MASOGA DELIVERS R2.8 BILLION TURNAROUND — 20 000 GRADUATES, 9 MILESTONES, 12 MONTHS: THE ADMINISTRATOR WHO SAVED SERVICES SETA
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
In just 12 months, Services SETA Administrator Lehlogonolo Masoga did what many said was impossible.
He took over a Services SETA buried in legacy commitments, stalled funding, broken governance and lost hope — and turned it into the most powerful skills development machine in South Africa today.
R2.8 billion recovered. Nine major programmes launched. 20 000 graduates placed into jobs. TVETs, universities, and rural provinces funded. That is not administration. That is a national turnaround.This is the story South Africa needs to hear.
When Masoga was appointed Administrator, Services SETA was an institution under administration for a reason. Money was locked in undelivered commitments. Young people were waiting. Employers were complaining. Governance was weak.
Masoga did not come to manage the crisis. He came to end it."I look back with pride and excitement," Masoga says. "Within that short space of time, we've made quite a lot of changes."
In less than a year, he unlocked R2.8 billion previously trapped in undelivered commitments and reinvested it where it matters most — in education, training and opportunity.
That money did not sit in a report. It moved. It reached the people. R905 million went to TVET colleges — the backbone of practical, industry-ready skills in South Africa, institutions that have for years trained young people but struggled for funding.
R559 million was allocated to universities across the country, supporting students who have the grades but not the financial means to finish their degrees.
R90 million reached Community Education and Training colleges, extending access to those furthest from formal education systems — the forgotten learners, the rural youth, the second-chance students.
And then came the R1.3 BILLION national bursary programme — now funding students across multiple pathways, not just covering tuition, but removing the barriers that keep qualified young people out of classrooms and workplaces.
But Masoga did not stop at funding. He built the future.
He signed a R103 million partnership with Takealot — creating pathways into e-commerce and logistics, one of South Africa's fastest-growing sectors, where young people can actually get jobs.
He signed an R84 million collaboration with Wits University — focused on entrepreneurship, equipping graduates not just to find jobs, but to create them, to become employers themselves.
And he invested R100 million in the UCT ARISE skincare research facility — positioning South African innovation at the centre of a global industry, proving that skills development is not just about certificates, it is about industrial power.
The crown jewel is his headline initiative: "To the Power of X²". 20 000 graduates. Structured, two-year workplace internships. A revolving system where graduates enter, gain experience, move into employment, and create space for the next group. Some are finding permanent positions within six months.
"Employers require qualifications plus experience," Masoga explains. "So we took a decision: let's create a focused, structured, dedicated means of providing that two years' experience to these learners."
He launched it in Mahikeng, in the North West — deliberately, in a province he describes as "underserved." For too long, opportunity clustered in metros while rural provinces waited. Masoga took opportunity to the people.
"These opportunities have a very great potential to change the lives of ordinary people," he says.
Behind every rand and every partnership is the invisible work that makes it last — internal governance reforms, strengthened financial controls, institutional stabilisation. Masoga calls Services SETA "a springboard" for the incoming board. He did not just fix it for today. He built it to last.
His message to young South Africans is simple and direct: "Reach out and register on the system so opportunities can find you."
In 12 months, Masoga recovered R2.8 billion, launched nine major funding streams, placed 20 000 graduates, and rebuilt governance.
Administration was supposed to stabilise the institution. Masoga stabilised it — and proved it could deliver transformation at scale.
While other SETAs are still explaining audits and delays, Services SETA under Masoga is delivering. While other leaders are talking about youth unemployment, Masoga is placing 20 000 young people into workplaces.
This is what powerful leadership looks like. Not noise. Not promises. Numbers. Results. Lives changed.
Masoga did not come to manage decline. He came to multiply opportunity.
Experience Multiplied. Impact Amplified. Masoga Delivered.
The Azanian — Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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