DA and opposition parties reject Higher Education Minister Nkabane's budget
Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane on Tuesday accused the DA, MK party and EFF of 'rejecting the transformation of the post-school education and training sector in South Africa' after they rejected her proposed budget for the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Nkabane presented her department's budget vote speech for the 2025/26 financial year at the National Council of Provinces. She said the budget would improve the efficiency and performance of South Africa's post-school education and training system.
Earlier on Tuesday, the DA — a member of the Government of National Unity — opened a criminal case against Nkabane for fraud and statutory offences under section 26 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislature Act 4 of 2004.
Nkabane's budget covered key higher education sectors. In terms of it, TVET colleges are to receive R14-billion, up from R13.1-billion last year. The combined allocation for Sector Education and Training Authorities and the National Skills Fund is R26-billion. National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding rises to R48.7-billion this year, with further increases planned in the coming years. University education rises from R91.7-billion in 2024 to R96-billion this year alone.
Nkabane acknowledged that there was a R1.4-billion deficit in the universities budget and said that the NSFAS budget would 'not [be] sufficient to meet the growing demand for access to higher education.
'We continue to seek efficient ways of allocating limited resources to ensure that no deserving learner is left behind,' she said.
Opposition
After Nkabane presented her budget, the DA's Jeanne Adriaanse wasted no time in shooting it down when she was allowed to respond.
'It is time for President Ramaphosa to fire Minister Nkabane and clean up the ANC's criminal network from the heart of Parliament… Another failure in this minister's dossier is a recent scandal involving the appointment of ANC-connected individuals to the Sector Education and Training Authority. The minister brazenly appointed the comrades to these crucial roles and acted like they were in employment, intending to serve political interests rather than the public good.
'When this list was leaked, the minister smoothly revoked these appointments, attempting to cover her tracks. But the dissension did not go unanswered,' said Adriaanse.
The EFF's Laetitia Arries said, 'We reject the budget, minister… You have failed to account for appointments that are glaring examples of political patronage, where state institutions intended to empower youth and workers are turned into ANC deployment zones for local cadres and family members of the ruling elite.
'Year in and year out, this department is … always inadequately prepared to receive thousands of students at the start of the academic year, while the missing middle students who don't qualify for NSFAS and can't afford tuition are often left without support.'
The MK party rejected the budget for similar reasons to those of the DA and EFF.
The Patriotic Alliance's Bino Farmer said the party supported the budget and that higher education should be a driver of local development. He, however, warned the minister not to do wrong.
In response, Nkabane said, 'Those who are rejecting the budget are rejecting the transformation of the post-school education and training sector in South Africa. They are not rejecting the budget of Nobuhle Nkabane.'
Nkabane is set to appear at the Good Hope Chambers on Thursday, 3 June 2025, for the debate on the budget.
The spokesperson for Higher Education and Training, Camagwini Mavovana, said the minister was aware of the DA's criminal case against her, but was focused on delivering tangible outcomes for young people. DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
Nomvula Mokonyane to visit the home of former deputy president David Mabuza
ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane will on Saturday visit the home of the late former deputy president David Mabuza in Barberton, Mpumalanga. In a statement on Saturday, the ANC said the visit was part of the organisation's 'continued expression of condolences, solidarity and support to the Mabuza family and the broader community of Mpumalanga as the nation mourns the passing of a committed leader and servant of the people'. Mabuza died on Thursday, aged 64, at a hospital in Mpumalanga after a short illness. Mabuza was born at Phola Trust in Mpumalanga on August 25 1960. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Africa in 1989, after achieving a National Teacher's Certificate from Mgwenya College of Education in 1985, according to the presidency. Mabuza was a trained mathematics teacher and became a school principal before going into politics. Mabuza held a number of positions in government including Mpumalanga MEC for education between 1994 and 1998 and housing MEC between 1999 and 2001, He was an MP between 2001 and 2004, Mpumalanga MPL from 2004 to 2007, MEC for roads and transport between 2007 and 2008 and Mpumalanga premier from 2009 to 2018. The presidency said Mabuza rose through the ranks of the ANC, having been elected as: the chairperson of the ANC in Mpumalanga from 2008 to 2017; ex officio member of the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC since 2007; deputy chairperson of the ANC Mpumalanga in 2005; chairperson of the South African Democratic Teachers Union from 1988 to 1991; co-ordinator of the National Education Crisis Committee from 1987 to 1989; chairperson of National Education Union of South Africa from 1986 to 1988; treasurer of Foundation for Education with Production from 1986 to 1990; and secretary of the Azanian Student Organisation from 1984 to 1985. President Cyril Ramaphosa had tasked Mabuza, during the 2019 to 2024 term of government, with a number of responsibilities. TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE
3 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
DD, the unifier, was a man of his word, and I can vouch for his dependability
On Thursday July 3 2025, former deputy president David Debede Mabuza sadly departed. Aged 64, his untimely passing deepens the moment of grief. Mabuza's extensive record in public affairs offers valuable insights into leadership. This is particularly so since his story is part of South Africa's post-apartheid journey under the leadership of an ANC of which he was a member and leader. 'DD' — as Mabuza was popularly known — was a mathematics teacher who cut his anti-apartheid activism in the Azanian Students Organisation (Azaso) in his youth in the 1980s, and later joined the Congress Movement, led by the ANC. After the first democratic elections in 1994, he was deployed to the government to help realise the society of the promise of the Freedom Charter, whose 70th anniversary we mark this year. As an ANC deployee in government, Mabuza was one of the early pathfinders of our democracy, whose ingenuity provided the foundation upon which the democratic edifice stands. Their commitment to the cause of democracy helped to restore the people's confidence in the government after the erosion of trust during the apartheid era. His effusive and staid disposition proved to be an added advantage in the post-apartheid confidence-building process — without which the democratic government would have struggled to rebuild and sustain the confidence of the people. In the tradition of the ANC, leadership is a collaborative process. Each leader brings their strengths to bear, while simultaneously mitigating the shortcomings of their colleagues. One has to see oneself as a team player; indeed, as part of a collective with a shared outlook, roles and responsibilities. In this, Mabuza distinguished himself well, inspiring many around him. He was a man of his word, and I can personally vouch for his dependability. Once he had committed himself to something or a course of action, he stuck to it regardless of the cost or inconvenience to his personal wellbeing. He was also a man of few words. Yet, when he spoke, his voice carried authority and decisiveness. To be a team player also means that one should endeavour to be a unifier, a trait that Mabuza possessed in sufficient stock. In the run-up to the 2017 ANC national conference, and after, he was widely associated with the concept and practice of 'unity'. He appealed to Mpumalanga and all conference delegates to promote organisational unity and cohesion, in word and in deed. Unity is essential not only for the ANC. It is of critical importance to all South Africans, black and white. We sink or swim together. There is no better way to achieve national unity than to work towards the South Africa envisioned in the Freedom Charter. History is the work of the hands of more than an individual leader. However, it is nearly impossible to analyse the 2017 conference and its aftermath without the role of Mabuza, among other actors.
Eyewitness News
4 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Steenhuisen stands by DA's decision to pull out of upcoming National Dialogue
Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader John Steenhuisen has described former president Thabo Mbeki's assertion that all Government of National Unity (GNU) parties must take part in the National Dialogue as disingenuous, given that Mbeki only consulted the ANC when the coalition government was being set up. In his reply to Mbeki's open letter, where the former president questioned the DA's decision to pull out of the dialogue, Steenhuisen defended his party's stance. The DA withdrew from the process last month after Andrew Whitfield was fired as Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry and Competition. The party's withdrawal has sparked criticism from several quarters, with Mbeki questioning why the DA forms part of the GNU if it refuses to engage in such initiatives. In his open letter, Mbeki discloses that he advised the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) on launching a National Dialogue and how it should be structured. Replying to this letter, Steenhuisen argues this reinforces the DA's concern that the dialogue is nothing more than an ANC electioneering tool ahead of next year's municipal elections. He further highlights that the DA and other parties were neither consulted nor given the courtesy of sharing an opinion before the idea was put forward. For these reasons, Steenhuisen says there is no justification for the DA to join what he describes as an expensive ANC talk shop. 'You explain how you attended an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting sometime after June 2024, where you persuaded the ANC to accept your bona fides as a non-government organizer of this dialogue. You say how you were able to advise the ANC NEC that the larger part of civil society would not attend a national dialogue organized either by the ANC or the GNU. In short, the idea of the national dialogue has been strategized and planned for some time between you and the ANC, with no similar courtesy extended to any other political party in the GNU. This confirms that this national dialogue is a creature of the ANC that has been sprung upon the public with the disingenuous claim it is an 'inclusive' process,' Steenhuisen wrote. With the cost to hold the dialogue projected to exceed R700 million, Steenhuisen insists the DA will not back an initiative which he believes squanders public money.
