The staff of Unisa Enterprise, a commercial wing of the University of South Africa (Unisa), have not been paid salaries for September.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as staff further claim their salary payments have been delayed every month from May to July, but even then, those payments were slashed by half.
More than 20 staff members tasked with generating millions for Unisa through commercial business, which includes enterprise supplier development, media advisory services, ICT, research, innovation and catering services, have complained to the Unisa management committee regarding their plight.
In a letter we have seen, which was signed by the Unisa Enterprise senior officials, such as the senior HR manager Kelebogile Ramasika, business development manager Lerato Mothiba, media advisory unit head of department Zylvah Makola, and the entity’s supplier development coordinator Lorraine Lamola, the officials stated, on behalf of the affected staff members, their collective concern over their salaries not being paid, delayed or halved.
“We, the undersigned of Unisa Enterprise, a subsidiary of Unisa, write to express our collective concern regarding the recurring delays in salary payments over the past three months.
“These delays have caused significant financial strain on employees and are negatively impacting staff morale, motivation and overall performance,” stated the officials.
The staff stated that the management of Unisa Enterprise has been made aware of the potential crisis since October 2024, but the entity only communicated to them at the last minute after the horse had bolted.
The officials wrote that in May, only junior staff were paid on time, while the managers were paid late. They said that the worst thing to happen was that the communication on salary delays was only done on payday.
The officials also pointed out discrepancies in June, when they were told that they would be paid only 50% of their pay packets, with the communiqué only dispatched on the day they were supposed to receive their salaries. They said the memo didn’t even clarify when the
balance would be settled.
This pattern followed even in July, when staff members were called to a meeting and told that they were not going to be paid.
On September 30, when the staff were expecting salaries, they were shocked to receive a letter from the CEO of Unisa Enterprise, Lesetsa Matshekga, informing them that they would not be paid that month.
Matshekga wrote: “I am writing to you to inform you that due to ongoing financial challenges, the company will not be able to process salary payments on the scheduled pay date for September. I understand the difficulty this may cause and sincerely appreciate your patience and continued commitment during this trying period.
“Please be assured that we are doing everything possible to stabilise the situation, and I will keep you informed of any developments or changes regarding salary payments.”
However, insiders at Unisa stated that the problem was bigger than the salaries owed to the staff, pointing out that Unisa Enterprise was struggling to generate income from its commercial projects, as some of its biggest clients were no longer interested in working with them, while others had failed to settle their accounts.
“It’s total chaos in that company, as the money is not coming in. Unisa Enterprise has big clients, but it is not managed effectively, and on top of that, it fails to implement the turnaround strategy to deal with the business,” said a source.
Another mole pointed out that the Unisa council had refused to bail out Unisa Enterprise on numerous occasions.
“You should understand that Unisa, as a Unisa Enterprise shareholder, has the prerogative to deal with challenges faced by the entity, including financial stability, but the Unisa council refused to assist. Unisa Enterprise now only has three board members plus the CEO at the executive level because other board members have resigned,” said our insider.
Matshekga confirmed that the company is facing financial challenges and the executive is communicating with the Unisa council for a solution.
“Yes, I can confirm that Unisa Enterprise has experienced challenges in paying salaries on time. These challenges are operational in nature and are being addressed with urgency and transparency.
“We remain fully committed to our employees and are actively implementing measures to stabilize the situation,” said Matshekga.
“Unisa Enterprise is not insolvent. We have a strong pipeline of projects, and measures are being taken to deal with the situation. We have developed a turnaround plan, and we believe, with the support of the board, we will get over the line.
“We are in active engagement with our shareholder for additional support to ensure stability while our current projects, which form part of our broader turnaround strategy, are being executed.”
Yet Unisa told Sunday World that “Unisa Enterprise is an autonomous entity… accordingly all enquiries should be directed to the entity itself.”
