Several Bay councillors flunk courses funded by city
Those who did not pitch for class must repay costs – municipality
ANUMBER of Nelson Mandela Bay councillors flunked two courses funded by the municipality as they either failed to pitch for class or pass their assignments. For the “Leadership Skills for the 21st Century” course, 40 of the 53 councillors who enrolled passed.
And only 20 out of the 37 councillors enrolled for the “Project Management” course were able to pass.
The leadership skills course showed councillors how to distinguish between different leadership styles and develop insight into a range of leadership theories.
It took 40 hours over 13 evenings.
The project management course equipped councillors with the skills to conduct feasibility studies and measure progress. It took 24 hours over eight evenings. The councillors who passed attended a small graduation ceremony yesterday at the Nelson Mandela University Business School.
Council support services director Nomakhaya Ndwayana said 80% of the pass rate was based on attendance, with 20% reliant on assignments submitted. Some councillors did both courses. Speaking at Nelson Mandela University yesterday, council speaker Jonathan Lawack refused to reveal the cost of each course as the municipality had a partnership with the institution.
“I’m not at liberty to divulge that information. It is a contract between the municipality and the university.”
Asked if the councillors who had failed the courses would refund the municipality, Lawack said only those who had absconded would be liable for costs incurred.
“Councillors who have failed are allowed to repeat, but those who absconded, they will be held personally responsible. We will recoup the money from them,” he said.
Lawack said he would meet with the councillors who had failed to attend 80% of the courses.
“Through their negligence, we have incurred costs and we must recoup the financial outlay.” Councillors from the ANC, DA, EFF, AIC and ACDP all put on their best clothing to receive their certificates in front of mayor Athol Trollip.
While Lawack refused to divulge the costs, municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said the leadership course cost R6 705 per councillor while the project management course cost R4 340 per councillor. “The persons who have failed will be given an opportunity to redo the courses at their own expense. Only those who were not successful because of their own negligence will be required to repay the money spent on the course by the municipality,” Mniki said.
ANC councillor Kolekile Boqwana received distinctions in both courses.
“When we’re taught [about] leadership styles, one that prevailed was servant leadership. This struck a chord with me because whenever we do our work, we must become servants to our communities,” Boqwana said.
DA councillor Rene Meyer, who did the leadership skills course, said she had learnt how the minds of different councillors worked.
‘ Through their negligence, we have incurred costs
THE councillors who enrolled for and failed two short learning courses at Nelson Mandela University last year have done more than just perform badly in their assignments, they also have failed the ratepayers of this city.
Just more than half of the Nelson Mandela Bay councillors who enrolled for a project management course run by the NMU Business School passed, while nearly one in four failed a leadership skills module.
A council support services spokesman confirmed that the decision to pass or fail was largely based on attendance with only a small portion for assignments submitted.
From this, therefore, we deduce that many of the councillors simply did not bother to turn up for their classes.
It is clear several “students” lacked the motivation, but what a woeful and needless waste of public money it has been – after all, it is the ratepayers’ money which was diverted to enhance their skills, it was not drawn out of their own salaries.
Many have noted the dearth of leadership in this country. And, it is to the credit of the municipality that, having identified gaps in competencies in some of its councillors, it offered further training in areas deemed relevant to their jobs.
We find it shocking that those who were paid for from municipal funds to attend these courses did not even bother to pitch up.
It is a reckless waste of public money because education does not come cheap.
What a missed opportunity this was, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of a nation where so many bright young school leavers are denied the chance to study further due to the lack of funds.
We congratulate those who did attend, knuckled down and completed the courses properly.
In particular, we single out ANC councillor Kolekile Boqwana, who received a distinction for both courses and in so doing seems to have learnt the lessons taught:
“Whenever we do our work, we must become servants to our communities,” Boqwana said.
If only his peers had been in the lecture room to learn this lesson as well.