David Macfarlane
Staff at Vista University, who are withholding their identities for fear of victimisation, have sent a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, Minister of Education Kader Asmal and Parliament’s public accounts committee detailing a horrific history of mismanagement, embezzlement of funds, abuse of power and nepotism at the university.
The letter recalls the hopes raised at Vista when the university’s former Broederbond management stepped down in 1995 to be replaced by black management, but says dreams were shattered when staff and students realised that the new management was “on a gravy train”.
“The once-labelled rich, black university with reserves running into hundreds of millions and a cash flow of millions is now threatened with bankruptcy and possible closure,” the letter says.
The letter alleges that Asmal has ignored repeated complaints made to him and “is not concerned with the future of the institution”.
The letter details “how the entire [Vista] management has failed”:
l Directors who never report for duty and no disciplinary action is taken against them.
l Exorbitant fees paid to consultants, even for work that can be done by staff, for example, IT, human resources, public relations and technical services. The amount spent for the year 1999-2000 is well over R20-million.
l Campus principals at the satellite campuses are never on campus; some have abdicated their responsibility to secretaries.
l No proper records for funds generated from renting out university facilities, for example, Soweto Campus Arena.
l Funds raised for the Science Centre, which was aborted by the council, by former employees of the university are unaccounted for.
l Lecturers and staff who never report for duty and no disciplinary action is taken against them.
l A call to transform the curriculum was ignored by management and deans.
l University assets running into millions, such as computers, disappear and no one cares.
l Notwithstanding the university’s cash-flow problem, it is still paying redundant employees, like personal assistants to the retired vice-chancellor and chief academic administrator.
l Unwarranted resources are still procured by the university, such as cars and furniture.
l Old university assets, like computers, are sold irregularly.
l Non-performance of management and lack of leadership and direction leads to subordinates being demotivated.
l High failure rate of students and no one investigating the problem.
l Overseas trips that do not bring the university any mileage, except that it gives management an all-expenses-paid holiday.
l The Sebokeng campus principal and campus registrar use university time to engage in political debates and commentaries, and as if that was not enough, they actually accept active positions within the media and political organisations as journalist and secretary general respectively.