Dow blames BIUST woes on governance lapses

Lerato Maleke | Tuesday December 16, 2014 20:26

She told Parliament on Friday decisions that were the prerogative of council were made and implemented by the leadership of the university contrary to procedure. She said the relationship between Vice  the Chancellor, Professor Hillary Inyang and the university had broken down, hence the government accepted his resignation immediately and waived the notice period. Inyang, the second BIUST Vice Chancellor resigned like his predecessor.

He cited micromanagement and interference by the acting council chairman as one of his reasons for his leaving. Dow told Parliament last week that lapses in governance led to foreigners being employed by BIUST in violation of labour and immigration laws. This forced the government to intervene, leading to claims by Inyang that the security of foreign staff at the university was not guaranteed and that there was external interference. Dow said immigration and labour officers visited BIUST after claims that the foreign staff was being paid outside the organisational and salary structures approved by the university council. Some of the expatriates had no work permits.

She said all the violations happened despite advice from the relevant departments at the university. “When the immigration and labour authorities had wind of this state of affairs, the relevant officers, in their normal course of duty and acting in accordance with the relevant labour legislation visited the university to investigate,” she said.

She said the inspection was what Inyang referred to as “attempted adduction” of foreign staff, hence his so-called security concerns in his resignation letter widely reported in the press. She said allegations of interference in the running of the institution came after some members of the council raised concern about governance issues.

Dow said what was happening at BIUST had given the university a bad image. The reports of the goings-on had led to some level of uncertainty regarding the future of the university and its capacity to deliver on its mandate, she said.