Are the Fallists
going to control the future of the University of Cape Town (UCT)?
Emeritus Prof. Tim Crowe
Fortunately, I have obtained apparently narrowly distributed
information concerning the tasks/composition of the powerful Steering Committee
(SC) that will oversee the creation of the even more powerful Institutional
Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) - a key product of the
Agreement of 6 November. The decisions
and recommendations of these assemblages, which the UCT Executive maintains
should be “multi-stakeholder”, “restorative” and “maximally participative” in
nature, WILL (not may) have profound effects on the future of UCT.
First the information; then my questions/comments on it.
Tasks of the SC
(approved by Council on 10 December)
1.
develop a framework for selecting commissioners
such as criteria, expertise, availability with respect to expected time lines
required, etc.
2.
identify the commissioners, and having done so
to refer to Council for appointment
3.
develop provisional terms of reference (ToRs)
for the IRTC (be submitted to Council for approval) by having its members
engage individually with their stakeholder groups
4.
receive recommendations from the IRTC (which,
once constituted, will determine its own procedures and modes of operation) and
then refer them to Council for consideration
5.
oversee implementation of recommendations.
Composition of the SC (deadline for nominations – 9 January 2017 – to
be submitted via judy.favish@uct.ac.za)
One Council member who will be chair
·
5 students
o
2 from Students Representative Council (SRC)
plus one alternate
o
2 from Shackville TRC plus one alternate*
o
1 decided upon jointly by the SRC and Shackville
TRC plus one alternate
·
5 academics elected by:
o
Deans 1 + 1 alternate
o
Senate 1 + 1 alternate
o
The Academic Union 1 + 1 alternate
o
The Heads of Department 1 + 1 alternate
o
The Black Academic Caucus 1 + 1 alternate
·
3 from management comprising:
o
VC (DVC as alternate for VC or for DVC
Transformation)
o
DVC Transformation (Prof. Loretta Feris
- Vice-Chair of the Black Academic
Caucus)
o
A Representative of the Executive Directors 1 +
1 alternate
·
1 representative of the Alumni Association
(nominated by the Alumni Advisory Board) 1 + 1 alternate
·
1 from the PASS (support staff) Forum + 1
alternate
One representative from:
o
Employees Union 1 + 1 alternate
o
NEHAWU 1 + 1 alternate
o
Non-recognized unions (to be elected by the
Forum of representatives of PASS staff who are affiliated to these unions)
* In the case of the two Shackville TRC representatives, the
alternate will not be a single identified individual. Shackville TRC will be allowed to substitute
for one of their two representatives in order to bring in specific experience
or interest group, e.g. Trans-collective as required.
Questions/Comments
Why has this important information about the SC not been
circulated widely for comment and not reviewed by Senate before being considered
by Council?
Does this not indicate that the UCT Executive/Council
consider the Senate irrelevant in matters relating to UCT’s future?
Why was a summarized version of this information not included
in the VC’s address at the recent UCT Convocation AGM?
How can the SRC nominate anyone to serve on the SC when its
elections were suspended because one candidate was an interdicted lawbreaker
member of the Shackville TRC?
What has the genocide-chanting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ2WOBUgHiY,
hostage-taking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBvJMsmI92M,
arson-employing http://city-press.news24.com/Voices/how-shackville-started-a-war-20160219
Shackville TRC done to be entitled to select (or help to select) four members
of the SC? That is, other than promising
no further intimidation/disruption and then reneging on that promise at the UCT
Convocation AGM. http://www.biznews.com/mailbox/2016/12/16/uct-fallist-fiasco/ [Please watch the two aforementioned videos.]
Are amnestied lawbreakers (e.g. Mr Chumani Maxwele)
potential SC/IRTC members?
Regardless of their potential linkages to lawbreaking, will
‘student’ members of the SC be required to reveal their credentials and
ideology, e.g. their academic and criminal, records and the stakeholders with
whom they self-identify and what they actually represent? For example, a student who has failed most of
his/her courses and (like most of the Shackville TRC) is a card-carrying member
of PASMA, a revolutionary
student movement guided by the philosophies of Pan Africanism and Marxism
–Leninism whose goal is total liberation of all humanity through the working
class revolution and establishment and construction of classless society, may
not be someone that UCT’s “silenced majority” feels represents its “stakeholder”
interests.
Why do the 100000+ alumni have only one
representative on the SC? Furthermore,
note that Alumni Advisory Board, the entity that will appoint that person is
chaired by UCT Council member and ardent Price supporter Ms Dianna Yach. http://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2016/12/08/right-reply-uct-max-price/
For my thoughts on the Price-Yach
relationship see http://www.biznews.com/mailbox/2016/12/15/uct-max-price-dianna-yach/.
Despite all of the above, why is the role of
the Senate, UCT’s statutory body constituted to “control” all major university
academic matters https://www.uct.ac.za/about/governance/senate/ reduced to nominating
one SC member? Furthermore, why is it
not allowed to comment (as the US Senate will do on Trump’s cabinet nominees) on
the SC members’ ability to satisfy the “multi-stakeholder”, “restorative”
and “maximally participative” goals of the SC/IRTC from an academic perspective
before their appointments go before Council?
How should a rational member of UCT’s
“silenced majority” interpret all this?
Let’s put it into context.
7 December: abortive discussion of
‘decolonization’ and UCT Fellows’ Dinner reported on 9 December https://www.uct.ac.za/dailynews/archives/?id=10117
At this gathering of the UCT research
elite, VC Price enumerated this year’s many recent achievements. What he did not do is call upon us to descend
from our Ivory Towers and take a meaningful role in mentoring
edu-socio-economically oppressed undergraduate students.
8 December: Ms Yach’s Right of reply: UCT slams ‘ignorant, derogatory rhetoric’ [from me] about Dr Max Price http://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2016/12/08/right-reply-uct-max-price/
13 December 2016: Statement of the University of
Cape Town Council unconditionally supporting the Price-led UCT Executive.
https://www.uct.ac.za/dailynews/archives/?id=10122
https://www.uct.ac.za/dailynews/archives/?id=10122
14 December: the white-wash Price interview
with Andrew Brown in the Daily Maverick https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-12-14-qa-max-price-on-ucts-year-of-living-on-the-edge/
15 December: the Fallist-invaded UCT
Convocation AGM during which skilled Advocate (and former Council chairperson) Geoffrey
Budlender miss-represented my motion for consultation of the alumni vis-à-vis
focusing negotiations with and actions relating to lawbreaking Fallists; and called
for unambiguous support for Price/Fallist initiative; and invaders (who
promised to protest in silence) harassed all speakers (including Budlender) and
subjected me and a female UCT lecturer to hate speech. I will be requesting UCT to investigate this
illegal activity, but expect – as usual – no action.
22 December: publication of UCT’s
intimidation-hate-speech-free ‘minutes’ on the UCT Convocation AGM that once
again miss-represents my ‘no confidence’ vote to avoid a survey of alumni https://www.uct.ac.za/dad/news/?id=105&t=int
and depict the ‘protest’ in a positive
light; plus CHED Dean Shay’s letter circulate to 100000+ alumni
encouraging them to unconditionally support Price’s policy of “Engaging [as oppose to dealing with] the
Chaos" https://www.uct.ac.za/dad/news/?id=104&t=int
23 December: publication of VC Price’s Panglossian Year-end
greeting http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/email/VC.HighlightsUCT2016.FINAL.pdf
Now I and a few others hear that the
deadline for nominating candidates to serve on the SC is 9 January 2017.
Pardon me if I characterize this
“context” as pro-Fallist/‘decolonist’ (whatever that is) propaganda.
I encourage those of you who care to
contact Ms Favish (copying to me – timothy.crowe[at]uct.ac.za with your views
on who should serve on the SC and IRTC.
Have a peaceful and happy holidays and,
if you believe in God, pray for UCT.
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