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Mangosuthu University of Technology Annual Report

14

3.3 Council Statement

DECLARATION OF INTEREST BY COUNCIL MEMBERS

To prevent conflict of interest among Council members,

all Council members were required to sign an annual

Declaration of Interest form for members of Council and

at each meeting to declare any conflict of interest in items

on the agenda. All Council members completed and

submitted the forms on declaration of interests.

MUT STATUTE

Council considered the revised MUT Statute with

recommendations by the DHET, the Task Team, the

Executive Management as well as the EXCO. Council

approved the revised draft Statute for re-submission to

the DHET subject to incorporation of the recommended

changes and any additional comments forwarded, before

the end of June 2015. The MUT Statute was finally

approved by the Minister of Higher Education & Training

for publication in the Government Gazette, subject to

amendments on pages 26 and 27, Section 51(2) (d). The

estimated cost for placing a notice in the Government

Gazette would be R40 000.

Council members were urged to familiarize themselves

with the MUT Statute as gazzeted in October 2015, in

particular, the requirements on what constitutes the

Council. Some senior management staff members attend

Council meetings by invitation; namely the CFO, the

Senior Director: Human Resources, and the Executive

Director in the office of the Vice Chancellor.

MUT’S STRATEGIC PLAN 2015- 2019 MUT’S 2015

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

Council considered the MUT’s Strategic Plan 2015–2017

and the MUT’s 2015 Annual Performance Plan which had

been approved by EXCO at a special meeting held on

14 January 2015. The documents were then submitted to

the DHET on 15 January 2015. Council acknowledged the

amount of work done to be able to submit the documents

to DHET on time and ratified approval of the MUT’s

Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan.

After deliberations the meeting recommended that

Section 4: Ministerial Approved Student Enrolment

Targets should include the baseline and performance

targets for 2016. The report should be aligned to the

baseline numbers in all the sections of the document.

There should be coherence on the figures for each quarter.

Subsequently Council adopted the Strategic Plan and the

Annual Performance Plan for 2016 with amendments.

CONSIDERATION OF PROTOCOLS IN NAMING NEW

BUILDINGS

As the University is constructing new buildings, Council

was requested to develop a draft document for the

University structures to consider what protocol to follow in

naming the new buildings.

COMBINED ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK

Council considered and approved the Combined

Assurance Framework. The framework was prepared in

terms of the King III Report on Corporate Governance

Principle 3.5. The Framework aims to optimize the

assurance coverage obtained from Management as

well as internal and external assurance providers on the

strategic risk areas affecting the University.

3.4 Governance Structures

Improvement of Governance continued as more policies

and processes were approved and control frameworks

were implemented.

INSTITUTIONAL FORUM (IF)

The Chairperson of the Institutional Forum attended a

meeting of Chairpersons of Institutional Forum where the

role of the forum was clarified. Other stakeholders would

be apprised of role of the IF.

GOVERNANCE OF RISK

Enhancing knowledge and innovation as well as

implementing strategic development and goals will

always have risks. Effective risk management increases

the probability of successful outcomes, whilst protecting

the reputation and sustainability of the University. At

Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) Council

is responsible for overseeing the total process of risk

management.

The 2015 Risk Register was presented to Council for

approval as recommended by the Audit & Risk Committee.

The risks identified in the Risk Register as well as the

format used were noted and discussed. A new a template

would be provided.

GOVERNING STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS

MUT fully supports the ideas of widening access, redress

and success as articulated in the National Plan for Higher

Education. Therefore, it promotes ‘equity of access and

outcomes’. Being located in a disadvantaged area,

MUT attracts a majority of students who come from

disadvantaged communities and schools. As a result,

many of the students are poor and often cannot afford