It will “not be surprising” if University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng is squeezed out of her role with a face-saving exit strategy by the university before her second term starts later this year.
This as “resignation letters pile up” and a “lack of transparency” dogs the university amid allegations of a top-down corporate approach to governance — by a VC who has “gone rogue” — and does not fit an institution of higher learning.
This is the view of outspoken sociology and political studies professor Jeremy Seekings, director of the Centre for Social Science Research at the institution, who says “some or other exit strategy” designed to save face is likely to unfold as criticism mounts and governance erodes further.
Speaking at the Cape Town press club on Monday, Seekings said Phakeng’s supporters area small minority but “the most vocal”, while discontent abounds and places the university under threat.
Elijah Moholola, responding on behalf of the university, said an independent investigation into governance issues is underway.
“The University of Cape Town council has put in place an independent investigation panel to look at the matters related to governance at the institution. The panel has now been formally constituted and commenced its work. The panel will undertake the task given to it by the UCT council in accordance with the terms of reference,” he said.
Seekings said the structure of the university comprises three tiers and its smooth running relies on those three tiers having a healthy relationship, even where robust debate occurs.
The tiers are council (responsible for the workings of the institution as a business), senate (responsible for academic life) and the executive (the vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellors).
“In recent times, there has been a fallout among the three tiers, and the academics see it as a result of the dysfunctionality of the executive,” he said.
His main allegations are:
• The vice-chancellor is not a team player: “It has become clear that the VC does not have good working relationships with most of the other members of her executive, and this has resulted in resignations and axing of senior members of the university,” he said, adding that “rumours abound that many letters of resignation sit on the desk of council and that the problem is much worse than reported”.
Previously, key people in management came out of an academic background, but now they come out of a corporate background and bring corporate norms and values. Appointments are shifting from the prerogative of academics to human resource managers.
— Sociology and political studies professor Jeremy Seekings
• Morale among academics is low: “Academics have very low morale at the moment because doing what they love — teaching and research — is not being supported, so it is an everyday crisis.” He said the Academic Union has been “more militant recently than at any other point in the institution’s history”. This is a result first because of bad governance, and second, “because of the university’s inability to negotiate pay increases”. He said it is normally a straightforward process, but earlier this year, “management simply didn’t turn up”, and those sent to represent management did not have the mandate to negotiate. In the end “there were no negotiations, and the university simply folded”. “When faced with an embarrassing problem, they throw money at it,” he said.
• Critics of the VC and her governance style are labelled “anti-transformation”: “Some of the critics are real champions of change and transformation,” said Seekings, adding that while many of the problems began under former VC Max Price, who received heavy criticism, the criticism against Phakeng is “racialised and the narrative that takes hold is that you’re trying to get rid of a black VC”. Seekings said that less than 50% of the senate is made up of white South Africans and the senate has voted “almost unanimously to hold her to account”. He said black academics are “just as frustrated as their white counterparts, but the racial story will get played out”.
• The VC has employed a top-down corporate approach inapt for a university: “Previously, key people in management came out of an academic background, but now they come out of a corporate background and bring corporate norms and values. Appointments are shifting from the prerogative of academics to human resource managers. Various areas of policy are run using corporate templates,” he said, citing as an example a recent attempt to implement a policy whereby anyone bringing the university “into disrepute would be regarded as having committed a fireable offence”. He said this new policy was floated and shot down, but it exemplified this “shift in power from academics to managers with no academic background”. He added: “It has enabled the VC to act in ways that don’t have the checks and balances that used to come from the management team.”
• There is a lack of transparency from the VC. Seekings said the university was in dire need of “more transparency about finances and appointments”, yet these things were “hidden behind a wall”. Phakeng’s “legitimacy and credibility” had been sorely “eroded” and her leadership is “not a viable way forward, so the question is: how do you organise an exit which allows some face-saving?” He added: “Our problem is her rogue leadership, not her ideology of transformation, as we all agree with the need for transformation.”
Moholola said UCT was not at the press club event but would respond to any claims made by Seekings in due course if those claims are “not being covered through the work of the panel [of the independent investigation]”.
The claims made by Seekings have been shared with UCT, and TimesLIVE Premium will update this article should UCT respond to any allegations not already being explored by the panel.
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