Quote of the week
Regard must be had to the higher standard of conduct expected from public officials, and the number of falsehoods that have been put forward by the Public Protector in the course of the litigation. This conduct included the numerous “misstatements”, like misrepresenting, under oath, her reliance on evidence of economic experts in drawing up the report, failing to provide a complete record, ordered and indexed, so that the contents thereof could be determined, failing to disclose material meetings and then obfuscating the reasons for them and the reasons why they had not been previously disclosed, and generally failing to provide the court with a frank and candid account of her conduct in preparing the report. The punitive aspect of the costs order therefore stands.
Public Protector v South African Reserve Bank (CCT107/18) [2019] ZACC 29 (22 July 2019)
Quote
No one cares about issues of diversity facing black universities. No one cares what happens there and whether or not the throughput rates are increasing, whether or not targets are being met to produce qualified and competent doctors, engineers, scientists, nurses, and the other urgent skills required by our economy. No one asks whether or not the racial balance at the black universities has been met, or whether or not numeracy or academic levels have improved. Why is this debate not in the public realm? Unlike black universities, formerly white universities are under constant scrutiny for racial transformation . Many former white universities with black vice-chancellors have become no-go areas, the fiefdoms of those who stifle free debate and tyrannise those academics who dare to ask questions. Countless disciplinary procedures have been instituted against those who will not “toe the line” , at great legal cost to universities who need those monies for academic programmes. – Rhoda Kadalie in Business Day
