The Sekhukune Royal Kingdom in Limpopo has expressed outrage over the alleged diversion of a project to build a Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) campus on their land to a different location in Giyani.
The kingdom claims that TUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke, hijacked the project despite a 2021 memorandum of understanding between the two entities.
According to senior royal council member Seripele Mampuru, Maluleke redirected the project to Giyani, his hometown, without consulting the royal council. “We are well aware that Maluleke redirected the building of this campus. At some stage, he set up a meeting to meet us in Sekhukhune but he never came as promised. He has been ignoring our calls for far too long, and we are not pleased with the way he is treating us,” Mampuru said.
The MOU, signed in May 2021, aimed to establish a campus in Sekhukhune, accommodating students interested in mining-related studies, given the area’s location in the platinum belt. The old Sekhukhune Teachers Training College was identified as the site for the campus. However, months later, TUT announced plans to construct a campus in Giyani instead.
The royal house claims that the agreement was part of realising the legacy of the late King Victor Thulare III, who envisioned establishing a university in the district. Royal Council spokesperson Ntoampe Mampuru stated that they were not against the construction of the campus in Giyani but emphasised that the Sekhukhune district should have been prioritised.
Mampuru alleged that TUT went “AWOL” after signing the MOU and ignored their attempts to engage. Letters sent to the Department of Higher Education and Training were also allegedly ignored.
Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba announced plans to establish the campus in Giyani, citing advanced stages of planning. However, the Sekhukhune Royal Kingdom remains concerned about the lack of communication and feedback regarding the project’s progress.
‘The Star’ has seen an email from Maluleke referring to a visit in Sekhukhune to kickstart the project but that never materialised.
Responding to an initial enquiry from The Star, TUT’s spokesperson Phaphama Tshisikhawe acknowledged receipt of the letter from Mampuru but could not divulge as to when they would be meeting.
“University management has received and acknowledged receipt of the letter. The university will be contacting the representative of the Bapedi Kingdom to arrange a meeting with them. All inquiries regarding the ‘alleged utterances of the Limpopo premier’ should be directed to the office of premier of Limpopo,” she said.
In the minutes of the meeting held between TUT and Batsumi PTY LTD regarding the Sekhukhune Project, dated September 28, 2020, seen by The Star, states that feasibility study should commence to establish the viability of offering the mining and agricultural-related qualifications.
It also stated, in what was a resolution of the meeting, that the deputy vice-chancellor’s office would provide funding for the feasibility study and that an account would be opened by Maluleke’s office and both the executive deans for Science and EBE would have signing powers to ensure efficient running of the feasibility project.
“Faculties of Science and EBE should nominate two representatives (Agriculture and Mining) that would partake in the feasibility study and work closely with the Kingdom,” the minutes read.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor in Teaching, Learning and Technology, Professor Stanley Mukhola, at the time had endorsed the deal, saying the new campus would concentrate mining and agriculture to no avail.
“We are grateful to be accepted in the Sekhukhune area to start what I call, not a satellite, but a distant campus. So the idea is to start a new campus here focusing mainly on mining and agriculture. We believe in educating people. We realise that there is nothing dealing with mining; there is a very good infrastructure, the Sekhukhune training college, the old one, where we say now we can make use of that facility,” Mukhola reportedly said at the time.
The Star