The government will now intervene after months of seemingly unstoppable senior management turmoil at the University of Durban-Westville (UDW).
On the eve of UDW’s high-profile merger with the University of Natal, the success of which is severely threatened by serial management controversies, this dramatic intervention is thoroughly welcome, senior UDW staffers say.
Minister of Education Kader Asmal announced on Thursday that “it is with great regret that I am announcing the appointment of an independent assessor to investigate and report to me on the apparent governance and management problems at UDW”.
Speaking at a parliamentary briefing he said, “I have not taken this decision lightly and believe that only an independent assessor can establish the truth regarding the situation at the University.”
The assessor will be Bongani Khumalo, the chairperson of Transnet, who will report back “within 30 days of commencing the investigation”.
The Mail & Guardian understands that Khumalo will start investigating in the next few weeks.
Asmal said he had informed the UDW council of his decision before announcing it on Thursday morning.
Since vice-chancellor Saths Cooper took office in January, controversies have multiplied. These include accusations that some senior management appointments and promotions made shortly after he took the top job were unprocedural, that his own remuneration package had not been approved as UDW statutes require, that he had not disclosed full details of his package, and other questions concerning financial management.
The M&G understands that senior officials from the national Department of Education met Cooper, council chairperson Namane Magau and a number of UDW’s senior management two weeks ago. Asmal’s announcement on Thursday follows his officials’ report-back to him about the meeting.
Senior UDW staffers this week welcomed the government’s intervention, saying they had been hoping for months that the government would act.