Plea from the vice-chancellor – the future of Rhodes University is under serious threat

Just under four years ago, in 2020, Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) commemorated the second Century of its blood-soaked history of heroic struggles in the nascent years of the Constitution of South Africa as we know it today.

In 2024, Rhodes University, the city’s crown jewel, is preparing for a massive celebration of its 120th anniversary of global scholarly excellence.

Makhanda emerged from its chequered history to become a once-thriving former “capital city of the Eastern Cape province”. The city’s reputation grew over time to become a leading educational centre in the country. 

The location of the seat of the Eastern Districts Division of the Supreme Court, the headquarters of the police force and the founding of Rhodes University in the region under the colonial government, contributed to the “prestige” that Makhanda once enjoyed.

The decline in the political and economic fortunes of the city goes back to the late 19th century. Its continuing misfortunes today are well documented in the reports of the Auditor-General, Statistics South Africa and innumerable judgments by the high court relating to the failures of its municipality. 

Today, Makhanda, South Africa’s consistently improving and leading educational centre, as well as Rhodes University, a consistent educational gem, face an even more serious, if not fatal, existential risk.

In its interim report, the Committee on the Rationalisation of Areas under the Jurisdiction of the Divisions of the High Court (the Moseneke Committee), chaired by retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke has recommended that the seat of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court be relocated from Makhanda to the provincial capital, Bhisho. The university is doing everything possible to oppose this.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Renaming Rhodes University: In search of a new name to reflect the past, present and future”

Rhodes University’s submission to the Moseneke Committee seeks to deepen the appreciation of the inevitably disastrous consequences of the potential move of the seat of the Eastern Cape High Court. The university cannot function without the town. Neither can the town survive without the university and the schools in Makhanda. Any decision that places the future sustainability of Makhanda in jeopardy also places the future sustainability of Rhodes University in similar jeopardy.

Their collapse would result in an unmitigated and irreversible social catastrophe. This is serious. 

The university will be unable to function normally, and its expansion and growth programme will have to cease. The ability to attract talented students and staff will be severely compromised. Jobs will be lost with declining student uptake. As a research-intensive university, the institution has the highest concentration of South African Research Chairs per capita. It has the highest number of academics with doctoral degrees per student. It is an absolute gem of an institution.

The relocation of the seat of the high court would have a considerable adverse impact on this. 

The Moseneke Committee argues that the seat of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, which has been in the city for 158 years, should be in the provincial capital. There is no sound rationale behind this. Replicating the court in Bhisho will cost an estimated R1-billion. Furthermore, it would result in the loss of about 5,000 jobs in Makhanda and further weaken its economy, which is extremely fragile. The government could use that money to upgrade, refurbish and renovate the many courts around the country that are in a poor state.

A study, led by economics professor Emeritus Geoffrey Antrobus, shows that Makhanda’s financial outlook is already extremely vulnerable. The city’s gross domestic product from 2010 to 2020 “grew a mere 0.3% annually compared to the Eastern Cape province of 0.4% and South Africa’s 0.6%”.