PP must investigate corruption at Mining Qualifications Authority

The DA will today be submitting a complaint to the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to request that she launches an investigation into the allegations of corruption by senior executives of the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA).
The MQA is a Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) under the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). SETAs are mandated to manage skills development, by managing grants and assuring the quality of training.
For months, MQA employees have lodged official complaints against their Acting CEO, Tegobo Mmotla, whom they accuse of misappropriating the entity’s funds. Despite the employees writing to the Director General at the DHET with these allegations, he remains in his positions.
A forensic report into previous corruption allegations against Mmotla resulted in MQA lawyers recommending he be dismissed – but an agreement was reached amongst executives which meant no action was taken against him.
Further allegations from employees and contractors of the MQA include:

  • that Mmotla demanded a bribe from a skills training company after the company had not been paid, despite them meeting training targets;
  • that Mmotla falsified his qualifications when he was appointed to the acting CEO position; and
  • that bonuses were paid on a preferential basis despite those MQA employees not meeting targets.

The DA requests that the Public Prosecutor investigate this matter urgently. SETAs are given an extraordinary amount of money for the purpose of training South Africans to gain the skills that they so desperately need to gain sustainable employment.
Irregular expenditure at SETAs directly takes money away from developing skills for jobs, and intentionally increases the number of people who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) in South Africa.
The DA will not allow for corrupt individuals to milk state entities and loot public funds for their own personal gain, as this takes away from the Lost Generation’s opportunities to empower themselves.