Khakhau blasts Manamela over his embattled higher education sector

Higher education has descended into a “mess” under minister Buti Manamela, with the Democratic Alliance accusing him of placing politically connected ANC cadres, some of whom have been flagged in forensic audits, in positions to clean up the country’s troubled skills development sector.

Higher education and training portfolio committee member Karabo Khakhau launched a blistering attack on Manamela and the ANC on the sidelines of the DA’s manifesto launch in Johannesburg on Saturday, accusing the governing party of using cadre deployment to protect its political interests at the expense of effective oversight and consequence management.

“We don’t have leadership. The minister does not inspire confidence in anybody,” Khakhau said.

She singled out Manamela’s appointment of administrators to Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas), claiming some had previously been implicated in forensic investigations.

“We see this in how he has handled the choice of administrators that he appointed for Setas, who are cadres who have been written off by forensic audit reports and [he has] sent them to be custodians and transform a sector that is already riddled with corruption,” she said.

Khakhau said the problem went beyond Manamela. She said ministers from the ANC remained beholden to the party’s structures at Luthuli House rather than acting independently in the interests of the country.

“None of these ministers are independent. They’re all coming from Luthuli House,” she said.

“The way the higher education sector is organised is that there is a very serious core of cadres that control what happens within higher education and training.”

She accused the ANC of allowing a culture of cadre deployment and corruption to permeate government.

“The mandate of cadre deployment, of corruption, is a strictly Luthuli House mandate and we see that manifesting itself over and over,” she said.

Khakhau said the same pattern was evident across national and local government, arguing that meaningful reform would be impossible without removing the ANC from power.

“The culture of the ANC is not going to change itself, particularly because it is not just higher education. We see it across departments, in municipalities and altogether in government,” she said.

Even though they try to put on a show of some sort of independence and that they’re safeguarding the interests of South Africa, their actual goal is that they have a mandate from Luthuli House to protect the ANC’s interest.

—  Higher education and training portfolio committee member Karabo Khakhau

She also accused the ANC majority on parliament’s higher education portfolio committee of frustrating effective oversight through party study groups and political discipline.

“The chairperson is an ANC deployee, the majority of the committee members are ANC,” Khakhau said.

“Even though they try to put on a show of some sort of independence and that they’re safeguarding the interests of South Africa, their actual goal is that they have a mandate from Luthuli House to protect the ANC’s interest.

“This is what makes oversight quite cumbersome.”

Khakhau said the deteriorating condition of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges was another indictment of the department’s leadership, pointing to crumbling infrastructure and problems surrounding the awarding of tenders.

She said the failure to act against officials involved in problematic appointments and procurement decisions demonstrated a lack of consequence management.

“That in itself indicates a leadership that does not instill consequence management,” she said.

“The same principle applies with appointment processes that are manipulated where even after you have found out that the person was incorrectly appointed, these people are not fired.”

Khakhau said the stakes extended far beyond political infighting, warning that millions of young South Africans depended on the higher education and skills development system to secure an education and ultimately enter the job market.

“I worry because beyond all of the things that are a problem in higher education, the bottom line is that young people are still dependent on them for funding in order to get an education,” she said.

She also took aim at the Seta model, saying the institutions had failed to deliver the skills needed by young people and had instead become vehicles for financial mismanagement.

“The current model is only designed to do one thing, to line the pockets and not really to give tangible skills development for this country’s youth,” she said.

The DA has called for Setas to be scrapped in their current form, with Khakhau arguing that their funding could be redirected to TVET colleges.

“In any case, TVETs hold the mandate of technical and vocational education and that is what skills development is,” she said.

“With the introduction of occupational courses and qualifications, nothing stops TVET colleges from performing their mandate of upskilling the country’s youth.”

Despite her criticism, Khakhau said the government of national unity had created an opportunity for the DA to influence the department from within government.

She expressed confidence in deputy higher education and training minister Yusuf Cassim, saying his experience in student politics and knowledge of the department could help push through reforms.

“We are 100% confident that his contribution there will make a dent and we are anticipating that we will see some reforms that he will bring there.”