Parliament demands criminal probe into Minister Nkabane over SETA scandal
Image: GCIS
In a dramatic escalation of the SETA board appointment scandal, members of Parliament have called for a criminal investigation into Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, accusing her of misleading Parliament and manipulating the selection process to benefit politically connected allies.
The portfolio committee has urged the committee leadership to formally complain in terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act.
The move could pave the way for unprecedented legal action against Nkabane over a controversial board appointment process riddled with allegations of cronyism and political interference.
At the heart of the storm is Nkabane's refusal—until recently—to reveal the names of the five-member panel responsible for selecting new SETA board chairpersons.
Though she eventually disclosed most of the names under mounting pressure, MPs say she omitted a critical individual and accuse her of lying to Parliament about the panel's independence.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Karabo Khakhau has reported Nkabane to the Ethics Committee for allegedly misleading Parliament over the independent panel that recommended the chairpersons.
'Affidavit signed and commissioned. Nkabane must appear before the Ethics Committee for lying to Parliament and, by extension, the people of RSA,' she said in a post on X.
This is after Khakhau demanded full disclosure of the final names, accusing the minister of deliberately withholding it and misleading the committee.
ANC MP, David Kgabo, added fuel to the fire, describing the so-called independent panel as effectively an extension of the director-general's office, raising serious questions about the integrity of the process.
Committee chairperson, Tebogo Letsie, confirmed that the committee would pursue legal avenues in line with parliamentary rules governing dishonesty before the legislature. "We will not be complicit in attempts to undermine parliamentary oversight," he said.
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On Tuesday, Letsie welcomed the submission of a letter containing the names of panel members appointed to oversee the selection and recommendation of board chairpersons for SETA.
The panel members, as stated by the minister, are:
- Advocate Terry Motau (chair), though he did not attend the committee meetings.
- Asisipho Solani.
- Nelisiwe Semane.
- Mabuza Ngubane.
- Rhulani Ngwenya.
This controversy follows a heated backlash in May when Nkabane's list of recommended appointees to the SETA boards included a series of politically connected figures—among them, Buyambo Mantashe, son of Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe; former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube; KwaZulu-Natal transport head Siboniso Mbhele; and ANC Johannesburg deputy regional secretary Loyiso Masuku.
Despite repeated requests, Nkabane initially refused to reveal who selected these appointees, deepening suspicions of political patronage and triggering calls for transparency and accountability.
The selection process has since been abandoned, but MPs insisted the damage to institutional credibility demands consequences.
As Parliament weighs its next move, the scandal has thrust issues of transparency, political interference, and ministerial accountability back into the national spotlight, raising the stakes not just for Nkabane but for the integrity of South Africa's public institutions.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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Daily Maverick
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Following the abrupt dismissal of Deputy Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Andrew Whitfield, the Democratic Alliance (DA) publicly called for the immediate removal of Nkabane. We take a closer look at Nkabane and the path that led her to the influential role she holds today. From rural roots to academic heights Nkabane's academic journey began in KwaZulu-Natal, where she attended Ibisi Primary School in Umzimkhulu and matriculated at Task Force High School. In 2001, she earned a Diploma in Business Administration from Durban University of Technology, according to her LinkedIn profile. From 2007 to 2009, she completed a Diploma in Youth Development at the University of South Africa (Unisa). From 2010 to 2014 she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities at Unisa, focusing on government, administration and development. Her postgraduate studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal include a Bachelor of Administration, Honours (2015, cum laude), a Master of Administration in Public Administration (2016), and a PhD in Public Administration (2019). Alongside these, Nkabane completed several professional and executive programmes: a Compliance Management Programme at the University of Cape Town (2016–2017), Executive Development (NQF Level 7) at Stellenbosch Business School (2017), and participated in the African American European Summer School in Nancy, France. She expanded her qualifications with a postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law from the University of the Western Cape (2020), and in March 2025 obtained a Master of Science in International Business Administration from SOAS University of London. Currently, she is studying for a Master of Management in Energy Leadership at Wits Business School. Nkabane's ascent Nkabane's early career included roles as a personal assistant at Umzimkhulu Local Municipality and as a youth coordinator at Sisonke District Municipality. According to the South African Government website, her political journey began with leadership positions in the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the ANC Women's League across branch, regional, and provincial levels in KwaZulu-Natal. As a leader in the ANCYL Sisonke Region, she played a key role in the successful campaign to rename Sisonke District Municipality to Harry Gwala District Municipality, honouring the anti-apartheid stalwart. She was elected as a member of Parliament in 2019 and served on several portfolio committees, including Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Employment and Labour, and Sports, Arts and Culture. She was also a member of the committee that evaluated the Public Protector's fitness for office. In 2022, she joined the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and was appointed convenor of NEC deployees in Mpumalanga. In August 2021, Ramaphosa appointed her deputy minister of mineral resources and energy, a role she held until June 2024. On 3 July 2024, she was sworn in as minister of higher education in the Government of National Unity. Nkabane's promise to reform higher education The Higher Education Ministry had been beset by systemic failures and public distrust. Nkabane promised a decisive shift in how the sector, particularly the troubled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), would be managed. The scheme was placed under administration in April 2024 after serious mismanagement and failure to deliver student allowances. In her maiden budget speech in Parliament on 16 July 2024, Nkabane pledged a full overhaul of the fund, promising to root out corruption. She also vowed to engage directly with student formations to better understand their daily struggles in accessing higher education. Another item high on her agenda was the accommodation crisis plaguing students. In February, Nkabane said that after consulting with landlords and student representatives, she had found common ground and was inspired by the voices of students. She also focused on the Setas, key to upskilling South Africa's youth. Her department allocated R333-million to support Seta programmes aiming to build a skilled and capable workforce to support inclusive growth. Strategic appointments to rebuild trust To steady the NSFAS ship, Nkabane appointed Waseem Carrim as its acting CEO, with a mandate to restore integrity and operational efficiency. She also reconstituted the NSFAS board. Carrim, a former National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) CEO, has since outlined ambitious plans to tackle governance failures and financial mismanagement at the agency. Another key appointment was Asanda Luwaca, chairperson of the NYDA, who was appointed as chairperson of the National Skills Authority on 7 May. These moves reflected Nkabane's focus on appointing young, capable leaders to steer the sector towards reform. Despite these bold commitments, many of the minister's promises have yet to materialise. Issues around student allowances, poor accommodation and delayed payments to landlords persist. Student protests have continued at university and TVET college campuses over the NSFAS's failure to disburse funds timeously. There have been reports of squalid living conditions, overcrowding and exploitative rents. Landlords have claimed the NSFAS failed to pay them for months. Earlier this year, more than 80 students at UCT lived in campus offices without proper facilities, while Wits students went on a hunger strike in protest at being excluded from registration because of historical debt. 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No response had been received by the time of publication. However, the secretary-general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, said during a press briefing that Nkabane had had no intention of misleading Parliament over the Seta appointment process and the naming of Motau. 'We reject the Democratic Alliance's opportunistic laying of criminal charges against the minister,' said Mbalula. 'The DA's conduct is not grounded in legal principle but in performative politics… The minister has decided to restart the process afresh, in full compliance with legal provisions, and without the influence of the prior panel. We invite broader sectoral participation, including business, labour, and student organisations, in the spirit of cooperative governance, a process we fully support as the African National Congress.' For a minister who came in with promises to listen, clean up and restore dignity to the education sector, Nkabane now finds herself on the defensive. 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