DA concerned by leadership vacuum at Tshwane University of Technology

The appointment of the new Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) vice-chancellor has been postponed for the umpteenth time, leaving the institution with a leadership vacuum and casting doubts over the capabilities of its administration. Although the current acting vice-chancellor of TUT, Professor Johnny Molefe, is the favoured candidate of the majority of this university's council members, the Democratic Alliance (DA) believes there are several reasons why he is not suitable for the position.

Most importantly, Professor Molefe's qualifications have recently been discredited after it was revealed that he had obtained a fraudulent doctoral degree from a fake university listed in the West Indies. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) has since declared his doctorate invalid. Furthermore, serious questions have been raised about Professor Molefe's financial management skills - his name appears as a bad debtor at a number of credit bureaus and he is reportedly seeking debt counselling.

A TUT council meeting scheduled for Wednesday this week, at which the Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande would have been present, was called off on short notice. TUT remains a rudderless ship and cannot move forward with important educational processes until the correct leadership is appointed.

Minister Nzimande has statutory powers to appoint up to four members to the council of a university. However, two of the statutory appointees on TUT's council, Dr John Volmink (CEO of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit) and Dr Adel Gordon, have chosen to resign from the council. According to them, the situation surrounding the appointment of the new vice-chancellor has become complete chaos, and they have serious concerns about the effect of the delays on the university's ability to fulfil its mandate. 

TUT's academic leadership is strongly against the appointment of Professor Molefe and feels sidelined by external members of the university council who are allegedly supporting his appointment for suspect reasons. It has been suggested that lucrative extensions planed for TUT could be behind the support shown for Professor Molefe by external members, who form the majority of the council.

I will be writing to the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training to request that the head of the university council appear before the committee to explain the delays in the appointment of a new vice chancellor and why the situation has not been rectified sooner. This institution, as the country's largest residential university campus, needs a leader who is competent, both academically and financially, and enjoys the support of its staff and the wider higher education community. 

Statement issued by Dr. Junita Kloppers-Lourens MP, DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training, July 28 2011

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