UCT’s Council has been accused of undermining university stakeholders and suggestions of the higher education portfolio committee as it forges ahead to implement recommendations by the independent panel that probed governance issues at the institution.
In a briefing to the portfolio committee on higher education last week, UCT heard strong calls from MPs for an independent assessor as they expressed no confidence in the outcome of the panel’s investigation.
The panel, headed by retired Supreme Court of Appeal president, Judge Lex Mpati, investigated governance issues from 2018 to 2022, the period when the university was under the leadership of former vice-chancellor, professor Mamokgethi Phakeng.
The 179-page report released last month found “serious governance failures” by Phakeng and council chair Babalwa Ngonyama who had gone “rogue”.
Both have rejected the findings and intend to challenge them.
It also stated that the council had failed in exercising its fiduciary responsibility at the university.
In a statement on Tuesday, UCT council chairperson Norman Arendse said they met on Saturday and commitments were made to remedy past governance failures and strengthen structures by complying with UCT’s regulations, policies and enforcing the Council code of conduct.
“This includes ensuring the delineation of the oversight governance role of Council from the executive management function together with matters that fall within the purview of the Senate. Student governance via the Student Representative Council (SRC) and the role of the Institutional Forum (IF) remain important arms of institutional governance,” he said.
Arendse said a council sub-committee will establish a framework to strengthen the university’s governance that will encompass induction processes, performance reviews, tightening the terms of reference and alignment of the functions to execute Council decisions through the management systems. He said governance roles of key committees such as the Remuneration Committee of Council and the Human Resources Committee will be included in the process.
“Council took further resolutions to report wrongdoing by individuals to external professional bodies, initiate disciplinary procedures in instances where university jurisdiction applies and to reassign the executive reporting line for Human Resources to the Vice-Chancellor.”
Council resolved to recall the current chair of the University Human Resources Committee from that role and from all other Council committees to which Council had made this appointment.
Council also resolved to offer a written apology to be posted on the UCT website to those who had been wronged as referenced in the report of the panel, and so too in the case of the 37 anonymous complainants referred to in the Ombud Report referenced in the report of the panel, said Arendse.
The Worker-Student-Academic Forum said they were opposed to the Council’s “stunt”.
“The Council’s insistence is another clear indication that they have ulterior motives and they will do everything in their power to undermine not only UCT stakeholders who are opposed to the report but also the recommendations of the portfolio committee and Department of Higher Education and Training who have urged them to support the recommendation for appointment of an independent assessor if they have nothing to hide and they are confident in the process they followed to institute the panel,” the forum said.
UCT Student Representative Council president Hlamulo Khorommbi said they were not surprised by the Council’s decision.
“We are not surprised because..for us something is just really not adding up. If they are so confident in the report they should also join calls for the minister to appoint the independent assessor. It’s like they have an agenda and quickly want to move and implement it. This was evident last week during the meeting.”
Cape Times