Phakel'umthakathi issues 20-day ultimatum to Universities

Nkosikhona 'Phakel'umthakathi' Ndabandaba has issued an ultimatum to the Department of Higher Education and Training, demanding that universities "fix this mess before the 30 June 2026" and calling on "all foreigners" employed at South African institutions to leave the country by that date.

The post, which attaches a list purporting to show the headcount of foreign academic staff at public universities in 2024 and 2025, frames the demand as a "peaceful request" while warning that meetings with institutions "will be arranged" if it is not met. Ndabanda wrote:

"Department of education. Institutions of Higher learning, please fix this mess before the 30 June 2026 if it's too hard we will arrange meetings with this institutions. Please fix it now. 30 June 2026 is 20 days closer all foreigners must appreciate,honour and respect our peaceful request and leave before 30 June 2026. WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK"

What the post claims.

The list circulated with the ultimatum shows a grand total of 6,739 foreign academic staff across South Africa's public universities in 2024, rising to a preliminary 7,026 in 2025, led by the University of Johannesburg (1,436 in 2025), the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town.

The Public Dispatch has not independently verified the figures contained in the circulated list and has approached the relevant authorities for comment.

Audited data from the Department's own Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS), presented to a joint sitting of the Portfolio Committees on Higher Education and on Home Affairs on 18 February 2026, showed that in 2024 South African citizens made up 92.26% of the post-school education workforce, while foreign nationals accounted for 7.74%.

Of the full-time foreign staff, the bulk 82.89% were instructional or research professionals rather than administrators or managers.

The legal question: scarce and critical skills

Under the Employment Services Act and the Immigration Act, a foreign national may generally be hired only where the role aligns with the official Critical Skills List and the employer has satisfied itself that no suitably qualified South African is available to fill the vacancy.

Section 38 of the Immigration Act makes employing an undocumented foreign national a criminal offence. It is this compliance gap, not a headcount, that has drawn parliamentary fire.

At the February meeting, committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said some institutions were prioritising foreign nationals over qualified South Africans in hiring and promotion, and rejected the argument that foreign academics are retained simply because they "bring important value."

He framed the matter bluntly as one of legality: a country of laws expects those who break the law to face the consequences.

Members raised a specific concern that senior management and administrative posts, principals, chief financial officers, heads of department were being filled by foreign nationals despite such roles not plausibly qualifying as scarce skills.

The committee pointed to at least 67 foreign nationals in the TVET sector alone employed in positions not linked to critical or scarce skills, and demanded the Department clean and verify its data.

The pressure intensified after the Special Investigating Unit released an interim report flagging corruption in visa and permit processing at Home Affairs, describing an immigration system in which permits had effectively been sold. The Department was given until 18 March 2026 to submit a detailed list of foreign academics, their positions and their immigration status.

A new inter-departmental steering committee, drawing in Home Affairs, Labour and International Relations was tasked with cross-checking university-reported data against employment-equity and immigration records.

Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela told the committee that without reliable data it was difficult to establish whether institutions were complying with the law or circumventing it by placing foreign nationals in roles that are neither critical nor scarce.

Growing frustrations

This latest intervention forms part of Ndabandaba and March and March’s broader campaign on issues of national priority, including land reform and economic opportunities for South Africans.

His latest intervention is likely to intensify scrutiny of staffing practices at institutions of higher learning, particularly amid growing public concern over unemployment and economic pressures facing South Africans.

It remains unclear what action, if any, universities or the Department of Higher Education and Training will take in response to the activist's demands.