Philippa Garson
LEADING academics are pitted against each other in the latest university furore which involves the resignation of the University of Transkei’s (Unitra) vice-chancellor, Alfred Moleah.
Moleah’s resignation comes in the wake of months of conflict with the university Council, which comprises prominent academics, educationists and political figures, including its chair Fatima Meer, Blade Nzimande, Brigalia Bam, Justice T Madala and George Nkadimeng.
The university’s chancellor, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, is said to be deeply upset by the rift.
Moleah, a political scientist who spent 31 years in the United States pursuing his academic career before returning to take the helm of Unitra in July last year, offered his resignation at a Council meeting last week. In his view, the Council is an “advocate for Nehawu”, the union representing workers on campus, and is undermining his authority as principal of the university.
Moleah objected to decisions taken by the Council last week which allow a range of university stakeholders to participate in the process of short-listing for staff appointments, renew the contract of deputy vice-chancellor Justice Noruwana without his approval, and uphold a disciplinary hearing decision that cleared leading health academic Rachel Gumbi of any wrongdoing.
Moleah told the Mail & Guardian he could not work in an environment where the Council undermined his leadership role and paid lip-service to Nehawu.
“I am not anxious to get out of here. I have put 16 months of my life here. I am not calling for dissolution of the Council but for an environment which allows me to function.”
He charged Council members with “never spending time at the university they are making policy about” and said that since he had arrived on campus he had rooted out corruption, had the premises cleaned up and had opened a book shop on campus. “I have suspended quite a few people who are not performing,” he said.
Meer said the Council was surprised at the vice- chancellor’s resignation and would hold an emergency meeting next week to discuss the issue. “Regrettably, Professor Moleah took his resignation to the press, thereby publicising it before the matter could be discussed within the university … What needs to be emphasised is that it is (he) who has resigned. The Council has not asked for his resignation,” said Meer.
Responding to allegations of partiality towards Nehawu, Meer said the Council had “on all occasions acted impartially and without favour to any specific structure. Its approach at all times has been to resolve conflict through discussion. It has, since its inception, intervened successfully in three strike situations.
“Council members,” said Meer, “are not employees of the university. They cannot be expected to be in constant attendance on campus.”
Gumbi, a prominent community health activist, has been at loggerheads with Moleah since taking up a post as a consultant to the national Health Department while on sabbatical, and now the health department has entered the fray. “It is a pure case of victimisation. I see it as a gender issue. It is my transparency about my sabbatical work plans that has landed me in this mess. After all I have done for the university, to be exposed to a disciplinary hearing for no reason but to destroy my integrity, has been extremely humiliating,” said Gumbi.
According to Gumbi’s lawyer, Brett Phillips, Moleah has “out and out harrassed (Gumbi) ever since she went off on sabbatical”.
Her salary has been withheld since she left the campus and the health department has been phoned repeatedly by unidentified callers requesting information about her work there.
Moleah claims Gumbi is being employed as a chief director and not a consultant and that she went on sabbatical without her leave having been approved. “It is absolutely untrue that she has been harrassed. This corrupt practice of having multiple jobs has been going on for a long time … I see my job as bringing this corruption to an end,” he told the Mail & Guardian.
On the issue of the renewal of his deputy’s contract, Moleah said the Council “had no idea whether he was performing well or not” and thus was not in a position to approve his contract renewal.
Noruwana, who ran the university as acting vice- chancellor before Moleah’s arrival, said Moleah “never gave me any portfolio upon which one could judge my performance”.
“But since the principal arrived he has not chaired any scheduled Senate, academic planning committee or university personnel committee meetings. I have always chaired these meetings. Is this work or not work? Why hasn’t he chaired them? You ask him.”
Nehawu issued a statement yesterday charging that Moleah had threatened to resign three times. “The university finds itself in the unenviable position of being headed by a man who goes about with a resignation letter in his pocket … (He) became so arrogant and unscholarly in his dealings with the Council that on several occasions he had to be called to order.”
Nehawu charged Moleah with being a “little dictator” with scant regard for the “tenets of democracy and transparency”.
Moleah said he had “no problem with transparency, participation and democracy. I have lived the latter part of my life in the US, considered to be a mature democracy. But there has to be division of labour and specialisation of function. You can’t have the same people doing everything.”
Moleah has the backing of many academic staff members represented by the Union of Democratic Staff Associations (Udusa).