Nehawu demands criminal action against two UJ senior staff

The National Education‚ Health and Allied Workers Union wants the University of Johannesburg to lay criminal charges against the UJ council chairperson and a deputy vice-chancellor for allegedly embezzling R25 million.

The union complained that the allegations against Professor Roy Marcus and deputy vice-chancellor of finance Jaco van Schoor had barely received any attention.

Marcus and Van Schoor have‚ however‚ been suspended from UJ and an investigation is being conducted.

In July IOL reported: “At the centre of the allegations is that Marcus and Van Schoor used UJ companies to personally benefit from some contracts for the installation of solar geysers.”

Nehawu spokesman Khaya Xaba said the union was astounded by the difference in the way the UJ two and a Walter Sisulu University student‚ who mistakenly received R14 million from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme‚ were handled.

Sibongile Mani misspent R818 000 of the R14-million accidentally deposited into her account in June.

Nehawu spokesman Khaya Xaba said: “Firstly‚ Mani was splashed out in the media and her matter hogged both print and broadcast media headlines. This was not the case with the UJ two‚ whose matter barely received any media attention. Nor were they victims of jokes paraded in the public dominion.”

Xaba said the R25 million allegedly stolen by Marcus and Van Schoor could have been used to assist deserving students and avert another series of protracted protests by students.

The university slammed the Nehawu statement and called it “vague” and “totally incorrect”.

“Following claims that there might have been irregularities within the commercialisation domain of the university‚ the council launched an investigation‚ UJ spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said‚ adding that the investigation has not been concluded.

Marcus said he could not speak about the allegations brought against him because the investigation was still underway.