Nkabane summoned to parliament as committee chair cites possible legal implications

Higher education portfolio committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie announced plans to summon minister Nobuhle Nkabane as well as her sector education and training authority panels to parliament.

This follows the controversy around her recently revoked SETA board chairperson appointments which landed Nkabane in hot water for allegedly misleading MPs about an “independent panel” she claimed had approved politically connected individuals for the boards of the SETAs.

Letsie said at face value, Nkabane appeared to be in breach of section 17 of the Powers, Privileges & Immunities of Parliament & Provincial Legislatures Act.

The legislation makes it a criminal offence to deliberately provide false and misleading information to parliament. 

“This looks like she’s provided parliament with inaccurate information, either on May 30 or June 17. So, members are saying we must activate section 17, subsection 2 [of the act] of those who lie [to parliament],” Letsie said.

The act provides for a prison term of up to 12 months.

Letsie added that he was consulting parliament’s legal advisers.

In a social services cluster briefing, Letsie said the process of the appointments has been a matter of public interest.

“The minister furnished the committee with a list of independent panel members for appointment of SETAs, SFAS, NSA, universities and TVET colleges, with some names on the list still concealed. The independence of the panel was questioned, given that the names on the list are of the minister’s advisers, the chief of staff in the office of the minister and departmental officials.”

One of the people on the list has already denied that he was ever part of that panel, a move Letsie says raises more questions.

“The committee deliberated on the matter and resolved that the minister is legislatively obligated to furnish parliament with the outstanding names of the panellists who were concealed on the submitted list. She also has to write to all the panel members to submit correspondence exchanged between the minister and each panel member, including their acceptance to be a panellist.”

Letsie announced that the committee will also demand terms of reference be given by the minister in respect of their expected roles as panel members.

“We also require a breakdown of the remuneration, if any, for the services rendered in their capacity as panel members. The number of meetings attended by each panel member, the minutes of all the meetings of the selection and evaluation proceedings.”

Letsie added that the committee is sourcing the report that was compiled and sent to the National Skills Authority for consultation purposes.

Both the minister and all panel members are expected to appear before the committee to account for the appointment process.

Her two deputy ministers, Buti Manamela and Mimmy Gondwe, have also been invited to the meeting.

Letsie said the committee was summoning the two deputy ministers even though they had previously said they played no role in the Seta board appointments.

“Remember that this is a ministry. If they did not play a role, they must put it on record, so it does not look like they told us that in the dark corners. We want them to tell us to our faces, if they played a role or not,” he said.

“In the meantime, I have written to these panellists and said they must give me written submissions to say what their role was in this thing. We want those responses by Wednesday.”

The committee is yet to finalise and announce a date to convene this meeting.

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