 Nzimande to appeal ruling on Setas HIGHER Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande is to appeal against a Labour Court ruling that he did not have the legal power to impose a new constitution on the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta), says acting director-general Gwebs Qonde. Yesterday evening the Services Seta was back in the Johannesburg Labour Court asking it to overturn Mr Nzimande’s decision last week to transfer R1bn from its bank account to the National Skills Fund. Judgment was reserved. Parliament heard earlier this year that the fund had a budget deficit of just under R1bn. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA said yesterday it had "serious reservations" regarding the way in which Mr Nzimande had handled the "reconfiguration" of SA’s Seta system. The union nonetheless supported his efforts. It called for an "urgent labour roundtable" with Mr Nzimande’s ministry to discuss his vision for "a shared and inclusive progressive skills trajectory" for SA and said he had acted without "comprehensive consultation with labour, the key custodians of the skills revolution and development in our country". The Young Communist League also called for wider consultation. The Department of Higher Education and Training would appeal against Judge Annelie Basson’s judgment "on the grounds that we do not think the judge fully applied her mind on the matter … (and that) we are of the view that parts of this judgment may have serious implications for the boundaries and separation of powers between the judiciary and the role of the executive", spokesman Nqaba Nqandela said. There was "no going back on the path we have undertaken to transform and strengthen the Seta system", he said. Mr Qonde said the other 20 Setas had "not had any problem" signing the constitution Mr Nzimande demanded the Setas sign last month. This is the constitution that was ruled illegal. It gives Mr Nzimande more power to appoint board members, reduces the size of Seta boards and stipulates that two-thirds of the new boards will have no previous Seta board experience. Former Construction Seta chairman Narius Moloto said he had not studied Judge Basson’s judgment, but it was a "watershed judgment" as Mr Nzimande had treated all Setas in the same way. Two others have said they are uneasy about the constitution but signed to save their futures. Mr Qonde accused Services Seta CEO Ivor Blumenthal, whom Judge Basson ruled was illegally suspended, of running the Seta "as a king", but would not explain this comment. The Seta has had unqualified audits for the past few years, and the auditor-general’s office said yesterday it stood by its audits. [email protected] -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
