After the resignation of Professor Wendy Ngoma, Director of the Wits Business School (WBS), Professor Adam Habib plans to fix the leadership “crisis” in order to restore the school to its former glory.
Habib said it was imperative to fix leadership first before trying to fix structural challenges, enrollment and reputation.[pullquote]“It is no longer the number one school and that is not acceptable. We cannot have a situation where the number one school is not in the heart of the economy.”[/pullquote]
“To fix a problem, you first need to fix the leadership. Because you can have the best structure in the world but if you have the wrong leaders, it’s not going to work.”
No longer number one
Habib said the school was number one in the country a few years ago but has lost its place and that needed to change.
“It is no longer the number one school and that is not acceptable. We cannot have a situation where the number one school is not in the heart of the economy.”
Ngoma resigned earlier this month leaving the school without leadership. Habib said he was shocked as they had discussed her plans to resign however prior to her announcement there had been no formal agreement. “It took me by surprise when she announced it to the school and didn’t talk to me first because we wanted to manage the news flow around the issue.”
Leadership crisis
[pullquote align=”right”]“It hasn’t been able to keep its directors, its directors hasn’t found it to be a happy place, staff are unhappy as such.”[/pullquote]Wits Vuvuzela previously reported that leadership problems had contributed to the loss of MBA enrollment which the communications manager Jackie Mapiloko denied.
Habib however, said leadership was a crisis before Ngoma’s tenure and still continues to be. “I can say that we have had a problem with leadership, and it’s not only Wendy’s fault. I think that the problem with the business school is that it has had a leadership crisis for a number of years.
“It hasn’t been able to keep its directors, its directors hasn’t found it to be a happy place, staff are unhappy as such.”
MBA enrollment- A “technical glitch”
Habib blamed the low number of MBA student enrollment on a “technical glitch” but said lack of leadership led to the issue being insufficiently handled. He said WBS will not lose its international accreditation as enrollment numbers cannot affect accreditation based on a single year.
WBS has complained about there being a lack of autonomy from the main university when it comes to making decisions and financial management. Habib said the right leader is first needed before discussions of autonomy can be held. “Find the right leader. Then we’ll benchmark the autonomy required for this school compared to all the other business schools in the country and in the world and we’ll implement.”
The business school will be searching for candidates both locally and globally to fill the directorship over the next two weeks.
FIRST LADY OF WITS: Fatima Habib stands at her mantle with family photographs at her home in Saxonwold. Photo: Prelene Singh
Fatima Habib, the wife of newly installed Wits vice chancellor Adam Habib, proves that behind every powerful man is an equally strong woman.
Fast talking and immaculately presented in a dark blue dress with black stockings and black heels, Habib spoke assertively on the porch of her nine bedroom home in Saxonwold about life since joining the Wits family. “I have a list on my computer that is called ‘Reasons why I will divorce Adam’. Buying this house is one of them,”she said jokingly.
[pullquote align=”right”]I have a list on my computer that is called ‘Reasons why I will divorce Adam[/pullquote]
“We had bought it at an auction and it was a real mess, but after I renovated it … it turns out Adam was right.” They moved to their home in Saxonwold in 2003 and Mrs Habib spent a lot of time renovating and improving the house. “Our boys grew up here, they love our home.”
“Refugees of love”
Habib met her husband while they were doing their undergraduate degrees at the University of Natal. They were both anti-apartheid activists who were part of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
FAMILY FIRST: Habib explains that everyone in the family have a mutual understanding to agree to disagree, respectfully. Photo: Prelene Singh
“Adam was always off doing work in the township so what happened was he used to borrow my notes.”
“We were ‘refugees of love’, as Adam likes to tell people. I think it’s so corny”, she says while her face lights up like someone newly in love.
“My mother didn’t like Adam and his aunts didn’t think I was right for him. So we thought screw all of this and we buggered off to Wits to do our honours.”
From Wits, Habib received her honours in applied psychology and then went on to do her masters in economics and industrial labour studies.
“We said that after we finish our masters we will get married.” she said. “Since Adam got the VC job at Wits I think hectic is an understatement, the most difficult part is actually, as a family, having dinner together.”
They have two sons in Parktown Boys School. One is in Grade 8 and another in Matric who will be studying astrophysics next year at either UCT or Wits.
The Habib family value the importance of fitness and keeping fit. “Adam and I run in the mornings and on weekends we go for walks. We try to connect with the children by going out to dinner or Saturday brunches and movies because I feel that that is very important to do.”
Working progress
After 10 years the Habib family will now have to move to their next “working progress” of a home. Part of the conditions of being VC of Wits is that the Habib family has to live at the official residence of the vice-chancellor, a heritage house known as Savernake. If not, Wits will lose an asset worth R40 million. “There was a lot of controversy around Savernake.
When we were first told we would have to move out of our home I was appalled. The toilets don’t flush, the electrical and plumbing needs to be fixed and the entire kitchen is shot to hell and gone.”
Wits has started phase one of the three phases of refurbishment at Savernake.
After phase is complete they will relocate from their current home.
Habib plans to take her chef, driver and gardener with them instead of taking Wits up on its offer to supply staff. “My staff have worked for me for ten years and will continue to do so.”
Habib is very involved in the fixing process of Savernake.“The construction team and the architects and myself work together because I am quite rigid about management. Making sure it’s on budget and on time.”
By Nokuthula Manyathi, Emelia Motsai and Shandukani Mulaudzi
Professor Adam Habib was officially installed as Wits vice chancellor and principal on Saturday. Habib took over the position from Prof Loyiso Nongxa at the beginning of June. Before moving to Wits Habib was deputy vice-chancellor for research,innovation, library and faculty Coordination at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Guests at the event included Moeletsi Mbeki, George Bizos, Mamphela Ramphele, Given Mkhari and Ahmad Kathrada. Habib’s wife Fatima and their two sons were also present.
Guests were treated to a cocktail party on the library lawns after the installation.
Wits’ new vice chancellor and its SRC president have similar visions for the future of the university in the next ten years which they expressed in different ways yesterday at Professor Adam Habib’s installation ceremony.
Habib was officially appointed as Wits’ vice chancellor and principal in a ceremony presided over by Wits chancellor Justice Dikgang Moseneke. SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa stole the show with his light-hearted speech that struck the right chords.
SRC President 2023 writes a letter
Mgudlwa, said his speech from the perspective of a letter written to him by an SRC president leading in the year 2023.
Mgudlwa’s fictional 2023 SRC president wrote the letter from her flat in Soweto off her iPad that she received for free at registration. She told “dear Sibu” that the university’s WiFi had a reach across the city of Johannesburg.
In 2023 there was no such thing as discrimination based on race and poor students were taken care of to the extent that no students were sleeping in libraries, or sleeping with empty stomachs. Mgudlwa said in 2023 sexual harassment was a myth. He had the audience laughing loudly when he said that the Wits University of 2023 did not charge students for protesting, alluding to the charges against 11 Witsies for their involvement in a protest.
Habib’s equality vision
In Habib’s speech, he referred to inequality as South Africa’s Achilles’ heel. Habib said his vision was for an “Afropolitan dream” to drive South Africans and all at Wits University.
Habib said the essence of this dream as defined by Wits Humanities scholar, Achille Mbembe, is: “A commitment to the country, continent and globe; where we are at one with being African and human”. Habib said Wits was committed to addressing issues of transformation and diversity and apologised to those who had faced discrimination of any kind in the past.
Wits “World class university”
Habib also spoke about what it means for Wits to be a world class university. He said it was important for Wits to compete in its own right without imitating the foreign. “It is the responsiveness to one’s contextual specificities that enhances a university’s ability to make unique contributions to the global corpus of knowledge.”
Mgudlwa said in 2023 Wits would sit firmly in the top 100 universities of the world.[pullquote align=”right”]“We trust that you will lead this university to greater heights and if you do not, we have you on Twitter.” [/pullquote]
Hope for student-focused Wits
Mgudlwa said he hoped that Habib would focus on students and listen to students on university issues. He said if Habib was not accountable to students, they would express themselves one way or the other.
“We trust that you will lead this university to greater heights and if you do not, we have you on twitter.” The ceremony was attended by a number of local and international dignitaries including Ahmad Kathrada, vice-chancellors of a number of South African and African universities, Advocate George Bizos, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Moeletsi Mbeki, and the Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom who delievered a speech as well.
Progressive Youth Alliance candidate Mbe Mbhele telling students at an SRC election circus about everything the SRC has done for students, including arranging buses to Bree. Photo: Sibusisiwe Nyanda
Wits students can expect buses to Bree taxi rank and South Point residences starting in 2014.
The university has “in principal” agreed to provide “buses not just to Bree but other appropriate destinations to facilitate student movement,” said deputy vice chancellor of finance and operations, Prof Tawana Kupe. According to Kupe this will be implemented next year, once everything has been worked out.
According to an SRC report the buses will go to Bree, Noord taxi ranks, Park station and South Point buildings in Braamfontein at night.
The university has also agreed that international students will only have to pay 75% of their tuition upfront.
The university registrar, Kirti Menon, confirmed that Wits had again “in principal” agreed to let international students pay only a fraction of their fees upfront. SRC president Sibulele Mgudlwa (@Sibulele_) said the SRC proposed that students pay 60% upfront but management suggested 75% upfront and the rest by the end of March.
Wits vice chancellor Prof Adam Habib (@AdHabb), said they had to ease into this because if done suddenly the university could get into financial trouble in January or February.
“What we’ve agreed to do is try and make it easier for international students, to have to pay all of the 100% of the fees upfront is difficult,” said Habib
Habib said getting money from students is not the only thing that matters but when the money comes in, it is important as well. He said they hope to get more international students so that this does not have an impact on the cost structure of the university.
Habib said the finance department is modelling a new structure of how international students can pay their fees.
A group of students have come together to “make Wits better”. Project W was formed by a diverse group of students from various degrees, clubs and societies.
The group has come together under the motto “make Wits better” in an attempt to change the way students experience Wits.
The group is starting with a food drive, called “Give-A-Can” running until the month of September.
Tapiwa Gozhore, 3rd year BA told Wits Vuvuzela , that Project W was about showing that students care about one another.
“It’s high time we have people connecting with the students, “he said.
Ethan Genende Donates a can of beans in the Project W donation Bin outside the matrix.
For students by students
Gozhore also raised a concern, that the SRC, that should be representing the students, was overly concerned with politics rather than the well-being of students on campus.
It is for this reason that Project W is running the “Give-a-Can” initiative to help less fortunate students, who do not have the means to feed themselves.
“There are a lot of students on campus that do not have food, and it is difficult to concentrate on an empty stomach,” said Gozhore.
Project W will be working hand in hand with the Wits Volunteer programme and the Dean of Students’ assistance program.
Making Wits better is an ongoing initiative for Project W. While they are starting with a food drive, they plan to have many more on-campus initiatives in the future.
Project W also a launched a signature campaign, collecting signatures from students and encouraging them to come forward and raise their concerns at the town hall called by the wits university administration yesterday.
Ethan Genende, 4th year BComm Law, presented the petition with three thousand signatures to Prof Adam Habib. Habib said that he was happy to have them.
Students are encouraged to take part in the “Give-a-Can” campaign, by donating food at various collection points.
The collection points for the food drive are outisde the gaming room in the matrix and at the medical campus cafeteria.
In the weeks to follow, there will also be collection points at OLS on East Campus, FNB Building on West Campus and at the Business School and education campuses.
On Monday August 5th Wits Vice Chancellor Adam Habib hosted his first town hall meeting with Wits students and staff. Students and staff were given 40 minutes to engage with Habib.
Students, staff and workers gathered at the Wits Great Hall to question vice chancellor Prof Adam Habib on university related issues. The gathering was part of the university’s first ever town hall meeting.
The session was moderated by president of the Wits Debating Union, Mighti Jamie.
STUDENTS and staff of Wits University gathered today in the Great Hall for a meeting with the vice chancellor, Adam Habib. Questions were asked, key problems were addressed and the audience had the chance to voice their opinions directly to the rector of the institution.
People who wanted to attend the momentous meeting were not guaranteed a spot inside the Great Hall as seats were quickly taken and many had to stand in the foyer.
However, students also brought up the issue of the VC’s house costing nine million rand to renovate. People seemed confused and upset about this issue.
Habib said Wits cannot effort to “insource” its cleaners. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
IT WOULD cost Wits University R150-million per year to hire its cleaners directly instead of contracting outside companies to supply the service.
This is the explanation Vice Chancellor Prof Adam Habib gave the workers regarding why the university could not “insource” them.
The workers had a meeting with Habib on Monday to discuss some of the grievances they have with their new contracts, especially their salaries.
“We are here because of the money; maybe the R2 000 that I earn is your child’s pocket money,” said a female worker in a choked voice.Habib said he understood and agreed with the cleaners’ grievances but there was nothing he could do.[pullquote align=”right”]”R2 000 that I earn is your child’s pocket money”[/pullquote]
“I don’t like outsourcing,” he said.
“If I was here and in a position of power in 2001, I would have fought against it.
“But now that it’s done I cannot undo it.”
Habib said Wits simply did not have that kind of money.
“I wish I did, but I don’t,” he said.
“If I start spending recklessly now, we will be in trouble and if we are in trouble, people will lose their jobs.” Habib said if Wits managed to increase its income in the next three years, then he would consider using some of that money for the workers.
One worker asked Habib why he didn’t give them the money he had saved from having cheaper cleaning services from the present contractors who charge less than previous ones. Habib said that money had been used to ensure that all the workers were hired by the current contractors.
There is still abuse
The workers also claimed that Impact, one of the cleaning companies contracted to Wits, was abusive.
“Last year we spoke about how abusive Impact was, but what you did is you gave Impact the contract,” said Girly Mosieleng, a member of the Workers Solidarity Committee. She said Impact had not even given its workers a notice for the meeting and that “there is still apartheid” in the company. Habib asked the cleaners for details of the alleged abuse so he could investigate it.
“Give me a case, an incident, a person, a date and I can do something.
“Without that there is nothing I can do, they will just deny it,” said Habib.
Habib promised to establish a committee that will investigate outsourcing and look at what other cleaners around the country earn to see if it is comparable with what Wits cleaners are earning.
At the request of the workers, Habib said he would speak to the contractors about increasing the workers’ salaries.
“But I am not necessarily hopeful; I’ve already signed the contract. They don’t have to listen to me.”
Fired! Dr Last Moyo pictured at a Wits event last year. Photo: Dinesh Balliah.
by SHANDUKANI MULAUDZI and PRELENE SINGH
Two of the four Wits University lecturers accused of sexual harassment have been dismissed.
Although the statement did not name the lecturers, Wits Vuvuzela has learned that the dismissed lecturers are Tsepo wa Mamatu and Last Moyo.
According to a statement released today by Wits vice chancellor, Prof Adam Habib, “the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, has just dismissed two employees who have been found guilty of sexual harassment.”
Habib declined to name the individuals.
Habib said that the hearing was conducted and chaired by independent senior counsel who submitted the guilty verdict to Wits University.
Both of these lecturers were found to be in breach of the University’s Sexual Harassment Policy, Relationship Guidelines and the University’s Code of Conduct.
“The staff members have been found guilty of sexual harassment and misconduct, and one of them has also been found guilty of sexual/indecent assault,” said Habib.
Habib apologised to all students who had been victimised by theses lecturers and added that the university would not tolerate any future incidents of sexual harassment.
The cases of the remaining two suspended lecturers are ongoing and these outcomes will be announced over the next couple of weeks.
Tsepo wa Mamatu, a lecturer in Drama has also been fired from Wits for sexual harassment. Photo: Provided
As previously reported by Wits Vuvuzela, the university was conducting two inquiries and it is said that the campus-wide inquiry “is expected to be completed in the next two weeks”.
This inquiry is being led by the Head of the Centre of Applied Legal Studies, Professor Bonita Meyersfeld and Joe Mothibi from Norton Rose Fulbright.
Read more in the Wits Vuvuzela print edition or online this Friday.
The University expresses its sincerest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and loved ones of a stalwart of South Africa, a respected leader of the judiciary and a guardian of our Constitution – former Chief Justice Pius Langa.
Justice Langa passed away on Wednesday, the 24th of July 2013, after a long illness. He was scheduled to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Laws from Wits University in June this year. However, due to his illness his family requested Wits to reschedule the conferral to a later date. The University will now confer the award to him posthumously later this year.
Former Chief Justice Langa must be remembered for his unselfish, inspirational and steadfast service to South Africa and his profession. He was one of the first set of judges to be appointed to the Constitutional Court and he has left a legacy that will greatly benefit our legal and judicial fraternities, as well as the citizens of our country.
Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Wits University.
[hr]
BIOGRAPHY OF FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE PIUS LANGA
Former Chief Justice Langa’s long and distinguished legal career has moved in parallel with a number of watershed events in South Africa’s history. In the symbolically significant year of 1976 he obtained his LLB degree, which empowered him to play a meaningful role in the struggle against apartheid and the attainment of our constitutional democracy. In the equally significant year of 1994, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to that effort, he was co-entrusted with the guardianship of our Constitution. Through both his advocacy prior to his judicial career and through his judgment since, he has enriched our constitutional democracy.
Justice Pius Langa was born in Bushbuckridge in 1939, the second of seven children. He completed his secondary school education through private study and obtained his BLuris and LLB degrees through the University of South Africa. He was admitted as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1977 and attained the rank of Senior Counsel in 1994.
He commenced his working career in a shirt factory in 1957 and from 1960 to 1977 was employed by the Department of Justice in various positions ranging from interpreter to messenger to magistrate. During his practice at the Bar he represented the underprivileged, civic bodies, trade unions and people charged with political offences. In 1997 he became Deputy President of the Constitutional Court and subsequently Deputy Chief Justice until his appointment as Chief Justice and head of the Constitutional Court in 2005. In that capacity he chaired the Judicial Service Commission. He retired as Chief Justice in 2009 and then served as the chairperson of the Southern African Judges Commission and as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Justice Langa’s dedicated service to this country was evidenced by his participation in many organisations that were committed to ending apartheid and ensuring democratic rule. These included the UDF, the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, CODESA, the Constitutional Committee of the ANC, and the advisory group to the Groote Schuur and Pretoria ‘Talks-about-Talks’. He was a founder member of the Release Mandela Committee of Natal and a member of the Regional and National Reception Committee that facilitated and accelerated the release of political prisoners.
He was appointed to the Police Board to assist with the transformation of the Police Services under the aegis of the National Peace Accord, formed to stem the violence that plagued parts of South Africa in the eighties and early nineties, served as a member of the Commission of Inquiry into Unrest in Prisons, and was a member of the Commission of Inquiry into certain alleged covert SADF activities.
Beyond his national service, Chief Justice Langa has also played a significant role regionally and globally. In 1998 he chaired a Commission that probed the Lesotho elections on behalf of the Southern African Development and Economic Community and in 2000 was appointed the Commonwealth’s Special Envoy to assist the Fiji Islands’ return to democracy. He has participated in the work of constitutional review commissions in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Tanzania. And, at the request of the Cameroon government, led a delegation of the International Bar Association to Cameroon to review and integrate the country’s system of criminal procedure. He was a member of the Judicial Integrity Group that compiled the Bangalore Principles for Judicial Ethics.
He served on the executive committee of the Democratic Lawyers Association and was founder member and President of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers from 1988 to 1994. He was involved in the founding of the South African Legal Defense Fund, served as a Commissioner of the pre-constitutional Human Rights Commission, served on boards and as trustee of various law-related institutions and organized and participated in numerous conferences, workshops and seminars.
Justice Langa was appointed Honorary Professor in the Department of Procedural and Clinical Law, University of Natal and served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas. He was Chancellor of the University of Natal from 1998-2004 and also served as the Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
In recognition of his considerable contributions was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes from both national and international organisations. Notable amongst these was an award by the Judicial Council of the American National Bar Association, the 2004 Justice Prize by the Peter Gruber Foundation (co-recipient with former Chief Justice Chaskalson) and South Africa’s prestigious Order of the Supreme Counselor of the Baobab: Gold.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
