President Cyril Ramaphosa is strong on rhetoric but weak on judgment.
This has not changed since his previous term, when the ANC enjoyed an outright majority of support in parliament and across eight of the country’s nine provinces.
His hands-off approach towards errant ministers provides the strongest evidence of his deficit.
With limited ministerial posts for the ANC in the government of national unity, one would expect him to have chosen the best candidates to represent his party in the multiparty arrangement.
A coalition environment and one in which the ANC shed 17 percentage points in support calls for a radical shift in tolerating mediocrity, arrogance and incompetence. Now, more than ever, the ANC (and the country) needs a “business unusual” approach. Instead, we are saddled with the likes of Nobuhle Nkabane.
The higher education minister (promoted by Ramaphosa from a deputy in the sixth administration), appeared before parliament’s portfolio committee last week and was asked about the dodgy appointments she had made to the boards of the country’s crucial, billion-rand budget, Sector Education and Training Authorities.
This was after it was revealed by DA MP Karabo Khakhau that Nkabane had loaded the Seta boards with politically connected cadres, largely from KwaZulu-Natal.
Among the board chair appointments she was yet to confirm were ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe’s son Buyambo Mantashe, ANC KwaZulu-Natal co-ordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu, member of the mayoral committee in the City of Joburg Loyiso Masuku and former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
Mantashe’s adviser, Gwebinkundla Qonde, also made the cut. Incidentally (or not), Nkabane was Mantashe’s deputy from 2021 to 2024 in the minerals & energy portfolio.
After the outcry following Khakau’s revelations, Nkabane was called to Luthuli House by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula — thereafter, she reversed the appointments and restarted the selection process.
Ramaphosa himself welcomed the reversal of the appointments, saying they were “problematic” and a “mistake” and were being corrected.
Still, Nkabane’s conduct before the parliamentary committee was shocking. Her vigorous masticating while answering questions aside, she also flat-out denied that the appointments she made were not credible.
When asked about the criteria for these selections, she directed the ANC chairperson of the committee to external sources: “Google” it, and to consult Wikipedia when he asked her if she knew the meaning of a “credible appointment”.
She maintained that she did the right thing, that the appointments were “credible” and at the same time refused to reveal the identity of those who formed part of the “independent panel” who had advised her on the selection.
It smacks of an unwarranted defensive posture and selective transparency. It is out of order.
Nkabane’s conduct was no different from ANC MPs in previous administrations — when the party enjoyed the vast majority of the seats in parliament, as a result of voters overwhelmingly supporting it. It’s exhibit A that reluctance to be fully transparent and accountable is deeply ingrained in the institutional culture in the ANC, even when the reality demands a behaviour change.
Take current justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi who, back in 2016, during a tense sitting of the ad hoc committee established to scrutinise the R240m upgrades to former president Jacob Zuma’s private residence at Nkandla, sat blissfully painting her nails.
This personal grooming happened while opposition MPs were actively debating accountability measures for Zuma.
Then there was ANC MP Mathole Motshekga, who in 2015 railed against former public protector Thuli Madonsela for being a “law unto herself” and “behaving like the DA” after she took on the Zuma administration over Nkandla.
Credit should be given to the ANC for urging Nkabane to restart the appointment process, but Ramaphosa retaining her in the cabinet after the questionable appointments and her pompous display in parliament speaks volumes about his judgment.
Perhaps the ANC’s new electoral reality has not yet dawned on him.
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