having been heard, as the person who signed the alleged document on good time as provided for by the regulations.

“Had I been afforded an opportunity, I would have long provided concrete evidence about what transpired; hence, I am taking action to review and set aside the report, which will include reporting the so-called investigators… As things stand, my professional integrity is intact, and I do not have sleepless nights about baseless innuendos peddled in the media,” said Masoga.

Read more: Killing the Holy Ghost: Inside the unlawful bid for environmental approval of the Musina-Makhado SEZ

These same allegations prompted Karabo Khakhau (DA) to call on Manamela to withdraw Masoga’s appointment.

Masoga said: “The opposition parties in Parliament are entitled to question the decisions of the executive, and such a right must be protected at all material times. However, as for my new responsibilities, judgement should be based on what I can offer the country based on my knowledge and experience, rather than my political consciousness.

“Part of my mandate is to ensure that the entity increases the enrolment of new trainees while graduating work-ready trainees in the pipeline and supporting levy-paying employers to train more people in line with the sector skills plan.” 

Meanwhile, Nkoane, who is linked to a 2017/18 forensic report that revealed a loss of R872-million in “unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure” at the Emfuleni Local Municipality while he was acting municipal manager, stated that he has known Manamela for years and denies the allegations of financial mismanagement.

“I vehemently deny that I have been involved in financial mismanagement. What I have done is commission a report as part of the declaration of irregular expenditure in the organisation, which is in line with the legal prescripts governing finance (Municipal Finance Management Act). The report helped identify shortcomings in procurement and recommended a number of interventions,” said Nkoane. 

Replying to what was said by the DA and Khakhau in Parliament, and statements that he was corrupt, Nkoane said: “It’s sad and very unfortunate that a political party will go public and conclude that one is ‘corrupt’ without substance. I have yet to hear how they concluded that. Such statements are unfortunate and destroy people’s careers without facts.”

He said he planned to recalibrate the Construction Seta to create a skilled workforce, especially among the youth, after the organisation experienced nearly R80-million in wasteful expenditure.

“The plan involves matching infrastructure construction grants and projects with skilled young people. We need to invest in skills through partnerships with Technical and Vocational Education and Training and other credible and capable skill development facilitators… Get issues on compliance on the right track. Design a plan towards implementing the Auditor-General’s recommendations and actions with a focus on proper project governance,” said Nkoane.

Mvalo’s account

Mvalo, the Deputy Director-General for Skills Development at the Department of Higher Education and Training, faces allegations of mismanagement within the sector. While he did not address these specific accusations, he noted that seven of 21 Setas achieved clean audit outcomes recently.

“In the 2022/23 financial year, seven Setas achieved clean audit outcomes. Encouragingly, this figure rose to 10 Setas in the 2023/24 financial year. Over the same period, the number of Setas receiving unqualified audit outcomes remained stable at five in 2022/23 compared to four in 2023/24,” said Mvalo. 

He added that this was an improvement, saying that “the focus is on strengthening governance, improving financial management and ensuring that the organisation delivers effectively on its mandate to support skills development and service delivery… A central focus of these targets is expanding workplace-based learning and skills development opportunities for young people, in alignment with the government’s Medium-Term Development Plan.”

Appointment process

On Friday, 19 September 2025, Sihle Lonzi (EFF) questioned Manamela and Director-General Nkosinathi Sishi about the number of individuals headhunted for administrator positions. Manamela lacked an exact number and Sishi stated that no headhunting policy existed.

When Daily Maverick asked Mvalo, Masoga and Nkoane whether they had formally applied for these positions or were headhunted, they said individuals were identified and encouraged to submit their CVs for consideration, based on the criteria and information published in the Gazette.

With plans in place to resolve the problems around the three Setas, Local Government Seta CEO Ineeleng Molete has challenged Manamela and the department for placing the entity under administration; the matter is set to be heard on 30 September 2025 at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg. DM