a day ago
Education minister Buti Manamela acts against three embattled Setas
Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela has taken action against three embattled sector education and training authorities (Setas), placing them under administration.
They were gazetted on Tuesday after years of corruption and mismanagement, as well as serious rot reflected in the auditor-general's reports uncovering various irregularities.
This intervention follows serious and entrenched governance failures in these entities, including procurement irregularities, lapses in oversight and board instability, which threatened their ability to deliver on their mandate to advance skills development.
'This decision marks the first step in stabilising eta governance. 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. Our goal is to reposition Setas so they can contribute effectively to the fight against unemployment, poverty and inequality,' said Manamela.
Meant to address skills shortages and improve the overall quality of education and training in South Africa, the entities have been riddled with corruption and maladministration, with poor accountability leading to millions spent with little to show for it.
The Local Government Seta (LGSeta), the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) and the Services Seta (SSeta) faced the chopping block, with their operations taken over by administrators appointed by the minister.
Zukile Christopher Mvalo was named the LGSeta administrator, with Dithabe Oupa Nkoane as the Ceta head and Lehlogonolo Alfred Masoga taking over at the SSeta. Their tenures as administrators will last a year. They are to oversee the running of their respective Setas, performing functions such as ensuring sufficient funding for the processes and activities.
The minister has also charged them with submitting monthly progress reports to the director-general. Key to their task is facilitating the appointment of new accounting authorities at the three entities.
