Ombud’s scathing report puts new UCT council to test
ONE of the first issues that the new University of Cape Town Council has to deal with is the fallout from a scathing report by its ombudsman.
The new council met for the first time on Saturday. In her latest report, UCT Ombud Zetu Makamandela-Mguqulwa was scathing about the institution and vice-chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng.
University spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “The UCT council is applying its mind on the matter and doing so holding the interest of the institution and those who work in it at the centre of all of its deliberations.”
Makamandela-Mguqulwa, in her 2019 report made public last week, accused Phakeng of being a bully who silenced professionals on campus and who said that she didn’t trust the ombud’s office.
Other findings that don’t place the university in a good light were the inability to retain staff. “People are leaving the university. Leaving is not always a bad thing but some of those leaving are people the university would benefit from retaining in the long run,” Makamandela-Mguqulwa’s report stated.
She was also scathing on the university’s response to mental health on campus. “There is positive talk at the university about understanding and supporting mental illness yet when it comes to delivering reasonable accommodation, the university sometimes falls short. There is suspicion that students suffering from some form of mental illness fake their illness in order to abuse the system.
“While there may well be cases of this sort, the university is required to assess each case individually and assist those who do not appear to be attempting to manipulate the system such that fair outcomes are achieved.”
She also reported on increased bullying on campus and that despite her recommendation seven years ago, the council has still not come up with a policy to curb this.
Phakeng and the council sought legal opinions on whether to accept the report. The one sought by Phakeng found that Makamandela-Mguqulwa “by cloaking her own untested personal grievances in the form of a formal report of the office… has abused her office in the most flagrant manner, and acted in violation of the principles that govern her office and indeed every known basic principle of natural justice”.
She was also accused of using “lofty and emotive words” while making allegations against Phakeng without providing any evidence. “What appears to be the annual report of the ombud is not in fact a report. It is an amalgam of a report and personal allegations of the incumbent against certain offices. To the extent that the report contains unproven and untested allegations it is ultra vires and invalid. It cannot be presented to council. To do so would be sanctioning illegality, unlawfulness and procedural impropriety,” the legal opinion found.
The one sought by council concluded: “The message from the ombud exceeds the powers, authority and mandate of the terms of reference, and reporting requirements of the job description, and breaches the foundational principles of the office of the ombud…”
While Moholola didn’t respond to specific questions, he said the issue was handled by the old council.