Nkabane unfazed by calls for her axing over SITAs

UNDER-FIRE Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane refused to be drawn to mounting calls for her axing, saying her task was to serve the people of South Africa.

“I am not going to dignify direct attacks on me. I am going to focus on the task at hand of serving the people of South Africa,” she said.

She made the remarks when she presented her department’s budget for the 2025/26 financial year in the National Assembly two days after doing so in the National Council of Provinces, where the DA, MK Party, and the EFF rejected it.

The department has been allocated R142.4 billion and is set to increase at an average annual rate of 4.4% to R150 billion in the next financial year and R158 billion in 2027/28.

“This growth is not sufficient to meet growing demands for additional resources,” she said.

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges have been allocated R14 billion, and both the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and the National Skills Fund have a combined R26 billion.

Nkabane is under growing pressure and could face legal consequences after Advocate Terry Motau, whom she named as chair of an independent SETA board advisory panel, stated that he never accepted or agreed to the position. She is being  accused of misleading Parliament and manipulating the board appointment process to benefit politically connected individuals. The scandal began when Nkabane recommended a number of politically connected individuals to SETA boards. 

Among them were Buyambo Mantashe, son of Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube, KZN Transport head Siboniso Mbhele, and ANC Johannesburg deputy regional secretary Loyiso Masuku. She was forced to restart that process after President Cyril Ramaphosa apparently expressed his displeasure at the selection. 

On her department’s budget, Nkabane said the funds allocated to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)  were  sufficient to meet the growing demand for access to higher education.

NSFAS was allocated R48.7 billion, and its allocation will increase to R51 billion next year and R53.4 billion in 2027.

She also said NSFAS remained committed to implementing a comprehensive student funding model for higher education to address the needs of the “missing middle”.

“The National Skills Fund has set aside R3 billion over a three-year period.”

Nkabane said the allocation for university education increased from R91.7 billion to R96 billion, with a R1.4 billion deficit on the universities' budget.

“We continue to work with the National Treasury to find a sustainable adjustment to the universities' budget,” she said.

Tebogo Letsie, ANC MP and chairperson of the Higher Education Portfolio Committee, said they would ensure that the department, NSFAS, and universities were accountable.

Letsie took a swipe at the DA for its stance to reject the department’s budget because they don't believe Nkabane should be the minister.

“When you vote in 2026, remember them, they will be saying your poor child must not go to school and university because they have a problem with the minister,” he added.

MK Party MP Mnqobi Msezane said they rejected the budget because they don’t have confidence in the Ministry and Director-General Nkosinathi Sishi, who they claimed faced allegations of gross misconduct, fraud, and corruption, and was not suspended or investigated by Nkabane.

DA MP Matlhodi Maseko said the higher education system was being systematically eroded by incompetence, deception, and the unchecked abuse of power in the system.

“The minister has repeatedly given conflicting representations to this House,” she said in reference to the SETA boards' chairperson appointment scandal and listed other challenges in the department under Nkabane’s watch.

Maseko said President Cyril Ramaphosa should remove Nkabane without delay.

EFF’s Sihle Lonzi accused the DA of cherry picking which budget to support and also criticised it for only discovering corruption in the department after former deputy minister Andrew Whitfield was fired from the executive.

Lonzi said his party would not support the budget after presenting a seven-point plan to rescue the department.

“We have no certainty that the R142 billion is going to be used correctly,” he said.

The IFP, Patriotic Alliance, and Build On South Africa were among those that pledged to support the budget, while others, such as ActionSA, were among those that did not support the budget.

Cape Times