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Preliminary finding indicates fire on UFS Qwaqwa Campus caused by arson

05 April 2022 | Story Lacea Loader

The preliminary finding of the urgent investigation into the fire on the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) on the evening of Monday 4 April 2022, indicates that the two buildings were intentionally set alight. This was established by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the university’s Protection Services this morning.

Since the outbreak of the fire, one person – who is a registered student – has been arrested by SAPS, and a process is underway to identify more suspects. The UFS will institute the necessary disciplinary action against suspects who are registered students. Similarly, criminal charges will also be instituted.

The buildings, which housed the clinic and a computer laboratory, were almost completely destroyed, with damage to both buildings estimated at R35 million.

The university management condemns the destructive behaviour of the students and condemns criminal behaviour such as this in the strongest terms. “The Qwaqwa Campus, as well as the entire university community, are shocked by this devastating and irresponsible act – especially after the campus experienced violent protest action this year, which significantly affected the academic programme,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The academic programme on the Qwaqwa Campus continues, mostly online for this week, and students will be informed by their faculties about the revised schedule, as well as arrangements regarding tests and assessments scheduled for this week on the campus.

The campus remains open; the university's Protection Services is on high alert and is monitoring the situation on campus closely.

It is alleged that students were unhappy about the payment of allowances they are due to receive from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in April 2022. To alleviate this, the UFS has so far this year offered students allowances for food and books amounting to more than R71 million, while they are waiting for their NSFAS subsidies to be released.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

#Women'sMonth: Kovsie entrepreneur making waves in business world

2017-08-25

Akhona Monakalali to take on the business world.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Whoever came up with the idea that ‘a woman’s place is in the kitchen’, has definitely not met Akhona Monakalali. Monakalali, a postgraduate student busy with an Accounting diploma on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), is a force to be reckoned with. She was born in Katlehong Township in Gauteng, and moved to Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape a few years later.

Making international waves in business
Monakalali is a Professional Accountant and an entrepreneur who continues to make her mark in the entrepreneurial world. She just recently participated in the Progressive African Network’s (PAN) Annual African Entrepreneurship Expo in Boston, USA, which was hosted by PAN and the Hult Women in Business Club. She was invited to the expo to share her insights on entrepreneurship in South Africa. “I and four other Africans participated in the expo via Skype. It was a very successful event and very insightful,” she says.

Awarded for positive contribution in communities
While she was doing her undergraduate degree, she was elected as the President/CEO of the Golden Key UFS Chapter in 2007. After competing with other universities in the national championships, they won and qualified for the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) World Cup in New York City. SIFE is an international non-profit organisation working with university students who want to change their communities positively, and gain practical knowledge to become socially responsible business leaders.

This international acknowledgement influenced her peers – among millions of other South African teens – to vote for her in the Seventeen Magazine’s Top Teen Achiever Award for her community contribution. Later in that same year, she received a special Service Leadership Award from the Dean of her faculty for her contribution towards creating a better world through business.
She has since established an in-home tutoring foundation called Monakali Academy, which offers parents and struggling students affordable, one-on-one tutoring in the comfort of their homes.
“Tutoring is performed in the student’s home in order to provide a comfortable and non-competitive environment for learning,” says Monakalali.
She will also be involved with various entrepreneurs throughout Africa, working on ways to improve youth entrepreneurship on the African continent.

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