One of South Africa’s most respected academics, former University of the North vice-chancellor Njabulo Ndebele, is embroiled in a row surrounding the illicit transfer of R20-million of university funds into a private education company.
Ndebele, who retired from the university last year, is a director of the company Edupark, which hosts lectures and leases property to other South African universities. However, he was not paid for this directorship. His former right-hand man, John Wiltshire, the university’s head of development and public affairs, was the other founding director.
Wiltshire will be earning a salary as the company’s new CEO, according to documents in the possession of a commission of inquiry appointed by the university last year to probe the accounts at the university, which is facing unprecedented financial difficulty.
The commission, which is chaired by attorney Phineus Mojapelo, also accuses Wiltshire of going to New York on Edupark business at the university’s expense. Wiltshire denied that allegation this week, saying the trip had been organised by the university’s business school.
According to senior campus sources, the documents implicating Ndebele and Wiltshire have also been handed to Judge Willem Heath’s special investigating unit, which is already probing other irregularities at the university. Documents in the possession of the Mail & Guardian show that although Edupark secured a guarantee of funding from the university, a R15-million pay-out from its coffers in 1996 for building costs was never approved and the university’s council never knew that Ndebele and Wiltshire were directors.
There is no contract between the university and Edupark, which means that Edupark is under no obligation to share its profits with the institution.
The documents that form part of the inquiry’s findings accuse Ndebele of acting ”against the interests of the university and in the interest of Edupark company, which would be enriched to the tune of R15- million at the expense of the university”.
The university also bankrolled R800 000 for a sumptuous fundraising banquet for Edupark at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. It was attended by various dignitaries, including former president Nelson Mandela, who is still the university’s chancellor, and newly appointed Minister of Education Kader Asmal, who was then the chair of the university council.
The University of the North is saddled with a student debt backlog of more than R99-million and a massive financial deficit, and is in desperate need of new facilities, including a library. However, the university paid Edupark R95 575 in rent for three months for its Leadership School.
Senior officials on the university’s council this week confirmed Ndebele had transferred the money without the council’s proper authorisation. Although the University of the North originally agreed to set up Edupark, its founding documents make no mention of the university and do not feature a proper loan agreement.
”The fact that the name of the university does not even appear in the documents of Edupark may well suggest that the people involved may have not wanted the truth about the involvement of the university in Edupark known,” said Benny Boshielo, chair of the university’s council. Boshielo said the university council ”never authorised millions of rands to be given to Edupark, and there are no documents to prove that the university council has done that”.
Student representative council spokesperson Lucky Nchabeleng said his organisation suspected there was ”something irregular” at Edupark. ”Some people were even calling for its closure at some stage. We called for an internal inquiry because the promise by management that Edupark will generate revenue to the university was not forthcoming,” said Nchabeleng.
Said the university’s Broader Transformation Forum’s general secretary, Jay Jay Mavanyisi: ”The university council never authorised that the money [R15- million] be spent on Edupark. Council simply gave a guarantee to fund the first phase of Edupark.”
Edupark has had three board meetings since 1996 and is registered as a Section 21 company. Wiltshire and Ndebele were the only directors until 1998, when they appointed additional members.
It was in one of these meetings that Wiltshire was promoted to take up a full- time post as CEOof Edupark. Boshielo said the university council did not appoint any-one to serve on the Edupark board.
Wiltshire said Edupark’s start-up cash was authorised by the university as early as 1996.
In answer to the question of whether the council actually approved the pay-out, he said: ”All funds released from the university for phase one of Edupark were approved by the council recommendation of March 29 1996. Council approved R15,2-million for building costs and R3-million for local council works. R18,2-million is approximately what phase one has cost.”
Ndebele announced in March this year that the university had loaned R15-million to Edupark. It is unclear whether Ndebele, who is currently in the United States and unavailable for comment, knew that the council had not approved the transfer. The R15-million was earmarked for the construction of Edupark’s lecture halls and administration block.
The documents show that, in addition to that R15-million, the university last year injected another R5-million into the running of Edupark — an amount that was also not authorised by the university council. Wiltshire this week denied receipt of this R5-million.
The University of the North also leases facilities at the Edupark complex, which is situated in the Pietersburg CBD. University sources say there is no contract agreement for the university to rent facilities at Edupark.
