COTA under fire over missing funds
THE College of the Arts (COTA) has come under fire after allegations of missing funds and mismanagement came into the spotlight. Last week, a local weekly newspaper reported about the declining fortunes of the already shaky arts institution.
An amount of over N$2 million has allegedly vanished from the college’s account, and this was later confirmed by an audit carried out by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture in the 2020/21 financial year.
This week, Landless People’s Movement (LPM) parliamentarian Utaraa Mootu visited some of the students at the Katutura Community Arts Centre in Windhoek.
During the meeting, she was informed that the college lacked the necessary equipment to help students with their studies, which was supposed to be purchased via the budget allocated to the school.
In a telephonic interview with New Era, Mootu said the students’ funds have been linked to funding lecturers who have not been on contracts. “They have apparently been getting paid from that fund, and they were not receiving payslips or any other employee benefits that an employee is entitled to. No medical aid, no social security nor any other benefits,” she stated. Mootu added that 17 lecturers have so far been unfairly retrenched.
“Some of them have already been working for three to five months without getting paid,” she noted.
This has consequently led to a delay in the commencement of some classes of the current academic year.
These classes were supposed to start in February already, but they only began this week. “Students are frustrated, the lecturers’ fate is unknown, the school has come to a standstill,” she stressed.
Other challenges the students and lecturers are facing include frozen part-time staff positions, accommodation issues and no proper security on the campuses.
Mootu condemned the malpractices, saying employment contracts to members of staff should have been given.
“They are exploiting their staff because they didn’t get to pay them based on merit. The lecturers complained that they get low salaries. Some people are actually qualified to get a specific amount in terms of their salaries, but they get peanuts,” she continued.
Attempts to obtain comment from the institution’s rector Angelika Schroeder proved futile. Approached for comment, acting vice president of the Namibia National Students Organisation Luciano Kambala said his organisation is presently collecting all the details regarding the matter. They will then engage the line ministry and the management of COTA.
This is to ensure that students are not further disadvantaged.
Prioritise arts
The cultural sector is guided by the 2001 Policy on Arts and Culture.
However, Mootu feels there has been a lack of priority when it comes to the arts sector.
“The policy itself, which was supposed to be amended, has not been brought to parliament. So, already establishing COTA as an institution backed up by a policy has not been prioritised since 2015. I suggest the minister of education looks into the Act, and table the Act in parliament for us to ensure that arts is also in the curriculum of high schools,” said the young parliamentarian.
“When students go to institutions such as COTA, they have no foundation, and struggle to have a specific specialisation,” Mootu said.
In the 2001 arts and culture policy, COTA was supposed to become a statutory body through appropriate legislation. But to this day, it is a department in the Directorate of Arts. “The arts sector should become (part of) a university, or at least be recognised as an institution of higher learning because right now it is in-between. It is not a high school, but it is falling under the ministry of basic education. It should fall under the ministry of higher learning so that they can also get a specific budget, like Unam and Nust. If they get a budget, it will enable the institution to employ the so-called qualified lecturers,” Mootu emphasised.
Meanwhile, the education ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp told New Era that the issue of COTA has been closely monitored.
“The ministry has put into consideration all complaints received on issues of the misappropriation of funds, funds that could not be accounted for, or administrative mismanagement. We have done an audit report; we made specific recommendations that have been acted on,” she explained.
Steenkamp said they had engagements last week with some of the protesters (students, lecturers and management itself), and are waiting for specific documentation to then consider action as per the Public Service Act.