The council of the University of South Africa (Unisa) was still locked in a meeting this afternoon as the deadline for Blade Nzimande to make his final decision on the future of the university looms.
Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, notified the council’s chair James Maboa in writing on August 4 of his intention to place Unisa under administration.
He gave the council seven days to make written submissions to him regarding his plans to appoint an administrator.
By late afternoon on August 10, the deadline for the university to submit its reply to Nzimande, the council was still locked in a lengthy meeting.
Meanwhile, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has welcomed an announcement by the minister that he plans to appoint an administrator, saying the university has been “besieged by a collapse of governance, corruption, maladministration, undermining of collective bargaining, and a disregard for labour laws”.
“As Nehawu, we feel vindicated as we have been making a call for the dissolution of the council and consequence management to senior managers of the institution, particularly the vice-chancellor whose leadership capacity and conduct has been questionable even before the appointment of the independent assessor, professor Themba Mosia.
“This announcement provides an opportunity for the restoration of proper governance, administration and management at Unisa,” said Nehawu in a statement.
The university’s 150-year anniversary has been marred by a damning report which revealed that council and management violated policies including human resources, information and communication technology (ICT), and supply chain management policies.
The report also found the condonation of questionable decisions to be pervasive at the institution.
“My assessment is that the university council failed in its responsibility to ensure stability, strategic direction, financial compliance and a positive public image of the university,” said Mosia in his report.
“Council has not exercised the duty of care by taking the public in its confidence to be faithful and honest in the execution of the mandate bestowed on them by section 27 of the Higher Education Act.”
Mosia said the problems at Unisa have been left for too long that all sections of the university have been affected in one way or the other.
From an ambiguous advert for the position of vice-chancellor, to costly renovations to the vice-chancellor’s official residence and to the strained relationship between the registrar and vice-chancellor, Mosia’s report paints a bleak picture of leadership at Unisa.
Outdated and not-fit-for purpose ICT infrastructure that compromises teaching, learning and confidential information to supply chain management irregularities, the report is damning on the governance, management and administration of the university.
Nzimande is expected to make his final decision after considering the council’s response.
Nzimande’s spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said this week based on the ministerial task team’s report and the independent assessor’s report, it is clear that the council is not in a position to run Unisa.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, Read the latest breaking news in South Africa.
