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19 February 2018 Photo Archive
Prof Sampie Terreblanche inspired many undergraduate students to become economists
Prof Sampie Terblanche, Prof Philippe Burger, and Prof Tienie Crous

It is with sadness that the executive management of the University of the Free State (UFS) received the news of the recent passing of Prof Sampie Terreblanche of Stellenbosch University.
 
Prof Terreblanche has been advocating social and economic justice for decades. During the 1980s and 1990s, he played an important role in keeping the debate about the need for socio-economic and -political reform in South Africa going. His position was not always popular, particularly among those who had a vested interest in the apartheid regime. After the dawn of democracy, he continued to argue for socio-economic and -political reform, and especially reform that would address the very high levels of inequality in South Africa.
 
Through his testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as his seminal book entitled A history of inequality in South Africa: 1652 to 2002, Prof Terreblanche demonstrated that even though South Africa experienced a political transition towards democracy, it still needed to undergo an economic transition. Once again, he found that his position was not always popular, particularly among those with a stake in the old, but still existing economic order. Admirably, he nevertheless persisted to argue for socio-economic change, even in the last months of his life when he was already very ill.
 
Prof Terreblanche’s career started in 1957 as lecturer at the then University of the Orange Free State, later becoming senior lecturer. In 1965, Prof Terreblanche moved to the University of Stellenbosch as senior lecturer, becoming professor in 1968. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 1995.
 
As an academic who taught generations of undergraduate students, he inspired many of them to become economists. In 2005, the UFS conferred an honorary doctorate in Economics on Prof Terreblanche in recognition of his work in Economics and his relentless advocacy for social and economic equality.  

News Archive

UFS Business School positioned as key partner in the fight against fraud
2016-11-21

A collaborative effort to curb the scourge of fraud in public and private companies has been identified as the most effective method at the launch of International Fraud Awareness week, 13-19 November.  The programme kicked off with a media briefing held in Bloemfontein, under the theme: “Curb Fraud and Accelerate Economic Transformation”.  At this occasion, the Free State Provincial Treasury and key partner institutions which are: UFS Business School, Standard Bank, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and PricewaterhouseCoopers, made a pronouncement on their efforts to stop fraud in public and private institutions.

Strategic partnerships empower companies
The UFS Business School, in collaboration with Strategic Investigations and Seminars, formed a collaborative effort to present the Advanced Certificate in Fraud Examination, thus empowering individual companies to have within their ranks, certified fraud examiners.  The programme is a registered SAQA, NQF level 7 course comprising four modules; Law, Investigation, Fraud Prevention, Detection and Ethics, Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes. Students are assisted to continue to the ACFE Board examination in order to become internationally accredited. In 2016, a new e-learning model was introduced to decrease the time spent away from the workplace, thereby encouraging more professionals to enrol.

Commitment is key driving force

Speaking at the media briefing, Jo’Anni Deacon, Senior Officer at the UFS Business School, said “by presenting the programme, the university had positioned itself as a key partner with provincial government and other entities in the fight against fraud”.

Head of Department in the Free State Provincial Treasury, Godfrey Mahlatsi, reiterated the stance of zero tolerance against fraud, and that the department was committed to ensuring that this partnership continued to grow, enabling all to strengthen the message that fraud and corruption undermined the goals and objectives of the National Development Plan.

Gerhard Geldenhuys, Director of PwC Forensic Services said: “I believe we are making a difference and further believe that the time for dialogue on fraud is now better than ever.”

The week-long campaign encourages employees (both in the public and private sector), and business leaders, to proactively take action to minimise the impact of fraud in their environments.

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