Annual_report_2008

UNIVERSITY OFLIMPOPO

ANNUAL REPORT

2008

M I S S I O NThe mission of the University of Limpopo is to be a world-class African university whichresponds to education, research and community development needs through partnershipsand knowledge generation. The University is committed to finding solutions for Africa.

UNIVERSITY OFLIMPOPO

ANNUAL REPORT

2008 The year in review, including narrative and financial reports, andstatements of future intent.

Annual Report 2008 is published by the Marketing and Communications Department University of Limpopo PO Box X1106 Sovenga 0727 Limpopo SOUTH AFRICAwww.ul.ac.za

COMPILED BY: David RobbinsDESIGN AND LAYOUT: Sarita Rheeder-Rosa, JAM STREET DESIGN (Pretoria)PRINTING: Colorpress (pty) LtdPRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: DGR Writing & Research cc (011) 782-0333 or 082-572-1682ISBN: 978-0-620-45178-9

Material may be reprinted with acknowledgment

Co n t e n t s

SNAPSHOT OF A THRIVING INSTITUTION 04

MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR 06

Dr Reuel KhozaMESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL 08

Judge Lucy MailulaTHE YEAR AT A GLANCE 10

REPORT OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR 12

Professor Mahlo MokgalongFACULTY REPORTS 16

HEALTH SCIENCES 16

HUMANITIES 21

MANAGEMENT AND LAW 25

SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE 29

INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING PLAN REPORT 33

Craig Lyall-WatsonREPORT OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 37

Raymond OlanderFINANCIAL SPREADSHEETS 39

UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO TRUST REPORT 41

LOOKING AHEAD 43

KEEPING IN TOUCH 45

SNAPSHOT OF A THRIVING INSTITUTION

04

The University of Limpopo

THE HISTORY of the University ofLimpopo reaches all the way backto 1959. In that year, and on a sitechosen by Dr Hendrik Verwoerd,the architect of South Africa’s ill-fatedseparate development policy, a racially exclusive college witharound 90 registered students cameinto being. Ten years later, an Actof Parliament upgraded this institution to the autonomousUniversity of the North. Popularlyknown as Turloop, after the nameof the farm on which the collegewas originally established, the uni-versity grew steadily. Today, morethan 10 000 students pursue their

studies on one of the most naturallybeautiful campuses in South Africa.But that’s only half the story.

The other half is the MedicalUniversity of Southern Africa(Medunsa). The origins of thisimportant institution are also rootedin South Africa’s apartheid past. Fordecades, black students keen topursue a career in medicine andallied fields had only one place togo: the medical school that hadbeen established in the 1950s atKing Edward VIII Hospital inDurban. But the growing need forblack doctors, particularly in the new

Bantustans and the increasingly turbulent black townships after the1976 Soweto uprisings, was notbeing fulfilled. So in the same yearMedunsa was established justnorth of Pretoria to increase supply.Thousands of doctors have beentrained there, many to specialistand sub-specialist level, as havedentists and a full range of otherhealth professionals.

These two halves came together inan institutional merger that tookeffect on 1 January 2005, therebycreating the University of Limpopo.

The merger has not been easy. Forsome time, the fate of the Medicalschool on the university’s Medunsacampus seemed uncertain. Now,four years on, the situation hassolidified. The existing MedicalSchool at Ga-Rankuwa is to remainin full operation, and a secondmedical teaching platform is to beestablished in Polokwane. This second platform already exists inembryonic form, using the provincialhospitals at Polokwane andMankweng as its training hospitals.

Sixty medical registrars are currentlytraining in various specialitiesthere. But these medical trainingactivities represent only the beginning: huge developments for Limpopo in this regard are inthe pipeline.

The Turfloop Graduate School ofLeadership, established at Edupark1

in 1998, offers full- and part-timecourses, including a high-qualityMBA degree, as well as Master’sdegrees in public administration

and development.

Taking all the four campusesdescribed in this snapshot intoaccount, the University of Limpopohas a student body exceeding 17 000. They are to be found infour faculties – Humanities;Management and Law; Science andAgriculture; and Health Sciences –which are staffed by an academicand research cohort of around 570and administrative support to thetune of a further 1 350 employees.

1 The Edupark campus, established in 1995, is operated independently of the University as a Section 21 not-for-profit company that houses various educationaland training initiatives, including the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership as one of several anchor tenants, the others being Eskom and Anglo Platinum.

05

Dr Reuel Khoza

EX-PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela was the previous Chancellor of the University of the North. In considering the chancellorship ofthe new University of Limpopo, I was obliged to ask myself: howcould I step into those illustriousshoes? Then I remembered thesewords of wisdom: in order to seefar, we would be well advised tostand on the shoulders of a giant.Mandela, and indeed his generation,has bequeathed to us a great dealof sagacity. My job as Chancellor isto dig into those rich resources and use them for the benefit of the future of the University ofLimpopo.

With regard to the year underreview, I would like to single out a few highlights for comment.

Let me begin with the process thatwe have called the InstitutionalOperating Plan. Through thisprocess we have developed a common analysis of the university’sacademic and administrativeneeds. On the administrative side,and in financial management inparticular, we were criticised bythose who came to examine ourperformance. We clearly have achallenge in this regard. It is essential that we put our house inorder – and this process was welladvanced by the end of 2008 –otherwise we will be hard pressedeffectively to pursue the academicand research excellence to whichthe university has committed itself.

Where pursuance of academicexcellence is concerned we arecommitted to developing centresof excellence that are world class.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Dr Reuel Khoza was

inaugurated as Chancellor

of the University of Limpopo

on 9 November 2007. He’s

an alumnus of the

University of the North, and

the first Chancellor to be

appointed since the merger

between his alma mater and

the Medical University of

Southern Africa in 2005.

He’s a highly successful

businessman. He’s

currently chairman and

major shareholder of

Aka Capital. He’s also

chairman of Nedbank

Group, Murray and

Roberts Cementation,

and the Nepad

Business Foundation,

and holds directorships

on the boards of several

other prominent

companies such as

London-listed Old

Mutual Plc. He is current-

ly the President of the

Institute of Directors in

South Africa. Author of

several books on leadership

and corporate governance,

he is also a visiting

professor at Rhodes

Business School and

Professor Extraordinaire at

University of Stellenbosch

Business School.06

In this regard I must applaud theexcellent work done by ProfessorPhuti Ngoepe, and congratulatehim on the two great awards2 hereceived during 2008. From his student days to the present,Professor Ngoepe has made excellence a way of life. He standsas a luminous beacon for the university, and one that is eminently worthy of emulation.

More generally on the academicfront, as Chancellor I took greatdelight in officiating at the variousgraduation ceremonies that tookplace on both main campuses.Gratifying were the numbers of former graduates who had chosento pursue postgraduate work. And I was particularly delighted to beparty to the awarding of those six doctorates that were earned during the year under review.These achievements serve as achallenge to the university, and to the country as a whole, to breakeven further ground in formalisedacademic research that leads todoctoral research and beyond. Thereal merit of such an approach isthat advanced postgraduate workengenders a greater sense ofnational confidence in facing thefuture in a world that is fast globalising and often scornful ofthose nations that have nothing tocontribute to the knowledge industry.From our current crop of doctoratesright through to the many earnersof diplomas in the various fields, I congratulate you all.

Turning to the future, the Universityof Limpopo is strategically locatedin the SADC region, and is well

positioned to serve not only as asource and resource for knowledgebut also as a conduit for and dis-tributor of knowledge in the region.It is, in short, pivotally located todeliver on its vision and mission –and the strategic plan that hasbeen devised to articulate them.

In terms of the strategic plan, thereis precious little that one can addby way of improvement. The realchallenge, though, resides in theplan’s implementation. To supportthe implementation challenge, several people and institutionshave made contributions thatrequire public acknowledgement:

• The first is the Nedbank Groupfor providing a sum of R3-millionto fund a new chair of accountingon the Turfloop campus. We arecurrently in the process ofrecruiting a suitable person totake root in 2009.

• From a fundraising dinner organised in Johannesburg wewere able to secure commitmentfrom a variety of institutions tofund a chair of geology (of vitalimportance when it is remembered that Turfloop islocated at the heart of platinumcountry), and to effect improvements to our on-campuscentre for disabled students.

• We are also particularly delightedthat Gilbert Phalafala, a formerstudent of the university and an exceptionally successfulentrepreneur, has committedand delivered a sum of R300 000in bursaries for commerce students to be renewable overthree years. This support is

designed to take first-year studentsto completion of their degrees.We consider this generous actionto be a striking example of whatformer students should do toplough back into the villages andinstitutions that gave them birthand nourishment.

• Benchmarking our universityagainst the best in the world willrender real our aspiration to be aworld-class institution. In thisregard, we are happy to reportthat the University of Limpopo iswell advanced in implementing aplan to exchange both studentsand academic staff with the UK’sEssex/Exeter University.

• My personal focus has also beenon the Ga-Rankuwa campuswhere several proposals arereceiving attention.

Such initiatives need to multiply inthe next three to five years as partof the university’s effort to put intoeffect the various elements of ouroverarching development plans.

In conclusion, my gratitude asChancellor goes first and foremostto the Vice-Chancellor who hasbeen very co-operative in imple-menting the strategic plan asdeveloped so far. My thanks arealso due to the deputy V-Cs, and tomy colleagues on the UniversityCouncil and Senate. I choose tobelieve that if we all continue toput our shoulders to the wheelwith real commitment, diligenceand dedication, we will realise ourkey aspiration as a university committed to providing solutionsto the challenges of Africa.

072 The NRF’s ‘Transformation of the Science Cohort’ award, and the Order of Mapungubwe (Silver), awarded by the President of South Africa.

Judge Lucy Mailula

IT HAS been a privilege to be ableto serve my alma mater as thechairperson of its council during2008. I am happy to report that therequired quorum was achieved atevery full council meeting; and thatthe various committees of council– the Executive Committee, andthose dealing with Finance,Internal Audit, Tender andProcurement, Human Resources,and Physical Planning – functionedeffectively.

The University Council as an institution carries on its shouldersa weighty responsibility. It is constituted in terms of the HigherEducation Act, and operates withinthe parameters of general universitystatutes. According to thesestatutes, the council must be comprised of internal and externalmembers. Our council membersrepresent the various unions represented on the various campuses, and students, and management and senate, as well asconvocation and alumni. There arealso several ministerial appoint-ments. In consequence, it will beseen that members represent thefull range of internal interests, andthat these are coupled with individuals who are able to bringfrom the world at large a range ofskills and fresh perspectives to thecouncil table.

It is sometimes imagined by theuninitiated that a university councilserves merely as a rubber-stampingbody for decisions made by univer-sity management. Nothing couldbe further from the truth. Certainly,

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE

Judge Lucy Mailula

became the chairperson

of the Council of the

University of Limpopo in

January 2008. She was

born in Ga-Maphoto,

a small village under

10 kilometres from the

university’s Turfloop

campus, where later she

studied law, finally

emerging as a member

of the LLB class of ‘81.

She did her articles with

a Pretoria law firm

before working for the

Bophuthatswana

Attorney General’s Office.

She was admitted as an

advocate in

Bophuthatswana.

In 1986 she came to

Johannesburg to do

pupilage and to practise

as an advocate. She was

appointed to the bench

of the High Court in 1995.08

the day-to-day running of the university is carried out by management, but always under theguidelines of policy established by the council. Indeed, it is a fundamental function of council tooversee the activities of universitymanagement and its sub-structures,to ensure the efficient functioningof the various vital components ofthe institution, and to ensure thatthe university fulfils its mandate asset out in the legislation, as well asits own vision and mission.

The effective functioning of a university council speaks powerfullyof the institution’s autonomy. Thecouncil is the fundamental mecha-nism, and hence the most powerfulsymbol, of self-governance. It’s noaccident that universities in troublehave their councils suspended andreplaced by an administrator.

I would like to dwell for a momenton the idea of university autonomy,or, as it is sometimes called, academic freedom. Autonomy isvery important for education. It’s clearly a good thing for thegeneration of new ides and for creativity generally – but so long aswe don’t confuse autonomy with a freedom from accountability. Thedays of ivory-tower universities –or universities that saw themselvesas ivory towers with little concernfor social accountability – are definitely over.

All universities are geographicallyplaced. Locality involvement hasbecome very important. No universities in South Africa can

afford to ignore this shift in thinking.The growing relationship betweenthe University of Limpopo andLimpopo’s provincial governmentis a good example of this shift. Asis the university’s avowed mission:to play an important part in solvingAfrica’s challenges, not least thosethat pertain to the continent’s stillvast rural populations.

Recently, important voices in highereducation have directly linked theidea of autonomy to the deeperprocess of transformation, theimplication being that the formermight not be guaranteed if the latter is not thoroughly carried out.But what is transformation?

In the South African context, wemight think immediately of adheringto gender and racial quotas interms of staff and student intakes.These are the visible and obviousevidences of transformation. Lyingmuch deeper is the philosophicaltransformation that must placehigher education at the heart ofthe socio-economic developmentof a university’s locality, countryand region.

In my view, the University ofLimpopo is well along the road to realising this deeper transformation. A very healthy balance has emerged between so-called pure and appliedresearch. At the same time, the university’s academic restructuring efforts have beenkeenly influenced by considerations arising from thenew philosophy.

There are two factors in particularthat are exercising council as weface 2009. The first relates to themerger between Turfloop andMedunsa. It is crucially importantthat we deal effectively with thissituation, which of course is complicated by the distancebetween the two campuses. Weneed to bring into play every available technological aid that willfacilitate greater and more regularcontact between the Ga-Rankuwaand Turfloop campuses. The otherfactor to which the council – andthe university as a whole – is payingserious attention is institutionalstability. Stability in leadership isvery important; financial stability isequally so. If these foundations areshaky, then the superstructure ofthe institution comes under threat,and people aren’t able to focus onthe university’s core business.

I cannot emphasise sufficientlyhow important education is – andspecifically higher education – inthe development of the wholenation.

My hope for the University ofLimpopo is that it will one daybecome one of the leading univer-sities in the world. Is this wishfulthinking? Surely, there are chal-lenges. But my perception is that apositive culture in the university isemerging. Of course, we needfinance, we need champions, butabove all we need a common goal.We have that goal. Now I wouldurge everyone in the university toput their hands on the wheel andwork together towards it. 09

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL

THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

10

11

HERE ARE some of the important events and developmentsthat occurred on the main campuses of the University ofLimpopo during the course of 2008.

• Council approves the establishment of theDevelopment and Innovation Hub to co-ordinatemulti-faculty research and community outreach

• Biodiversity centre opens

JANUARY• School of Public Health Summer School for first-year

students

FEBRUARY• Orientation for all first-time entering undergraduate

students – 4-5 February

• Official Opening of the 2008 Academic Year by Dr Reuel J Khoza, Chancellor – 14 February

MARCH• All Sports Council and Culture Affairs Committee

Award Presentation – 15 March

APRIL• International Conference Week – 7-11 April

MAY• Physiology Students Awards – 7 May

• National Science Week – 12-17 May

• Open Day at Medunsa Campus – 17 May

• 5th Graduation Ceremony – 30 May

• 6th Graduation Ceremony – 31 May

• At the end of the month, xenophobic violence sweptacross many parts of South Africa. The Vice-Chancellorof the university made a forthright criticism of the phenomenon.

• The Institutional Operating Plan (IOP) was announcedto the university community in an open letter from theVice-Chancellor. (for more information see page 33)

JUNE• Dr William Maphanga, final-year Registrar in the

Department of Public Health Medicine, attends aSummer School at the University of Oslo, Norway, onachieving Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6

JULY• School of Public Health Winter School:

First-year students – 30 June-11 July Second-year students – 14-25 July

AUGUST• Professional Provident Society donates R75 000 to the

Department of Physiotherapy

• First Academic Day, the showcase event of Medunsa’sresearch talent – 13 August

• Second Academic Day and Gala Dinner – 14 August

NOVEMBER• Adoption of the Memorandum of Agreement between

the Gauteng Department of Health and the Universitiesof Pretoria, Witwatersrand, and Limpopo’s Medunsacampus

• Long Service Awards – 27 November

• Oath-taking Ceremony for the School of Dentistry – 28 November

DECEMBER• Oath-taking Ceremony for the School of Medicine –

6 December

Professor Mahlo Mokgalong


was appointed the first

substantive Vice-Chancellor

and Principal of the

university in August 2006.

Before that, through

difficult years, he had

served as acting and then

interim Vice-Chancellor

since the beginning of 2003.

Mokgalong was born at

Ga-Masemola, a small

rural village in Limpopo

province. He did his

undergraduate degree,

a BSc in Biological Science,

at the University of the

North. Subsequent degrees

included BSc (Hons) in

Zoology, an MSc in

Limnology, and a PhD in

Parasitology. His research

took him to many parts of

the world, and he

received international

recognition for an

outstanding thesis.

Mokgalong put aside

his scientific interests to

respond to the leadership

demands of a transforming

university.

I WOULD like to contextualise myreport by placing the activities and achievements of the Universityof Limpopo within the frameworkof its mission. This mission, reproduced on the inside frontcover of this annual report, was thesubject of considerable discussionand deliberation among the various university constituencies.Therefore, it is important that it betaken seriously. It encapsulates infewer than 40 words our collectivedetermination and our collectivehope for the future of an institution in which so many have a stake.

Seen in this light, the missionstatement encapsulates thoseareas that are most importantwhen assessing the performance of the university. The main activities are clearly enunciated:there’s the teaching or educationactivity; there’s the research component; and there’s the outreach or community development side of things. The last activity draws all threeactivities into a triumvirate of common purpose. This is to beworld class in establishing partnerships and in the generation of knowledge that will bolster our commitment tofinding solutions to some ofAfrica’s challenges, particularlythose that manifest most clearly inthe continent’s under-developedrural areas as exemplified by ourimmediate environment here atSovenga.

12

REPORT OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR

One of the most important initiatives at the university duringthe year under review was theworking out of the process ofestablishing a workableInstitutional Operating Plan.3

What needs to be clearly statednow was the seriousness of the situation. So serious, indeed, thatthe university was obliged to putaside its mission to concentrate ‘its total efforts on achieving the necessary stability and sustainability to ensure its survival’.That was a painful thing we had todo, and it lent real urgency to ourefforts to get our ship back on aneven keel as soon as possible. It isgratifying to be able to report thatthis task was accomplished by theend of 2008, which meant that wewere able once again to take upthe essential ingredients of ourmission. This is why I have decidedto place my report in this context,rather than to report only on thecrisis in which the university wassubmerged.

We began the year in serious financial difficulties. The 2007 calendar year had left us with anoperating deficit of R136-million,and the assessors’ report called theuniversity ‘technically insolvent’.Liabilities had exceeded assets by a massive R537-million.

The year under review was dominated by our efforts to reverse

this undesirable situation. Workingwith the IOP implementation team,we concentrated our efforts in fourareas. The first was to review and where necessary modify ouracademic structures and programmes, using financial viability as a fundamental criterion.The second was to improve theuniversity’s management information systems. The third was to re-engineer businessprocesses and clean up all databases. The fourth was toreview the administrative supportfunction and where necessarymodify staff numbers and servicesprovided.

A fifth major effort took place inthe finance department, wheretightened controls, particularlywith regard to cash flow manage-ment, have assisted in maximisingthe other benefits of the IOP andimproved financial managementgenerally.

The result of these endeavours wasthat a huge improvement in thefinancial fortunes of the university.By the end of 2008, the operatingdeficit had been transformed into a net surplus of R43-million; andcurrent assets now exceeded current liabilities by R50-million,representing a turnaround of R200-million from 2007.4 There canbe no doubt that the IOP had doneits work. There can be equally no

doubt that the new Chief FinancialOfficer, Raymond Olander (whojoined the university late in 2007),and the staff of the financialdepartment, deserve a heartfeltvote of thanks from the universityfor the determination with which they set about the task ofimproving financial efficiency, andthereby making it possible for meto assess the performance of theinstitution in direct relation to theterms of our reinstated MissionStatement.

The three main areas outlined inthe Mission will now be examinedseparately and across all four faculties – Health, Humanities,Management and Law, Science and Agriculture – of which the university is comprised:

Teaching and learning. Duringthe year under review, the university’s faculties5 providedtuition and guidance to just over16 000 students, a figure whichplaces it in the medium-sized category of South Africa’s 23 publicly funded universities.There were no major disruptions to the teaching and learningprocess. At the graduation ceremonies that were held during2008, over 2 420 undergraduatedegrees were conferred, as well as562 postgraduate qualifications.The academic teaching staff stoodat 930, of whom nearly 500 were

13

3 The details of this IOP plan can be found in a special article on page 33.4 More financial detail can be found in the CFO’s report on page 37.5 The figures quoted in the Vice-Chancellor’s report are based on the figures provided in the individual faculty reports that begin on page 16.

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REPORT OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 1 3

qualified to the level of mastersand above. This performance confirms that throughout a difficultyear, academic standards and output were maintained.

Research. Each of the facultyreports deal in some detail withresearch activity. To attempt a synthesis of the four individualreports, the overarching researchsituation at the university couldprobably best be described as notentirely satisfactory. Between pockets of excellence there arelarge expanses of research paucity.There are many reasons for thisthat are dealt with in the individualfaculty reports. Suffice to say herethat the research output of the university as a whole is of concernto senior management and theUniversity Council, and steps arebeing taken to improve the situation. An important development in this regard is the mooted Rural Developmentand Innovation Hub (RDIH), whichwill be launched during 2009. The RDIH will work closely with all schools and departments in all four faculties, thus stimulating a multidisciplinary approach toteaching, research and communityengagement in the field of ruraldevelopment. The intention is toavoid the traditional academic ‘siloapproach’ when attempting toimpact on a field that is in realityrich in interrelated realities andintervention possibilities. In thisway, the essential aim of the

institution – to find solutions forAfrican problems – will be moreeffectively pursued by stimulatinginterdisciplinary innovation. One of the most important resultsof this approach is that it will stimulate research, particularly inthose areas dealing with the issuesuncovered by the university’s community outreach programmes.It will also promote innovativethinking within the university, particularly in relation to the relevance of academic researchand the application of researchfindings in commercial ventures,thereby actively seeking research-related additional income for theuniversity.

Community development.

Obviously, the RDIH will also stimulate more outreach programmes that tie the universityever more closely to the challengesconfronting the rural communitiesby which both main campuses aresurrounded. Much valuable outreach developmental work isconducted out of the Medunsacampus. At Turfloop, the work ofthe Science Centre offers facilitiesand inspiration to thousands ofschool children and their teachersfrom Limpopo’s generally under-resourced schools, while the Centre for Rural CommunityEmpowerment provides invaluableexpertise and research facilities forrural development stakeholders inthe province. It doesn’t take muchimagination to visualise the

enhanced impact such outreachendeavours could exert under theintegrated multidisciplinaryapproach that will be stimulated bythe planned RDIH, not least on theuniversity’s research output. Butthere are other factors that inhibitthis output.

It is concerning to see, as some ofthe detail contained in the four faculty reports exposes, that acommon problem confrontingthem all is the retention andreplacement of staff. To illustratethe problem, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science andAgriculture, Professor NaftaliMollel, pointed out that during the year under review the facultylost 27 senior academics, most ofwhom held PhD degrees and sixwere full professors. That’s a loss of nearly 20 percent of the faculty’s total academic staff. No wonder, realistically speaking,research output is low as senioracademics find themselves overloaded with lecturing duties asthe gaps in the teaching roster areplugged to maintain acceptablestandards.

Why do so many talented academics leave? It is largely, asProfessor Mollel states, to seekgreener pastures elsewhere, usually at South African institutionsoffering more attractive packagesthan the University of Limpopo can provide. With regard to therecruitment of replacements, this


15

is hampered by the perception that we are a ‘bush university’ in ageographic situation characterisedby lack of surrounding facilities inthe fields of education, health care,as well as cultural and sportingopportunities. In the light of theseperceptions, the medium-termcourse for the university must beto tie its fate more closely to theprovince and to that of the city ofPolokwane. Rapid development isforecast, and the university can do a great deal to assist that development – and to correct theoften false perceptions regardingthe facilities that are becomingincreasingly available in Limpopoand its provincial capital.

While the university grapples withthese challenges, we should notforget the very real achievementsthat characterised the year dealtwith in this report. The facultyreports detail these, but it wouldbe amiss of me not to mention afew of the main ones:

• Professor Francoise Clarke of the Biology Department on theMedunsa campus was appointedthe President of the ParasitologicalAssociation of Southern Africa.

• Professor Queen Mokhuane,head of Clinical Psychology atMedunsa, is Chairperson of theProfessional Board of Psychology,and Chairperson of the HealthCommittee, both of the HealthProfessions Council of SouthAfrica.

• Professor Lesiba Teffo, outgoingDean of Humanities on theTurfloop campus, was appointedto the ministerial advisory committee on IndigenousKnowledge Systems (IKS) withinthe national Department ofScience and Technology, and wasinstrumental in securing the faculty’s selection as one of three national IKS centres ofexcellence.

• Professor Phuti Ngoepe, head of the Materials ModellingCentre on the Turfloop campus,received two major awards during 2008. The first, from theNational Research Foundation,was for his contribution to raising the status of black scientists. The second was theprestigious Order ofMapungubwe (Silver) that waspresented by the President ofSouth Africa.

There can be no doubt that theUniversity of Limpopo, in spite ofits difficulties and challenges, ishere to stay and that its overallperformance as a tertiary institution is making a valuablecontribution to the fortunes ofLimpopo province, to the fortunesof South Africa generally, and further afield to the fortunes of theSADC region. None of this wouldbe possible, however, without theefforts of everyone involved in therunning of this complex institution.I must single out the UniversityCouncil for their wise decision-

making; the academic staff whocontinue to perform consistentlyand well under often difficult conditions; the administrative andsupport staff who have cheerfullyborne the extra burdens imposedon them by the demands of theIOP; and, finally, to my ExecutiveCommittee colleagues and seniormanagers for their support andunderstanding when faced withcomplex issues and essential decisions.

I am confident that the Universityof Limpopo stands poised to makeeven greater contributions toknowledge generation and community development in ourpart of the African continent.

HEALTH SCIENCES

16

Faculty Report

17

STATISTICAL DETAILS

THE FACULTY of Health Sciences comprises five schools: the School of Dentistry; the School of Health CareSciences; the School of Medicine; the School ofPathology; and the School of Public Health. All theseschools are centred on the Medunsa campus, with someactivity in Health Care Sciences and Public Health occurring also at Turfloop.

The various schools comprise the following departments:

• The School of Dentistry has 11 departments:Community Dentistry, Integrated Clinical Dentistry,Maxillofacial & Oral Radiology, Maxillofacial & OralSurgery, Operative Dentistry, Oral Hygiene, Oral Pathology & Oral Biology, Orthodontics,Periodontology & Oral Medicine, Prosthodontics, and Stomatological Studies.

• The School of Health Care Sciences has seven departments: Human Nutrition & Dietetics, NursingSciences, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy,Physiotherapy, and Speech-Language Pathology &Audiology.

• The School of Medicine has 30 departments:Anaesthesiology, Anatomy, Cardiology, CardiothoracicSurgery, Community Health, Dermatology, Diagnostic

Radiology & Imaging, Family Medicine & PrimaryHealth Care, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Hand & Microsurgery, Intensive Care, Internal Medicine,Medical Physics, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nuclear Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology,Occupational Medicine, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics,Otorhinolaryngology, Paediatrics & Child Health,Paediatric Surgery, Pharmacology & Therapeutics,Physiology, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery,Psychiatry, Radiolography, and Urology.

• The School of Pathology has eight departments:Anatomical Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Forensic Pathology, Haematological Pathology,Microbiological Pathology, Virological Pathology,Human Genetics, and Immunology.

• The School of Public Health has five departments:Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental &Occupational Health, Health Systems Management &Policy, and Social and Behavioural Health Sciences.

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schoolsis indicated by student and staff numbers in 2008, as well as by the number of successful graduates from thesame year (but graduating in 2009). The tables below summarise this information:

Students and graduates:

School Students Undergrad degrees Postgrad degrees Total degrees % of Students graduating

Dentistry 332 54 7 61 18%

Health Care Sciences 2352 412 56 448 19%

Medicine 1557 179 25 204 13%

Pathology 57 - 17 17 30%

Public Health 145 - 45 45 31%

Faculty Total 4443 645 150 775 17%

Staff and qualifications:

School Academic staff Masters + % with Masters + AStaff/pupil ratio Support staff

Dentistry 66 16 24% 1:5 11

Health Care Sciences 179 59 33% 1:13 48

Medicine 227 135 59% 1:7 77

Pathology 42 32 76% 1:14 75

Public Health 21 17 81% 1:7 4

Faculty Total 535 259 48% 1:8.3 215

NOTE: The relatively low percentage of students graduating in some of the schools reflects the longer length of the degree courses compared with a traditional three or four-year degree.

Professor Solomon

Rataemane, Executive Dean

and Head of the

Department of Psychiatry

at Medunsa since July 2003,

held the dual position of

Assistant DVC from January

2007 for two years.

Rataemane’s leadership

skills were evident in his

school days, when he

was head prefect at

Soweto’s Morris Isaacson

High School in 1973. He

went on to achieve his

MBChB at the University of

Natal in 1980, after which

he continued his studies in

psychiatry at the University

of the Witwatersrand and in

Britain. Rataemane has

represented the university

on numerous boards and

councils. Among his many

awards and honours is the

Global Partner Award from

the Dr Lonnie E Mitchell

National HBCU Substance

Abuse Conference in

Baltimore, USA, presented

in 2004.

2008 BEGAN with an active drive tofill senior positions in variousdepartments, including specialitydepartments within the School ofMedicine. Requirements by theHPCSA (Health Professions Councilof South Africa) specify that ChiefSpecialists and Heads ofDepartments must be in place toprovide adequate guidance, training, development of research,and fulfilment and improvement ofthe mission of each department tobest achieve the university’s mandate. By the end of the year,the replacement of ActingDirectors of various schools withfulltime Directors remained an outstanding issue.

Efforts were also made to appoint a fulltime Executive Dean and fulltime Campus Principal andDeputy Vice-Chancellor. I’m pleasedto say that Professor Errol Hollandwas appointed as this faculty’sExecutive Dean and ProfessorLetticia Moja as the MedunsaCampus Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

The year saw the faculty harmonising the teaching programme between the mainhealth sciences programmes atMedunsa and the associated programmes at Turfloop. This isparticularly important for thosestudents who are studying basicsciences and who want to progressto medicine, to be able to makethe transition smoothly.

The curriculum structure wasimproved in terms of recommenda-tions by the HPCSA and on the initiative of the faculty by

HEALTH SCIENCES C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 1 7

Comments from the Executive Dean

18

broadening the Practice ofMedicine programme to make sure that teaching throughoutmedical training is evidence-based,interactive, multidisciplinary, andconducted in small groups. In thisregard we received financial support from the Department of Education (DoE) to employ additional lecturers and administrative staff. This was done in the context of the full curriculum review undertaken by UL to strengthen the IOP.

The faculty also acknowledged the need to increase fundraisingopportunities, specifically to support its research directorate.The interim Director of Researchand Ethics will be replaced by afulltime person in 2009 to givegreater focus to research and thepublication of research outcomes. I believe all schools and departments must be assisted to increase research outputs and their publication.

Worth mentioning are researchinputs and outputs, both from pureacademic research for master’s anddoctoral degrees as well as researchsupported by pharmaceutical companies, the National ResearchFoundation, Medical ResearchCouncil and Human SciencesResearch Council. This offers a platform for understandingresearch methodologies, particularlyfor postgraduate students, andshould be encouraged. Medunsaheld its annual Academic Day toshowcase its research progress inAugust 2008. This was an excellentevent, and was supported by theprivate sector and Medunsa Trust.

The faculty faced several challenges during 2008.

Early in the year there was concernthat the Medunsa campus wouldbe moved to Turfloop. This causedextreme apprehension to staff and students, which was resolvedwhen Minister of Education NalediPandor announced that UL wouldoperate as a multi-campus university, with each campus supported to function at its optimal potential. This enabled all on Medunsa campus to redirect their focus to academic development. All are now confident that the future is bright for Medunsa.

Another challenge was the begin-ning of a drop in the number ofstudents graduating as doctorswhich could indicate a progressivedecline. In this regard we determinedto undertake a situational analysisto understand the factors contributing to the decline. Wealso noticed that the number ofstudents who had to repeat tests andend-of-year exams was increasing.We are overcoming this situationby offering more support to student mentoring facilities.

Milestones in 2008 included thelaying of foundations for the construction of the new SkillsLaboratory for the improvement ofbasic and clinical skills for under-graduates and postgraduates. The DoE provided financial assistance of R30 million towardsthis valuable project. This will be one of the biggest skills laboratories in any of the facultiesof health science in SA.

The faculty was also assisted by the DoE with a cash injection ofaround R170 million for renovations to student residences,laboratories, lecture halls, as wellas for the purchase of teachingequipment. This work is scheduledfor completion by the end of 2009.

The faculty signed a Memorandumof Understanding with theLimpopo Province for use ofaccredited teaching hospitals andclinics in the province. This willhelp the university extend its community-based teaching programmes for undergraduateand postgraduate students. A similar Memorandum ofUnderstanding was signed by UL with Mpumalanga Province.

A landmark Memorandum ofAgreement was signed betweenthe Gauteng Department of Healthand Health Sciences faculties of theuniversities of Pretoria,Witwatersrand and Limpopo’sMedunsa campus, and adopted inNovember 2008. The aim of thisMemorandum is multi-faceted andprovides for greater co-operationbetween the department and theuniversities; as well as ensuring the development of sustainable,equitable and affordable tertiaryhealth care services in Gauteng. An Academic GovernanceCommittee, chaired by Sybil Ngcobo,head of the Gauteng Departmentof Health, and comprising representatives from each university will ensure equitable distribution of financial support for equipment, human resourcesand teaching facilities across thefaculties. 19

HEALTH SCIENCES C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 1 9


20

Several departments and individuals within the faculty continued to contribute tostrengthening collaborative tieswith international institutions incountries that include the USA,Britain, Australia, Philippines, aswell as African countries.

Other noteworthy internationalcollaborations initiated last yearincluded an agreement by the faculty with the Norwegian government to train doctors fromsouthern Sudan, specifically in surgical and orthopaedic skills; as well as an agreement with a university in Belgium and theBelgium government that provideshelp in developing research capacity and skills and promotesan exchange programme betweenour universities.

Individuals who must be singledout for having made significantcontributions in maintaining excellent output of academicresearch programmes includeProfessor Gboyega Ogunbanjo,Associate Professor in FamilyMedicine in the Faculty of HealthSciences, Medunsa, and Director:Research and Partnerships atMedunsa. He is a contributor ofnote, and has published widely,supervised numerous postgraduatestudents, presented papers andposters at conferences worldwide

and co-ordinated internationalresearch and exchange collaborations.

Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele, head of the Department ofVirology within the School ofPathology, is also commended as an exceptionally hardworkingresearcher who has contributedgreatly to bringing in funds andexpertise from the NationalResearch Foundation to the facultywith his outstanding efforts. He also continues to be directlyinvolved in research to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.

Heads of departments within the faculty have done well in representing the university at various national and internationalforums and associations. Theseinclude:

• Professor Ogunbanjo, DeputyPresident of the College ofMedicine of SA and member ofthe Interns Committee of HPCSA.

• Professor Tshepo Gugushe,Director of the School ofDentistry, is Senator for dentistryat the Colleges of Medicine of SA(CMSA), President of the AfricanDental Association, and memberof the Medical and Dental Boardof the HPCSA.

• Professor Phindile Mntla, Directorof the School of Medicine, isSenator for Cardiology at CMSA.

• Professor Queen Mokhuane, Head of Clinical Psychology, isChairperson of the ProfessionalBoard of Psychology, andChairperson of the HealthCommittee – both of the HPCSA.

• Professor Solomon Rataemane is

a member of the HPCSA’s HealthCommittee, Exam Committee,and its Dental and MedicalBoard. He is also Senator forPsychiatry at CMSA; representative for Southern &Eastern Africa at the WorldPsychiatric Association; andDeputy Chair of the MedicalResearch Council of SA.

• Professor Willem du Plooy, Head of Pharmacology andTherapeutics, has held positionson the SA Pharmacology Societysince 1996. He is President of theSA Society of Basic and ClinicalPharmacology, and a councilmember of the InternationalUnion of Basic and ClinicalPharmacology’s Division ofPharmacology.

These, and other, representationsby our senior staff contribute tothe growth of knowledge withinthe faculty while also improvingthe image and visibility of the university.

Overall, I have been impressed bythe attitude of the academic stafftowards their delegated tasks, aswell as by the thirst for knowledgeamong the students. Their willingness to learn and be guided is a real source of joy fortheir teachers.

I believe that this faculty has a valuable role to play in the continuing search for solutions inour health profession – particularlyin the underserved population ofSA. It is a source of pride for us thatwe produce people who largelystay in the country, working inrural and urban communities.

HUMANITIESFaculty Report

21

STATISTICAL DETAILS

The Faculty of Humanities comprises three schools: the School of Languages and Communication Studies on the Turfloop campus; the School of Education on theTurfloop campus; and the School of Social Sciences onthe Turfloop campus with some activity, notably in psychology, also taking place on the Ga-Rankuwa/Medunsa campus.

The various faculty schools comprise the followingdepartments:

• School of Languages and Communication Studies has six departments: African Languages; English and Foreign Languages; Fine and Performing Arts;Information Studies; Linguistics, Translation andInterpreting Studies; and Media Studies and Communication.

• School of Education has five departments: Languages and Social Sciences Education; Educational Management; Educational Studies; Maths, Science and Technology Education; andCommunity and Continuing Education.

• School of Social Sciences has seven departments:Anthropology and Archaeology; Criminology andCriminal Justice; History and Folklore Studies;Philosophy and Political Science; Psychology; Social Work; and Sociology.

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schoolsis indicated by student and staff numbers in 2008, as wellas by the number of successful graduates from the sameyear (but actually graduating in 2009). The tables belowsummarise this information:



Education 2927 335 91 426 15%

Languages &Communication Studies

Social Sciences 1667 209 85 294 18%

Faculty Total 5452 707 199 906 17%



858 163 23 186 22%

Education 58 35 60 1:50 9

Languages &Communication Studies

Social Sciences 65 36 55 1:26 10

Faculty Total 159 99 62 1:34 27

36 28 78 1:24 8

22

BACKGROUND

The humanities were described by the US RockefellerCommission on the Humanities in its 1980 report, The Humanities in American Life, as follows: ‘Through thehumanities we reflect on the fundamental question:What does it mean to be human? The humanities offerclues, but never a complete answer. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual, and intellectual sense of a world in which irrationality,despair, loneliness, and death are as conspicuous asbirth, friendship, hope, and reason.’

At the University of Limpopo, the Faculty of Humanitiesoffers its students a full spectrum of humanities courses – with an emphasis on the development of a myriad ofskills. At the same time, the faculty invites its students to join it on a journey to rediscover Africa and her glorious past, to unearth what history and heritage studies reveal about the ideas created by the great

African philosophers, scholars and sages. The knowledgesociety of the twenty-first century should include theAfrican experience in literature, language, philosophy,art, music, education and politics.

Graduates from this faculty follow careers in the language industry (translation and interpreting, language policy, publishing); the media; teaching andresearch; social work; and many others.

In all the schools within the faculty, female students outnumber male students, with a total number of 3 580female students to 1 697 male. Of the 23 students on theMedunsa campus, 21 are women. The percentage of students enrolled in the various levels in 2008 was 84 percent at undergraduate level (4 408 students), 10 percent honours (529 students), 6 percent masters(312 students), and 1 percent doctoral (28 students).

HUMANITIES C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 2 1

Professor Lesiba Teffo

was born and bred in

the Northern Province.

He completed a teacher-

training course in 1976

and joined the staff of

the University of the

North 11 years later,

lecturing in the

Department of

Philosophy. By 1995

he had been promoted

to Professor and Head of

Department. Teffo

obtained three degrees in

philosophy and two in law

from the University of the

North, and a Licentiate

(M.Phil) at the Katholieke

Universiteit Leuven in

Belgium. In 1994, he was

admitted as an advocate

of the South African High

Court. Teffo has served as

Executive Dean of the

Faculty of Humanities

since 2002.

I MUST begin my comments byacknowledging the immense privilege it has been for me tohead up the Faculty of Humanitiesfor the past seven years. Duringthat period, I can personally attestthat the research output has grownconsiderably. SAPSI and generalpublications also increased, thanksin no small measure to the ‘SpringLecture Series’ which we heldannually and which over the sevenyears of my tenure accounted forthe publication of seven books.

The last two of these publicationswere concentrated upon indigenousknowledge systems (IKS). In themid-2000s, the National Departmentof Science and Technology established a national office devoted to the funding and general support of IKS, particularlyin tertiary education. Perhaps thisfaculty’s most notable achievementin recent years was to be selectedas one of the department’s threeIKS centres of excellence, withfunding guaranteed for at least five years. Finally, these developments led to my beingappointed to the MinisterialAdvisory Committee on IKS.

The Spring Lecture Series became a platform for students and staff to present their papers for criticismby senior staff, the result of whichwas that some papers were subsequently reworked and published. All schools in the faculty participated in the SpringLectures, and in 2008 two books


23


24

of particular interest were published: The Transformation ofHigher Education, and Africa andDevelopment: New KnowledgeFrameworks.

Another area of significant achievement, particularly in 2008,has been in student exchanges. For nearly a decade there has beentalk in this regard, but only veryrecently has the faculty been ableactually to send young studentsstudying French and German at theUniversity of Limpopo to institutionsin Europe. The results have madethe effort well worthwhile.

The faculty has not been withoutits challenges. At the heart of thesehas been a chronic shortage ofadequately qualified staff. Theresult is that unacceptably highlevels of postgraduate studentshave been drawn into teaching –even at postgraduate levels. Theresult is that the faculty is driven

by a bottom-heavy staffing complement, with large levels ofunder-qualified staff. This is not asituation that is conducive to highlevels of motivation, neither for thestaff nor for the students. Indeed,an unfortunate characteristic ofcertain places in the faculty is a serious lack of commitmentamong staff and students alike, asituation sometimes exacerbatedby politicisation and a polarisationagainst the institution (the university) itself.

But these realities should be balanced against the characteristicsof the university’s largely ruralcatchments. Students start from aseriously unequal footing. All toooften they come from a backgroundof fetching water, looking after cattle, and then relaxing in the shebeen. There are as a consequencevery low levels of preparedness,and not infrequently an equallylow level of application, or even

an understanding of what application means, once these students arrive at the university.

Having said all this, however, thereis nearly always a sense of definitepurpose among students. How totranslate this into performance isthe problem. To more activelyempower the academic staff mustbe a high priority in this regard.

Finally, in a world that more andmore concentrates on the sciencesand mathematics in education, it isimportant to remind ourselves thatthe humanities are the foundationof all the disciplines. Thomas Aquinassaid it first when he asserted thatTheology was the queen of all thesciences. It dealt, he said, with thenature and rationale of our positionon earth, and as such it (in fact, thehumanities generally) gave rise tocritical enquiry into every sphere oflife. The humanities will thereforebe neglected at our peril.

HUMANITIES C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 2 3

25

MANAGEMENT & LAWFaculty Report

26

STATISTICAL DETAILS

The Faculty of Management and Law comprises threeschools: the School of Economics and Management onthe Turfloop campus; the School of Law on the Turfloopcampus; and the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadershipsituated at Edupark in Polokwane.

The various faculty schools comprise the followingdepartments:

• The School of Economics and Management has fivedepartments: Accounting and Auditing; Economics;Business Management; Public Administration; andDevelopment Studies.

• The School of Law has five academic departments:Criminal Law and Procedure; Mercantile and Labour

Law; Private Law; Public Law; and a Legal Aid Clinic.

• The Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership has threeacademic departments: the Masters of BusinessAdministration (MBA); Masters of Public Administration(MPA); and the Masters of Development (MDEV) andDEVFTI (Development Facilitation and TrainingInstitute).

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schoolsis indicated by student and staff numbers in 2008, as wellas by the number of successful graduates from the sameyear (but actually graduating in 2009). The tables belowsummarise this information:



Economics & Management 2897 549 71 620 21

Student Graduations within each programme and School:School Cert. Dipl. Under-grad. Hons Postgraduate Total

Mast. Doct.

Law 16 - 43 - 9 1 69

Economics &Management - - 525 69 2 - 596

Law 1264 135 10 145 11

Graduate School of Leadership 224 - 21 21 9

Faculty Total 4385 684 102 786 18



Economics & Management 40 14 35% 1:72 5

Law 39 14 36% 1:32 8

Graduate School of Leadership

Faculty Total 91 38 42% 1:48 19


- - - - 57 - 57

Total 16 - 568 69 68 1 722

MANAGEMENT & LAWC O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 2 5

12 10 83% 1:19 6


27

WITH 60 ACADEMIC staff members, 4 384 students and a permanent staff-student ratio of 1:72, the Faculty ofManagement and Law has the highest staff-student ratioat the university. The notable activities for 2008 includethe Thuthuka Project, Law Week and Limpopo EconomicDevelopment (LED) Centre.

The Thuthuka Project was in its 5th year and only eightstudents managed to graduate from the 2007 intake. In2008 this well-intentioned project began to show strain;everyone – including the sponsors – was anxious to showbetter results. As a result, 53 better performing studentswere sent to the University of Johannesburg for the winterschool for additional tutoring. Out of the 53, 29 passed theexams at Johannesburg and remained there for the finalsemester. This will undoubtedly increase the number ofgraduates in 2009.

At the same time, the Dean dispatched one of theDirectors in the faculty on a fact-finding tour of similarThuthuka projects at three different centres; namely,University of Fort Hare, the SA Institute of CharteredAccountants (SAICA) offices and University of Johannesburg.His findings, together with inputs from the FacultyExecutive Committee, formed the backbone of theExecutive Dean’s report on Thuthuka. This report wasendorsed by the Faculty Board. The key recommendationswere:

• Increase the number of Chartered Accountants (CAs) inthe Department of Accounting and Auditing to nine.

• Institute an adequate allowance for non-CA holders inthe department as an incentive to prevent resignations,especially by white colleagues who had been in thedepartment longer and were disgruntled because of the high salaries offered to black Thuthuka CAs.

• Engage other stakeholders in discussion with a view ofreducing intake from 150 to between 50-70 students. It was obviously useless to recruit 150 students in a programme when less than 25 percent (or 38) were likely to pass.

• Appoint a head of department with impeccable credentials to head this department which constituted51 percent of the total student intake in the School ofEconomics and Management.

By December 2008, discussions had taken place on how toimplement certain aspects of the recommendations of thereport and an advert had already been placed in

newspapers searching for a chair in accountancy to befunded by a generous endowment provided by Nedbank.

The 2008 Law Week Conference took place in Septemberand was well attended by students, staff and legal practitioners from outside. Based on a central theme of‘Gender and Social Transformation’, this special conferencewas the outcome of collaboration among the UL School ofLaw, four national and international institutions, as well asthe national Department of Justice and ConstitutionalDevelopment. Funding for the conference was largely provided by the Department of Justice and ConstitutionalDevelopment.

The Honourable Minister of Justice, Mrs Bridgette Mabandla,represented the government at the conference and rubbedshoulders with conference delegates for three days.Important decisions were made that will require seriousattention and implementation by the School of Law in thenear future.

The Limpopo Economic Development (LED) Centre atTGSL, which had long been on the cards, was finallyopened at Edupark. By December the key positions hadbeen filled. All this and much more was achieved by a coreof dedicated staff members under proper leadership andmanagement.

Regarding student enrolment and graduation, the tablesabove show student statistics; providing a snapshot viewfor the faculty as categorised by school and qualifications/programmes. Overall, it is evident that:

• The faculty attracts a large number of students.• Most students are enrolled in the undergraduate

programmes.• The School of Economics and Management with an

enrolment of 66 percent of the faculty’s total, has verylittle postgraduate activity (Masters and Doctorates).

• There are few Certificate and Diploma students as theseprogrammes are being phased out.

The pattern is more or less the same as that of last year. Of major concern though is that the graduation rate as a percentage of enrolment remains low at 16.4 percent. The faculty and, indeed the university, should do better.

The staffing table above shows total staffing categorisedby qualifications. It is evident from this table that the

Professor Obeng Mireku, Executive Dean: Faculty of Management and Law, with special assistance

by Professor Lawrence Buberwa

28

number of academic staff is insufficient. It is so insufficientthat it makes a mockery of the workload model. To beproperly staffed, the faculty needs a minimum of 60 staffmembers in the School of Economics and Management, 32 in the School of Law and 10 at the Turfloop GraduateSchool of Leadership. This would bring the permanentstaff-student ratio to 1:42, which is still high.

The qualifications of staff are also unsatisfactory. To beoptimally staffed the faculty needs at least two Professors(Associate and Full) and a Senior Lecturer in each teachingdepartment. This would amount to 39, which is a far cry ifcompared with the current staff complement of this seniorcadre in the faculty. Worse still, over 50 percent of the staffnumber recorded as being without a PhD are not evenenrolled for this qualification.

The table below shows staff recruitment and resignationtrends. From this it is obvious that:• The recruitment drive has not been as successful as one

would expect.• The high turnover of senior staff members is largely due

to poor working environment and low salary packages.If we want to maintain staff, it is imperative that a clearand well thought-out salary/benefit scheme needs to be put in place.

The 60 permanent staff team was complemented by 23 part-time lecturers. This 38 percent (23/60) reliance onpart-time lecturers is too high and unacceptable. The normis 15-20 percent and hence urgent attention is required.Part-time lecturers are good, but they have known limitations. No academic staff members were recruited in2008 and only secretaries were recruited in December. The above shows that 2008 was a very difficult year forstaff in the faculty.

As far as research is concerned, research output remainslow in this faculty. With the exception of two researchendeavours, most of the research has been small grantfact-finding research and not rigorous academic undertakings. The reasons for this paucity of research areunderstood and there is an urgent need to address them.

Reasons include: being overworked with huge numbers of students; lack of research techniques know-how andexperience among the predominantly junior academics;and general lethargy among staff. Each of the aboverequires remedies ranging from proper recruitment andremuneration to enforcement. Nothing is new here; theseissues have been over-debated, what is needed is implementation. Very little outreach is done in this facultyexcept for School of Law and, to a lesser extent, by TGSL. It is unlikely to see outreach activities from the School ofEconomics & Management until staffing is improved. TGSLcould do more and the School of Law is doing fine.

To improve operations of this faculty the following recommendations have to be put in place:

• Staffing has to be beefed up in terms of numbers andquality. We have a small ageing senior staff cadre; weneed to attract younger staff with the appropriate qualifications.

• Better remuneration policy is required. Benefits for academic staff members should not only equal the average in the industry. They must be well above theaverage to provide an incentive to attract potentialrecruits away from Gauteng, Cape Town, and other metropolitan centres. Limpopo is characterised by very few consultancy opportunities and most good academics are attracted by this factor.

• There is a need to depoliticise the working environmentso that proper academic discourse can develop and thefaculty can be run in accordance with known andacceptable management principles.

• Senior staff should be involved in teaching lower-levelcourses so as to set the tempo. Resistance by a few senior staff should be dealt with as it is unfounded,unguided and selfish.

• Rationalisation of the number of academic departmentsthrough mergers.

Adhering to the above and more will ensure that studentsare properly taught, seminars/ tutorials are conducted and competent staff will have time and tranquillity to do quality research and publish.

MANAGEMENT & LAWC O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 2 7

Staff Recruitment & Resignations

SCHOOL ACADEMIC SUPPORT

Total Bach. Masters CA PhD Total Degreed Non-degreed Total

Law 6 - 1 - 1 2 1 3 4

Economics & Management

3 - 1 - 1 2 1 - 1


3 - - - 1 1 1 2 3

TOTAL 12 0 2 0 3 5 3 5 8

SCIENCE & AGRICULTURE

29

Faculty Report

30

STATISTICAL DETAILS

THE FACULTY of Science and Agriculture comprises fourschools: the School of Agriculture and EnvironmentalSciences on the Turfloop campus; the School ofComputational and Mathematical Sciences on theTurfloop campus; the School of Science and Agriculture;and the School of Molecular and Life Sciences and theSchool of Physical and Mineral Sciences, straddling boththe Turfloop and Ga-Rankuwa campuses of the university.

Three schools straddle both Turfloop and Medunsa campuses. The School of Agriculture and EnvironmentalSciences is located only at Turfloop. The various facultyschools comprise the following departments:

• School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences hassix departments: Agricultural Economics; AgriculturalExtension; Animal Production; Aquacultural ResearchUnit; Geographical and Environmental Studies; andPlant Production, Soil Science and Remote Sensing.

• School of Computational and Mathematical Scienceshas three departments: Applied Mathematics and

Mathematics; Computer Science; and Statistics andOperational Research.

• School of Molecular and Life Sciences has four departments: Biodiversity; Biochemistry, Microbiologyand Biotechnology; Biology; Physiology andEnvironmental Health.

• School of Physical and Mineral Sciences has threedepartments: Chemistry; Physics; and Water Servicesand Sanitation.

The following centres are also located within the faculty:

• Materials Modelling Centre

• Science Centre

• Bioviversity Centre

• Centre for Rural Community Empowerment

• Limpopo Agro-food Technology Station

• Experimental Farm

The size and effectiveness of the various faculty schoolsare indicated by student and staff numbers in 2008, aswell as by the number of successful graduates from thesame year (but actually graduating in 2009). The tablesbelow summarise this information:

Students and graduates:School Students Undergrad Postgrad Total % of Students

degrees degrees degrees graduatingAgriculture & Environmental Sciences 776 115 58 173 22

Computational & Mathematical Sciences 24 0 7 7 29

Molecular & Life Sciences 13 0 8 8 62

Physical & Mineral Sciences 249 62 6 68 27

Science & Agriculture 2351 348 83 431 18

Faculty Total 3413 525 162 687 20

School Academic Masters + % with AStaff/pupil Support staff Masters + ratio staff

Agriculture & Environmental Sciences 31 24 77% 1:25 22

Computational & Mathematical Sciences 53 23 43% 5

Molecular & Life Sciences 77 47 61% 26

Physical & Mineral Sciences 80 29 36% 23

Science & Agriculture

Faculty Total 241 123 67% 1:24 76

Note: Staff with PhDs are not indicated.


SCIENCE & AGRICULTUREC O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 2 9

Professor Naftali Mollel

was born in the northern

Tanzanian town of Arusha

and went to the University

of Dar es Salaam where

he graduated with a

B.Sc degree (Hons) in

agriculture in 1982.

He then went to the

United States where he

gained a Masters and

a PhD in agricultural

extension and

education at the

University of Illinois –

Urbana. After working

in America and

Tanzania for some years,

Mollel joined the staff of

the University of the North

(now Limpopo) in 1996.

He has subsequently served

in several senior academic

positions, including acting

Dean of the Faculty of

Science and Agriculture.

I WOULD like to begin my report by making a few comments relatingto faculty academic staff, whichcomprise just over 70 percent of a total staff of 205. This is an acceptable ratio, but when we lookat the various levels, we find that 55 percent of our academics are lecturers or junior lecturers, withonly 16 percent holding senior lecturer positions and one in fourserving at the professorial level. My personal view is that the facultyshould have more professors. Butthere are serious constraints.

In 2008, for example, we lost nofewer than 27 senior academicsthrough retirements and resignations. Most of these heldPhD degrees, and six were full professors. These people areextremely difficult to replace.Without exception, the resignationswere from academics seekinggreener pastures elsewhere, usuallyat South African universities thatcan offer more attractive packagesthan Limpopo can. The advertisingprocess can take up to a year some-times before key positions are refilled.

Our concern over this state of affairsshould not blind us to the very realachievements of remaining facultystaff. Here are some of the majorones:

• Professor Phuti Ngoepe, head ofthe Materials Modelling Centre,received two major awards during the year under review. The first, from the NationalResearch Foundation (NRF), wasfor his contribution to the raisingof the status of black scientists.The second was the prestigiousOrder of Mapungubwe (Silver)that was presented by thePresident of South Africa.

• Professor Francoise Clarke of theBiology Department on theMedunsa Campus was appointedpresident of the Parasitological 31


32

Association of Southern Africa• Professor Chris Dannhauser of the

Department of Plant Productionand Soil Science at Turfloop wasnominated by the South AfricanAgricultural Writers Association asthe 2008 agriculturalist of the year.

• Three scientists in the School ofAgriculture and EnvironmentalSciences – Professor David Norrisand Professor Jones Ngambi ofthe Department of AnimalProduction, and Professor PhatuMashela of the Department ofPlant Production and Soil Science– were upgraded to ‘C’ ratedresearchers by the NRF.

• Three of the university’s fiveSenior Professors (an honourbestowed on only about 10 percent of all professors during their careers) work in the Faculty of Science andAgriculture.

With regard to the core areas ofteaching and learning, it is encour-aging to report an improving passrate, which now stands at between70 percent and 80 percent of alltests and exams in the faculty. Thisimprovement has been supportedby the introduction of a very strictregimen relating to re-admissions. A minimum of 75 percent of modules need to be completed, and no extenuating circumstancesare entertained. Examinationinfringements have also beenreduced through the introductionof strict controls.

But these improvements in the coreactivity of teaching and learningcould greatly be enhanced by infra-structural upgrading. A shortage oflaboratory space is a definiteimpediment. The biology laboratory,for example, can accommodate only70 students at a time. The result isthat large student cohorts need tobe broken up into smaller groups.This necessitates lecture repeats,which in turn places an added strainon staff. There are some improve-ments in the pipeline, but the lackof equipment remains a problem.This is also the case at the faculty’sexperimental farm where classroomtheory is reinforced with practice inthe field. In the past, our studentswould gain practical experience atprojects run by the LimpopoAgricultural and Rural DevelopmentCorporation, but many of these arenow defunct; and the upgrading of

the equipment on the experimentalfarm is now urgent.

It goes without saying that the highacademic resignation levels, heavyteaching loads and poor infrastruc-ture provision all detrimentallyaffect the faculty’s student outputand quality. Or, to put it the otherway around, serious attention tothese inhibitors would soon resultin even more teaching and learningimprovements.

An example of the improvementsbeing achieved comes from theSchool of Computational andMathematical Sciences. In 2007, the pass rate in third year AppliedMaths was 76 percent. In the yearunder review this had jumped to 90 percent. In computer science asimilar improvement was achievedamong third-years: from 75 percentin 2007 to 83 percent in 2008.

The same problems that plague theteaching and learning side of thefaculty’s activities hamper research.A mere 50 publications in accreditedjournals were produced by the faculty in 2008. This is very low,amounting to hardly a third of apublication per head of academicstaff. But even very senior academicsare obliged to teach every day tocope with the load. More postgrad-uate students could increase thevolume of research. During the yearin question, only 1,7 percent of ourtotal student numbers were doctoralstudents. Lack of research fundingexacerbates the problem. We dohave a number of funded projects,and linkages with other universitiesat home and abroad, but the generallack of time is a serious impediment.

To attempt to realise the faculty’sfull potential, we are developing a more flexible system that will customise the environment for theindividual strengths of our academics.Under this system, academics wholike to teach will teach more thanacademics whose bent is towardsresearch.

On the community engagementfront, the faculty has performedwell during the year under review –even though there’s a great dealthat still needs to be done. OurCentre for Rural CommunityEmpowerment has continued to doexcellent work in nearby communities,

and the recently openedBiodiversity Centre is serving localschools as well as promoting sustainable agriculture and tourism.

Looking now to the future, andbearing in mind the constraints outlined in this report, several suggested paths of activity need tobe pursued.

• The first relates to teaching andlearning. It is a truism to assertthat you will only get out whatyou put in. Since senior academicsare not necessarily good teachers,it becomes an imperative for theuniversity to design short coursesfor professors and all lecturers to teach the academics how to teach. This has certainly happened in the USA and in East Africa.

• With regard to customising the academic environment, performance audits should takeplace where academic staff areassessed against the individualagendas (more teaching or moreresearch) that they have set forthemselves.

• A determined effort should bemade to increase the number ofpost-graduate and post-doctoralstudents at the university. Thereare many avenues that could beexplored: establishing bursaryschemes with external partners;making the University of Limpopoand its surrounds an attractiveoption for living and studying;encouraging a culture of learningas opposed to the acquisition oftertiary education only for pecuniary rewards. This course of action would automaticallyincrease the research output ofthe faculty.

• Once the mooted Developmentand Innovation Hub has beenestablished it should be rapidlyconsolidated. International networksmust be established, and inter-faculty research projects launched.Service learning modules shouldalso be developed: this will takestudents into the community fordegree credits while at the sametime delivering community service through practical projectsand research. In this way community outreach becomespart of the curriculum.

A FULLY-FLEDGED InstitutionalOperating Plan, with more thanR12-million to implement thedetail of the plan, was introducedat the University of Limpopo during 2008. The purpose of theoperating plan was to strengthenthe administrative and financialsystems as the university struggledto get to grips with the mergerbetween the old University of theNorth and the Medical Universityof Southern Africa that had createdit on 1 January 2005.

The merger was characterised by on-going debates and disagreements surrounding themedical sciences, a situation thatdid not ease the complex processof merging two sets of academicprogrammes and their supportingadministrations and financial systems. Indeed, by the end of the 2006/07 financial year, theinstitution was under considerablestrain, with its finances in considerable disarray – so much so that the then Minister ofEducation, Naledi Pandor, appointed an independent assessor to examine the situation.

The assessor was Professor BenKhoape who recommended thatwhile the University Council andsenior management should remainin place, a panel of experts shouldbe assembled to assist with thedevelopment of an InstitutionalOperating Plan to replace an internally produced plan that wasseen as having little chance of success. The IOP was intended to

provide the institution with thenecessary systems, capacity andfocus to achieve an even keel forcoherent future operations.

The panel of external experts comprised Professors PeterVermeulen and Anthony Melkefrom Pretoria University, Professor Selva Govensamy fromZululand University, Ahmed Essop,an erstwhile chief director of higher education in the nationalDepartment of Education (DoE),and Craig Lyall-Watson a seniormanager in the DoE’s merger unit.

By November 2007 the IOP hadbeen drawn up and approved bothby Minister Pandor and the Councilof the University of Limpopo.

The document pulled no punches.It stated baldly that ‘the universityis not financially sustainable;indeed, it is technically insolventwith liabilities exceeding assets by some R537-million ... and itsorganisational and administrativestructures and systems are weakand inadequately aligned’.

The IOP document also provided a succinct description of whatshould be done to rectify this situation. ‘The university,’ it stated,‘has decided to de-link its short-to-medium-term planning andresource allocation processes fromits vision, mission and long-termgoals.’ To put it bluntly, the idea of being a world-class African university that responds to

33

Craig Lyall-Watson

INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING PLAN

34

Craig Lyall-Watson

INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING PLAN C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 3 3

education, research and community development needsmust be put aside while the institution concentrates its totalefforts on achieving the necessarystability and sustainability toensure its survival. The desired‘turnaround’ was to be effected by the following means:

• Firstly, the university appoints an implementation team underan external project manager,Craig Lyall-Watson

• Secondly, the university makestwo crucially important strategicappointments: Raymond Olanderas Chief Finance Officer andJoseph Moloto as HumanResources Executive Director.

• Thirdly, the IOP implementationteam (which includes the twostrategic appointments) drawsup a short-term financial turnaround plan that will rununtil 2010.

• Fourthly, to provide materialsupport to this financial turnaround plan, the total IOP is divided into four sub-projects,namely:- Review and modify academic

structure and programmes- Improve management

information systems- Business process re-engineering

and data cleanup- Review and modify administra-

tive support and services

• Fifthly, introduce change management and leadershipdevelopment programmes to strengthen and consolidatethe entire IOP as outlined above.

Earlier in 2008, proposals wereinvited from external professionalsto cope with the special demandsof some of the sub-projects. ByMay, the necessary appointmentshad been made as follows:

• The academic structure and programme review will be headed by Dr Rolf Stumpf, a previous Vice-Chancellor of the Nelson MandelaMetropolitan University

• Improvements to the management information systems will be overseen byFutureLead Consultants

• The business process re-engineering and data cleanup will be undertaken byITS Consultants and SpaceIT

• Review and modifications toadministrative support and services will be managed byFutureLead Consultants

• The change management and leadership development programmes will be run byAfrican Leadership Group

In an open letter to the universitycommunity dated 26 May, Vice-Chancellor Mahlo Mokgalongstressed that he and his seniorexecutive team ‘have taken fullresponsibility for the successfulimplementation of the IOP and, by implication, the turnaround of this university’.

By the end of May, the Departmentof Education had approved theR12,2-million required to fund thevarious projects, and early in June

the University of Limpopo’s IOPwas officially launched at two separate ceremonies, one on theTurfloop campus on 3 June andone on the Ga-Rankuwa (Medunsa)campus nine days later.

‘We gave the IOP something of a fanfare,’ explained Craig Lyall-Watson, IOP project manager. ‘We wanted to emphasise to everyone associated with the university that here was a brilliantopportunity to get things right. It’s an institution with huge potential – if we can get it financially viable. The future is in our hands.’

To provide the fullest possible picture of the IOP, it is necessary at this stage to return to the four ‘sub-projects’ that comprisethe heart of the plan. These sub-projects were all designed toprovide support to the urgentlyneeded ‘financial turnaround’ thatis planned to be complete by 2010.

The four sub-projects were:

1. Academic structure and programmes

The current three-tier academicstructure comprising four facultiesthat contain 15 schools which inturn house 97 departments (themajority of these, 67, are to befound in the five Schools in theFaculty of Health Sciences) werereviewed. In addition, all academicprogrammes were examined toestablish their viability in terms of financial viability and staff

management processes, particularly so that financialmanagers become part of theteam that defines and validatesthe sort of management information to be delivered.

3. Business Process re-engineering and datacleanup

There are large-scale data qualityissues at the University ofLimpopo. A preliminary assessmentof these errors (especially in thestudent, academic and humanresources data in the administrative computer system)indicates that ‘poorly defined orexecuted processes’ are to blame.

In response to this unsatisfactorystate of affairs the followingactions have been taken:

• The re-engineering of the applications and registrationprocesses on the Turfloop campus to enable the elimination of all walk-in students (those who have not made previous applicationfor enrolment) within one tothree years.

• The purchase of new softwarethat will allow direct studentself-service access to the inte-grated tertiary systems (ITS)database for biographical andcontact-detail updates. This hasthe potential to radically changeexisting application and registration processing.

• Redefining the relationshipbetween faculties and Central

pharmacy, the programmes willcontinue to be offered on bothcampuses. This harmonisationprocess has been going on forsome time, but according to theIOP documentation ‘the universityrequires assistance with its completion’.

2. Management InformationSystems (MIS)

‘It is quite clear,’ comments thereport of the Independent Assessorthat led to the design of the IOP,‘that the amount and quality ofmanagement information is notnearly adequate for assisting (university) management in decision-making ... and allocatingresources in an efficient and effective manner’.

In response to this state of affairs,this IOP sub-project has done thefollowing:

• Appoint more appropriatelyskilled staff

• Integrate the MIS unit into theInstitutional Planning Office

• Request technical assistancefrom other experienced institutions in the region

• Implement a software tool called‘Higher Education Data Analyser’(designed for South African con-ditions) which will allow thedelivery of many new types ofmanagement information,including financial information.

• Integrate the InstitutionalPlanning Office (with its morepowerful information systems)into executive and senior

availability. Some of the criteriaused to establish non-viabilitywere:

• Undergraduate programmes (or courses or modules) with a student enrolment of less than 20

• Postgraduate taught programmes (diplomas, honoursand masters) with a studentenrolment of less than 12

• Other postgraduate programmes(research) with a student enrolment of less than 6

• Staff qualifications should atleast be as follows:– for taught postgraduate

programmes up to masterslevel staff should have a master’s degree and beresearch active

– for research postgraduate programmes at masters anddoctoral level, staff shouldhave a doctoral degree, beresearch active and not supervise more than five students at any given time.

This IOP sub-project paid specialattention to the integration of thefive Health Sciences academic programmes that are common to the Turfloop and Ga-Rankuwacampuses, namely: nursing, pharmacy, public health, nutritionand the basic sciences. These common programmes require harmonisation in terms of curricula, modes of delivery andprogramme rules and regulations.With the exception of the basic sciences programme and possibly 35

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Craig Lyall-Watson

INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING PLAN C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 3 5

Academic Administration to ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearlydefined and duplication obviated.

• Harmonising all student and academic processes on theTurfloop and Ga-Rankuwa campuses.

• Centralise all HR data-capturefunctions at Turfloop to ensuremore effective control.

• Defining the basic computercompetencies and specific ITScompetencies required by different groups of staff with different roles.

• Arrange for basic and job-specific computer training inaccordance with the requirements for the variousgroups of staff.

• Ensuring that all data-captureprocesses into the ITS system areadequately supervised and subject to routine quality checks.

4. Administrative support andservices

An external service providerreviewed all administrative depart-ments in 2007 to determine theappropriate staffing levels, structuresand competencies required forthese departments efficiently todischarge their responsibilities. The outcome of the review isawaiting approval by the UniversityCouncil. Thereafter, the process ofimplementation will begin.

According to the report of theIndependent Assessor, the following realities have emerged:

• The University of Limpopo hasbeen spending too much moneyon staff. The DoE’s guideline isthat between 58 percent and 62 percent of council-controlledincome should be spent on staffcosts. The university’s currentstaff costs account for 71percent.

• The ratio between academic andadministrative staff is out of kilter with the national norm of1.75 administrative staff for eachacademic. The university’s current ratio is 2.5 administrativestaff for each academic.

If the necessary adjustments toreduce the university’s ratio to thenorm were made, the number ofadministrative jobs would bereduced from the current 1 348 to922, a reduction of 426 administra-tive jobs, effecting an annual saving of some R62-million. Thisfigure accords almost exactly withthe R60-million reduction requiredto reduce the university’s staffspend to 62 percent of the totalcouncil-controlled income.

Voluntary severance and earlyretirement packages have been onoffer for some time, but it is clearthat this sub-project of the IOP willrequire sensitive and expert handling. It is clear, as well, thatthe centralisation of certain administrative functions currentlyduplicated on the two campuses isvery much on the cards.

To the four sub-projects dealt withabove was added an importantfifth: the introduction of change

management and leadership development programmes tostrengthen and consolidate thechanges required to successfullyeffect the turnaround of the university’s affairs. The intentionhas been to assist managers andstaff at the university to properlyalign themselves with the goals of the institution and to cope with the considerable changes –not least in the administrativedepartments – that are very definitely in the IOP pipeline.

By the end of 2008, the IOP waswell advanced. IOP administratorsestimate that by the middle of nextyear, everything that was identifiedfor action will have been seen to: a review of the university’s academic structure has alreadybeen carried out; improvements to the business processes andmanagement information systemshave been put in place; changemanagement and leadership development programmes areunder way. Only the financial turnaround plan will run throughto 2010. But steady progress hasbeen made in this area thatseemed at first to be the mostintractable problem.

‘We’re on the road to recovery,’the university Vice-Chancellor,Professor Mokgalong, said early in 2009. ‘For a start, this universityis no longer working on an overdraft.’

Raymond Olander

completed a Bachelor’s

degree in accounting

science through Unisa

while doing his articles

with an East London firm

of chartered accountants.

There followed a fascinating

and highly successful

career as a chartered

accountant, including

senior positions in the

Ciskei People’s

Development Bank and

the equally successful

management of the

Bophuthatswana

Housing Corporation

and Value-added

taxation system. After

a spell in America, he

returned to the Eastern

Cape in 1996 as the

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Finance to oversee the

financial turnaround of

the University of Fort Hare.

He achieved this with

distinction, and then

moved to the University

of Limpopo in September

2007.

DURING THE calendar year underreview, the University of Limpopoachieved a significant turnaround in financial fortunes. The previousyear (2007) had ended with anoperating deficit from recurrentItems of R136-millon; by the end of 2008 this had been transformedinto a net surplus of R43-million.Certain reversals in provisionsresulted in an actual overall surplusof R135-million. See theConsolidated Income Statementand Consolidated Balance Sheetreproduced on pages 39 and 40 for details.

But how was this huge improvement achieved?

An important part of the answermust be found in the recapitalisationfunding received from theDepartment of Education inDecember 2007. A total of R184-million was pumped into university coffers, which wiped out a crippling overdraft, andbrought the institution into a positive cash flow position.Significantly, this position wasmaintained throughout the year,thanks to tight central control of the budget. At the same time, note-worthy spending cuts were made inother areas that will maintain thenew cash flow position into the newoperating year (2009), and beyond.Some of the most important ofthese key financial indicators for the year under review were:

• The state subsidy incomeincreased by 24 percent, fromR380-million to R473-million. This was mainly as a result of theimproved student throughput.

• Tuition fees increased by 8 percent (from R260-million to

Raymond Olander

REPORT OF THE CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICER

37

R281-million), which was accountedfor by the permitted annual feesincrement and also by a slightincrease in student numbers.

• Interest and dividend incomeincreased by a massive 240 percent (from R7,5-million in2007 to R25-million in 2008), due mainly to the positive cashflow situation and more effectivecash flow management.

• Salary costs decreased by R27-million as a result of the voluntary severance package thatcame into effect in the latter halfof the year. Salaries accounted fornearly 67 percent of the operatingbudget in 2007; this percentagehad been reduced to 53,5 by theend of 2008. The actual annualamounts were R483,5-million in2007 and R456,5-million in 2008,a saving of just under 6 percentof the total budget.

• Controlled expenditure was reducedfrom R867-million to R808-million, thanks to stricterbudget controls, and the recoveryof certain bad debts. With regardto the bad debts, new debt collec-tors working on a commissiononly basis were employed, resultingin the recovery of R30-million.

The turnaround can also be attributed to the strategic targetingof problem areas in the financialaffairs of the university. An exampleof this was the situation with regardto the costs of medical registrars onthe Medunsa campus. According tothe 2007 financial statements, theuniversity was owing the GautengDepartment of Health an amount of R43-million for registrar services.During 2008, we were able to establish that this amount had been incorrectly charged to the

university. In fact, the chargesshould have gone in the oppositedirection. Our calculations indicatethat the department owes the university R26-million, a total booksaving of R70-million.

The result of the university’sendeavours through 2008 is thatthe institution is once againdeemed to be a ‘going concern’. This presumes that funds will beavailable to finance future operationsand that the realisation of assetsand settlement of liabilities willoccur in the ordinary course of business. The financial indicatorscertainly show a far more positivepicture. Although the Audit Reportis still qualified on fixed assets andcertain reconciliation matters, currentassets now exceed current liabilitiesby R50-million. This is a turnaroundof R200-million from 2007.

We must now turn our attentionbriefly to special funding projectsthat got under way on University of Limpopo campuses. R34-millionwas earmarked for ‘research development grants’ and a furtherR61-million for ‘clinical skills traininggrants’.

With regard to special infrastructureprojects, the following were themost important:

• The clinical skills laboratory onthe Medunsa campus worth R30-million

• The multi-purpose centre nearthe main entrance to the Turfloopcampus, worth R41-million, ofwhich just over half comes fromthe Department of Education, theother half having been donatedby the private sector mininghouse Anglo Platinum.

• New life sciences teaching laboratory on the Turfloop campus worth R28-million,including certain upgrades toexisting infrastructure.

For special infrastructure grants forthe 2010-2012 period, I can reportthat the Department of Educationhas already so far approved R225-million on the proviso that the university can raise 10 percentof that amount.

It remains for me to offer my verysincere thanks to the team of colleagues who have worked withme to effect the financial turn-around of the University of Limpopo.We’re not out of the woods completely yet, but we’ve made a good start. My colleagues in theFinance Department, and all the manystakeholders who surround us onboth main campuses, have workedhard and vigorously to clean upexisting systems and to introducenew ones, working sometimes undertrying conditions, but workingcheerfully and with high motivation.The achievement is theirs.

It is my conviction that everyone atthe university remains committedto supporting the strategic goals ofgrowing our teaching and researchcapacity and delivering a qualityservice to our clients: the studentsof the University of Limpopo. My financial team, as well as thechairperson of the UniversityCouncil’s Finance Committee, wishes to extend their appreciationto all stakeholders for their continued support.

Together let us build a world-classuniversity.38

Raymond Olander

REPORT OF THE CHIEFFINANCIAL OFFICER C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 3 7

39

University of LimpopoConsolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 2008

2008 2007

Specifically

Council funded Sub-total Accommo-

controlled activities dation Total Total

R’000 R’000 R’000 R’000 R’000 R’000

Recurrent items 16,920 5,289 22,209 20,759 42,968 (135,615)

Income 691,367 86,878 778,245 73,035 851,280 731,927

State appropriations, subsidies and grants 441,718 31,196 472,914 - 472,914 379,952

Tuition and other fee income 209,731 457 210,188 70,566 280,754 259,854

Income from contracts 4 31,272 31,276 - 31,276 21,494

For research 2 29,975 29,977 - 29,977 7,219

For other activities 2 1,297 1,299 - 1,299 14,275

Sales of goods and services 14,269 2,428 16,697 2,463 19,160 20,602

Private gifts and grants 2,496 22,290 24,786 6 24,792 40,992

Sub-total 668,218 87,643 755,861 73,035 828,896 722,894

Interest and dividends 23,816 1,301 25,117 - 25,117 7,410

Profit on disposal of investments - 330 330 - 330 330

Fair value adjustment (667) (2,396) (3,063) - (3,063) 1,293

Expenses 674,447 81,589 756,036 52,276 808,312 867,542

Personnel costs 419,524 22,662 442,186 14,218 456,404 483,504

Academic professional 191,142 - 191,142 - 191,142 207,284

Other personnel 184,646 22,662 207,308 14,218 221,526 224,071

Post retirement benefits 43,086 - 43,086 - 43,086 22,128

Leave accrual 650 - 650 - 650 30,021

Other current operating expenses 191,423 58,509 249,932 38,058 287,990 316,561

Depreciation 57,900 418 58,318 - 58,318 56,821

Sub-total 668,847 81,589 750,436 52,276 802,712 856,886

Finance costs 5,600 5,600 - 5,600 10,656

Non-recurrent items 79,359 15,637 94,996 - 94,996 223,200

Income 79,359 37,604 116,963 - 116,963 263,200

Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment 2 - 2 - 2 625

Other non-recurrent income 79,357 37,604 116,961 - 116,961 262,575

Expenditure - 21,967 21,967 - 21,967 40,000

Other non-recurrent expenditure - 21,967 21,967 - 21,967 40,000

Net surplus 96,279 20,926 117,205 20,759 137,964 87,585

University of LimpopoConsolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2008

2008 2007

R’000 R’000

Assets 2,549,813 2,038,948

Non-current assets 2,080,694 1,801,151

Property, plant and equipment 2,035,988 1,744,933

Investments 44,706 56,218

Current assets 469,119 237,797

Inventories 3,403 3,517

Accounts receivable 90,278 48,293

Bank and cash 375,438 185,987

Funds and liabilities 2,549,813 2,038,948

Funds and reserves 1,796,605 1,357,560

Restricted use funds 40,128 19,202

Unrestricted use funds 5,296 (111,742)

Asset revaluation reserve 1,730,200 1,427,323

Investment revaluation reserve 20,981 22,777

Liabilities

Non-current liabilities 333,264 292,743

Interest bearing borrowings 34,008 46,121

Deferred income 18,159 3,762

Employee benefits 281,097 242,860

Current liabilities 419,944 388,645

Accounts payable and accruals 406,233 367,641

Current portion of borrowings 13,711 16,111

Bank overdraft - 4,893

40

THE UNIVERSITY of Limpopo Trustis a low-key entity that prefers toavoid the spotlight. Yet it hasmade, and still makes, a significantdifference to the capacity of theuniversity to maintain activities for which no subsidies arereceived, to community outreachprogrammes, private sector bursaries, international linkages,and research and academic development.

The Trust was founded in 1989 asthe Medunsa Trust and is anautonomous entity governed by an independent board of trusteesin terms of the provisions of a registered trust deed. It is also a registered public benefit organisation. Since its inception it has contributed in excess ofR250-million to the university.Since 1991 the Trust has been managed on an outsourced basisby The Africa Consulting Groupand the managing director of thecompany, Jaap Metz, has been thedirector of the Trust ever since. Heis assisted by the deputy director,Carina Marais, who has also beeninvolved with the Trust since 1991.Between them they have morethan 60 years’ experience in marketing, public relations, fund-raising, project management andfinancial management. Metz was,inter alia, head of fundraising atthe University of Pretoria anddirector of the Rand AfrikaansUniversity Foundation (now theUniversity of Johannesburg).

The Board of Trustees currently|has ten members, with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal and theDeputy Vice-Chancellor Academicrepresenting the university management. The chairman for thepast six years has been retired

41

REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPOTRUSTJaap Metz and Carina Marais

42

banker and current director ofcompanies Norman Axten, while amember of the University Council,Grant Dunnington, is the vice-chairman. The other members represent civil society, academia,the private business sector and thepublic sector. Two of our trusteesunfortunately passed away in 2008– our longest serving trustee andrespected activist Dr NtathoMotlana and Dr Vincent Msibi, whoserved as a trustee since 2003.

The business model used by theTrust is rather unique in the SouthAfrican higher education environ-ment. It is fully self-funded andreceives no subsidy or financialsupport from the university, butrelies on investment income andgood cash flow management topay its own way. Its services arefurthermore free to the universitycommunity and it does not levydonor funds. While this sounds likea rather risky method of doingbusiness, it has stood the Trust ingood stead and even in recessionarytimes it has been able to weatherthe storms without any unduestrains on its functioning or itsfinances.

Over the last five years or so theTrust has consistently transferredmore funds to the university thanits actual income and this has limited investment income andbalance sheet growth. The currentsevere world-wide economic crisisis also playing havoc with donorand investment income and thefinances of the Trust will be severelytested over the next few years.

Donor income has consequentlydropped from R16-million in 2006to R13-million in 2007 and R10,5-million in 2008. The current

year will be particularly difficult, asmost of the major donor-fundedresearch programmes at the university have been completed. It should show a rising trend againfrom 2010 onwards when somesignificant donor-funded programmes will commence. The Trust will undoubtedly survivethe current difficult environment,as it has in the past, but it willrequire careful financial management and cost control.

A few of the highlights of the 2008financial year were:

• R1,3-million was received forbursaries from local private companies and trusts

• A major joint programme withthe University of Antwerpen inBelgium was finalised and thepreliminary phase is alreadyunder way – the total value overten years will be in excess of R80-million and will involve anumber of departments on bothcampuses

• A joint programme between theUniversity of Oslo (Norway), theUniversity of Bergen (Norway)and the Medunsa campus of theuniversity was negotiated andwill commence late in 2009 –total value about R10-million

• Significant grants were receivedfor the Turfloop StudentDisability Unit (R250 000 fromABSA Bank), the Medicos SpecialSchool in Soshanguve (R950 000from various local and overseasdonors) and Medlide – theMedunsa Literacy andDevelopment Project (R740 000in user fees)

• Major research activities such as those of the DiarrhoealPathogens Research Unit, themicrobicides programme of the

Department of Microbiology and the Department of Virologyreceived in excess of R5,9-million from mainly overseas donor agencies

• An agreement was signed withthe Hanze University inGroningen, The Netherlands, for assistence to the TurfloopCentre for Academic Excellence,worth about R600 000 during2008/2009

• Successful negotiations with theProvince of North Holland in TheNetherlands to continue fundingfor the water and sanitation projects implemented by bothcampuses over the last 10 years,for a further amount of aboutR1,8-million, payable over thenext two years

Unfortunately it has to be said thata major constraint on the efficientfunctioning of the Trust and itscapacity to optimise its incomegenerating ability is the generalapathy, with a few notable exceptions, among academic staffto get involved in activities otherthan their core functions. Mainly as a result of this the bulk of ourincome goes to a relatively smallnumber of committed and dedicated departments and their staff.

While the activities of the Trustmay not be very important infinancial terms and in the biggerpicture, it nevertheless makes a big difference to activities thatenhance the reputation and imageof the university, while it certainlycontributes significantly in supporting its three core functions – teaching, research and community service.

REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITYOF LIMPOPO TRUST C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 4 1

FOR AT least five years, there’s beentalk of the establishment of a tertiary hospital and medicalschool in Limpopo. The in-principledecision to embark upon thisdevelopment was bound up withthe complexities of the mergerbetween Medunsa in Gauteng andthe old University of the North. The process was complicated bythe involvement of the Nationaland Provincial Departments ofEducation and the ProvincialDepartment of Health, not to mention the various interests ofthe two campuses of the mergedUniversity of Limpopo. On the surface, sometimes, the promise of new health and teaching facilities has seemed a distinctlyon-off affair.

But this time it seems to be definite. Key preparations havestarted in earnest: the facilities areon the way. Here are some of thebasic facts.

The whole project is now mandated and supported by a national Cabinet decision. A 600-bed hospital is to be built at the Edupark campus inPolokwane. The cost will be in the region of R1,5-billion, and the hope is that construction willcommence in 2009. A detailedenvironmental impact study isalready under way.

But there’s a lot more to the project than simply a new hospital.Also in the planning stages are theactual medical school building andof course residential blocks for staffand students. It is planned to senda delegation of university and 43

LOOKING AHEAD: a medical school in Polokwane

The hope is that the first medicalstudents – probably around 50 of them, but increasing for subsequent annual intakes – willbe registered at the start of 2010.Of course, the new facilities won’tbe ready. So the students will starttheir studies in the science departments on the Turfloop campus and do their clinical work(from year two) in the existingPolokwane and Mankweng hospitals while the Health Sciences Training Platform is being built.

This projected 2010 commencement date is not a moment too soon for provincialhealth officials. ‘This province isdesperate for doctors,’ they pointout. ‘We simply can’t afford anymore delays.’

The task team is currently preparing a business plan for submission to the nationalDepartment of Education which will be asked to fund the MedicalSchool facilities to the tune of upto R1,5-billion over three years.

The project is not without its difficulties, however. There is a realisation that the new medical school will need to foster relationships and linkageswith top international medical universities. ‘It’ll be difficult to

attract top academic staff toPolokwane,’ says one provincialhealth official, ‘and we’ll need allthe help we can get’. Nevertheless,there is genuine enthusiasm for the Polokwane medical schoolproject, and a determination toface the challenges that the project presents.

A major plus is that Polokwane isgrowing rapidly and is destined tobecome a large regional centreover time. The vision of both theprovince and the university is thatthe Polokwane teaching hospitaland medical school will become a major regional African resource.One senior health sciences academic at Turfloop said recently:‘We have huge potential here – for teaching and research.’ Andsomeone in a similar position atMedunsa said he believed that the university’s two medical training platforms were destined to become world leaders in developmental medicine. ‘In addition, we’ll be the institution of choice for the most talentedteachers and most gifted students,particularly those with noble idealsto serve the most vulnerable.’

All this adds up to huge development and excitement for the University of Limpopo as it contemplates the years that lie ahead.

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provincial personnel to Australiaand India soon to look at the spatial relationship between hospitals and medical schools insome of the newest developmentsof this kind in the world. Both theuniversity and the province aredetermined to make thePolokwane teaching platform the best it can possibly be.

A task team has been establishedto co-ordinate the wide-rangingactivities that are necessary to getthe new facilities off the ground, as well as the teaching that needsto take place for the facilities to befully and effectively utilised.

The task team was established at a workshop that took place lastNovember and was attended byrepresentatives of the University ofLimpopo (from Turfloop, Medunsaand the embryonic medical campus at the PolokwaneProvincial Hospital), the LimpopoProvincial Department of Healthand Social Development, as well as the Limpopo Office of thePremier and Provincial Treasury.

The task team appointed severalkey committees to facilitate thealignment of the vision of thePolokwane medical training platform with various specialisedaspects of the university as awhole. These committees deal with curriculum issues, staffingrequirements, logistics (including a full assessment of facilitiesrequired and a transport strategythat will link medical students withthe two nearby provincial hospitalsas well as with the Turfloop campus), and financial matters.

C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 4 3

Here are some recent (2008) examples. The university is deeplyinvolved in the crises in genderequality and child health. The university is responding vigorouslyto xenophobia and to the healthproblems caused by the deteriorating situation along theborder with Zimbabwe. The university is offering real solutionsto the challenge of sustainablelocal economic development andto adding value to basic agriculturalproducts. The university’s top scientists are bringing materialsmodelling expertise to bear on theinternational search for alternativesto fossil fuel.

But the proof of Limpopo Leader isin the reading. It’s available on subscription – simply telephone 011-782 0333 or email [email protected]– or on the university website(www.ul.ac.za). Obviously, a subscription helps to maintain this important magazine into the future; and the stylish coversenhance even the most exactingprofessional waiting rooms.

The change of emphasis that came with the democratisation of the country has been profound.Nobody voices the ‘ivory tower’concept of academia any longer,and the arguments about ‘pure’research as opposed to applied or developmental research havebeen discarded as largely artificial.

Think of the University ofLimpopo’s vision for itself: to be a world-class African universitywhich responds to the educational, research and community development needs in Limpopo province, in SouthAfrica generally, and in the continent at large. Along with all other South African tertiaryinstitutions, the university has well and truly found its milieu. It’s become a player on a specificdevelopmental stage.

Limpopo Leader reflects this realityby claiming to be an ‘issues based’publication, which shows the uni-versity in action inside some of themost pressing challenges con-fronting its province and region.

IF YOU think the university’s flagship publication is just anotherin-house rag, think again. In fact,it’s one of the best university magazines in the country, and it’swell worth a read.

How can such a claim be substantiated? Listen to the argument.

One of the characteristics ofapartheid South Africa was thetwo-tier system of tertiary education institutions. There were the big, well-resourced ‘white’universities for both English andAfrikaans speakers. Then therewere the big, under-resourcedinstitutions that were establishedto give credence to the apartheiddream of racial ‘separate develop-ment’. But both tiers had one thingin common: they seemed to operate at a considerable distancefrom the real developmental issues confronting the country and its southern African region.Protestations of academic autonomy and straightforwardpolitical protest dominated theacademic climate – until 1994.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

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