Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Graduate brings Dr Tshepo Motsepe,SA's First Lady, to Kovsies

18 April 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Sonia Small

First Lady Visit — At a gathering with the First Lady and UFS management were, from the left: Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations; Prof Maléne Campbell; Chacha; Dr Tshepo Motsepe, First Lady of South Africa; Prof Petersen; Prof Puleng Lenka-Bula; Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement; and Prof Danie Vermeulen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

“I am from a very small town called Marquard. I am a granny’s boy – who was a domestic worker – and can speak fluent Afrikaans. I am fearless and I understand my calling for greatness. I stand and advocate for social justice and I am not scared to challenge any form of injustice. I hate people who abuse power and I am no friend of mediocrity. I speak my mind.”

This and much more describes Thapelo Chacha, a graduate in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, who received his Honours degree in Spatial Planning at the recent April graduation ceremonies of the University of the Free State (UFS).

The First Lady

He is also the student who brought Dr Tshepo Motsepe, the First Lady of South Africa to Kovsies.

Chacha tells his story: “I met the First Lady some years back through Dr Vuyelwa Manzana, who was my mother’s doctor at the time – after dropping out of university due to a financial crisis. I was handed over to the lawyers, with a debt that accrued over three years. I knocked at every door you can think of – with no luck. One day I got a call from a lady who introduced herself as Mme Tshepo, asking me to go to university. I laughed, because I knew my debt was too big to allow me to study again. She insisted, and when I arrived at the UFS, my outstanding debt had been paid and I was able to register. The same Mme Tshepo called to assure me that she will pay for my tuition, meals, books, and accommodation. I did not even know that she was the wife of Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, who would later become the Deputy President and now the President of the country.”

“Mme Tshepo sponsored me from her own pocket until I became part of the Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust (CRET).”

“She personally texted and called me about my graduation information so she could attend. You can imagine the excitement and the shock. Although I have met the First Lady many times, it will be the first time that I will introduce her to my family. She is taking me and my family – my mother and my grandmother – to lunch after the ceremony. I see that as a favour of God upon my life.”

Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor at a meeting with Dr Motsepe and Chacha said: “Access to university is crucial. However, we would also like our students to exit with a qualification. This is how a bursary like this one from CRET helps. We would like to exit students that contribute to the economy.”

Making a difference

Chacha is now doing his master’s in Urban and Regional Planning. “I am so looking forward to registering with the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN) as a professional town planner at the end of my master’s degree within a few months.

“I see myself joining a town planning division anywhere in South Africa, dedicated to changing the living conditions of ordinary citizens. Spatial planning speaks to the heart of land use and ensures that the land is used and occupied in a manner that is beneficial to everyone who needs it,” Chacha said.

He believes town planning has been largely influenced by politics, thus forcing town planners to move away from serving the needs of the ordinary citizen. Chacha would like to see the injustices of the past, especially with regard to townships, being addressed. “This is why my dissertation is about township infrastructure and the contribution it makes towards township economy.”

“I would like to see a South Africa that is centred on the well-being of its citizens. The older generation has fought the brutality of apartheid; our battle as the youth is to be academically equipped to fight and win the land battle,” he said.

Kovsie encounters

For Chacha, his studies in Urban and Regional Planning was very tough. But the support he received from his lecturers was immeasurable. “Prof Maléne Campbell, Head of the UFS Department of Urban and Regional Planning has the most competent team. This is the best department on campus, with no racial issues or unpleasant vibes. I just love the space.”

“The UFS has taught me resilience, hard work, the importance of networking, and the knowledge that you need to be radical when it comes to your future,” Chacha concluded.

Prof Francis Petersen and Dr Tshepo Motsepe

Prof Prakash Naidoo, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, Prof Francis Peteresen, and Prof Puleng LenkaBula

Zita Strydom, Dr Tsepho Motespe and Lacea Loader

Thapelo Chacha, Dr Tshepo Motsepe and Prof Francis Petersen

Prof Prakash Naidoo and Dr Tshepo Motsepe

Dr Tshepo Motsepe introduced to UFS staff members

Prof Francis Petersen with Dr Tshepo Motsepe and Thapelo Chacha

News Archive

SA cannot sustain momentum - Boesak

2010-09-02

Photo: Stephen Collett

South Africa finds it increasingly difficult to live up to the challenges facing it as a nation because of its failure to meet its democratic ideals and possibilities, peace and lack of self-belief.

This was according to renowned cleric and former political activist, Dr Allan Boesak, who recently delivered the CR Swart Memorial Lecture, the oldest memorial lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS). His lecture was on the topic Creating moments, sustaining momentum.

He said South Africa had plenty of opportunities to show the whole world what was possible if all the people of this country joined hands and worked together to build a truly united society. However, he said, the country somehow invariably contrived to find its way out of these wonderful possibilities.

He cited events of historical significance like Codesa, the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the first democratic president of South Africa, the assassination of South African Communist Party leader, Chris Hani; and the rugby and soccer world cups.
To drive his point home about this dismal failure of the country to “sustain momentum”, he alluded to the current public servants’ strike that is gradually crippling public service.

“The public servants’ strike was neither unexpected nor is it completely unjustifiable. Most of us have understanding for the frustration of teachers and health workers. Their demands resonate with most of us, and I think that it is scandalous of SACP fat cats to tell workers to “stop crying like babies,” he said.

He also added to the criticism of the much-maligned decision of the government to spend billions of taxpayers’ money to purchase weapons when there was “no discernible military threat” to the country. He said the greatest threat to the security of the country was poverty, inequality and social cohesion.

“As for the argument that arms sales bring in foreign exchange – how can we be instrumental in killing the poor elsewhere with the intention of feeding our poor, and then our ill-gained profits feed only the already well-fed?” he asked.
“Can we see the hopeless contradiction, the total impossibility of being both the apostle of peace and a merchant of death?”

He also lambasted the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy of the government which he said benefited only those connected to the political aristocracy.

“It couples with the unashamed, in-your-face display of wealth by the privileged elite in this country, the crass materialism of the so-called “bling generation”, and the casual carelessness with which promises to the poor are given and treated. It is only the public symptom of the deep-seated scorn our political elites feel for the poor,” he said.

He said the government’s disdain to the poor was “setting fire to our future”.

“The anger of people on the ground can no longer be denied or ignored, and little by little, the leadership articulating and directing this anger is being estranged from politically elected leadership, and even more disturbing, from our democratic processes,” he said.

He concluded that the country’s difficulty in dealing with race and racism was putting the reconciliation process kick-started by Mandela just over a decade ago, under a threat.

Complete Lecture

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept