The Mercury

UKZN academic accuses mayor of meddling
December 16, 2005

By Zukile Majova & Carvin Goldstone

An academic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Centre for
Civil Society,
who has been at the forefront of protest against the perceived
slow pace of
service provision by the eThekwini Municipality, claims his
academic freedom
is being undermined.

The claim is vigorously denied by the UKZN Vice-Chancellor and
Principal,
Prof William Makgoba. The academic says he believes eThekwini
Mayor Obed
Mlaba is using his friendship with Makgoba to tinker with
academic freedom.
At the centre of the uproar is a claim that Mlaba told Makgoba
he was very
angry about the activities of some of the academics on Makgoba's
payroll.

Fazel Khan, a sociologist from UKZN who is documenting the
plight of shack
dwellers living in informal settlements in Kennedy Road and
Sydenham in
Durban, said he was considering dropping his research because of
political
interference in his work. Khan's troubles reportedly started on
December 7
after he attended the Vice-Chancellor's Consultation Forum. He
said he had
spoken to Makgoba at the end of the forum.

"I was talking about union matters when Makgoba told me the
mayor was very
angry with me," he said.

"He said Mlaba phoned him to voice his anger with my involvement
with the
informal settlement disputes.

"I told him that I was elected by the people to represent them,
help them
write press releases, teach them how to take minutes of their
meetings,
etc."

Khan, who is doing a PhD in sociology, told Makgoba that his
involvement was
in line with his academic work because he was producing a
research paper on
the matter, and it was part of his community outreach, a
requirement
expected of all academics. But he said Makgoba had repeated:
"Mlaba is very
angry with you."

Makgoba had added that the mayor was preparing a report
regarding Khan's
actions of instigating the informal settlers, and it would be
presented to
the university's council.

"For the third time he told me that Mlaba is very angry with
me," said Khan.

"I then asked him (Makgoba) what his opinion was on this matter,
and he said
he did not have an opinion at the time, but would wait for the
presentation
to be made to council.

"I felt that instead of encouraging independence for
researchers, he was
exposing them to intimidation."

The conversation was overheard by Prof Kathan Pillay and an
executive member
of the National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union who
attended the
forum. Pillay said: "I can say that the conversation was
informal, but I
will not delve into its content because it was between Prof
Makgoba and
Khan."

Khan has reported the matter to the Freedom of Expression
Institute and the
Human Rights Foundation. However, Makgoba said the mayor had
never phoned
him. He said he had been told by a member of the university
staff who had
visited the informal settlement at the same time as Mlaba that
the mayor had
been angry at some academics in the university. He denied
intimidating Khan,
saying their conversation had been informal and not
characterised by
"finger-pointing intimidation".

"I spoke to him off the cuff. There are different kinds of
conversations and
this one was informal," said Makgoba.

"I actually feel betrayed that an academic at the university can
do this to
me."

He added: "I was just warning him that Mlaba has found out that
he was
stirring trouble at the settlement while they knew well that the
council and
the university are co-operating to ensure that they get proper
houses."

The vice-chancellor said he had been informed that the mayor had
remarked
that he was very disappointed and that he would call him and
prepare a
report to the UKZN council.

"I told him that when I had facts I would call him to my
office," said
Makgoba.

"But the mayor has not called me and, at the moment, everything
hinges on
hearsay.

"We hear that they (Khan and Centre for Civil Society academic
Richard
Pitthouse) are not doing research, but they have set themselves
as
councillors in the area.

"The first thing I will do in the new year will be to call the
mayor so we
can deal with this matter."

Mlaba said it was "nonsense" that he was interfering with
academic
independence.

"Even Makgoba will not concur with claims that I phoned him
because I did no
such (thing)," said Mlaba.

"These are just people who are determined to pull down our
movement ahead of
the elections."

He denied claims that his office was compiling a report that
would be
forwarded to Makgoba.

"There is no report. I don't care what they (academics) say.
Maybe they know
that they are interfering with the council's plans," said Mlaba.

Prof Shadrack Gutto, a Director of the Centre for African
Renaissance
Studies, said academic freedom was protected under section 16 of
the
constitution, and it should be respected.