Walter Sisulu University wants to reprioritise R178-million that it stands to give back to treasury after failing to spend it.
A proposal to reallocate R178-million, set aside to develop a new campus for its engineering faculty, to buy 11 buildings in East London has caused a rift in the highest structures of the Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape.
The sources, who are independent of the academics, also accused management of misleading the higher education department by telling it that the council had approved the proposal, yet it has not. She said no decision regarding the transaction has been made. The executive committee of the council had sought advice from members electronically. “The ECC then met, supported the proposal and decided that the matter proceed to the next stage, which was to seek DHET approval. It further decided that once the negotiations are finalised, the transaction must be presented to a full council meeting for approval, and then for ministerial approval.
WSU was formed in the early 2000s from the merger of the Border Technikon in East London, the Eastern Cape Technikon in Butterworth and the University of Transkei in Mthatha. It also has a campus in Queenstown which is nearly 200km from East London. The proposal to buy the 11 buildings, which was compiled by WSU’s acting estates director Mark Roslee and signed off by Midgely, says the university was in danger of having to surrender the money to the treasury because it failed to spend it since it was allocated two years ago.
The purchase will need the blessings of the higher education department and the treasury. The department confirmed it had already been approached by the university.
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