Cape Chamber commends Cyril Ramaphosa's bold move for skills development

The removal of Nobuhle Nkabane as Higher Education and Training Minister sends a positive signal that government is serious about tackling leadership challenges within its ranks. 

The Cape Chamber commends President Cyril Ramaphosa for a bold move that we hope will translate into much-needed improvements in skills development.   

We are hopeful that the new Minister will urgently address the pressing need for private sector involvement in the management of both Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges (TVETs).

The SETAs and TVETs are central to government’s plan to create jobs and resuscitate the economy; without the necessary skills we will struggle to accelerate growth in key economic sectors.  

In our view, private sector stakeholders with the necessary experience and insight should take the lead role in getting skills development back on track.

Playing politics with state institutions is a recipe for underperformance, as we have seen with most of our parastatals. What we need is effective public-private partnership to effect the kind of reform slowly gaining traction in other key economic areas, such as energy and logistics. 

We are also heartened by news that Ramaphosa’s decision to remove Nkabane may enable agreement on the national budget, which has been in limbo for much of the year.

We hope these positive steps are a precursor to other encouraging steps on the journey to efficient governance and a more robust economy.

John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry