The Witwatersrand University on Tuesday rejected media reports that it was bankrupt. Wits finance director Andre de Wet said the university launched a range of initiatives in 2000 to stem many of negative trends that dogged the institution when it was going through a financial crisis in the 1990s.
”These critical turn-around objectives have been achieved by running planned deficit budgets since 2000 and additional planned spending out of the substantial reserves the university has accumulated over time,” he said in a statement.
”We are fortunate that at no time did we ran out of financial reserves or borrowed additional money to fund this vital spending.”
SABC radio news reported on Monday that Wits was effectively bankrupt. A group of concerned academics blamed the state of affairs on the policy of decentralised financial control instituted under previous vice chancellor Colin Bundy, it said.
When Wits merged separate faculties into giant schools several years ago, it was claimed at the time that this would be a cost-cutting measure.
The public broadcaster said, however, since decentralisation, there has apparently been little or no financial control of budgets.
”Now posts have been frozen and salary increases will be below inflation this year,” it said.
De Wet said the university also had access to substantial reserves controlled by the Wits Foundation. ”Besides a healthy reserve base, the foundation also administers
more than R350-million on behalf of the university.”
He said, however, although many of the critical change initiatives had been successfully carried out, challenges remained. – Sapa