No Shocking Governance Failures at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Higher Education Chairperson Responds to Sunday Tribune

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Mr Tebogo Letsie, has noted with concern the Sunday Tribune article published on 26 October 2025, which contains several factual inaccuracies about the committee’s recent oversight visit to the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

Mr Letsie wishes to clarify that during the oversight visit, the committee observed that the University Council was fully functional and properly constituted, and that relations between the council, management and stakeholders were cordial and constructive.

“The Sunday Tribune sent written questions to me and I provided them with full responses. However, I was misquoted in the opening paragraph of the article, which falsely claims that the committee found ‘shocking governance failures’ at UKZN,” said Mr Letsie.

The article incorrectly attributes to the committee the statement: “Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has revealed shocking governance failures at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where a private security company allegedly ‘captured’ the university’s Risk Management Services.”

Mr Letsie said that this was untrue. “What we actually said was that, in terms of specific governance matters, the committee expressed concern about the council’s decision to approve a deviation from normal procurement processes in the awarding of a contract to Ungoti Security Company. This company was originally appointed to assist the university with student residence accreditation, even though the university confirmed that Ungoti had no prior experience in that area,” explained Mr Letsie.

“During the committee’s meeting on 9 October, Members engaged extensively on the matter and expressed the view that the council should have prioritised good governance by instructing management to advertise a public tender when seeking a security service provider,” added Mr Letsie.

“We therefore call on the Sunday Tribune to correct its report, as it does not reflect the true state of affairs. The committee has not found shocking governance failures but rather raised a specific governance concern that the university has been tasked to address,” concluded Mr Letsie.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.