University to keep civil society centre

 

 

Faculty meeting gives overwhelming support

 

 

 

Sinegugu Ndlovu, The Mercury, 15 August 2008

 

 

THE fate of the Centre for Civil Society, based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, was secured by overwhelming support at a meeting of the faculty board responsible for humanities, social sciences and development on Wednesday evening.

 

The centre said its next project would be to explore whether the eThekwini Municipality was vulnerable to legal challenges on service provision.

 

This was revealed in a statement by the centre's director, Patrick Bond, yesterday.

 

A landslide vote of 33 to one was recorded in favour of retaining the centre, with six abstentions.

 

"We had a chance to debate this matter because of vice-chancellor Malegapuru Makgoba's mandate to the deputy dean, vice-chancellor Fikile Mazibuko, and dean Donal McCracken to take the debate over the centre's future back to university scholars, instead of treating the matter as a fait accompli," he said.

 

Bond said that he had "unfairly" anticipated that the faculty would not have the chance to debate the centre's retention, given a closure announcement made in June.

 

"As Makgoba put it, the academic voice should be loud and clear, but more importantly it should inform decision making. It is hard to think of a louder shout of support, and we are very grateful for the vote of confidence," he said.

 

Bond said his colleagues at the centre, a dozen of whose jobs were threatened, were delighted that other scholars had given their overwhelming support.

 

"We thank Makgoba for his insistence on a fair process so as to hear the academic voice. Our plan now is to get back to hard work and continue building a centre the university can be proud of," he said. However, the threat of McCracken's imposed ban on the centre's external fundraising remains. Although McCracken could not "unsign" a letter prohibiting the faculty from fundraising, Bond said the faculty was confident that any spurious claims that the centre would be closed because of financial challenges would be refuted by donors and partners committed to the faculty.

 

University spokesman Dasarath Chetty said in a circular that a subcommittee had been established, which would submit its recommendations relating to the centre's future on or before September 13 for consideration and recommendation by several university bodies, including the council. It would also discuss the issue of funding.

 

Bond said the centre's next step would be to bring Soweto community activists and lawyers who successfully sued the City of Johannesburg last year to Durban to interact with community groups at the Harold Wolpe Lecture panel on August 28.

 

The centre had supplied technical evidence in the case in which the Johannesburg High Court had decided, on April 30, in favour of Soweto residents, doubling the supply of free basic water to 50 litres a person a day.

 

"Petra Sindane, Dale McKinley and Jackie Dugard, of the Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies, will explore with low-income civic groups whether the eThekwini Municipality is also vulnerable to legal challenges on service delivery," said Bond.

 

sinegugu.ndlovu@inl.co.za