The EFF has filed a review application asking the High Court in Johannesburg to review the appointments of eight Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) CEOs, declare them unlawful and set them aside.
The opposition party argued higher education minister Buti Manamela bypassed mandatory recruitment regulations when extending contracts for eight Seta CEOs, echoing the scandal that brought down his predecessor, Nobuhle Nkabane.
Setas are statutory bodies established under the Skills Development Act to collect levies from employers and fund workplace training across key economic sectors.
EFF MP Sihle Lonzi claimed in the party’s founding affidavit Manamela reappointed the CEOs for a further five-year term without advertising the positions nationally, convening a selection committee, shortlisting candidates or conducting interviews. These procedures are required for the appointments under Regulation 2 of the SDA Regulations gazetted in 2011.
The minister sent a letter to newly constituted accounting authorities, the governance boards of the Setas, on September 29 2025 requesting recommendations by September 30 2025, Lonzi said.
A second letter, dated October 6, extended the deadline to October 10, meaning all appointments were formally concluded after that date.
Lonzi noted many of the accounting authorities tasked with recommending the extensions had themselves only been constituted in the week leading up to September 30.
“It was impossible for a newly appointed accounting authority to be sufficiently informed about the historical performance of CEOs, having sat at most one meeting, to make recommendations for an additional five-year executive appointment,” Lonzi said.
When the minister appeared before parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education in November, he confirmed the appointments and, according to the affidavit, stated explicitly such appointments were made at his prerogative and there was no need for a recruitment process, national advertisement, shortlisting or selection committee.
He said he was not required by law to be transparent when appointing CEOs for an additional five-year term.
“The appointments were effected without adherence to the transparent, competitive and merit-based recruitment processes expressly required by the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 and the regulations promulgated thereunder,” Lonzi said.
Nkabane was removed from cabinet in 2025 partly in the wake of controversy over Seta appointments and governance failures.
The EFF is asking the court to review and set aside all eight appointments, compel the minister to comply with Regulation 2 of the SDA within 90 days and award costs on the punitive attorney-and-client scale at Scale C.
Manamela is named as a respondent along with eight Seta CEOs including Yershen Pillay (Chieta); Ayanda Mafuleka (Fasset); Dr Feleng Yende (FP&MSeta); Gugu Mkhize (Inseta); Matome Madibana (MictSeta); Thabo Shadrack Mashongoane (MQA); Tom Mkhwanazi (W&RSeta); and Nokuthula Selamolela (Foodbev Seta). ― Business Day
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