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01 January 2018

After South Africa’s battle with the record-breaking drought of 2015, Prof Andries Jordaan from our Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa(DiMTEC) saw room for improvement in dealing with this kind of disaster. 

Drought impact

Commercial farmers   who are usually net exporters of food crops   and communal farmers who own the bulk of the country’s livestock, were all hit hard in 2015. Most of the latter had no resources to spare as the drought progressed. The concern about the drought’s impact on the country’s food production and availability resulted in a joint goal of preventing food scarcity during future droughts.

Prof Jordaan’s visit to the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the US, several years ago prepared him to better equip communities in South Africa to deal with drought situations. “I recognised that in spite of the impact DiMTEC has been able to make on disaster preparedness, a gap remained in disaster response in South Africa.”

Sharing knowledge

In August this year Prof Jordaan again visited the NDMC. This time he requested a few key players in South Africa’s agriculture and disaster response communities to join him. With him were Janse Rabie, head of Natural Resources at AgriSA, a nonprofit organisation that functions as an interface between the government and about 28 000 South Africa farmers, and Moses Musiwale Khangale, director of Fire Services for the South African Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

The South African delegation met with and learnt from climatologists, geospatial technologists, and outreach and planning analysts. 

News Archive

Kovsie Alumni appeals to the community to support Prof. Jansen
2009-10-28

Kovsie Alumni expresses its shock and astonishment about the sharp criticism that Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), has been enduring since his inauguration as the 13th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Prof. Jansen’s balanced speech at his inauguration was received with a standing ovation by the guests present. These guests were not only representative of the UFS community, but also of the broader South African society.

The memories of the illustrious inauguration event faded within days. Political opportunists who only criticise the Reitz announcement and do not contextualise the inaugural speech, contribute towards mass polarisation, distrust and suspicion. This stands in sharp contrast to Prof. Jansen’s message of reconciliation, unity and hope.

Prof. Jansen’s announcement that the consultation process has been re-opened is welcomed. Kovsie Alumni trusts that all role players, including the critics, would make constructive contributions. In the final instance, everybody should act in a remedial manner towards 9 persons whose lives have been changed irrevocably, namely 5 black workers and 4 white students.

Kovsie Alumni appeals to the community to support Prof. Jansen in his endeavours to remove obstacles in the way of making the UFS a world-class university. Former students, parents and other stakeholders must collectively accept the responsibilities that he has already identified.

Media release
Issued by: Naudé de Klerk
Chairperson: Kovsie Alumni
011 678 1988 / 082 551 3151
naude@edk.co.za  

Mauritz Randlhoff
Vice-Chairperson : Kovsie Alumni

Pule Molalenyane
Vice-Chairperson: Kovsie Alumni
28 October 2009

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