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A Virtual celebration of Africa Month

22 May 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath

A Virtual celebration of Africa Month

On 25 May 2020, Africa will celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity. A central tenet of the organisation, which was the predecessor of the African Union, is African solidarity. Member states undertook to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the people of Africa. The University of the Free State (UFS) has a long tradition of commemorating Africa Day and the ideas underpinning it. Every year, diverse events aimed at advancing African unity and solidarity take place during Africa Month – traditionally, the highlight is the Africa Day Memorial Lecture hosted by the University's Centre for Gender and Africa Studies.

This year, celebrating African unity through significant events involving the physical presence of a large number of people, will likely be impossible. COVID-19 is ravaging the world and Africa may become one of the world regions worst affected by the consequences of the virus. Social distancing may be difficult to achieve in a continent with densely populated urban centres that often feature large informal settlements. Besides, the economies of African nations are not as robust as those of other world regions. The challenge that Africa is facing, appears to be one that can only be mastered by its people acting in solidarity and unity. The continent has already developed an Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak to combat the virus, and an Africa Taskforce for Coronavirus has been established. The ideas of African togetherness and the underpinning philosophy of Ubuntu may be critical for strengthening African solidarity at a time when it may be more relevant than ever.

The commemoration of Africa Day takes a different theme each year. This year, the UFS 2020 Africa Month celebrations will take a virtual format, with the theme of ‘Africa together forever’ underpinned by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The theme is particularly significant considering the context of the African continent; and only through the demonstration of solidarity and unity can Africa overcome the challenges of the global pandemic.

The University will host a variety of cultural and intellectual contributions on the dedicated UFS virtual Africa Month website. On Africa Day (25 May 2020), a virtual Africa Day function, which will be posted on the website, will conclude the Africa Month commemorations.

The diverse contributions to the 2020 virtual Africa Month activities will highlight the University’s commitment towards creating a diverse, challenging intellectual environment. The UFS strives as a research-led university, to provide an environment in which new ideas are incubated and debated; contributing towards its transformation process and African unity.

News Archive

UFS awards centenary bonuses to staff

2004-11-25

The University of the Free State (UFS) will award a special Centenary bonus of R3000 (three thousand rand) to all qualifying staff in December 2004 .

As far as general salary increases for 2005 are concerned, plus an inflation- based linked salary increase adjustment of 1,4 percent and a further 4,6 percent salary increase as a final dividend from the financial turn-around strategy that began in 2000, will be instituted .

The final percentage salary increase is dependent on whether the expected government subsidy, of which the UFS must still receive notification from the Department of Education, is received.
, if the expected government subsidy realizes .
In addition, the salaries of service workers in low remuneration groups, as well as full professors have been adjusted retroactively to 1 January 2004. This restructuring was agreed upon to address market-related backlogs for these two groups , who display the biggest backlog relative to comparable institutions . A similar professional bench-marking exercise for support service staff has not been finalised.

This agreement was signed on Wednesday 24 November 2004 between the UFS Council and the UVPERSU-NEHAWU Joint Forum regarding salary negotiations for 2005.

“With this Centenary bonus and the significant above-inflation salary increase payment the UFS wants to pay recogni se tion to the sterling role that staff

have played in a difficult period of transition and fast growth and the contributions that they made to promote excellence at the UFS to a

university of excellence,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-

Chancellor of the UFS.

He said that the extra payment of this final 4,6 percent increase due to benefit from the financial turn-around strategy means that in real terms average salaries at the UFS had increased over the past 3 to 4 years by well over more that the 15 percent target that was set initially.

According to Prof Fourie all staff members who were in the employ of the UFS on UFS conditions of service on 15 November 2004 and who assumed duties before 1 October 2004, will qualify for the bonus. The same criteria will apply as for the 2004 bonuses.

However, there are some exceptions who do not qualify for the bonus eg learning facilitators, professors extraordinary, affiliated lecturers, departmental assistants, laboratory assistants, student help, all staff appointed for less than 20 hours per week, persons who are paid on a claims basis etc.

“Although the UFS’s actual subsidy amount is not yet known, an increase of 6,6 % in the total remuneration costs was budgeted for in the budget serving before the Executive Management and Council. It was further agreed with the UVPERSU-NEHAWU Joint Forum that the first 6 % increase will be used as general pensionable salary adjustment with implementation date 1 January 2005,” said Prof Fourie.

According to Prof Fourie the agreement also applies to all staff members of the Qwaqwa and Vista campuses whose conditions of service are already aligned with those of the main campus.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
25 November 2004

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