Johannesburg - ActionSA is calling for Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane to resign or be dismissed after allegedly trying to obtain a bogus PhD in public administration from the University of Fort Hare, according to a forensic report commissioned by the university, that was leaked to one of the media houses
The party also called for the former premier and Minister of Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet, to resign. She is alleged to be under investigation by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) for possible fraud pertaining to her qualifications.
Last year, the SIU announced it would be probing all allegations of maladministration at the University of Fort Hare after allegations came to light regarding the awarding of honours degrees from the institution.
“We are not surprised by the revelations of degree fraud by Mabuyane, which are contained in a forensic report. The Premier’s hitherto stony silence has only now been broken, with him blaming his political foes for framing him for receiving bogus degrees along with other elites in the Eastern Cape through Fort Hare’s academic largesse to ANC heavyweight politicians,” said ActionSA Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Athol Trollip.
“The forensic report concluded that Mabuyane's master's degree was undeservedly and fraudulently obtained through a bogus research proposal that was put together for him by the academic staff at the same institution, Fort Hare University, that was to award him the degree. It now appears that Fort Hare’s department of public administration offered a 'made-to-order' degree vending service to well-connected politicians who abused the public purse to secure their self-aggrandising phoney qualifications”.
According to the report, Mabuyane was assisted by a certain professor and a team of researchers.
“It now appears that Mabuyane conspired with disgraced Professor Edwin Ijeoma, who himself obtained his PhD using a fake MBA degree, to not only circumvent minimum entry requirements to irregularly register Mabuyane for a master's degree he did not qualify for, but to ultimately facilitate the fraudulent awarding of a master's degree to Mabuyane (and a PhD thereafter).
“It is not the first time that Mabuyane’s unethical conduct has exposed his lack of integrity expected of a leader of a provincial government. In January this year, we issued a statement bemoaning the fact that Mabuyane managed to evade investigation into how he improperly benefited from money that was misappropriated from the Winnie Madikizela Local Municipality,” Trollip said.
Trollip said Mabuyane was not the leader the people of the Eastern Cape deserved and needed.
He added all those implicated in this “degree” of disgrace should immediately be charged and suspended from holding office until they have been absolved of any impropriety.
Mabuyane denied academic fraud claims and said he would challenge the report implicating him.
“Mabuyane has since instructed his legal advisers to consider these developments, including the forensic report referred to in the article, with a view to taking the matter through the courts. It is the Premier’s belief that such a platform will create an opportunity to share his side of the story and defend his reputation, which is tainted by the allegations made in the news report,” said the Premier’s spokesperson, Zuko Godlimpi.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the premier has indicated his willingness to respond and challenge the report.
Seepe said since such matters do not go away, the ANC is more likely to wait for the process to unfold before it acts on the report. This is to respect the principle of innocence until proven guilty.
“Be that as it may, the premier is already tainted. It will be difficult for him to lead any campaign that is meant to deal with fraud and corruption. Given the fact that the premier is considered a staunch supporter of the current ANC leadership, it is unlikely that he will be asked to step aside with the view of clearing his name. Dr Zweli Mkhize did the honourable thing by voluntarily doing so. Mabuyane is not that kind of person,” Seepe said.
The Star