University of Venda registrar gets boot for illegal-tender deal

University of Venda registrar Khuliso Nemadzivhanani has been fired after he lost a legal bid to have the council reverse his dismissal. Nemadzivhanani was suspended by vice-chancellor and principal Professor Peter Mbati in April last year after he was accused of having approved the hiring of a private cleaning company without following proper tender procedures. He was accused of signing a memorandum of agreement with The Cleanshop on behalf of the university in 2007 without the council having authorised the R3.5 million tender. In 2006, the company showed an interest in conducting a hygiene audit on the institution’s facilities without payment attached, said a document submitted to the university by The Cleanshop.

But a PWC audit report, which The Star has seen, said it was not justifiable for the university to outsource the service without approval by the council. The report also indicated that the company was awarded the tender despite not having submitted a tax clearance certificate, specifications on material used on cleaning, and R100 000 of public liability as specified in the tender requirements. Surprisingly, the company was paid R50 000 as an advance on R175 000 for an invoice it issued in July 2006, even before it had an agreement with the university. The auditors’ report stated that the company was also offered a two-month tender to the tune of R402 544.74 a month without advertising the procurement bid.

When the contract ended, an additional contract was awarded on a monthly basis to the tune of R454 152 a month for 23 months. This tender, however, was duly advertised. But the auditors have expressed concern that cleaning materials were substandard and had not been approved by the SABS. “We noted that the cleaning materials in use are not SABS approved. We could not be provided with evidence that material has been approved by the university,” the report stated. Student and worker organisations staged endless protests between 2007 and 2009 against what they described as corruption at the institution, calling for investigations and the dismissal of corrupt officials. Instead, their leaders were suspended for championing anti-corruption drives.

National Education Health and Allied Workers Union branch chairman Calvin Muloiwa and his secretary, Sedzani Mukhuvhukhuvhu, were suspended, then fired, for their whistle-blowing. Nemadzivhanani was fired together with Dr Thidziambi Tshivhase-Phendla, the dean of education. Nemadzivhanani and Tshivhase-Phendla could not be reached for comment. University spokesman Takalani Dzaga confirmed yesterday that Nemadzivhanani was no longer a university employee.