Cape Town – The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ordered the Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, to withdraw his notice of intention to place the University of South Africa (Unisa) under administration.
The court issued this order following an urgent application by Unisa’s council after the minister indicated his intention to announce his final decision.
Nzimande had delayed his decision to extend the period for written representations but proceeded with the intention to place Unisa under administration.
Following the concerns highlighted by the Independent Assessor, Professor Themba Mosia, and the findings of the Ministerial Task Team led by Dr Vincent Maphai, I served a notice of my intention to place the University of South Africa (UNISA) under Administration. My final… pic.twitter.com/7YmWyVYgMS
— Minister Blade Nzimande (@DrBladeNzimande) October 5, 2023
The minister’s decision was based on reports from an independent assessor and a ministerial task team, which revealed financial and administrative maladministration at Unisa.
However, the court ruled that Nzimande’s notice of intention was in breach of a previous court order issued on August 24, which had instructed him not to act on the recommendations of the assessor’s report until separate legal challenges were resolved.
Minister of Higher Education & Training #BladeNzimande has been interdicted against placing #UNISA under administration. The order was granted this morning. pic.twitter.com/dTUzK65C1Z
— #LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) October 6, 2023
The court has ordered Nzimande to cease any actions related to his notice of intention and to pay the legal costs.
“The minister is ordered to withdraw the notice forthwith upon the granting of this order. The minister is ordered to immediately cease and desist from taking any steps to publish and implement the notice or to take any steps of whatever nature to implement the notice,” the order read.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
