KSA execs allege 'gross and negligent mismanagement'

By Matt DiMera
[news editor]

The KSA has been “grossly and negligently mismanaged by previous councils, executives and staff” according to a letter written to students by the new executive board.

The letter contends that since taking office April 1, the executive board has found “horrific and catastrophic problems in the operations of the KSA since January 1, 2007.”

It cites further examples of “neglectful management” as “the debacle that is the café, little to no human resource management, fitness center mismanagement, reckless financial activity, no documentation at all in some instances, very poor communication and transparency, internal squabbling, little to no review and enforcement mechanisms, and a basic lack of respect for you, our member.”

When asked at the April 29 executive board meeting about specifics from the letter, none of the executives were willing to offer any further details.

The letter was posted to the main page of the KSA website on May 3.

The missive also warns that there may be disruptions in the services offered by the KSA because of “the overwhelming work required to conduct a full review of the past five years.

A similar version of the letter was presented at the April 29 executive board meeting. The original letter was signed by the five-person executive, though the letter online is apparently sent from the entire council.

The executive board has made several general allegations of corruption, incompetence and wrongdoing on the part of previous KSA administrations and staff since taking office.

In her April 27 report to council, director of finance Nina Sandhu wrote, “the café is functioning at Zimbabwean levels (not early Mugabe when he freed Rhodesia) but what the country has become in the past few years under his leadership. Think of the café in a similar state.”

Sandhu continued to write: “The previous Councils, EBODs and GM have, in this regard, let the Society down in a big way (insert the word “understatement” as many times as you would like next to comments on how poorly the previous Council, Executives and GM have performed). In fact, they may have neglected their duty to the Society by effectively draining our funding to this point.”

In his April 27 report to council, director of external affairs, Bobby Padda, referred to “major flaws” discovered while looking at documents from previous councils.

“The early findings, though informal, are very alarming and point to significant breaches of duty by previous Councils and EBODs,” wrote Padda. “We will be engaging outside organizations, if needed, as we continue to comb through thousands of documents.”

“For the most part we are only at very (informal) stages at this point so I cannot elaborate any further,” he concluded.

In her April 29 executive board report, director of operations, Justine Franson, referred to “a serious breach” by former executives.

“Its [sic] as if previous Councils and EBODs just did things’ [sic] without properly thinking, reviewing, or recording their decisions. This is not the CIA, it’s the KSA,” wrote Franson. “It reflects how neglectful previous Councils have been in holding EBOD and GM to account.”