Opening remarks by Mr Buti Manamela, MP and Minister of Higher Education and Training to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education
Placement of three SETAs under administration and the path to SETA reforms
Chairperson, Honourable Members of the Committee, colleagues, and fellow South Africans:
I wish to begin by thanking you for conceding to my request of this meeting. The matter before us is not routine housekeeping. It is about the credibility of our skills development system, the integrity of institutions entrusted with billions in public funds, and the futures of thousands of young people who depend on SETAs to open doors into work, dignity, and livelihoods.
To place any public entity under administration is a serious measure. To do so with three SETAs at once is unprecedented. Today I wish to take the Committee carefully through the state of affairs I encountered on assuming office in July this year, the process that was followed in deciding on intervention, the legal basis that guided me, the criteria and profiles of the administrators appointed, the scope of their mandate, and the broader reform agenda that I believe is now unavoidable.
The state of the SETAs before intervention
Honourable Members, when I assumed office in July 2025, I did not enter a blank slate. The crises within the SETA landscape had been accumulating for years.
At Services SETA, one of the largest and most strategic, procurement irregularities had become the norm. The Werksmans forensic report commissioned in 2022 had set out in detail the maladministration and possible misconduct. Yet the recommendations were left largely unattended. Boards turned a blind eye while service providers were recycled, and consequence management was avoided. In 2025 the Acting CEO resigned abruptly, citing untenable conditions. That resignation created a vacuum in an organisation already paralysed by infighting and weak oversight.
At the Construction SETA, the problems were even more visible. This SETA had already been under administration between 2020 and 2022. That intervention was meant to reset governance. Yet by 2024 the same symptoms re-emerged: whistle-blowers alleged intimidation and interference, records showed wasteful expenditure of nearly R80 million, the board fractured and could not sit with quorum, and AG management reports flagged the same recurring weaknesses year after year. Instead of financing skills for the construction and built environment, CETA had become consumed by battles over tenders and internal power.
At the Local Government SETA, the situation was perhaps most alarming. In March this year National Treasury itself raised the alarm, noting the irregular appointment of the CEO, the unlawful dissolution of the Audit and Risk Committee, and possible criminality in procurement. Municipal projects stalled, learners were left without stipends, and millions remained frozen in reserves. Instead of strengthening the skills base of municipalities — the very institutions meant to drive service delivery — the LGSETA had become itself a site of dysfunction.
Across all three, Honourable Members, the pattern was unmistakable: boards unwilling or unable to discharge fiduciary duty; CEOs conflicted or complicit; forensic and audit findings ignored; and the people whom these SETAs exist to serve — learners, workers, and employers — left stranded.
A timeline of events
Allow me to map the chronology so that the Committee can see that this was not a rushed decision.
- 2020–2022: CETA already under administration, but systemic weaknesses remained unresolved.
- 2021–2022: The Werksmans forensic report at Services SETA exposed procurement irregularities. Its recommendations were shelved.
- 2023: AGSA and internal auditors again flagged recurring irregularities at Services and CETA, while whistle-blowers reported intimidation and maladministration.
- 2024: Treasury raised red flags at LGSETA; the Portfolio Committee voiced concern about reserves and irregular APPs.
- March 2025: Treasury formally questioned the legality of the LGSETA CEO appointment and dissolution of oversight committees.
- April 2025: AGSA reports identified wasteful expenditure and ongoing high-risk areas.
- May 2025: Services SETA’s Acting CEO resigned, leaving leadership instability.
- July 2025: On assuming office, I conducted a 19-day consultation with all twenty-two SETA CEOs and key stakeholders.
- 7 August 2025: I sought formal advice from the National Skills Authority.
- 14 August 2025: NSA advised that entrenched governance failures justified intervention.
- 15 August 2025: I informed the Chairperson of this Committee of my intention to act.
- 26 August 2025: Government Gazette published the dissolution of Accounting Authorities and the appointment of administrators.
- September 2025: Administrators inducted; litigation launched in both High Court and Labour Court; Public Service Commission commenced vetting of administrators.
Looking ahead:
- October 2025: I will deliver a Ministerial Statement on SETA Reform.
- November 2025: Administrators will submit their 90-day stabilisation reports.
- 2026 onwards: Parliament will receive structured updates on reforms leading to a more coherent PSET system.
This chronology shows that the decision was consultative, deliberate, and legally grounded.
The legal basis
The authority for intervention lies in Section 15 of the Skills Development Act.
Section 15(1) empowers the Minister to dissolve the Accounting Authority of a SETA and appoint an administrator where the SETA has failed to perform its functions or mismanaged its finances. Section 15(4) provides for urgent intervention without consultation if such consultation would be impractical or defeat the purpose.
In the cases of Services, CETA, and LGSETA, the facts met the jurisdictional requirements of both provisions. Section 15(1) was satisfied by the evidence of mismanagement and failure. Section 15(4) was satisfied by the urgency: boards paralysed, CEOs conflicted, and ongoing irregularities placing learners and funds at risk.
The Gazette correctly invoked both provisions. And I emphasise: even if one were to question section 15(4), the decision stands firmly on the basis of section 15(1).
Appointment of administrators
The appointment of administrators was not arbitrary. Administrators assume the full powers of both the Accounting Authority and the Accounting Officer. We therefore applied rigorous criteria: proven governance and leadership, subject-matter expertise, integrity and independence, immediate availability, and credibility with stakeholders.
On this basis, I appointed three individuals:
- Mr Matjie Masoga at Services SETA. He brings experience as CEO of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, as Group Executive at the Limpopo Economic Development Agency, and as former Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Legislature. With postgraduate qualifications in governance and public leadership and doctoral research underway, he is equipped to manage a large and complex institution like Services.
- Mr Oupa Nkoane at Construction SETA. He has more than twenty years in senior public administration, including as Acting City Manager of Tshwane, Section 139 Administrator at Emfuleni, Head of Planning in Ekurhuleni, and CEO of the Municipal Demarcation Board. With a Master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning, he understands infrastructure, finance, and organisational recovery.
- Mr Zukile Mvalo at LGSETA. He has served since 2013 as DHET’s Deputy Director-General for Skills Development, with direct oversight of all twenty-one SETAs. He holds degrees in law and public administration, and has led policy, governance, and labour law reform in the Department for more than a decade.
These appointments were deliberate matches between crisis and capability. All three have undergone MIE and we are finalising details with the Public Service Commission so that they finalise their vetting that will reinforce public confidence.
Mandate of the administrators
The administrators carry a mandate that is both remedial and forward-looking. They hold the full powers of boards and CEOs. Their responsibilities include stabilising governance, restoring PFMA compliance, enforcing consequence management, ensuring that learner and employer programmes continue without interruption, regularising APPs and reporting, and preparing the ground for new Accounting Authorities.
They will provide monthly reports to the Department and present ninety-day turnaround plans by November. Their role is transitional, not permanent, designed to ensure that SETAs emerge from crisis on a credible and sustainable footing.
Concerns of the Committee
I am aware of the concerns Members may raise. Why not discipline individuals instead of dissolving boards? Why not wait for APPs to be signed? Was Parliament consulted?
Disciplinary processes could not have resolved boards that were themselves complicit or paralysed. Waiting would have left learners and employers without support. And Parliament was consulted: I informed the Chairperson on 15 August, and today’s session strengthens that accountability.
Legal sensitivities
Litigation has been launched in both the Labour and High Courts. Without pre-empting the courts, I must emphasise: the facts of mismanagement are not contested. The debate is procedural. Our actions are lawful, necessary, and proportionate to the risks.
Reform path
Honourable Members, administration is not the end of the matter. It is the beginning of reform.
The weaknesses are structural: politicised boards, idle reserves, duplication across SETAs, and weak alignment to national priorities. To correct these we are moving on three tracks:
- Immediate reforms: halting unnecessary LMS procurements, enforcing reporting on suspensions and reserves, stabilising learner programmes.
- Medium-term reforms: shared services for ICT and finance, stronger vetting of boards, Treasury and AGSA alignment.
- Long-term reforms: rationalisation of SETAs, building a single coherent PSET system, aligning skills development to the Just Energy Transition, industrialisation, and youth employment.
Way forward
Administrators will table their ninety-day reports in November. In October I will present a Ministerial Statement on SETA Reform. Parliament will be kept fully informed.
I ask the Committee to scrutinise progress, to support the reform agenda, and to work with us in ensuring that skills development institutions serve their purpose with integrity.
Conclusion
Chairperson and Honourable Members, we cannot allow institutions entrusted with skills development to collapse under mismanagement. By acting decisively now, and by reforming structurally, we can restore credibility, safeguard public funds, and deliver on the promise of skills for work, for livelihoods, and for our country’s future.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Matshepo Seedat
Spokesperson to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
Cell: 082 679 9473
E-mail: @HigherEduSpox
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