The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) welcomes the removal of Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane as Minister of Higher Education and Training. This follows the scandal surrounding her controversial appointments to the boards of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
SAFTU was among the first to demand her removal after the release of a list of SETA board chairpersons—many of whom lacked appropriate qualifications or credibility. Under pressure from SAFTU and other progressive forces, Minister Nkabane was forced to withdraw the list. Her eventual dismissal is a direct result of public outrage, trade union mobilisation, and sustained media exposure of a process marred by cadre deployment, political patronage, and the subversion of democratic governance.
What makes this scandal even more egregious is that Nkabane misled Parliament. She claimed to have relied on an independent expert panel to guide her appointments, yet members she named as part of that panel later testified that they had never been involved. This clear act of dishonesty demonstrates her willingness to misrepresent facts to entrench political loyalists at the expense of SETA integrity.
But this is not just about one rogue minister. Buti Manamela served as Deputy Minister throughout this entire debacle—yet not once did he speak out against the corruption or abuses taking place under his watch. His silence is deafening. As he now assumes a more prominent role, we are left to ask: Will his appointment represent a break with the past, or will it simply reinforce the crisis-ridden status quo?
Nor can we ignore the fact that Nomusa Dube, a known political ally, was one of those earmarked to be a SETA Board Chairperson under the now-withdrawn list. This raises fundamental questions about political interference and ANC patronage networks. We are reminded of the old saying: “You can’t find a needle in a haystack with no electricity.” That is how deep the rot has become—a crisis so pervasive that truth, merit, and governance have been plunged into total darkness.
This is not an isolated incident. It is the symptom of a broader, long-standing crisis in SETA governance. For over a decade, these institutions have been plagued by corruption, mismanagement, and political interference. As far back as 2012, then-Minister Blade Nzimande began centralising control of SETAs, systematically weakening the tripartite governance model that gave equal voice to government, labour, and business.
In 2015, a wave of public backlash and legal battles followed regulatory amendments pushed by Nzimande’s department to give the Minister unilateral authority over SETA appointments. By 2019, this power grab was complete: new regulations eliminated the consensus-based model envisioned in the 1998 Skills Development Act, enabling the executive to override labour and business stakeholders entirely.
This centralisation of power laid the foundation for the kind of political meddling epitomised by Nkabane’s reckless appointments. SETAs were never meant to serve as political patronage networks. Their core mandate is to advance worker education, training, and employment—especially for the unemployed youth. Minister Nkabane’s actions amount to a direct attack on this mission and the working class as a whole.
While SAFTU welcomes her removal, it must not end there. We demand a total overhaul of SETA governance and a reversal of the trend toward centralisation and political capture. SETAs must be returned to their rightful purpose: building a skilled, employed, and empowered working class. They must not be handed over to looters under the pretext of transformation.
Nkabane’s removal is a victory of the people won through civil society vigilance, trade union action, and mass outrage. But the crisis will persist as long as the system of cadre deployment and ANC elite patronage remains intact.
SAFTU’s Non-Negotiable Demands:
1. Permanent exclusion of previously flagged and discredited individuals from future SETA appointments.
2. Full public disclosure of:
• All SETA board nominees and their political and organisational affiliations.
• Vetting procedures, criteria, and processes followed.
• Final reasons for each appointment.
3. Restoration of the tripartite governance model, in line with the Skills Development Act of 1998.
4. Parliamentary oversight of all SETA appointments and operations in the future.
5. Release of all SIU and Auditor-General reports related to SETA corruption, and criminal prosecution of all individuals implicated in the looting of skills development funds.
SAFTU will remain relentless in defending institutions meant to serve the working class. We will resist all attempts to privatise, loot, or capture SETAs in the name of transformation. We will continue the fight for accountable governance, ethical leadership, and skills institutions that truly empower workers and unemployed youth.
Statement issued on behalf of the SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
For more details, contact the National Spokesperson at:
Newton Masuku
0661682157
newtonm@saftu.og.za
