Illustrative Image: Nobuhle Nkabane (Former minister of higher education). (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi) | Person being sacked. (Image: Freepik) Former minister of higher education and training Nobuhle Nkabane, who now serves as the ANC’s Deputy Chief Whip, has admitted to Daily Maverick that she failed to conduct proper oversight and is taking full responsibility for her controversial appointments of chairpersons to various Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) boards.
‘I admit and take responsibility’
Nkabane told Daily Maverick that she intended to establish an independent and properly functioning evaluation panel; however: “I did not exercise the level of oversight and due diligence required to ensure that the panel convened, deliberated and produced the necessary records and reports. In relying on delegated authority, I failed to detect early warning signs that the process was not unfolding as intended. For this lapse in leadership and administrative vigilance, I take full and unreserved responsibility,” said Nkabane.
She said she had now learnt the importance of maintaining direct oversight over key governance processes, especially those with strategic implications, ensuring that delegated responsibilities were matched with clear capacity, experience and accountability mechanisms.
“These lessons… have strengthened my appreciation for governance systems, internal controls, and the value of collaborative oversight. I now fully understand that good intentions are not a substitute for thorough execution, and that leadership requires constant vigilance, structured systems and active verification,” said Nkabane.
Background
The scandal erupted when Nkabane attempted to appoint 21 Seta board chairpersons, a list populated by figures with deep ties to the ANC. Among the most contentious appointees was Buyambo Mantashe, son of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, who was slated to head the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Related Services Seta. Other notable names included former ANC provincial deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu.
A ‘phantom’ independent panel
As pressure mounted from Members of Parliament (MPs) demanding accountability, Nkabane insisted the process was above board. She claimed to have established an independent panel to oversee the selections, naming five high-profile individuals to lend the process credibility.
The list included Advocate Terry Motau SC as chairperson, alongside Nkabane’s chief of staff, Nelisiwe Semane, Seta director Mabuza Ngubane, Deputy Director-General Rhulani Ngwenya, and adviser Asisipho Solani.
However, the house of cards collapsed when Advocate Motau revealed he had never been formally appointed and that Nkabane was fully aware he was not part of the panel. In further shocking revelations, three other officials named by the minister, Semane, Ngubane, and Ngwenya, also denied any involvement in the appointment process.
Guilty
This has now led to the ANC’s Deputy Chief Whip being found guilty of misleading in Parliament over her controversial appointments by the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members.
Speaking to Daily Maverick, the chairperson of the committee, Joseph Hendrik Britz, explained the gravity of the findings.
“After the committee received the complaint, it became clear that there were certain unanswered questions, and we broadened the scope of the investigation... The committee came to a unanimous decision. After considering the recommendations and deliberations, the committee came to the finding that the former minister did indeed transgress specific portions of the code.”
In a formal letter to the Democratic Alliance’s Karabo Khakhau, who blew the whistle on the appointments, the committee’s Acting Registrar of Members’ Interests, Anthea Gordon, confirmed Nkabane breached items 5(1)(c) and (e) of the Code of Ethical Conduct.
“Honourable Nkabane MP failed to act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in her, and she failed to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament,” Gordon stated.
The committee has mandated that her apology must specifically address her “allowing her adviser [Asisipho Solani] to control and manipulate the appointment of the Seta board chairpersons” and her failure to “exercise due care”.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-22-at-21.08.14-1.jpeg "Nobuhle Nkabane’s adviser, Asisipho Solani. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament)")
Did she lie?
According to Britz, the committee did not use the word “lie” in its statement, however: “When you read the report, it is obvious and very clear that the minister was hiding facts, and where there is smoke, there must be fire,” said Britz.
Despite the severity of the deception, the committee has recommended a reprimand and a formal apology in the House. Britz said Nkabane reportedly pleaded for leniency, citing her removal from the Cabinet, her loss of ministerial income, and her status as a single mother and first-time offender.
President Cyril Ramaphosa removed disgraced Nkabane from his Cabinet. On 21 July 2025, the Presidency announced that Ramaphosa had appointed Buti Manamela as the new minister of higher education and training. Manamela was previously serving as South Africa’s deputy minister of higher education.
Ramaphosa also appointed Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube as deputy minister. Ncube was also part of the chairpersons who were going to be appointed by Nkabane to the boards of Setas.
DA welcomes verdict
The DA, which has laid charges of fraud and statutory offences against Nkabane, has welcomed the findings by the ethics committee. Khakhau said in a statement that it was extremely problematic and raised fundamental questions that the Deputy Chief Whip of the ANC in Parliament is now guilty of breaching Parliament’s own Code of Ethics – lying to Parliament.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ED_563179.jpg "DA national spokesperson Karabo Khakhau at Cape Town Central police station. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)")
“The apology must cover how she allowed her adviser, Asisipho Solani, to control and manipulate the appointment of the Seta board chairpersons. And Nkabane must also apologise for the fact that she failed to exercise due care over the appointment process. Her failure to ‘exercise due care’ means that she oversaw senior ANC cadres taking up high-paying jobs, and lied to Parliament to cover her tracks,” said Khakhau.
She added that the DA would move to blacklist Solani from accepting any state-funded position in this and future administrations. The spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks), Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, told Daily Maverick that the charges laid by Khakhau were still under investigation.
At the time of publication, Solani had not responded to requests for comment. DM