Minister Buti Manamela briefs media on mid-way mark of SETA administration, 3 Mar

The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Buti Manamela, will brief members of the media on progress made by administrators appointed to stabilise three Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). These SETAs are the Local Government SETA, Construction SETA and the Services SETA.

The intervention announced by the Minister on 19 August 2025, followed serious and entrenched governance failures within affected SETAs. These included procurement irregularities, lapses in oversight, and instability within Accounting Authorities of the SETAs. These challenges threatened the entities’ ability to fulfil their statutory mandate of advancing skills development and supporting learners and employers with the requisite skills.

At the time of the intervention, Minister Manamela stated:

“This decision marks the first step in stabilising SETA governance. We cannot allow governance failures to erode the public’s confidence in our skills development system. These administrators have a clear mandate to restore integrity, enforce consequence management where necessary, and ensure that learners and workers are not prejudiced by institutional weaknesses. Our goal is to reposition SETAs so they can contribute effectively to the fight against unemployment, poverty, and inequality.”

The administrators were appointed for a period of 12 months to:

• Restore governance and financial integrity in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
• Enforce consequence management where wrongdoing is identified.
• Ensure that core programmes, including learner support initiatives and employer partnerships, continue without disruption.
• Oversee the proper reconstitution and appointment of new Accounting Authorities.

The Administration of the three SETAs are under the oversight of the Minister and the Deputy Ministers and have over the past 6 months immersed themselves in the task at hand. In the interest of transparency and accountability, the Minister will provide a detailed progress report on the tasks undertaken and governance reforms implemented by the Administrators.

Details of the media briefing

Date: Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Time: 10:00
Venue: Ronnie Mamoepa Media Centre, GCIS, Hatfield, Pretoria

Please confirm your attendance with Bathabile Mthimuyne on 081 464 2665

Enquiries: 
Matshepo Seedat 
Cell: 082 679 9473 

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