The ANC can breathe a sigh of relief after the DA announced that it would support the Appropriation Bill in parliament on Wednesday following the axing of Nobuhle Nkabane as higher education minister.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to fire Nkabane from his executive seems to have normalised relations between the ANC and the DA, at least for now, with John Steenhuisen announcing on Tuesday that his party will now ensure the passing of the Appropriation Bill.
Steenhuisen and his party have been adamant that they would not support the bill and the departmental votes of Nkabane and human settlements minister Thembi Simelane, two ministers the party said were compromised.
As part of the party’s retaliation for the axing of the DA deputy minister of trade & industry Andrew Whitfield, the DA gave Ramaphosa an ultimatum to fire both the ministers if the ANC wanted its support in parliament.
“The Democratic Alliance will support the 2024/25 Appropriation Bill following the president’s decision to dismiss minister Nkabane after sustained DA pressure. This decision is the crucial first step in holding compromised ministers accountable,” said Steenhuisen.
“While long overdue, the removal of minister Nkabane confirms that pressure from the DA within the Government of National Unity is yielding results.”
Ramaphosa moved to remove Nkabane for the botched Seta board appointments and for lying to parliament about the process following his analysis of the detailed report she sent to him on the process.
The move has secured the DA’s vote for the national budget’s Appropriation Bill, possibly the higher education budget and has also seemingly saved Nkabane from further perjuring herself before the portfolio committee where she was set to appear a day after her axing.
Though Nkabane’s axing ensured she escaped accountability and did not appear before the portfolio committee along with her questionable independent panel, she is not off the hook yet.
Members of the parliamentary committee insisted that she should still get called to account for the botched Seta process.
The committee also voted to proceed with the questioning of the members of the panel.
Nkabane’s chief of staff Nelisiwe Semane, director of Seta co-ordination in the department Mabuza Ngubane, and deputy director-general for corporate services Rhulani Ngwenya told the committee that they never sat in any meetings as part of a panel to recommend the names of 21 people to chair the Seta boards.
Only Nkabane's adviser, Asisipho Solani, said he was part of the panel.
The committee members questioned who came up with the names of the panel if no meetings sat. Nkosinathi Sishi, the higher education director-general, concluded it meant Nkabane was solely responsible for the list.
“It is very clear to me that there weren't any meetings that were held, so clearly answers about the names that were considered could come from the accounting authority who then produced the list that was tabled to the National Skills Authority. The first time I saw the list was when I attended the meeting [at the] National Skills Authority at which it was tabled for approval,” said Sishi.
Having been a director-general in the department since 2021, Sishi confirmed to the committee that the handling of the appointment of this panel had been out of the norm.
He said the fact there was a panel set up to decide or recommend who gets to chair the boards was itself out of the ordinary.
Traditionally, he said, the appointment of the board and its chairpersons is handled internally by the department.
Solani came under fire in the meeting with members of the committee questioning his role in this panel. Solani was questioned for having taken an outsider, Luvo Makasi, to a confidential departmental meeting with advocate Terry Motau., who was initially meant to chair the panel. He was also called to answer for the legitimacy of his advice to Nkabane.
Solani denied all the allegations that were put forward by the panel.
“The process was not headed by me,” he said.
Asked why he went against the prescripts of the law by having Makasi tag along to an official meeting with Motau, Solani claimed Makasi was only responsible for introductions.
“When the decision to appoint advocate Terry was taken I would have needed someone that is in the legal fraternity because it was difficult to get hold of Terry because of his schedule. The only reason that Makasi was there was to facilitate that first interaction with advocate Terry,” said Solani.
“So he was solely there to facilitate an interaction, he's not part of the department and did not partake in the conversation. It was only introductory and there was nothing sensitive and extensive spoken about.”
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