'I am going to be a resident of Orania' - NC EFF leader Tlhaole
Tlhaole said the government needed to send a strong message against discriminatory areas like Orania and Kleinfontein in Pretoria.
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Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
‘Corrupt and incapable' — education minister's appointments of Seta administrators slammed by DA and EFF
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela's appointment of administrators to three Setas has drawn flak from the DA and EFF, who say the administrators are implicated in corruption, are ANC cadres and are incapable of doing the job. Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela has placed three Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) — the Construction Seta (Ceta), Services Seta (SSeta) and Local Government Seta (LGSeta) — under administration, citing governance failures, procurement irregularities, lapses in oversight and board instability. On 19 August, Manamela appointed Oupa Nkoane as Ceta administrator, Lehlogonolo Masoga as SSeta administrator and Zukile Mvalo as LGSeta administrator. These appointments came in the wake of Daily Maverick's sustained reporting on allegations of corruption regarding former higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane's appointments of the chairpersons of the 21 Seta boards. 'We cannot allow governance failures to erode the public's confidence in our skills development system. These administrators have a clear mandate to restore integrity, enforce consequence management where necessary, and ensure that learners and workers are not prejudiced by institutional weaknesses,' said Manamela. The goal, he said, was to reposition Setas so they can contribute effectively to the fight against unemployment, poverty and inequality. Significance of being under administration Placing higher education entities under administration is a significant and regulated intervention aimed at addressing severe governance and operational failures. If an audit or any other information reveals serious financial mismanagement, corruption or a lack of proper accounting, the minister has the authority to step in. Once the minister appoints an administrator, the administrator effectively takes over the powers, functions and duties of the institution's council for a specific period, which is determined by the minister and can be extended. In April 2024, former minister Blade Nzimande announced the dissolution of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme board and placed the entity under administration. He appointed Sithembiso Freeman Nomvalo as the administrator for 12 months. Read more: NSFAS boss Freeman Nomvalo promises fresh processes and payment system by September. A few universities have also been placed under administration, including the University of South Africa, the University of Fort Hare, Mangosuthu University of Technology and Vaal University of Technology. The wrong people The DA's Karabo Khakhau and the EFF's Sihle Lonzi said Manamela had appointed the wrong people as the administrators of the three Setas. 'The issue we have with the three people that he has chosen to appoint is that two of them are implicated in corruption … [involving] R872-million and … R4.4-million,' said Khakhau, referring to Nkoane and Masoga. She said Mvalo has been at the Department of Higher Education for years as a deputy director-general of skills development. 'All 21 Setas have been reporting directly to him for the past eight years,' said Khakau. 'He has failed at stabilising Setas for the past eight years and has no prospect of fixing anything suddenly now.' She said the three appointments were not much different from what Nkabane had done when appointing ANC cadres to head Setas. 'Starting on the wrong foot ' Lonzi said, 'It seems like Minister Buti Manamela did not listen to our council because we wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt to say, 'Don't repeat the same mistakes of your predecessor.' 'Instead of trying to appoint dignified, honest, new board members with integrity to turn around our entities, there seems to be a continued capture which has been taking place in our Setas. '[This] is just another ANC deployee being replaced by another corrupt ANC deployee to continue the corruption and the kleptocracy of the ANC government in its attempt to capture our government entities and institutions.' R ead more: ANC is 'defending the indefensible', says DA after Mbalula backs Minister Nkabane. Corruption scandals Two of the new administrators, Nkoane and Masoga, were implicated in corruption scandals. Ceta administrator Nkoane was one of 12 officials named in a 2017/18 forensic report that revealed the loss of R872-million in 'unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure' at the Emfuleni Local Municipality. At the time, Nkoana was the acting municipal manager of the municipality. A criminal case stemming from the report was opened with the South African Police Service. The SABC reported that the DA called for Nkoane's dismissal, and he was replaced by Lucky Leseane in February 2020. Sseta administrator Masoga grew up in the ranks of the ANC Youth League. He was deputy chairperson of his local ANC branch in Flora Park, Polokwane. From 2009 to 2019, he was a member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, where he served as MEC for roads and transport and deputy speaker. Masoga allegedly incurred an 'exorbitant or unreasonable' telephone bill amounting to R125,000 during an official trip to the US in August 2014. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane recommended that Masogo pay back part of this bill. According to Khakhau, Masogo 'was implicated in a forensic report by forensic services company Morar for backdating a communications contract worth R4.4-million as the CEO of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone — this was seen to justify unjustified payments made to communications company, Mahuma Group'. White elephant tender-fest trampling SA's impoverished far north. Broken promises — how SA's Seta system leaves young job seekers behind. Governance failures Setas have been plagued by governance failures and corruption. Investigators uncovered systemic governance failures at the LGSeta, including procurement irregularities linked to a R2.3-billion tender process riddled with noncompliance. In 2023, the Health and Welfare Seta reported R1.72-million in wasteful expenditure, including unpaid stipends and inflated purchase orders. From as far back as 2018, the SSeta has been linked to corruption involving millions of rands. Read more: How Services Seta blew R163-million and broke SA's skills promise. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Tebogo Letsie, said the committee has not been furnished with the full details of why each Seta had been placed under administration. 'We will wait for the ministry to give us a full report on its decision before deciding if we will ask them to take us through their decision,' said Letsie. On Wednesday, 20 August, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's CEO, Wayne Duvenage, said: 'Putting a Seta under administration does not magically clean it up. You don't fix a leaking roof by handing the job to the contractor who botched it last time. This looks like cadre deployment, not a clean-up. 'The billions that flow into the Setas belong to taxpayers and employers. That money is meant to build the skills our young people need, not bankroll corruption networks.' Duvenage called for a two-month deadline for administrators to hand over to 'credible boards, transparent and ethical recruitment of new CEOs, protection for whistleblowers who exposed the corruption and consequence management for those implicated in maladministration.'
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
Dirco clarifies its response to US report that claimed racial minorities are abused in SA
Dirco disputed the 'inaccurate and distorted account of the facts' in the US Human Rights Report. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has updating its initial statement challenging the 2024 US Human Rights Report's assessment of safety conditions in South Africa's rural and farming communities. The report, released this month, stated that 'South Africa took a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country'. It highlighted 'significant human rights issues', including unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and the repression of racial minorities. 'The [South African] government did not take credible steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, including inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities, or violence against racial minorities.' SA government rejects racial motivation claims Dirco on Wednesday said the South African government wishes to clarify what it called 'an inaccurate and distorted account of the facts'. It said the nation addresses all forms of crime as a significant challenge affecting all citizens, regardless of their race or location. 'The suggestion that these crimes represent a concerted practice of racially motivated attacks, as insinuated by the US report, is not borne out by the facts,' Dirco stated. ALSO READ: Dirco rejects 'inaccurate and deeply flawed' US reports on SA human rights Police statistics challenge US assessment Official statistics from the South African Police Service (Saps) support the government's position. The data covers rural safety for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year, from 1 January to 31 March 2025. Dirco highlighted that during this period, six murder cases occurred in farming communities. The breakdown of victims demonstrates that crimes do not target a single racial group. According to the statistics quoted by Dirco, the three victims were farm employees, one was a farm dweller, and two were farmers. 'These figures underscore that violent crime in rural areas affects everyone who lives and works on farms and related rural areas,' the department said. 'While the loss of any life is a tragedy, these statistics do not reveal a pattern of action driven by inflammatory racial rhetoric against a specific community.' ALSO READ: US report on human rights abuse in SA rejected Rural safety strategy Dirco said the government continues implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to rural safety. It said the National Rural Safety Strategy remains a priority and operates in police station areas serving rural and farming communities. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2024/2025, the strategy had been fully implemented in 893 out of 900 identified rural police stations. The initiative focuses on strengthening police capacity and encouraging community involvement, including traditional leaders and agricultural organisations. Parties involved in rural safety strategy The strategy incorporates multiple stakeholder groups in its implementation. Commercial farmers associations participate through organisations including: African Farmers Association of South Africa, National African Farmers' Union, Agri-SA and its provincial structures, and Transvaal Agricultural Union. Labour unions also play a role, particularly the Food and Allied Workers Union and organisations advocating for farm workers' rights. Interest groups such as AfriForum, the South African Agricultural Research Institute, and Stop Attacks and Farm Murders contribute to the collaborative effort. Private sector collaboration The government said it actively strengthens public-private partnerships through specialised programmes. 'Furthermore, we are actively strengthening public-private partnerships through initiatives like the Eyes and Ears (E2) programme, coordinated with Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa),' the department stated. This initiative utilises the private security industry's technological and logistical capabilities, which improve response times to rural crimes. Commitment to transparency Dirco said South Africa maintains its commitment to transparent and collaborative crime-fighting approaches. The government expressed readiness to engage with other countries on matters of mutual interest through established diplomatic channels. 'We stand ready to engage with any nation on matters of mutual interest through established diplomatic channels, and we will continue to provide accurate, data-driven information to counter any misrepresentations of our domestic situation,' the department concluded. NOW READ: Dirco reviewing ministerial report on Hajj and Umrah for SA pilgrims
IOL News
19 hours ago
- IOL News
South Africa's struggle for happiness: insights from the World Happiness Report 2025
A global report has released the rankings of the happiest and most miserable countries based on the wellbeing of its residents. Social media platforms and online forums are filled with complaints about various issues. In present-day South Africa, national affairs continue to spark conversations among citizens. However, these discussions arise not from disdain but from deep patriotic sentiment and a desire to address the country's challenges. In May 2025, a group of 49 Afrikaners made headlines by leaving South Africa for the United States, claiming victimhood to discrimination and seeking refugee status. The Trump administration extended this status to them, and reports indicated that the US Embassy in Pretoria was processing around 8,000 similar applications, potentially signalling a larger wave of Afrikaners relocating to the US. Conversely, many African Americans are now seeking new beginnings in SA. Motivated by factors such as a more welcoming environment and a desire to escape racial tensions in the US, the allure of SA's rich culture and lower cost of living resonates with many. This juxtaposition of migration trends presents a complex picture of factors influencing an individual's happiness in a country. Perceptions of places vary, and while some individuals thrive in one environment, others may struggle in another. The World Happiness Report 2025 ranks countries based on their citizens' well-being. It uses data from 147 countries and analyses various factors that contribute to happiness. SA ranks 95th out of 147 countries assessed. While this may seem like a decline from previous years, local happiness economists suggest that the data reflects a three-year rolling average, indicating that individual annual assessments might show a more positive view of wellbeing. The report also highlights the happiest countries globally, with Nordic nations leading the rankings. Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden are celebrated for their high public happiness and strong social organisations. Their success starkly contrasts with the lowest-ranking nations, many of which face civil unrest, war, or natural disasters. The World Happiness Report further lists the ten least happy countries, underscoring the societal challenges they face:
