DA urges Public Service Commission to review Manamela’s controversial SETA appointments
The DA is demanding urgent PSC intervention, warning that the newly appointed SETA administrators are linked to the very corruption and maladministration they are meant to address.
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The Democratic Alliance has written to Professor Somadoda Fikeni, the Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, urging him to declare the recent appointments of three SETA administrators as unfit and inconsistent with the principles of public service.
In a formal letter, DA Member of Parliament Karabo Khakhau raised serious concerns about the appointments of Zukile Mvalo, Oupa Nkoane, and Lehlogonolo Masoga as administrators of the Local Government SETA (LGSETA), Construction SETA (CSETA), and Services SETA (SSETA), respectively.
The appointments were made by Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, and have already been referred to Fikeni’s office.
Khakhau argued that the appointees’ track records stood in direct conflict with the ethical and professional standards outlined in Chapter 10, Section 195 of the Constitution and the Public Service Regulations of 2016.
“It is my professional view as a Member of the South African National Assembly that Mr Nkoane, Mr Masoga and Mr Mvalo's track records as public servants are in direct conflict with the provisions of the above quoted pieces of South African legislation,” she said.
She noted that Nkoane, a former Municipal Manager at Emfuleni Local Municipality, was implicated in a forensic report detailing the mismanagement of R872 million.
Masoga, a former Limpopo MEC and Deputy Speaker, was linked to a R4.4 million contract that was allegedly backdated while he was CEO of the Musina-Makhado SEZ.
Mvalo, who served as Deputy Director-General for Skills Development since 2017, had direct oversight over all 21 SETAs during a period marked by repeated adverse findings from the Auditor-General and little implementation of corrective recommendations.
Khakhau highlighted that Manamela had cited issues such as weak oversight, irregular procurement, and missing public funds as reasons for placing the SETAs under administration.
Yet he appointed individuals whose own histories, she argued, reflected the same failings.
“Their respective track records point to guilt of the same misconduct they are supposed to correct. They simply are not the right choice of appointees. They are not fit for purpose,” she said.
She also took issue with Manamela's remarks to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on Friday, where he said it was not his responsibility to judge the forensic reports implicating the appointees.
Khakhau insisted that it was, and further argued that the Public Service Commission has a duty to assess public servants beyond their qualifications or lack of criminal records.
“They should be judged against their track records of service in any public office alongside any report (forensic too),” she said.
Khakhau urged the Commission to guide the Minister in upholding constitutional values and to intervene in the interest of ethical governance.
She called for the appointments to be declared “unfit and inconsistent with the codes and requirements of public service.”
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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