Briefing by Motheo and Buffalo City Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges on their governance, administration, teaching and learning and related matters

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone present and indicated that time was against the Committee because the House was to sit at 3pm. She asked all stakeholders to be as succinct as possible with their presentations.

Motheo TVET College was brought to the Committee’s attention through the whip, Ms D Mahlatsi (ANC), and Ms N Marchesi (DA) have echoed some concerns regarding the College.

The Committee received a letter from Buffalo City College raising concerns about the chairperson of the council and several allegations. These matters are alleged until they are proven otherwise. The Committee does not take sides; it will allow all narratives to be brought to the Committee and full due process to ensure a fair process takes place in whatever rectification must be taken. Whatever needs to follow from what is brought to our attention today will be subjected to due process.

The Committee is looking forward to hearing about the state of the colleges and if they have the capacity to meet the mandate of the TVET programme. The Committee will not entertain blame games or unfounded allegations against each other. She reminded the student representatives to speak freely, raise their concerns and equally take accountability as a governance structure representing the students of the colleges.

Mr Themba Msipa, from the Department, appreciated the opportunity to appear before the Committee and provide the overall state of the respective colleges. It is the view and expectation of the Department to find ways and mechanisms where there are challenges.

Motheo TVET College
Dr Xolile Xuma, Chairperson of the College, made his opening remarks and provided some background about the College. He highlighted that the College is the best academically performing institution among the TVET colleges in the country. The audit opinion was qualified but it is working on improving that and ensuring that the College achieves a clean audit next year.

It has constructed an artisanal academy to contribute towards developing artisans in the country. There is well-established student governance but there are challenges in the College. These challenges are being constantly revisited to address them. One of the biggest challenges is student accommodation. The Covid-19 pandemic affected the enrollment plans of the College.

Prof Dipiloane Phutsisi, the Principal of the College, took Members through the presentation. The presentation covered Governance and Corporate; Management; Teaching and learning; Infrastructure and Finance.

On the National Artisanal Development Academy, Prof Phutsisi came up with the concept of establishing an National Artisan Development Academy with the intention of fast-tracking the development and provision of artisans in line with the National Skills Development Strategy’s (NSDS) target of producing 30 000 artisans by 2030. This concept received buy-in from some stakeholders and attracted funding from the Services SETA Board which committed itself to this R450 million project.

The site handover took place on 1 October 2015 and despite many delays and challenges, we have occupied the buildings since 04 July 2022.

Construction of all the buildings is complete but contractors must still finalise the work. There is also outstanding municipal documentation.

The challenges of the College included Student Accommodation for all campuses, which affect the attendance and safety of students (used buildings, land required); delayed municipality approvals (for example, drop-off zone at National Artisan Academy and building plans at Plot 32); poor project management by the contractors; funding for new infrastructure/ donation of used buildings (for example, movement of Koffiefontein Campus to Trompsburg); title deed for Botshabelo campus which was donated in 2016 and access to College land next to Waaihoek and cooling towers.

The College only received a 2% overall increase in the budget allocation for the year 2022/23. However, there was a decline of 3.6% from the R350 million allocation in 2020/2021. The College has been receiving qualified audit opinions since 2018 to date.

See attached for further details

Motheo TVET College Student Representative Council
Mr Thabelo Mofokeng, the President of the SRC, took the Committee through the presentation. Student challenges were outlined as follows:

• Funding for Skills Students.
• NSFAS Late payments and unstable systems.
• Safety of students off campus.
• Lack of placement, industries and exposure in the economic sector.
• Low support of the 4IR education implementation and support.
• Support for the differently abled students.
• Late issuing of certificates and pending results.

The proposed recommendations for these challenges were:

• CETA’s or any other funding aid should be established through the NSF for tuition and allowances.
• The financial year of NSFAS be in the first month of each academic year, not in March.
• Student residences are established.
• Priorities TVET graduates in the government space as interns or employees.
• Support the introduction of 4IR-related Modules and Fields of study with necessary equipment and requirements.
• Assist with refurnishing and improving the Disability Unite to accommodate all disabled students.
• Create an online system for colleges and students to apply for and access their certificates.

See attached for further details

Motheo TVET College Organised Labour Unions
Mr K Ngakantsi, Public Service Administration (PSA) representative, said their presentation would take a different posture compared to the information presented to the Committee. The official took Members through the presentation and said that what would be presented was largely and fully the concerns that were raised by members of the unions of the institution.

The presentation covered challenges within human resources management; labour relations; academic issues and recommendations.

See attached for further details

Buffalo City TVET College
Dr Bongumusa  Zuma, chairperson of the council at Buffalo City TVET College, said that on behalf of the institution and its stakeholders, he appreciated the opportunity to appear before the Committee. He reminded the Committee that the College was invited in 2020 to appear before the Committee due to regression in the audit opinion and allegations of corruption in the institution. Since then, the College has improved to an unqualified audit opinion. There were no material findings.

The council has been working hard with the management to implement the resolutions of the Committee to institute a forensic investigation into the allegations. Progress has been seen and the principal recently presented the draft report of the audit and risk committee but there were still gaps because the service provider is still looking at about 33% of the sample that it is investigating.

The College has a full SMT now and the Department has assisted in closing those vacancies, though there may still be vacancies. The council is fully constituted.

On teaching and learning, significant focus was channelled towards and ensured that it continued during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. More resources were made available to ensure that the targets of the institution were met. Management has requested the council because of numerous problems like GBV, robberies and issues around safety. It was resolved to place some students in the institution’s residences. A new residence has recently been opened and others are still under renovation. Measures have been put in place to transport students to campus and back.

The issue of vacancies is still a major problem and they appealed to the Committee to assist by pressuring the Department on this, especially with posts that are not under the control of the principal. The management has established the labour forum and engaged with organised labour. Council is also available through the institutional forum and matters could be elevated to the council if not resolved in those structures.

There are prospects for growth at the College; it works closely with local stakeholders to investigate expansion plans around agri-processing and the automotive industry. It is considering expanding its township campus.

Mr V Hewana, Acting Principal of Buffalo City TVET College, took the Members through the presentation. The presentation covered Governance; Management; Teaching and learning; Infrastructure and Finances.

See attached for further details

Buffalo City TVET College Student Representative Council
Mr C Lubisi, SRC President, took Members through the presentation. The challenges in teaching and learning as per the students were:

• Delays and shortages in the arrival of study materials at the start of an academic year. This is a familiar trend in our institution, which is a major cause of much student unrest.
• Results come back with absence from exam statuses, which sometimes disadvantages students in writing supplementary exams that need funds to apply.
• No strategies are put in place to boost teaching and learning.
• Maintenance of workshop machinery is not seriously considered as some machines are outdated.
• Shortfalls of lecturing staff due to temporary contracts not being renewed during the academic calendar.
• Late notices on part-time applications, delays and inconsistencies in issuing part-time results which have been a significant disadvantage to the student community of Buffalo City College.

Student housing challenges were:

• The main challenge in student housing is that the leased residences are not properly maintained, as at times, we receive complaints from students about leaking rooms on rainy days.
• Our student housing does not have much to offer in terms of gaming zones like the modern residences.
• If much attention can be given to the two residences owned by the institution, then we believe student housing issues may be mitigated.

See attached for further details

Buffalo City TVET College Organized Labour Unions
The Labour Union Representative took the Members through the presentation. The presentation covered matters around governance – abuse of power; selection and recruitment; violation of supply chain; management regulations; teaching and learning; lack of support from DHET and recommendations.

See attached for further details

Discussion
The Chairperson said that a lot of the responses that will be needed will have to come in written form. A lot must be discussed with the Department, particularly with the issues that Buffalo TVET College presented. There is a need for an investigation at Buffalo college. A lot has been said and there is a disjuncture of views among the stakeholders of the College.

The Department is responsible for holding the College accountable; if the colleagues have written to the Department numerous times, Members would need to know what was done subsequently. If the challenges have persisted even after those efforts, then we can bring in someone from the outside to intervene and assist in addressing these matters. Some of these issues date from a long time ago. If the Department is unable to assist, it must bring in a stakeholder that can assist.

An investigation into the institution will be needed.

Ms N Marchesi (DA) was concerned about the levelled allegations and that they must be taken seriously. When it comes to Motheo College, we see the same problems that were alluded to by the unions in 2018. The term of office for Members does not allow them to address the issues brought in by the colleges and other stakeholders. It ends up being a futile exercise, but we must come up with ways of how this can be dealt with. Issues of misappropriation of funds and bullying from both Colleges.

Motheo College
There is no representation of the demographics of where the College is situated. There is only one race that is represented here. Even with the students, there is no representation. Secondly, on infrastructure, there is a campus in Hillside and the initiative is excellent; however, that institution opened in 2018 but is not functional. The presentation was silent on this.

Thirdly, plot 32,  infrastructure, classrooms will be built in there, but it was alleged that the contractor did not complete the work because they were allegedly blacklisted. The way tenders are awarded for infrastructure projects needs reconsideration, otherwise, these expenses become wasteful.

The fact that there are staff members that were not incorporated as full-time staff members was also another concern; an audit team was brought in, yet the audit outcome was not favourable. Both institutions should invest resources into e-learning and ensure that students and staff members have the necessary tools of trade.

She agreed that both institutions should be investigated, and these allegations raised during the presentations must not be left unattended.

Bullying and nepotism in both institutions were also mentioned. The Department must investigate these allegations and the issue of misappropriation of funds.

Ms D Sibiya (ANC) said the Motheo College presentation was coming along well until the unions presented. The late payments of student allowances at Motheo were concerning and what is the reason for this? Secondly, there are security issues at the student accommodation buildings at Motheo college, which compromises students’ safety.

Why is NSFAS continuously facing the same issue of late payments of student allowances and payments? Every year, NSFAS sings the same tune, and it was disappointing at this point.

Workers have alluded that they are victimised at the institution but who is causing the victimisation at the institutions? The Department must intervene to resolve this matter speedily.

Buffalo City College
The SRC is functional but there is a shortfall of lecturers. So many allegations have been levelled against the chairperson of the Council, Mr Zuma, and she needs clarity on what exactly was happening with the chairperson of the council.

She called on the Department to intervene. Unfortunately, time was against today’s engagement and perhaps the Committee should reconvene.

Dr W Boshoff (FF Plus) said that in reference to Motheo, there is a difference in enrollment numbers and wonders what the College would regard as its capacity. Are the training and testing and certifications done in one centre? The self-supply of furniture is wonderful and enables one to go further with the budget.

The Koffiefontein Sports ground was worrisome because labourers accused the College of bringing in suppliers to do work that internal workers of the College already do. Is this the case at the College?

It sounds like there is a low demand for hard “sweaty” jobs or careers from both colleges; is this the experience of both colleges? Are the students enrolling more in the “office’ type of careers?

It was referred that Motheo came out of some problems and it seems those problems moved to Kimberly.

Is Buffalo City actively recruiting “white” students to meet the representation of the demographics of South Africa?

The vocational certificate is presented to be updated but it is deemed outdated, however, students seem to be enrolling in NATED and the employers are seeking students with NATED qualifications instead of NC(V). Is this the experience of the College?

The labour union presentations were extremely concerning, and a lot of allegations were made at Buffalo City College. It seems the students aligned more with management, which was surprising because it is not the pattern that Members are used to.

Ms C King (DA) asked Motheo College why it took a long time to address or implement its audit action plan from the AGSA and to set up an audit task team. There was no clarity on what would be done going forward. Hopefully, in the next audit cycle, the audit outcomes would have improved now that the task team was set up. Secondly, how is the College's migration strategy addressing the institution's dropout rate and what are the plans going forward? How is the College following up on those students that have dropped out to improve its dropout rate and ensure that students return to the institution to improve their qualifications? 

She asked for a progress report on the development of the artisanal academy and if the construction is done. She asked for the progress report of the title deeds and service-level agreements with the municipality.

She referred to both institutions and said that in dealing with NSFAS, the Scheme always claims that the TVET colleges submit the registration very late, and it provides proof to this effect. In terms of the registration schedule this year for funding, was the registration schedule submitted at the conducive time for NSFAS to start disbursement of funds to students timeously?

The AGSA had mentioned why most TVET colleges regressed on audit outcomes; she said that it is because these institutions are not clued up to the CET Act but the Minister assured that these institutions do receive the training in terms of the CET Act and the regulations thereof. It raises the question of why the AGSA would hammer on that part. Are the institutions clued up on the CET Act to ensure that the audit procedures are properly done?

In terms of the demographics of enrollment in both institutions, it is disheartening to see that the focus seems to be on one race. Perhaps, it could be time to strengthen private institutions to fill the gap left by public institutions in terms of accommodating other races that are in the minority. Ms King told the DHET that it was about time to recognise the racial gaps of the groups that do not qualify for NSFAS funding and enrol in these institutions.

She welcomed the idea of decentralisation of operational systems in institutions. Decentralisation should be encouraged in the TVET college space. Universities have autonomy but colleges are not decentralised. It is about time TVET colleges are also decentralised. The Buffalo City TVET college is one institution that is highly politicised, even the SRC is politicised. Hearing the organised labour speak, one knows very well that the claims they are making are not likely to be false. Thus, she appealed to the Committee to consider writing to the Department to investigate the institution on its SCM procedures, council expenditure, the legal costs incurred, recruitment and selection process, and code of conduct. This would assist Members with the true nature of these issues and substantiate in the long run if the institution should be placed under administration. It does not need to get there but communication lines must be strengthened.

What are the institutions’ plans to ensure entrepreneurship for students when they move out of College? Employment is limited, especially in Buffalo City, so it would assist in empowering students to be entrepreneurs.

Ms D Mahlatsi (ANC) said that the initial interest in Motheo College was in the artisan college because the building structure has been situated there for quite some time. This investment was about to turn into a white elephant. At the beginning of the year, during the oversight visit to the Northern Cape, she asked the Department about the progress of the College. She wanted to know if the artisan college was operational at this point.

The Committee normally deals with issues of higher education, but can the principal of Motheo advise on the issue of the fake Prof matter? Some allegations or claims say her professorship is fake, but can this matter be clarified once and for all? 

Motheo TVET College
She asked Motheo about its governance structure and if there are any vacancies in the council currently. At Buffalo City, there were allegations claiming that the council would have numerous meetings just to make money; how much has been paid to individual council members at Motheo College in the current financial year? 

Slide 23 speaks about the advertised posts, with two deputy principals still outstanding; what is the progress and why is it taking so long to fill those posts? There are two acting principals. Do these persons get paid for acting and what is the policy on acting staff? She also asked for the staff complement of the management of the College to understand if the institution was doing well or not.

On slide 26, it is reported that an appointment of the private service provider for mental health issues for students – can Members be furnished with the service level agreement between the service provider and the institution? Members would want to understand what types of services, concerning mental health, the service provider provides. She recently learnt that there were students who had killed themselves at the University of Free State during the Covid-19 period due to poverty issues among others; has Motheo ever had such issues of students who have committed suicide and what has been the attitude of the institution related to that? The ratio of psychologists to students is normally huge – how does Motheo allocate the service provider for students?

On slide 26, there are allegations of maladministration by workers including issues of laptops that workers must buy – this did not make sense. Why are workers who work for the institution paying for laptops that should be tools of trade, yet students are supposed to get these free while workers must pay?

Motheo must respond to all the issues and allegations raised by the labour unions in their presentation. Members need a written response to all the allegations that were made.

On slide 40, there is an issue about the maritime programme, yet the Free State is an agricultural province; how does this add value in the bigger scheme of things? While it is a good initiative, the institution should focus on what works in the province and enhance the industries available there. How does that respond to the province's economic needs and how many students are participating in this programme? How much did it cost the institution to pay for this training and what qualifications have they received from this programme?

She asked for the performance management policy of Motheo and who benefits from it. Does it benefit everyone – from what level to what level?

Regarding the college academic programme, as a cohort of Parliament, her basic interest is TVET colleges and making these colleges the institutions of choice, but they must produce programmes necessary for industry. There is no point in having management courses at TVET colleges. Most learners focus on other programmes that are not vocational in nature but what are the institutions doing to ensure that students enrolled in the vocational programmes?

Regarding the expenditure component, the Committee wants the institutions to do better. The budget is already limited, which means there will be infrastructure challenges at these institutions, amongst others. R200 million was reprioritised to the CET branch because the TVET sector is not finishing infrastructure projects. Some colleges take more than four years to build infrastructure buildings. What are the challenges so that they can be unlocked at this level of oversight?

For the safety of students on campuses, the policy on sexual harassment should be furnished to the Committee. How many cases of GBVF have been reported and are there “sex for marks” scandals in the institutions? Are there sexual harassment cases in the institutions? What has been done about this?

Regarding Kopalo Flying Academy, she asked to be provided with a copy of the MOU or its prevalent details. As for the water issue at Koffiefontein; is the water tankers project sustainable? How much does it cost the institution? Does the municipality play any role in this programme?

On irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, the AGSA had indicated no uniformity in dealing with the finances; you develop your own policies based on the CET regulations. This is where we find challenges because different institutions respond differently to the issues raised by the AGSA or develop policies that are not aligned with the PFMA because the PFMA does not govern the colleges. The Department should consider having a uniform regulatory system for the colleges.

A breakdown of the infrastructure projects must be provided with the amounts spent. The status of the projects and who the service providers are.

She concluded her remarks by saying the Committee fights the TVET space to do better and be funded better to get these types of presentations. Workers are roughed at work and do not have space to raise issues at BCC. This cannot be; it cannot continue. Members come to Parliament from different political parties representing different constituencies. We will not have a future if this happens at these colleges. Members cannot praise people for doing their work just like you cannot praise a fish for swimming.

Issues related to the NSFAS should be resolved as we move towards the beginning of the new academic year. Over and above NSFAS not doing its work, what have the colleges done to ensure they link with the NSFAS? You cannot wait for the Committee to call the institutions; what is the role of the institution in liaison with NSFAS? It is disappointing because the Committee is fighting for funding and infrastructure resources, but things are collapsing. It hurts Members when institutions are not performing.

The Chairperson commenced with Motheo and sought clarity concerning the pass rate of the students are the institutions. As for the location, are there any challenges in managing the two campuses given the distance between the two campuses and what are the financial implications of having these colleges so far from each other?

The institution seems to have a young staff complement, which is noted and welcomed by the Committee. How many female engineering lecturers does Motheo have?

The mental health programme in place is welcomed, but she asked if the sickbeds were available across the campuses, especially on campuses far from each other.

The establishment of the labour forum is welcomed but it must yield results. Given the issues raised by the labour unions, it is not achieving its goals. It must lead to the College having better conditions for stakeholder engagement.

A lot of work has gone into infrastructure at the College, but it appears that all this work commenced in 2016. Could Members be brought into confidence about the maintenance plan of these infrastructure buildings? The numbers at Zastron campus have increased. Is the infrastructure adequate for this increase? She asked the institution to bring the Committee into confidence if the funds allocated for infrastructure were used for the intended purpose. A breakdown of costs and the dates must be provided. There are a few matters raised on financial issues – all stakeholders can agree that the entire TVET programme is underfunded and needs more resources. That said, the little available funding should be used sparingly for what it is intended for. This would make it easier to advocate for more funding for this programme.

She praised the Motheo SRC for its presentation and how well it was put together. The plans of the SRC were also well constructed and communicated. Members were pleased to hear that the SRC had its own Parliament with a structure – this is an advance for the TVET programme. She would suggest that the challenges raised by the SRC must be copied and pasted as views or observations of the Committee, the same as the recommendations, because they are clear and succinct. Some of the issues raised were not unique to Motheo College but shared across the sector.

On the matter of certification, the SRC has shared a clear innovation. The Committee should sit with the Department of Science and Innovation and TIA and how this can happen. It also speaks directly to what the backlog is attributed to, and it has come up with a solution to eradicate the backlog.

These structures must also reflect the realities of the College as well as its demographics in terms of gender. Members would want to see if the students are responding to the programmes on GBV and those should be speaking to an inclusive society, addressing misogyny and patriarchy in society. This should be reflected in the leadership elected. This should guide the work of the SRC on concertising young people on inclusivity.

The allegations raised by workers concern the due process not being followed on the appointment of staff; inconsistencies of disciplinary processes; the inconsistency in the rollout of tools of trade, etc. these allegations are very serious. Systems in place must be put in place – the organigram and the systems could also be reviewed to create a more functional space for the workers in the College.

Decentralising certain functions of DHET to mitigate some of the delays in processing various functions within the TVET programme is a matter that DG Mjwara raised with her in his few weeks of acting as DG in DHET. He had to sign off on many things that could have been delegated to a college principal. This is an ongoing crisis that must be investigated. However, initially, all these powers and functions were with the colleges, but they were abused, and the Department took them back. Now college administrators cannot work because things take time to be done. Some of these functions can be returned to the ground so that institutions can operate quicker and get the work done. This needs review and the Department is currently reviewing some of the organigrams and the functions of various programmes including the TVET programme.

Buffalo City College
Indeed, the College appeared before the Committee in 2020. Since then, Members have noted the progress that has been made. However, when is the finalisation of the post of the principal and various key senior positions in the institution? It is not doing well in women’s representation and that must improve. The improvement of the College is noted. Gender representation in senior management is not satisfactory and it is a boy’s “choir”. The bulk of the constituency is women, and this must be reflected.

The Committee welcomed the work done by the acting principal in the three months he has been acting. The priority to stabilise the institution is noted. What informed the decline in registrations? Members could not be pleased with this decline as they work tirelessly to advocate for the TVET programme in terms of resources.

Where is the biggest pool of enrollment in terms of programmes? How far is the Department with the response to infrastructure needs analysis regarding students with disabilities? What informed the Chemicals Industry SETA on placing the largest cohort of students and how this correlates with the qualifications offered at the College? The partnerships forged by the College are welcomed.

All the challenges raised by the College on slide 55 are noted. There are cross-cutting issues across the sector. She asked the Department to bring the Committee into confidence on when the vacancies would be filled.

Apparently, the students at BCC do not attend classes when they receive their allowances; is this a true experience on campus or something that must be nipped in the bud? The Chief Executive Officer of NSFAS, Mr Andile Nongogo, would be concerned about this because he is of the view that students should not have money at all but be provided with all the resources that they need, instead of money. Members will ask the student leaders to account when students are not passing yet so much money is invested in them. If this is a concern, the SRC must put in place programmes on how it will address that concern. The SRC is responsible for calling out its students when they are not in line.

She asked for the gender composition of the SRC. Inconsistency in running SRC elections, textbooks delivered late and a system that incorrectly records student information or marks them as absent for an exam are very concerning. One can imagine how demoralising this may be, especially if a student must sit the exam again because they are said to have been lost in the system. Some students end up not going back. These matters are defeating the mandate or objective we are trying to achieve through these institutions in the PSET sector. We cannot successfully address this country's structural unemployment if we do not address these matters.

Organised labour raises several issues, and the Department must assist with this due to time constraints. In the initial letter written to the Committee from the labour unions – a response from the council was received and that letter has been forwarded to the Department. The Committee would request the Department, within seven days, to respond to those issues raised by labour and the responses from the council.

Members have suggested perhaps a consideration to put the College under administration. A forensic investigation must also be conducted to decide if the College should indeed be placed under administration. The forensic investigation will inform the Department if it should place the College under administration. We need to get to the bottom of the concerns that the labour unions have raised. Hon. King has also confirmed that she has heard some of these allegations. They were not new to her.

She stressed that no one should come to Parliament and lie. It is a great offence to do that. Similarly, none of what has come out of here can be used against anyone according to the ‘Powers and Privileges Act, which protects everyone here today who has made assertions. If that happens, it will be of great concern to the Committee. That would be an invitation to a boxing fight. The Committee is not trying to do that but seeks to provide guidance, correct and rehabilitate. The Committee is not on a witch hunt. As the Committee, we believe that we collectively have a role to play as a sector to hold one another to account and guide one another to realise the core business of this Department; to ensure that the youth have the requisite skills and knowledge to be active participants of the economy; to undo the injustices of the apartheid regime and contribute to the livelihoods of the many citizens of this country represented. Members are not representing their jackets, but South Africans spread across this country and stretch further to the marginalised areas. Therefore, we cannot be the ones who stand between a young person’s endeavours – people should not be selfish with the states’ resources.

Due to time constraints, each official will be given limited time to make closing remarks. The questions and information requested must be sent to the Committee within seven days.

The Committee has been working closely with the Department regarding the Buffalo City College matters. The first point is that it must provide a response to the letter that came from the whistleblowers. The Department must also respond to writing.

The Committee recommends that an investigation be conducted at Buffalo City College, which will inform whether the College must be placed under administration.

As for Motheo TVET College, it seems to be on the right track, and she hopes that the stakeholder relations are strengthened further.

Responses
Motheo TVET College
Organised labour unions
The labour official said that all the issues raised must be addressed speedily because stakeholders want to see the core business of the College moving forward. These workspaces must be healthy. The uncertainty of job security affects the workers painfully and their morale.

SRC
Mr Mofokeng said that the problem with why students lean towards certain programmes like management studies, etc. was because NFAS funds these ‘theoretical’ subjects but when it comes to vocational programmes, NSFAS does not want to fund the students for those programmes. It is difficult for students to register with a faculty that NSFAS does not fund.

It is not the first financial year where NSFAS has had problems, not only on the institutional level or on its level but on both sides. To resolve this matter, the students have been calling on the Department when it structures the academic year plan to be the same as National Treasury so that the process is seamless when applications are opened for registration.

The matter of students not attending classes after receiving their allowances is also partly attributed to the issue that some students receive these allowances after four months. This student is between the age of 19 and 23 and these students receive all the outstanding allowances to them by NSFAS at once; what do we expect to happen? When did the student receive financial education when they receive an amount of R16 000 or R25 000, at once, as a college student?

On the issue of infrastructure, this is very difficult because students are experiencing the same frustrations. Students are using mobile classes, but this is a short-term solution.

Prof Phutsisi says that she sometimes feels like crying because running the College is very tough. She hopes the Committee is not being hijacked like people hijack certain structures. The College has been through many investigations simply because people were disciplined at the College. People do not want to be disciplined and when they are being disciplined, they run to law enforcement agencies and institutions of government to mess with the integrity of the College and the principal. The College has come before the Committee, the Public Protector, several times and elsewhere. Every year of her being at the College, there has been an investigation on several allegations – there was a time when she faced 480 allegations; she has been threatened and her family was made unsafe. It is one of the most ungrateful jobs that one can have.

As the Committee carries out its mandate, she appealed not to be used. Let us embark on this exercise honestly and transparently. Some people do not want to be disciplined and want to turn the institution into a pigsty. The College has ended up in this position because people want to be protected from wrongdoing. This is an institution that was founded without money, everyone was an SCM manager, and funds of the institutions were being pulled all over the place and doing as they wish but today because there are systems and things have improved, those very same people want to mess things up at the College. It is wrong of us to be sitting here and lying – we should not come here and lie to the Committee but to have the interest of the public and our students.

She was grateful for the council and the students of Motheo College who stood up for their College. We are trying to do this for the entire country, not just the Free State. The Artisanal Academy is for artisanal development and has been standing there because of the municipality. When the regimes change, people come and say you belong to the previous faction of the previous municipality, so we cannot assist you. We struggled with everyone – we built that campus with three Jojo tanks. She told Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma when she visited the campus. When the new mayor comes in, they lock the site and construction cannot proceed. Now, it is a contractor that is stalling. We are resolving it and several certificates for occupation have been received. She personally cut off the chains put in by the contractor, locking the building and putting chains around doors for students not to go in. She was taken to court by that contractor and now they were trying to resolve the matter outside of court.

She invited the Members to come to visit the institution. The management is taking care of the issue with Koffiefontein and Zastron. The challenge with the former is that the facility belongs to the mine if Public Works could give the institution a building to expand that campus. She wants to instil hope in the youth of Koffiefontein because young people there have a low interest in education. The College has bought a new building for administration.

The Chairperson assured the principal to not worry about the Committee and its ability to determine when people are playing games.

The Chairperson of the Council concluded by appreciating the meeting and the invitation of the College to the Committee, which was now pushing the institution to evaluate itself and its stakeholders. Other issues are not coming in by the sector – there are external matters outside the College’s remit in relation to expanding the country's demographics. White students are not in the majority in the College because even funding is not in their favour. However, this is something that the College was still pursuing.
The institution must be responsive to the socioeconomic challenges of the country. The issue of late payment of allowances stems from NSFAS. This is also outside the College’s control. Tools of trade are not an issue for the College but the concern that lecturers pay for their own laptops is noted. The institution has the capacity to register more than 20 000 students, but this number was deliberately reduced because of Covid-19 and scaled down its programmes to be the gateway to employability; thus, some of the programmes that were not responsive to the needs of the market like management, marketing were reduced.

Every campus of the institution has a generator. If only the Committee could assist the College with the stakeholder relationships.

Buffalo City TVET College Responses
Labour Unions
The Labour Official said it was bad that the name of the College was “buffalo” because it is normally surrounded by hyenas. The “Buffalo” has been crying for a long time. The DHET has been taking pictures of the “Buffalo”; we have been crying for a long time. Even today, the Buffalo is still crying.

Save, save the Buffalo!

SRC
Mr Lubisi said whatever the outcome of today’s meeting will be, it will be in the best interest of the students, hopefully, if they are supportive of the students. Some of the issues were ventilated today; the students were not aware of them and were hearing them for the first time.

Management
Mr Hewana said that this engagement would assist the College in dealing with some of its challenges. Hopefully, the interventions will make the “Buffalo” stronger. Nonetheless, all the issues raised today were noted. He has been acting for three months at the College but there were still several outstanding matters that must be addressed. With the support of the Committee and the Department, all these challenges would be addressed.

Governance
Dr Zuma also hoped that a follow-up process would be fair on all sides. He had hoped that with the comprehensive response he prepared for the meeting with the supporting evidence, the Members would have engaged it to see what was true and what was not.

He was appointed at Ithala college in 2014 and in 2018, he received a letter from former Minister Naledi Pandor indicating that the term had expired, but in Buffalo City, labour just said he was fired. Gender balance is a problem at College, and it is the source of the problem at the College. Organised labour unions are run by women who are controlled by the men in those structures. When you get a woman in power, they attack. There are two women who are being attacked at the SMT level. In addition, some women are anti-women. He will provide more details in his written responses.

Some women are turning the College into umashonisa, a loan shark; when have you seen an employee getting a loan from the College? The labour unions are the entire College.

The Chairperson interjected that there were serious and significant challenges at Buffalo City TVET College. It is a crisis. She could only imagine that an attempt to discuss and resolve issues at the College is frustrating and wondered what the nature of the engagements at the institution is like. It is like the hyenas; the Buffalo is the institution, and we are the hyenas because some people were laughing and making disrespectful soundbites as the chairperson of the council was speaking.

The intention of this meeting was to allow everyone to have an opportunity to air the issues but that must be done in a way that upholds the decorum of this House. Everyone must be protected. Hence, she allowed the principal of Motheo College was speaking but she has faith that Motheo College and its labour unions would be may able to sit the labour forum within the next three weeks and revert to the Committee on its resolutions. However, she did not have the same faith in Buffalo City TVET College. It is reflected in the behaviour shown in the meeting.

It is un-parliamentary to behave in this manner. Africans are the noblest human beings she knows. We are godly human beings. She told a tale where she once went to umgidi (a celebratory ceremony for a young man who came back from the mountain) and there was a huge circle of men sitting in that circle, she enquired about it. She was then told that the circle is entered, not standing and people take their hats off and sit. These men do not interrupt another one when he is on the platform, standing and talking. In that circle, the men are debating and discussing cases, and issues of the village and using this ceremony to discuss serious issues of the village or another man who may have harassed another man’s child. Why is it difficult to replicate this behaviour in the structures of leadership? She appealed to the officials to stop doing things that were un-African.

Dr Zuma supported the recommendation of a forensic investigation into the College.

The Chairperson stressed that people must respect one another. Due processes must be allowed to unfold. We cannot call for these processes and then be the ones who stand in the way of those processes.

Within the next three weeks, the Department needs to have responded to the Committee on its recommendation for a thorough investigation to be conducted at the College.

DHET
Mr Themba Msipa commenced with Buffalo City TVET College, the petition in question was signed on 12 August and the fact-finding team, constituted by the Minister was at the College on 22 August to meet with organised labour, management and the council. The team was also there to inform the College that, based on the presentations alone, they were not able to decide. Thus, documentation and information were requested and subsequently submitted to the Department. This information was received from management and organised labour. Nothing was received from the council but that it would not participate in the Department’s process.

The Department proceeded and the allegations were categorised into various areas. The fact-finding mission report was compiled, with recommendations for the Minister’s consideration. The Minister went through the report and accepted it. He then instructed the DG to implement the recommendations. The matters of Buffalo City college were now being handled at the DG’s level. The Department, headed by the DG, will soon visit the College to announce the decisions taken by the Minster based on the recommendations of the task team.

He confirmed with certainty that the Minister had approved an investigation at the College in terms of section 46(1) of the CET Act. This means the thorough investigation the Committee is calling for is approved. The Department is currently drafting the terms of reference, which will be communicated to the stakeholders when the Department arrives at the College. It will be landing within a week or so.

Across the board, there are valid and invalid allegations. This will be addressed to the parties at the College. The Department also noted broadly, across the sector, the domains of contestation for resources. If you look at the issues around the budget items, it becomes clear that infrastructure is one of them because of the grant, and so on; basically, where there is money, there is contestation. There is also contestation around recruitment and retaliation by labour on disciplinary matters. This is a trend nationally.

Without defending the colleges, there are also contextual matters that must be accounted for, especially the slow implementation and utilisation of expenditure on infrastructure grants. The money was allocated to the sector without any thorough preparation and colleagues responsible for SCM processes are vulnerable. A colleague was shot at Coastal TVET College. Last week, a colleague who works at SCM was shot six times but fortunately, he survived. As a result of that, colleagues avoid sitting on bid evaluation committees. They are avoiding being targeted. Security assessments were being conducted by the Department. There are also forums making demands at the College, but the Department is attending to this.

Any valid allegations will be investigated. It is concerning that every year when the outcomes of investigations say there are no issues at Motheo. This does not bring confidence or bring justice to the people making those allegations. Allegations must have merit. When these matters are in the public domain, they are bringing the institutions into disrepute and chase away potential partnerships and some of these partnerships are international.

The Chairperson noted and indicated that some issues could not be resolved tomorrow but those that can be, should be resolved.

Ms Mahlatsi said it is an unfortunate statement for the principal of Motheo College to say that she hopes the Committee is not hijacked. Parliament may be an uncomfortable space for some people, but as women, we are not immune from accountability–anyone, for that matter. Women have it tough indeed but that does not make them immune to accountability. There is no way that Members of Parliament can be hijacked.

The Chairperson announced the resolutions of the Committee. Within the next seven days, every stakeholder that presented today must respond to all the questions, comments and concerns raised by Members. This also applied to the Department and NSFAS.

In addition, she noted that the responses from Dr Zuma and the additional evidence or information were received by the Committee. From the information perused so far by Members, there is a need for an investigation. The Committee would now need to monitor the Department’s work on Buffalo City TVET College. The Committee was also engaging the submitted information on an ongoing basis.

The Department is to send its response to what was sent to the Committee by the whistleblower and responded to by the chairperson of the council, within seven days. The Committee requests an update within the next three weeks on the status of the investigation.

The Committee supports the investigation.

At Motheo TVET College, the institution is to convene an urgent meeting with organised labour and revert to the Committee within the next three weeks on what was resolved.

The Committee requests that Buffalo City College considers the issue of tools of trade. Employees cannot be expected to buy their own laptops to do their job. Language is important; we must think about what we say because of how they land in another person.

Organised labour at Motheo TVET College is to also sit and revert to the Committee about the resolution of that meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.