By Doreen Mokgolo
- Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane admitted she had wrongly told Parliament that Advocate Terry Motau was the chairperson of the Sector Education and Training Authority board.
- Nkabane wrote to Motau, saying the mix-up came from poor communication and said there was no intent to harm his reputation.
Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane has apologised to Advocate Terry Motau after she wrongly told Parliament that he was the chairperson of the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) board.
Speaking to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Nkabane said she was not fully aware that involving Motau officially needed to be done through his lawyer.
On Monday, she sent a letter to Motau to explain the mix-up and say sorry. She said she wanted to clear up the confusion and work together to fix the issue.
“The communication gap contributed to the oversight,” she wrote. “This outreach was undertaken in the spirit of transparency, mutual respect and professional courtesy. There was never any intent to misrepresent Advocate Motau’s role or to cause harm to his professional standing.”
She said the misunderstanding has now been resolved, and both sides have a clear understanding of what happened.
But members of the committee are still not happy. They want Nkabane to reveal the names of all the independent panel members who advised her on SETA board appointments.
Last week, Nkabane finally gave the list to the committee, but MPs said some names were hidden and claimed the panel members did not want to be identified.
Pictured above: Dr Nobuhle Pamela Nkabane.
Image source: Dr Nobuhle Pamela Nkabane
