UNHAPPY: Minister feels court system was being used to curtail his executive authority…

By Lehlohonolo Lehana

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has expressed concern at the Pretoria High Court ordering him to withdraw his notice of intention to place the University of South Africa (Unisa) under administration.

Nzimande’s decision to place Unisa under administration follows reports from independent assessor Prof Themba Mosia and the ministerial task team chaired by Vincent Maphai, highlighting serious issues of governance at the university.

Mosia has been assigned as an independent assessor to investigate all affairs at Unisa. His assessment revealed a cauldron of instability, characterised by a culture of fear, intimidation and bullying, instances of maladministration and financial irregularities.

Other findings included human resource failures, a fragile and troubled ICT environment, poor student services, academic malpractice, leakages of confidential records, and questionable management and council decisions.

The court order follows an urgent high court application brought by the Unisa council yesterday.

Nzimande said: “I remain concerned that though the order granted by Justice Adams on August 24 has noted the urgency of this matter, the court has not demonstrated any sense of urgency in finalising this matter.

However, he said the court was able to hear an urgent application by Unisa. “To me, this resembles an inconsistency in the application of the principle of ‘urgency’ or prioritisation of issues by the court”.

He added that he was concerned that the court system may have been used to curtail his authority, as detailed in the Higher Education Act.

“The Minister believes in the supremacy of the Constitution, the law and the doctrine of the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. He hopes that this should not be one of those instances in which one of that constitutional principle is violated,” a statement from his office read.

Adams had ordered Nzimande not to act on Mosia’s recommendations until two separate applications challenging it were finalised. One application was brought by the chair of Unisa’s council James Maboa, who sought an order to interdict Nzimande from appointing an administrator.

In a separate application, vice-chancellor Prof Puleng Lenkabula sought an order to review and set aside Mosia’s report.

Judge Harshila Kooverjie’s Friday ruling stated Nzimande’s notice of intention was “in breach” of Adams’ order.

Kooverjie ordered Nzimande “to immediately cease and desist from taking any steps to publish and implement the notice or to take any steps of whatever nature to implement the notice”.

Meanwhile, Unisa welcomed the court order against the Minister, saying “it has always maintained that the Report of the Independent Assessor is fundamentally flawed, and its recommendations totally misplaced. For that reason, the university has taken the Report on legal review to be set aside. Until the side of the university is properly heard in a legal review, in a court of law, the university believes that it is premature for the Minister to implement the recommendations of the Independent Assessor”.

The university said in a statement that it believed that the institution of an administration was “not necessary and may only serve to harm the university. It assured the public that “the academic programme of the university remains intact, and its finances are healthy. In May 2023, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) issued its Institutional Audit Report that affirms that Unisa’s academic programme and quality assurance systems are largely intact and governed according to norms and standards of the sector”.

Unisa’s statement added: “We hope that our students will be afforded the opportunity to focus on their final examinations which are currently underway, without any form of anxiety or disturbance. The academic programme must be hoisted and protected all the time. Further, we look forward to welcoming all our new students in the new academic year 2024 and appreciate their choice to study at the University of South Africa – the university of the land”. – www.fullview.co.za

RISE MZANSI READIES FOR SUNRISE

AFFIRM: The party hopes its convention’s declaration will help it draft election manifesto…

By Lehlohonolo Lehana

New political party RISE Mzansi is hard at work this weekend, trying to shape its policies and affirm its brand as parties prepare to attract voters ahead of next year’s general elections.

The party’s two-day national policy convention kicked off today at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, which kicked off on Friday, 6 October.

For three days, at least 600 delegates from all walks of life converged to help develop the party’s manifesto in the run-up to the highly anticipated elections.

Rise Mzansi’s civic alliances coordinator, Irfaan Mangera said, their involvement in society is crucial to achieving better governance.

“For us, we remain resolute and clear: our pact is not about flying to any moon, nor will we compromise on political alliances before building an alliance with the societies we come from, first. Our pact is with our people.”

Mangera made the opening remarks during day two of the convention on Saturday.

At a press conference hosted by the party on September 27, presidential hopeful Songezo Zibi painted the event as a festival of solution, meant to turn South Africa’s current political culture on its head and place power back in the hands of the people.

Rise Mzansi emerged as a political party at an official launch in April 2023. At the launch, the party vowed to free South Africa from “the clutches of a political establishment that no longer has any solutions or plans for the country and its 60 million people”.

Zibi said: “That is part of the reason we are doing this in this way and asking South Africans what they need [from the government].”

He said the policy discussions at the convention will be centred on six themes which reflect the concepts of well-being and happiness that are central to the party’s politics.

The themes include family in all its forms – and all things that threaten the healthy functioning of the family unit – and community, which extends beyond tackling crime to address road transport safety, public facilities, green parks and spaces, community centres, sports facilities and other infrastructure that makes a community cohesive and liveable.

The party comes onto the political stage at a time when South African voters are searching for new political homes. For close on three decades, the country’s political stage has been dominated by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).