Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
04 January 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Hay’s family celebrated his graduation ceremony with him in 2013. Pictured here are Frank Hay (father), Hay, his brother, Shanley and his mother, Vasi Hay.

Diversity, inclusivity, and transformation are what sets the University of the Free State (UFS) apart from other institutions of tertiary education. It instils in graduates the values of attention to detail and precision, being meticulous, adherence to deadlines, being honest, ethical, and taking the ‘moral high ground’. 

Graduates at the UFS are also introduced to high levels of dedication and commitment, irrespective of the task at hand; taking pride in producing work of high quality; having a non-discriminatory mindset; the ability to be team players or leaders (depending on what needs to be done); and demonstrating an understanding and consideration for society at large. 

This is the view of Ashley Hay, a successful UFS alumnus who completed his honours (accepted through the Recognition of Prior Learning process) and master’s degrees (graduating cum laude) in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Throughout his academic career, Hay has achieved good results and accolades such as Best Master’s Student, Best Master’s Dissertation, Best Research in Advanced Planning Practice, and also receiving membership of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Today, he is employed by the Gauteng Provincial Government as Director: Land Use Management and Statutory Boards in the Office of the Premier and is in transition to a new branch called ‘Urban Planning’ under the Minister for Cooperative Governance, Urban Planning and Human Settlements.  

He leads a team of professionals on spatial planning and land use management aspects, and particularly to monitor and support three metropolitan municipalities, two district municipalities, and six local municipalities in Gauteng. His achievements include the development of a policy document titled, Gauteng City Region Implementation Plan for SPLUMA, which was approved by the Provincial Cabinet Executive Council and endorsed by the Premier’s Coordinating Forum. At a previous place of employment, the uMshwathi Local Municipality, he was the author of one of the best Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), which received an award in KwaZulu-Natal.

Proudly UFS

Hay believes he was equipped with a set of values and skills to deliver services and to make a difference wherever he is. Not only through the resources and means available to him, but also with a high level of dedication to the general good of others – whether it is ordinary citizens or people who just need the very basics to uplift their livelihoods. “These basics should be forthcoming from the people’s government, which in turn implicates me among many other government employees,” he believes.

Hay says in the UFS Department of Urban and Regional Planning – from the administration team through to the lecturers and senior academics – everyone plays a role to instil a wealth of knowledge and expertise in students to understand and resolve societal problems. “It is the manner in which the course is conducted, the administrative facilitation, the steadfast pace of learning, as well as the personal attention to students, that have equipped us to later formulate solutions for everyday life challenges.”

He is convinced that these are the fundamental principles that graduates need to achieve academic excellence and make themselves employable in a competitive world.

Words that stick with Hay from his master’s classes, are those of the former Head of the Department, Prof Das Steyn, “Gain experience, build your capacity, and do something positive with the education you receive. Education is not what we teach you, it is what you do with it. Everyone gets the same degree, but some will fail with it and some will do something positive with it and make a difference”. 

Standing out

And UFS graduates distinguish themselves in the workplace.

“In my work environment, the UFS graduates I know and have worked with are dedicated, goal-orientated, and passionate about the discipline. We go the ‘extra mile’ irrespective and have been able to apply the knowledge we gained from university towards problem-solving and contributing to make society a better place for all,” says Hay.

He also believes that the university has strong leadership and dedicated staff who actively respects the country’s rich diversity, acknowledging that we are an all-inclusive society, and creating a learning atmosphere that is transformed towards democratic principles.

News Archive

JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture: Dr Charles Nwaila
2005-09-13

Dr Charles Nwaila, Director-General of the Free State Provincial Government and Vice-Chairperson of the University of the Free State's (UFS) Council, recently discussed the repositioning of the Free State Provincial  Government to respond to the 21st century demands during the JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture at the UFS. 

 

 

From left:  Dr Nwaila; Prof Tienie Crous, Dean:  Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences; Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor and Dr Moses Sindane, Departmental Chairperson:  Department of Public Management at the UFS.
 

A summary of the lecture.

Free State government to focus on training of public servants

The Free State provincial government in collaboration with higher education institutions in the province is to establish the Free State Association of Public Administration to get public servants to work effectively towards the growth and development of the province.
This was announced by the Director-General of the Free State provincial government, Dr Charles Nwaila, during a lecture he delivered at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein this evening (Thursday 8 September 2005).

Delivering the annual JN Boshoff Memorial Lecture at the UFS, Dr Nwaila called on higher education institutions to play a critical and leading role in the re-engineering of the existing Provincial Training and Development Institute housed at the Vista campus of the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.

Dr Nwaila was formerly the Superintendent-General (head) of the Free State Department of Education and currently serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the University of the Free State.
He said the proposed Free State Association of Public Administration is a joint initiative with the National Academy of Public Administration based in Washington DC.

“We take this opportunity to invite the University of the Free State and other knowledge based institutions to join the Provincial Government in fostering a collaborative network to help us develop our public servants,” Dr Nwaila said.
He said there were accelerating demands and a lot of pressure on limited resources, with Free Staters expecting more from their government than ever before.

“Civil servants in a developmental state are servants of the people, champions of the poor and the downtrodden and not self-serving individuals that seek only advancement on the career ladder,” Dr Nwaila said.
According to Dr Nwaila, the Free State Growth and Development Strategy has identified 11 areas that need to be addressed by the year 2014, including:

• To reduce unemployment from 38% to 20%
• To improve the functional literacy rate from 69,2% to 85%
• To stabilize the prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS  and reverse the spread of the disease
• To provide a free basic service to all households
• To provide adequate infrastructure for economic growth and development


Dr Nwaila said that the Free State government will continue to follow a people-centred approach towards these development objectives with a keen sense of unity and unwavering determination to create the best of times for the Free State and all its people.


 

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