The political escalations around troubled higher education and training minister Buti Manamela have intensified, with the EFF blaming the ANC for shielding the minister after a dramatic cancellation of the portfolio committee meeting.
Manamela was to be grilled on Tuesday about his role in the shenanigans going on at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, where he appointed the questionable administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula after dissolving the board.
However, the meeting was hastily postponed after ANC members who sit in the portfolio committee, including chairperson Tebogo Letsie, were summoned by ANC leadership in parliament.
This move by the committee chair is considered ANC’s tactical retreat to protect Manamela from public crucifixion by opposition parties.
EFF MP and member of the portfolio committee Sihle Lonzi has accused the ANC of trying to close ranks and save Manamela but said the strategy will not work, as they were just delaying the inevitable.
Lonzi has been breathing down Manamela’s neck over a number of governance issues rocking his ministry.
He warned the ANC was repeating the same mistakes it made when it rallied behind Manamela’s predecessor Nobuhle Nkabane, who was eventually sacked after sustained public pressure.
“The ANC is repeating the same thuggery of wanting to protect a compromised higher education minister, Buti Manamela,” Lonzi said.
“They failed last time, and they will fail again. We will never surrender the billions [of rands] meant to serve our students to gangsters.”
No explanation provided for cancellation
As a result, Lonzi has written to parliament’s chair of chairs, Cedric Frolick, sounding alarm over the behaviour of the committee chairperson, who is influenced by the ANC.
Lonzi said Letsie had not given any rational explanation for the last-minute cancellation that followed his and his comrades’ meeting with ANC bosses.
“We write to urgently and formally inform you, and place on record, our serious concern regarding the regrettable decision by the chairperson of the portfolio committee on higher education to cancel a formally scheduled meeting of parliament,” wrote Lonzi to Frolick.
“Our objection is not just about the postponement, but also about how this decision has been communicated, which could undermine established parliamentary practice and precedent.
“The meeting in question was properly scheduled following agreement by members of parliament in a duly constituted portfolio committee meeting and was subsequently placed on the official parliamentary programme.
“It is therefore deeply concerning that members are now being informed, on the eve of the meeting, through informal communication channels, such as WhatsApp messages, that the meeting will not proceed.”
Lonzi said it was concerning that committee meetings were cancelled at the eleventh hour following meetings of political parties with their deployees to parliament, and if allowed to fester, it risks eroding the role of parliamentarians to hold the executive to account.
EFF calls on Didiza to intervene
The EFF’s head office has since jumped into the fray and also accused committee chair Letsie of abusing his powers to defend his ANC comrade Manamela.
The red berets brigade has called for the intervention of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thokozile Didiza, to remedy the situation and ensure Manamela is held accountable.
“No chairperson possesses the authority to unilaterally reverse a duly adopted committee resolution outside of parliament’s recognised processes,” said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
“The EFF is particularly concerned that this latest procedural irregularity emerges against the backdrop of the chairperson’s questionable handling of the SETA appointments scandal involving former higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane.
South Africans will remember how parliament had to deal with serious allegations about irregular SETA board appointments, a so-called ‘independent panel’ that was later disputed, and repeated attempts to avoid accountability before the portfolio committee itself.
“The matter became so serious that the former minister was ultimately removed from office following sustained public outrage and parliamentary scrutiny.”
- The EFF accuses the ANC of protecting Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela after the abrupt cancellation of a parliamentary portfolio committee meeting meant to question him about controversial appointments at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
- The meeting was postponed last-minute after ANC committee members, including chair Tebogo Letsie, were summoned by ANC leadership, sparking accusations of deliberate obstruction.
- EFF MP Sihle Lonzi criticized the ANC’s tactics, warning they would fail as they had before with the previous minister Nobuhle Nkabane, who was eventually removed over governance issues.
- Lonzi formally complained to parliament’s chair of chairs, Cedric Frolick, about the last-minute cancellation and poor communication, expressing concern that such actions undermine parliamentary accountability.
- The EFF has called on National Assembly Speaker Thokozile Didiza to intervene, condemning committee chair Letsie’s handling of the situation and demanding proper accountability for Manamela.
