Outa was protesting the “rot” in Setas, but Ceta accused it of waging a smear campaign
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) on Saturday traded barbs over a protest earlier in the week.
Outa protested outside the Ceta head office in Midrand on Thursday to highlight what it called the “rot” in South Africa’s sector education and training authorities (Setas).
It said Setas are plagued by deep-rooted maladministration and governance failures, while costing taxpayers around R21 billion annually.
Outa protest outside Ceta office
However, Ceta on Saturday criticised the protest by Outa, saying it was “unauthorised” and “disruptive”.
“The gathering, which occurred without proper notification and approval by the metro… interfered with Ceta’s operations and created an unsafe environment for staff arriving at work, including attempts to block employees from entering the premises,” it said.
Ceta added that it called law enforcement to check on the protest, after which Outa “vacated the premises”.
It also said Outa’s protest was part of a “bigger smear campaign” against Setas.
Outa, however, responded on Saturday by saying the protest wasn’t unlawful.
“Outa’s peaceful picket involved fewer than 15 people – which, under the Regulation of Gatherings Act, doesn’t require prior notice. Another poor attempt to use public resources to dodge accountability,” it said.
“The Duja report exposed it all and Ceta did nothing. That silence cost the public R18 million. We protest because the public deserves better.”
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The Duja report was commissioned after a whistleblower made allegations of corruption against the training authority.
The findings of the report included that R738 million in discretionary grants were awarded without oversight, executives were paid excessive salaries, and non-compliant training providers were given accreditation.
Ceta claims it is cleaning up
Ceta, however, said it is strengthening its “administration and governance”.
“Efforts to frame these internal clean-up processes as a targeting of individuals or whistleblowers are misleading and serve only to distract from the critical work the organisation is mandated to do.
“The Ceta remains fully committed to transparency, institutional integrity and strengthening good governance in its skills development landscape.
“Attempts to derail these efforts through unsubstantiated claims or unlawful public campaigns will not deter nor detract Ceta from fulfilling its mandate.”
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Outa wants meeting with Manamela
Ahead of the protest outside of Ceta’s office, Outa asked for a meeting with the newly-appointed Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela.
“It would appear that South Africa’s Seta model is failing and its institutions are bleeding taxpayer money, while the youth they are supposed to serve are left stranded.
“We’re dealing with recycled leadership, dodgy tenders, and investigations that are hidden or ignored. That’s not oversight, that’s a cover-up,” said Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage.
Outa said its investigations into Setas, which fall under the higher education and training sector, “found similar patterns: manipulated procurement; over-priced contracts; failed delivery of services; the movement between entities of key individuals linked to dubious procurement; investigations that go nowhere; and a frightening lack of accountability”.
“All of these entities fall under the Ministry of Higher Education and Training, which has now had three different ministers in the past 14 months.”
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