Minister Blade Nzimande appoints Professor Ihron Rensburg as Administrator for University of South Africa

28 Oct 2023

The Minister of Higher Education Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande has appointed Professor Ihron Rensburg as the Administrator for the University of South Africa and dissolved the Council of the university in accordance with Section 49B of the Higher Education Act.

Professor Rensburg is an accomplished academic and university leader who previously served as the Vice-chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg. He also served as the Administrator of the Vaal University of Technology in 2021.

He led a pioneering role in the merger and transformation of the former Rand Afrikaans University, the Technikon Witwatersrand, and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University into University of Johannesburg and its massive expansion on the higher education landscape.

As UNISA Administrator, Prof Rensburg’s appointment is for a 24 months period, commencing from the 27th October 2023.

Prof Rensburg will report to the Minister or any delegated officials in the Department of Higher Education and Training in writing on a biannual basis; and at the completion of his appointment period, he is expected to submit a written report to the Minister within 30 days.

In making his decision to both dissolve Council and appoint the Administrator, Minister Nzimande has carefully considered the findings and recommendations of the Independent Assessor (IA) report by Professor Themba Mosia, the responses from the Council and other stakeholders, as well as Government’s responsibilities in protecting public interests in the governance and management of Unisa.

The Assessor Report followed the Report of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) of August 2021 into the Review of UNISA which also raised serious concerns about the state of administration and governance as well as the quality and sustainability of Unisa as one of South Africa’s most important universities.

There are strong overlaps and areas of strategic convergence in the findings and recommendations of the reports of the Independent Assessor and the MTT. The MTT concluded that based on the evidence presented to it, UNISA suffers chronic management failures in many of the key support systems, and the Council was the root cause of the problems at the University.

The role of the Administrator will be as follows:

1. The Administrator will take over the role, powers, functions and duties of the Council for a period of 24 months.

2. The Administrator will carry out the role, exercise the powers, perform the functions and execute the duties of the Council to the extent that such role, powers, functions and duties relate to governance. Furthermore, the Administrator will take over and execute the management of the University.

3. The Administrator will also Identify and initiate processes and initiatives that will restore proper governance and management at the University.

4. The Administrator will also develop and begin the implementation of a turn-around plan that will address the range of problems and challenges that have been identified in the Independent Assessor Report and that of the Ministerial Task Team report.

5. The Administrator will also Initiate an independent external investigation (a forensic audit) into the range of financial control weaknesses and financial irregularities identified in the Report as a matter of urgency.

6. Further, where criminal activity is evident, the Administrator will follow full legal processes so that there is visible consequence management for illicit practice.

7. The Administrator will also ensure that the Statute of the University is reviewed and submitted to the Minister for approval in terms of section 33(1) of the Act. This should concomitantly occur with the revision of existing policies and institutional rules that are outdated to ensure that they comply with changes in relevant legislation and regulations; and the development of new policies where necessary.

8. The Administrator will take measures to realign the strategic focus of the University as an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution which can focus on excellence in eLearning, lifelong learning provision, and acting as a national resource for ODeL.

9. The Administrator will review the strategies for supporting the student body at the University to improve the success rate of students.

10. The Administrator will ensure that a new council is constituted in accordance with the institutional statute as soon as is practicable; and that there is a proper induction of all members and an effective handover of the governance role to the new Council. Probity assessment for potential members of Council based on their educational qualifications, experience, expertise and ethical conduct, past practice will be conducted.

11. Regarding the execution of the management of the University in (c) above, the current members of the University Executive Management will be allowed to serve out their current terms. The Administrator must, based on the performance assessment determine whether their terms should be extended or not. Where new senior management appointments must be made, the Administrator must ensure that there are necessary employment probity assessments for new recruits.

The Independent Assessor Report and the MTT report findings:

1. The current Vice-Chancellor (VC) assumed office when UNISA was transitioning from the period 2016 - 2020 that was described as problematic by many, as was pointed out that she did not inherit a properly working institution. The Management Committee (ManCom) knowingly took irregular financial decisions that caused far-reaching and enduring consequences for the University. These include ManCom’s decision to implement selective salary adjustments to academic staff, and some portion of the support staff; the laptop scheme, etc.

2. The condonation of financial irregularities by Council and its failure to hold Management accountable points to gross negligence on the part of the Council.

3. Overall, the Council is found to have failed to fulfil its fiduciary responsibilities and being careless in the execution of its fiduciary duties; to ensure that the University is well-managed and yet performance bonuses were being paid to the executive management; and in its duty to protect the good name and reputation of the University.

4. The Assessor concludes that there is overwhelming evidence that the functioning and efficacy of both Council and Management fall below the expected standard of an effective university that looks after the best interests of its students, staff and resources.

5. The Council has dismally failed UNISA, as it has not equipped itself, or the ManCom, with the range of skills and competencies necessary to provide the appropriate strategic guidance and direction to a modern ODeL institution in the 21st Century.

6. The Council has not demonstrated the knowledge, skill, and experience to guide and direct the production of a comprehensive strategic plan for a modern ODeL institution in the 21st century.

7. UNISA’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is outdated and has increasingly become less fit for purpose over the years. ICT management has deliberately frustrated the implementation of its strategic priorities. This points to a fundamental dereliction of duty on the part of Council for failing to deliver on its basic fiduciary responsibilities with respect to the infrastructures necessary for education delivery, a function vital to the sound functioning of a university; thus, failing to safeguard the health of the academic enterprise. This situation has persisted over several years and is unlikely to change without some drastic intervention. Furthermore, the failure to ensure a robust, modern, and secure ICT infrastructure has damaged Unisa’s academic standing and administrative competence as a reputable HE institution.

8. The Council has failed to ensure the basic assurance services and functions necessary to secure effectiveness of governance, risk management and control processes. This places the institution at significant risk. There is scant understanding of the vital importance of compliance throughout the institution and the far-reaching consequences of its neglect. The culture of impunity is deeply embedded in the institution.

9. There has been a deliberate and systematic plan, over a sustained period, to establish a corrupt network which resulted in institutional capture. The Council then deliberately undermined and incapacitated ManCom with a view to achieve institutional capture and personal enrichment.

Recurring themes across the two Reports’ findings include governance and management problems characterized by a gross lack of consequence management; seriously compromised performances of departments such as Supply Chain Management (SCM), Human Resource (HR) Management, Compliance functions and Finance.

As also pointed out in the Report of the Assessor, there is also a matter of the auditors. During 2022, the University failed to comply with the submission requirements of its 2021 Annual Report. The University’s External Auditors resigned at the end of 2022 having deemed UNISA’s risk profile too high for their (the auditors’) risk tolerance limit. This is completely unacceptable and intolerable for a public higher education, especially one presiding over materially-significant public resources.

As a result, UNISA had to appoint a new external auditor for 2022-2026 in March 2023. The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) expressed serious concerns with the appointment of new auditors; and the failure of the University to put measures in place to mitigate the concerns. The University has failed to submit its 2022 Annual Report as per the Reporting Regulations for the second consecutive year.

Statement issued by Ishmael Mnisi, DHET, 28 October 2023