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07 November 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Johan Roux
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.

Bosso ke mang? So goes a popular township saying derived from the late Hip Hop Pantsula’s (HHP) hit track, Bosso. Literally, it means ‘who is the boss?’

Selloane Mile, the 2018/2019 SRC Secretary General for the Qwaqwa Campus, was a tutor in the Faculties of Education and the Humanities from 2017 to 2019, and is also an aspiring poet and author. She is now the Qwaqwa Campus Dux Student for 2019, with an average of 84, 3%.

“I am very honoured and humbled to have been bestowed the award as the best academic student on the Qwaqwa Campus at the recent Student Excellence Awards ceremony. The experience certainly feels unreal and I am yet to come to terms with the magnitude of this accolade,” said Selloane, a final-year Bachelor of Education (Senior Phase and FET) student. 

The secret is, there is no secret

When asked what her secret was, she said: “I do not think there is any secret or technique that I can attribute my academic achievements to. However, I think setting a standard for yourself and being consistent in whatever we do to realise those standards we have set for ourselves, is the key to success. Also important is flexibility. One has to give yourself the chance to explore and tap into different horizons.” 

Cognitive growth

“You cannot grow cognitively if you do not challenge yourself. For instance, reading a book outside the scope of your discipline can prove beneficial, because you get to be more knowledgeable. The advice I would give is that you must constantly remind yourself why you are here and let that be the driving force, even when things are gloomy, to let that motivate you. If you want to achieve certain things, you have to compromise and deprive yourself of other things; so, priorities should be the order of the day,” said the future Biology and English educator.

Looking back

Selloane is a proud product of Qwabi, Molibeli, and Reabetswe primary schools in Qwaqwa.

“I was born and bred here at Mandela Park in Qwaqwa. I did my Grades 10-12 at Moteka Secondary School, and that is why I would like to go back and teach at a public school – to bring about change in my community.”

Other awards Selloane received, were the Faculty of Education Overall Best Performer, and the Top Academic Achiever in the 2018/2019 SRC. Clearly, bosso ke Selloane!

Some of the recipients on the day were:
Dineo Tsotetsi (81,5%) – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Katleho Motloung (78, 3%) – Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Tina Magaqa (74%) – Faculty of the Humanities Overall Best Achiever
Pakiso Mthembu – Sportsman of the Year
Sandakahle Msamariya Khumalo – Sportswoman of the Year
Thabo Mdletshe – UFS101 Teaching Assistant of the Year
Charlotte Maxeke Residence – The Cleanest Residence on Campus
Siphamandla Shabangu – Selfless Volunteer and Gateway Mentor
UFS Qwaqwa Campus Chorale – Outstanding Performing Arts and Cultural Society 

News Archive

The challenges of local governance highlighted at the JN Boshoff Memorial lecture
2014-08-26

 

Mr Kopung Ralikontsane
Photo: Jerry Mokoroane

The annual JN Boshoff memorial lecture was hosted by the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences in conjunction with the Department of Public Management on 21 August 2014. Mr Kopung Ralikontsane, Director-general of the Free State Provincial Government, presented the keynote address, ‘Challenges Facing Local Government in Service Delivery’.

In his opening remarks, Mr Ralikontsane gave the background of the South African municipal structures, the legal framework within which they operate and the challenges they are currently facing. He added that “local government is a sphere at the coalface of service delivery and if this sphere fails, South Africa would have failed to be a developmental state.”

He said the Free State provincial government has made great strides in developing local communities, with millions of rands invested in various development projects such as water and sanitation, electrification, roads and storm water structures, community facilities and solid waste disposal.

Local government is still faced with other challenges, though. He pointed out that public employees are subject to greater scrutiny and increased demands from citizens. As a result, they have to provide better services, but within stricter limits on resources. Conflict arises due to changing relationships between public servants and citizens, downsizing, restructuring and contracting out of government services and activities.

Despite the various structures implemented by local government, municipalities are serving an ever-growing population in an economic decline. Regulations have been put into place to devise credible Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) to improve municipal infrastructure, build competent management teams and strong operations and increase technical capacity for effective delivery of services.

Mr Ralikontsane invited students to join local government in crafting innovative solutions. “We know the problem, but we need to encourage you to join forces with your local government and tackle them.”

Mr Kopung Ralikontsane has served in local government for two decades and also serves as Head of Administration of the Free State Government and as Cabinet Secretary.


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