By: Mpho Sekharume

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Buti Manamela as the new Minister of Higher education after axing Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, the Presidency announced through a media statement this evening.

Manamela, who has been serving as the Deputy Minister in the same department since October 2017, takes full charge of the ministry with former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube coming in as his deputy.

This appointment follows Ramaphosa's decision to remove Nkabane from her Ministerial role amid accusations that she misled parliament about the appointments of chairpersons inthe Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA) boards.

Nkabane also faced allegations of corruption and political interference and failed to appear before Parliament to account for the controversial appointments on previous occasions.