FURTHER UPDATE Panel Chair denies appointment - DHET Minister Ngubane reveals panel advising on SETA Chair appointments

Further Update

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane has issued an apology to Advocate Terry Motau for incorrectly stating that he chaired the Selection and Evaluation Panel, which conducted the filtering process on over 500 applications for the 21 Chairpersons roles at Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) Accounting Authorities (previously known as SETA Boards). 

News Update

The named Panel Chair of the Selection and Evaluation Panel denies being part of the panel.

Advocate Terry Motau has issued a statement denying membership of the S&E panel, and stating that he advised the Minister of his unavailability to chair the panel, and was never part of the panel activities.

The next step rests with the Portfolio Committee, the DA member is reported to have lodged a complaint with the Ethics Committee that the Minister mislead the Parliamentary Committee.  

Original article

Various media are currently reporting on the list of panel members, who comprised the Selection and Evaluation (S&E) panel, has now been revealed by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane.

The names published are the following, with additional notes on their apparent positions established by various search engines:

Advocate Terry Motau SC (Panel Chair),

Asisipho Solani, Advisor to the DHET Minister,

Nelisiwe Semane, Chief of Staff in Office of DHET Minister,

Mabuza Ngubane, Deputy Director SETA Performance Management DHET,

Rhulani Ngwenya, Deputy Director General Corporate Services, DHET.  

Now, recording of the Parliamentary Committee on Higher Education (PC HE) meeting - just over 7 hours will need to be played to establish to what extent the DHET Minister mislead the Committee in giving the impression that the panel were independent, as it appears from the internet search that some members work within the DHET department. 

It is reported that the Democratic Alliance plan to refer the DHET Minister to the Ethics Committee, and are questioning whether there is an additional concealed name. There was a slight hesitation when the DHET Minister responded to a question of how many S&E panel members there were. (Personal recollection is of a response of "5 or 6" - that will require re-listening to confirm).

Some additional questions/concerns - in addition to ethics violations - may be raised:

• It is not immediately clear what is the recruitment and selection knowledge, skills, or experience, of each of the S&E panel members. 
• There is no evidence of any Human Resource Management input to the process, which surely would have been beneficial in selection from a reported over 500 applications.
• All DHET department officials present in the PC HE meeting stated that they did not know who the S&E panel members were. 
• Did their statements mean that they did not know all of the S&E panel members? 
• Is it possible that the S&E panel members, who apparently work within the department could have kept their activities on the S&E panel confidential?

It would be a terrible dis-service to DHET officials, who have built a public service career, if their careers were blighted by association with this exercise to appoint SETA Chairpersons.

As indicated in the previous Editorial article, this debacle in the recruitment, selection, and appointment of 21 SETA chairpersons, does not augur well for 2030, when every aspect of the skills development landscape comes up for renewal. We are in need of some dedicated capacity-building prior to 2030. 

The National Skills Authority (NSA) was newly appointed at the time of this exercise, and in their induction meeting, were asked to confirm the appointment of 21 SETA chairpersons - in a hurry, in that one meeting. The NSA clearly did not have the capacity to either refuse, or to effectively oversee the process. 

Noting too, that the NSA Chairperson is also appointed by the DHET Minister, the system appears to lack sufficient independence and oversight.  

Therefore, the lack of sufficient independence and oversight actually works against the DHET Minister's interests, and serves to compromise the DHET department officials. I do not know what the role of Ministerial Advisors is, or whether Ministers take their advice, but it does seem that a young Minister would benefit from a strong Human Resource Management advisor, capable of speaking truth to power.  

Consequently, one suggestion may be for the South African Board of People Practices to have a more active role in public service appointments within the skills development landscape, with all such appointments only to be evaluated and selected by Human Resource Management professionals. 

Alternatively or in combination, for the NEDLAC body comprising representatives of the State, employers, organised labour, and civil society, to take a more active role, as opposed to simply serving as members on the NSA.

As we have a skills shortage, irrespective of party political allegiances, we cannot afford to have young careers compromised by the lack of appropriate oversight and control.            

Whatever the solution, we do need to plan for 2030, with new systems, with improved and more effective oversight and control.