After it became known that ANC politicians were going to be appointed chairpersons for the 21 Seta boards responsible for skills development, members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Karabo Khakhau and Sihle Lonzi, were vocal about alleged corruption and nepotism at the Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta). They claim that senior officials, including the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantshe, were behind these appointments.

Khakhau revealed on X on May 13, 2025, that the then-Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane had appointed ANC cadres from KwaZulu-Natal to Seta boards. These cadres included Buyambo Mantashe, the son of Gwede Mantashe, the new Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, the former ANC provincial deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu, and On 14 May 2025, Lonzi questioned the transparency and political impartiality of the Seta board appointments but was removed from the committee meeting by chairperson Tebogo Letsie (ANC).

On the day Nkabane ditched the 18 July committee meeting and accountability regarding the independent panellists and the process of appointing the chairpersons, Khakhau and Lonzi both told Daily Maverick that senior ANC politicians were behind these appointments. Khakhau said that if there was a panel, Seta director Mabuza Ngubane, who testified on 18 July and denied involvement in the controversial Seta appointments, would have sent the list of applications and nominees to the panel instead of the minister; then the panel would engage with the minister. Again, this raises the question of whether or not this panel was just a cover-up to hide the minister's deliberate use of catered appointments to appoint Seta board chairpersons from KwaZulu-Natal politicians with ANC connections and connections to Gwede Mantashe.

That is the question that needs to be answered, Khakhau stated. She added: “There’s more than what meets the eye, and she (Nkabane) won’t run away forever. This is unmistakably an example of corruption. Continue reading: MPs arrive at the conclusion that the Seta panel established by the ousted minister Nkabane only existed in name. "Minister is a plaything" Meanwhile, Lonzi told Daily Maverick that Nkabane might be a front for this process, with higher-up officials in the ANC pulling the strings. “We’re of the view that there are very senior ANC officials involved. In fact, very soon we’re going to make the argument that even the [former] minister herself is merely a pawn in a game of very senior leaders of the ANC who have for many years captured many government entities, SOEs, departments, and the like.

"We are making the case that these are typical decisions made in Luthuli House. We know how the corrupt ANC operates and how it captures SOEs. Instead of letting government officials do their work… from time to time they are summoned to Luthuli House, and they’re instructed, ‘No, put this person off.’ [We] saw that the son of Gwede Mantashe was made a chair of one of the Setas, and Gwede Mantashe is a very senior official of the ANC… The panel is Luthuli House,” he added. Mantashe rubbishes claims from DA and EFF Mantashe told Daily Maverick on July 28 that he had nothing to do with the Seta scandal and that he was never a member of any deployment committee in the ANC.

“I would never influence appointments while I am not on the committee. My son has a master's degree and is now an adult with an education. Mantshe stated, "So people should not say it is me when he gets appointed... I met Lonzi and told him that you need to get educated." The so-called independent panel issue was concluded last week, when four panellists said they were not involved after a public outcry and student formations calling for Nkabane to be removed as the Minister of Higher Education and Training. President Cyril Ramaphosa then axed Nkabane. However, before her removal ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula defended Nkabane in a media briefing at Luthuli House, saying Nkabane had not broken the law regarding the Seta board appointments.

The DA has opened criminal charges of fraud and statutory offences against Nkabane, and the Hawks are investigating the matter, according to reports. After Nkabane’s removal from office, Ramaphosa appointed Buti Manamela as the minister of higher education. Nkabane, however, continues to be an MP in the National Assembly.