Statement from Concerned Academics in the Southern AfricaIndian Ocean Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Academic Qualifications of Pastors Paul Charles and Paul Ratsara

23 May 2016

Dr. Ted N.C. Wilson

President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring Maryland 20904
United States of America

CC:
GC Executive-Secretary (Dr. GT Ng)
GC Associate Secretary (Pastor H Mooroven)
GC Education Director (Dr. Lisa M. Beardsley-Hardy)
SID President (Dr. Paul Ratsara)
SID Executive Secretary (Dr. Solomon Maphosa)
SID Education Director (Dr. Ellah Kamwendo)

As members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church working in the academic field, we, the
undersigned, have been following two issues concerning the academic qualifications of some
of our leaders at the SID.

The first is that of Pastor Paul Charles (Director of Communication, Public Affairs and Religious
Liberty at SID). Given what has been reported in the South African public media (The New Age
Newspapers of 14 and 26 April 2016) as well as in Spectrum Magazine, it has become an issue
of great concern to us given that the matter fundamentally relates to the question of personal
integrity and academic qualifications.

Over the years there have been many reports in South Africa of individuals who make false
claims about having acquired or are in possession of doctoral degrees. Some of the more high
profile cases already in the public domain include that of Johnny Molefe (who was once
Principal of the Tshwane University of Technology), Mohau Peko (an ambassador of the South
African government), Pallo Jordan (a top level ANC politician), Carl Niehaus (once a South
African ambassador) and Daniel Mthimkulu (who was then the Chief Engineer at the
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa). The exposure of all the afore-mentioned individuals
fraudulent claims about their academic qualifications was met with huge public and all-round
condemnation by different sectors of South African society.

We are firmly convinced that fraudulent claims of being in possession of an academic

qualification are not just about the claimant not having the right competencies to perform a
given task. We believe that they are fundamentally about character, personal integrity and
trustworthiness. Even if one could indeed perform the tasks assigned to them, the mere fact
that they made a fraudulent claim automatically renders them ineligible to serve. This is even
more so in the church of God where the character and integrity of the person constitute the
basic requirements to serve.

We are aware of the attempts by the church structures to deal with this issue but are
concerned about the apparent delay in resolving the matter which is now in the public
domain. This matter is being followed with great concern by the generality of the church
membership, not just in the SID territory but also world-wide. The longer this matter remains
unresolved the more damage it does not only to the name, cause and leadership of the church
but also to the name of God, which the church incidentally is meant to jealously guard and
protect.

The second matter of concern relates to the questions that have recently been raised about
the doctoral work of Dr. Paul Ratsara (SID President). Although there isnt much detail in the
public domain, there is enough talk within the church, linking the matter of Pastor Charles to
the doctoral dissertation of Dr. Ratsara.

There is speculation that the reason the SID President is reluctant to act decisively on the
matter of Pastor Paul Charles is because there might be questions about the originality of Dr.
Ratsara's own PhD work.

Although Dr. Ratsara graduated from UNISA in 2014 there are some who speculate that
significant portions of his thesis might have been taken from the work done by the SID Study
Committee (BRC), which was chaired by Dr. Ratsara himself, or even compiled by other
members of that committee. The SID church community was not privy to the actual work of
the SID BRC and the final report was never shared with the rest of the church membership or
made public.

What seems to lend credence to all these suspicions is that there have been reports that
the PhD thesis of Dr. Ratsara cannot be found in the UNISA library and is not available online
(as is common practice with every higher degree thesis).This has fuelled the speculation and
concern that the matter of Paul Charles might be linked to the doctoral work of Dr Ratsara.
We would like to reiterate that both the Bible and church policy are very clear on these
matters in respect of conduct that casts a shadow on the integrity of the ministry as well as
on conduct that is inconsistent with the high standards of our Christian calling. We should
therefore, as a church, not create an impression that we are in violation of these high
standards.

It is in light of the above that we recommend and appeal for the following steps to be taken:

1. The church leadership at SID and GC resolves the matter of Pastor Paul Charles as a matter
of urgency by taking steps and making decisions that clearly show that we (as a faith
community) do not condone the fraudulent claims with respect to academic qualifications.

2. Pastor Paul Charles should not serve in any church leadership position given the fact that
his image and character have been severely tainted and compromised in this matter. He is no
longer suitable to represent the Seventh-day Adventist Church in any official capacity.

3. The questions surrounding the doctoral work of Dr. Ratsara be thoroughly investigated and
the University of South Africa (UNISA) be engaged to determine if indeed the work is his (as
required by the academic process) or the work of a church committee or other individuals
which was then passed on as the work of the doctoral candidate in question.

We would like to make it clear that the intention of this appeal is to ensure that the image of
the church and its mission be protected to the honour and glory of God.

We hope and pray that God guides and leads His church as we deal with these matters.

Dr. Willie Chinyamurindi

Senior Lecturer: Department of Business
Management
University of Fort Hare
South Africa
Email:chinyaz@gmail.com

Prof. Mziwoxolo Sirayi

Executive Dean: Faculty of the Arts
Tshwane University of Technology
Pretoria, South Africa
Email:siraym@tut.ac.za

A/Prof. Edward Chamisa

Department of Finance and Tax
University of Cape Town
Email: Edward.Chamisa@uct.ac.za

A/Prof. Dr. John Akokpari

Department of Political Studies
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Email:john.akokpari@uct.ac.za

Mr. Clinton Plaatjes

Executive IT Country Manager
South Africa
Email:clintonplaatjes@outlook.com

Mr. Wandile Bangisi

Pastoral Counsellor, Pretoria
Email:wandile.bangisi@gmail.com

Mr. Pitso Tsibolane

Lecturer: Department of Information Systems
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Email:pitso.tsibolane@uct.ac.za

Prof. Modimowabarwa Kanyane

Department: Democracy, Governance, Service
Delivery
Human Sciences Research Council of SA
Pretoria, South Africa
Email:kanyane@yahoo.com

Dr. Bernhard Ficker (Retired Academic)

Somerset West, South Africa
Email:mimetes7@gmail.com

Mr. Zolani Simayi

Lecturer: Department of Precilinical Studies
University of Limpopo, South Africa
Email:zsimayi@gmail.com

Dr Misheck Ndebele
School of Education
University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Email:misheck.ndebele@wits.ac.za

Dr. Alvin Masarira, PrEng

Structural Engineering Consultant
Structural SIMTech Consulting (PTY) LTD
Johannesburg, South Africa
Email:Alvin.Masarira@gmail.com

Dr Fusi Madela
Specialist General Surgeon
Albert Luthuli Academic Hospital
Durban, South Africa
Email:fmadela@gmail.com

Mr. Bongani Khonjwayo

Researcher and HR Policy Development
Specialist
Durban, South Africa
Email:Bongani.k@me.com

Dr. Jeff Crocombe

Acting Dean: School of Theology
Pacific Adventist University
Papua New Guinea
(Lecturer: Helderberg College, South Africa)
2006 - 2011
Email: jeffcrocombe@gmail.com

Dr. Ron du Preez

Retired & Part-Time Pastor-Arizona Conference,
NAD & Adjunct /Online Professor:
Adventist University of Africa (Kenya)
Andrews University (Mich., USA)
Southern Adventist University (Tenn., USA)
Email: ron.dupreez@gmail.com