Philippa Garson
CONSTRUCTIVE steps to solve Wits University’s crisis were taken at this week’s council meeting, and indications are that all parties to the dispute have agreed on a way forward.
The council has mandated four of its high- profile members — Nthato Motlana, Enos Mabuza, Bobby Godsell and Ken Maxwell — to revive the university’s stalled transformation process and “look at who they can draw in from both within and outside the university [to establish a steering committee] to facilitate change,” said council member Justice Fikile Bam, who has been mediating in the crisis around deputy vice-chancellor William Makgoba.
The key member of the international tribunal apppointed to hear allegations against Makgoba, Zimbabwean academic Walter Kamba, has withdrawn, prompting the university to set up a new forum. “There was agreement that there must be an alternative tribunal to the present one, composed of people acceptable to Makgoba, the other stakeholders and the 13 academics,” said Bam, adding it had been agreed that participants on a new tribunal would have experience of the local political context and of Makgoba’s own field of expertise. They would also be “younger” than the three initially appointed, said Bam.
The Wallis investigation, appointed to investigate Makgoba’s sweeping counter- allegations against the 13 academics who signed the dossier against him, is pressing ahead, however.
Both vice-chancellor Robert Charlton and Makgoba were pleased with the outcome of the council meeting; but Bam was due to consult Makgoba, the Wits Transformation Front (WTF) and other groups on Thursday, for a formal
WTF chairman Shadrack Gutto said he welcomed the developments as a step forward. “This means that the so-called international tribunal, which we had opposed on the basis of its composition and its terms of reference, will now be reconstituted.” Gutto said the WTF was still opposed to two parallel inquiries and was pressing for one forum to look into all the allegations, as “the issues are tied up together”.
He welcomed the appointment of the four council members to look into transformation as “the most positive thing to emerge from the meeting. Energy has to be diverted to the transformation process generally. This is the current crisis,” he said.
Bam said the council members had “come to understand each other” and there was a common appreciation of the steps Wits had already taken towards transformation.