Nkabane summoned to parliament as committee chair cites possible legal implications
This follows the controversy around her recently revoked SETA board chairperson appointments which landed Nkabane in hot water for allegedly misleading MPs about an 'independent panel' she claimed had approved politically connected individuals for the boards of the SETAs.
Letsie said at face value, Nkabane appeared to be in breach of section 17 of the Powers, Privileges & Immunities of Parliaments & Provincial Legislatures Act.
The legislation makes it a criminal offence to deliberately provide false and misleading information to parliament.
'This looks like she's provided parliament with inaccurate information, either on May 30 or June 17. So, members are saying we must activate section 17, subsection 2 [of the act] of those who lie [to parliament],' Letsie said.
The act provides for a prison term of up to 12 months.
Letsie added that he was consulting parliament's legal advisers.
In a social services cluster briefing, Letsie said the process of the appointments has been a matter of public interest.
'The minister furnished the committee with a list of independent panel members for appointment of SETAs, SFAS, NSA, universities and TVET colleges, with some names on the list still concealed. The independence of the panel was questioned, given that the names on the list are of the minister's advisers, the chief of staff in the office of the minister and departmental officials.'
In a surprise turn, one of the people on the list has already denied that he was ever part of that panel, a move which Letsie says raises more questions.
'The committee deliberated on the matter and resolved that the minister is legislatively obligated to furnish parliament with the outstanding names of the panellists who were concealed on the submitted list. She also has to write to all the panel members to submit correspondence exchanged between the minister and each panel member, including their acceptance to be a panellist.'
Letsie announced that the committee will also demand terms of reference are given by the minister in respect of their expected roles as panel members.
'We also require a breakdown if the remuneration if any, for the services rendered in their capacity as panel members. The number of meetings attended by each panel member, the minutes of all the meetings of the selection and evaluation proceedings.'
Letsie added that the committee is sourcing the report that was compiled and sent to the National Skills Authority for consultation purposes.
Both the minister and all panel members are expected to appear before the committee to account for the appointment process.
Her two deputy ministers, Buti Manamela and Mimmy Gondwe, have also been invited to the meeting.
Letsie said the committee was summoning the two deputy ministers even though they had previously said they played no role in the Seta board appointments.
'Remember that this is a ministry. If they did not play a role, they must put it on record, so it does not look like they told us that in the dark corners. We want them to tell us to our faces, if they played a role or not,' he said.
'In the meantime, I have written to these panellists and said they must give me written submissions to say what their role was in this thing. We want those responses by Wednesday.'
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Ah, Chief Dwasaho! We do, indeed, live in interesting times, my President. This week, you finally found your backbone, possibly somewhere under the presidential mattress at Phala Phala Game Reserve, and 'removed' someone from your bloated Cabinet. Hhawu, Matamela! You? Fire someone? And not just anyone – uGal herself! Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, once the proud guardian of our nation's knowledge factories, is now reduced to a political footnote without a farewell bouquet. Did you not know, my leader, that 'Brand' Nkabane was a lifetime in the making? A carefully curated blend of ambition, gloss and Instagrammable grace. But alas, what the ancestors giveth, live television taketh away. I cannot unsee that fatal moment: the Honourable Minister's jaws in motion, chewing bubble gum with the vigour of a teenager bunking maths class, right there in Parliament's sacred halls. I am still flabbergasted. 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What did she do that was so egregious? They say her great crime occurred last month when her panel, appointed to oversee the selection of 21 chairpersons and board members for the Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) boards, wobbled under relentless public scrutiny. And yes, the 'panel' disappeared quicker than bubble gum dissolving under parliamentary questioning. But really, was that her fault? All she did was remain on brand: deploy cadres and flood the state with African National Congress (ANC) acolytes. In that regard, she followed the sacred text. Just like the Gauteng Department of Health, which has transformed hospital boards into halfway houses for ANC Youth League (ANCYL) 'leaders' with the so-called requisite experience – which, in plain British English, means they once handed out flyers at a branch general meeting four years ago. Whitfield, who? My leader, I hadn't heard of former deputy minister Whitfield before you pulled the trigger. 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It appears comrades there need urgent funds, not for scalpels or syringes, mind you, but for legal fees. Word on the street is some need money for protection from the 28s in prison. Kubi. Theatre of the absurd But what truly baffles me, Comrade Leadership, is the theatre of the absurd now playing out in Parliament's far-left corner – the uMkhonto Wesizwe party caucus. His Worship – sorry, my bad, he now prefers the minimalist title, Dr Mandlakayise John Hlophe – is lobbing fireballs from the backbenches. He's throwing everything but the Nkandla kitchen sink, demanding your removal as if you'd misplaced your oath of office behind the Phala Phala wildlife sofa. And why? Because you had the gall to discipline a minister who got caught being clumsy. I mean, how dare Nkabane get caught? The problem was never the panel; it's that she failed to make it disappear properly. Meanwhile, Honourable Hlophe, a man well versed in being removed, has resurfaced with fury. 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Murder scene mentorships Honestly, my leader, you've had a far better week than the self-styled Sushi King, Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene. The former prisoner turned 'businessman' turned politician found himself – wait for it – not in the Johannesburg Council Chamber, not on a panel, but at the plush Sandton residence of one Katiso 'KT' Molefe, the alleged mastermind behind the murder of DJ Sumbody, real name Oupa Sefoka. The timing couldn't have been better: as Kunene arrived, the police swooped in to rearrest Molefe. Netflix dreams and empires Now, you'd think most public figures would have the good sense to socially distance themselves from murder suspects. But not Comrade Kunene. No, he embarked on an unbothered, unrepentant media tour, armed with a bold story that deserves a Netflix deal. According to him, he was accompanying a young journalist – a prodigy, no less – who's set to inherit his entire publishing empire, African News Global. 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