By Mayibongwe Maqhina 
Jul 15, 2021
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THE two Parliamentary committees tasked to select the new board of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) adopted its report for submission to Parliament on Thursday.
This comes after the sub-committee held a closed meeting with some of the 17 recommended candidates, that received negative security clearance from the State Security Agency (SSA), while a full report was awaited.
Of the 17 recommended to serve on the board, 11 received positive security clearance reports.
Three received negative reports, with one being flagged for a 2015 public violence case and two others for defaulting on payments.
Chairperson of the portfolio committee on women, youth and person with disabilities Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba said they have come to the end of their project, in filling vacancies of the NYDA board.
“We are able to report and present to the house and the National Council of Provinces. I think we can confidently report that we have done our work and satisfied ourselves,” Ncube-Ndaba said.
Chairperson of the select committee on health and social services Maurencia Gillion wished the recommended candidates well.
Gillion said it has been a long time since there was no board at NYDA.
She also thanked the youth for being patient with the selection process and committed the national legislature to exert oversight on the youth body.
A report tabled at the meeting said 40 candidates were shortlisted for interviews, from 1 003 eligible applications.
A total of 113 applications were disqualified because they did not submit CVs or copies of their qualifications.
The MPs were told that the 17 recommended candidates adhered to the NYDA Act in terms of academic qualifications.
The trio that received negative security clearance, after being called to explain themselves, were given a green light to be considered for selection by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
It was decided that the report be adopted, while a full report state security report on outstanding candidates was awaited from the SSA.
Ncube-Ndaba said the report would be tabled to Parliament, so that it can be adopted by the National Assembly.
“We want to thank all the candidates who came for interviews. We wish them good luck,” she said.
Ncube-Ndaba also said he report would also be sent to the National Council of Provinces for adoption before being sent to Ramaphosa
“Hopefully our report will be adopted by both houses and be taken to the President to appoint seven candidates,” she said.
This was in reference to a decision, by the National Assembly, to restart the nomination process in February.
The selection process stalled last September, after the National Assembly sent back the report recommending the candidates to serve on the board to the committee for further consideration.
This was after National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise received complaints on the selection process that was followed by the committee, amid legal threats in some quarters.
Modise later received legal opinion, which recommended that the process to appoint the board be restarted from scratch.
This was after it emerged that a letter, purported to be from the then interim ANC Youth League task team, contained a list of preferred candidates – including some of those who were ultimately recommended.
The list of names was allegedly sent to the office of ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte prior to the interviews.
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