Fired, blacklisted, and living in fear

A whistleblower who exposed corruption at South Africa’s Services SETA revealed that she was fired, blacklisted, and is now living in fear.

Sector education and training authorities (SETAs) are public institutions tasked with overseeing skills development and training in various economic sectors.

The SETAs, funded mainly through levies from employers, are responsible for skills development and employment initiatives aimed at uplifting the country’s workforce.

There are 21 SETAs in South Africa, each serving a specific industry. They include the Services SETA, Construction SETA, Health and Welfare SETA, and the like.

Although it is a noble initiative, South Africa’s SETAs are besieged by mismanagement and corruption, preventing them from performing their work.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has been behind an initiative to address the challenges and stop corruption at these institutions.

OUTA has, over several years, exposed deep-rooted maladministration, governance failures and corruption at multiple SETAs.

Despite repeated adverse findings and qualified audits from the Auditor-General, the leadership at entities like INSETA, CETA, Services SETA, ETDP SETA, and MICT SETA has remained intact.

Executives implicated in mismanagement continue to draw large salaries and bonuses, while the essential mission of developing skills and improving employability is undermined.

The chaos at the SETAs includes bid files left on the floor, tenders cancelled due to changed specifications, and tenders awarded to businesses that didn’t bid.

Staff who resist corrupt or improper transactions are suspended and removed. This means that current employees are too afraid to speak up when they witness malfeasance.

“The SETAs cost business taxpayers R21 billion a year, but do not deliver value for money,” said OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.

Last month, OUTA urged the new Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, to act swiftly and decisively to restore integrity and oversight across the SETA environment.

Duvenage said this must begin with the urgent appointment of new SETA board chairpersons who are ethical, independent, and free from political interference.

Services SETA whistleblower speaks out

In a recent interview with OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage, a Services SETA whistleblower revealed what their life was like after she exposed corruption.

After she saw the misappropriation of public funds and the empowering of friends and family at the Services SETA, she spoke out against it.

“We started seeing a capture of its own kind, which was orchestrated to plunder the public purse,” she said.

However, instead of paying attention to those who revealed these actions, they were bullied by people in power.

The Services SETA’s chief executive suspended the employees who sounded the alarm on trumped-up charges.

The whistleblower said that although the legal department could not find evidence of wrongdoing against the employees, the management was successful. They were gone.

She explained that her life has been ruined because she could not find employment in her field of expertise.

“You will not find another job because the SETA community is very small. If you look for a job at another SETA, they know you were dealt with at the Services SETA,” she said.

Other SETAs say that they could not touch the whistleblowers because they are tainted and cannot be trusted.

She said the former chairperson warned whistleblowers that this would happen. “He told us that when I am done with you, your families will starve,” she said.

“He added that your kids and dogs will starve. You will not have a cent to your name. This is what happened. This was engineering at work,” she said.

She added that her life was in danger and hoped that their sacrifices would result in a positive outcome by cleaning up the SETAs.

Full OUTA interview