Higher education minister Buti Manamela says placing three troubled training authorities under administration was “not only justified but essential”, and he insists the turnaround is under way.
During a briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, Manamela said his August 2025 decision to intervene at the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta), Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services Seta), and Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSeta) was “a bold, difficult and at the time deeply unpopular decision”.
Six months later, he said the evidence is clear.
Manamela acted less than a month after taking office, placing the three Setas under administration because of what he described as serious and systemic governance failures.
“The decision was not taken lightly. It was a necessary and decisive step to stabilise governance, restore institutional integrity, enforce consequence management and protect the credibility of South Africa’s skills development system,” he said.
Systemic governance failures
At Ceta, the problems were financial and administrative. The authority had four consecutive qualified audit opinions and had overcommitted discretionary grant funds by billions of rand.
Services Seta’s situation was worse. It had received seven consecutive qualified audit opinions, “a full seven-year period without consequence management”, said Manamela. Investigations found:
- supply chain failures;
- pre-payments for services before contracts began; and
- a former CEO who failed to disclose a relationship with an awarded bidder.
“Despite three major investigations, not a single official had been held accountable,” he said.
At LGSeta:
- a National Treasury forensic report confirmed the irregular appointment of its CEO and the unlawful dissolution of its audit and risk committee. A criminal case was registered with the police in October 2025.
- A cyberattack also corrupted financial records, leading to a discrepancy of more than R1.5bn.
“In each case, administration was the appropriate and proportionate remedy under the Skills Development Act,” said Manamela.
Progress made
Manamela said progress had been made at all three Setas.
At Ceta:
- key oversight committees have been reconstituted and are operational;
- new CFO started work on Monday, ending nearly two years of acting leadership;
- more than 20 internal audit findings in ICT have been resolved and salary negotiations have been concluded; amd
- seven skills centre projects are under way in KwaZulu-Natal, the North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
At Services Seta:
- legacy commitments of R3.4bn have been reduced to R2.8bn;
- a process to recover up to R2.8bn for reinvestment into discretionary grants is under way;
- no new irregular or wasteful expenditure has been identified since administration commenced;
- a 20,000 internship programme has been launched;
- R1.3bn has been set aside for bursaries supporting 10,000 TVET college students and 5,000 university students; and
- outstanding bursary payments previously owed to universities and colleges have been settled.
At LGSeta, disciplinary action has been pursued against the implicated CEO and the dispute with the auditor-general has been resolved. The labour court ruled in favour of the minister and LGSeta after the former CEO challenged the administration decision and the termination of his contract.
Intervention at College of Cape Town
Manamela also announced a new governance intervention at the College of Cape Town.
After a parliamentary hearing in October 2025, he appointed a stabilisation and governance support team to investigate allegations of maladministration. The team’s report found:
- a collapse of governance oversight structures;
- irregular appointments and nepotism;
- procurement irregularities that were affecting teaching and learning;
- teaching and learning were being compromised; and
- students and staff were living in “a climate of fear”.
The college principal was dismissed after a disciplinary process. The team recommended the council be dissolved and an administrator appointed.
Manamela appointed Dr Robert Nkuna as administrator for up to two years. Nkuna will take over all governance and management functions of the council and focus on:
- stabilising operations;
- commissioning a forensic audit; and
- rebuilding governance structures.
When institutions become captured by dysfunction, levy payers lose. When procurement irregularities go unchecked, learners lose. When audit findings go unaddressed for seven years, everyone loses
— Buti Manamela, higher education minister
The minister said the interventions have been challenged in court but insisted the department would defend its decisions.
“Governance reform cannot be held hostage to litigation. We are confident of the legal basis of each intervention. The courts will decide. However, administration continues.”
Manamela said the aim of administration is not punishment but protection of public funds meant for skills development.
“Administration is not an end in itself. Its purpose is to protect and redirect public funds to the people they are meant to serve: workers, learners, young people seeking opportunity.
“When institutions become captured by dysfunction, levy payers lose. When procurement irregularities go unchecked, learners lose. When audit findings go unaddressed for seven years, everyone loses.”
The next six months will focus on consolidating gains and preparing for new accounting authorities to take over before administration ends, he added.
“In a country where unemployment, poverty and inequality remain the defining challenges of our time, skills development is not optional. It is foundational.”
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