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12 August 2022 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Supplied
Prof Liezel Lues
Prof Liezel Lues.

Prof Liezel Lues, Professor of Public Administration and Management in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been elected as a board member of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) – an association of organisations and individuals whose activities and interests focus on the education and training of public administrators and managers. Prof Lues will serve alongside Dr Nayak Zarrouk from Morocco, who is the first female president of IASIA since its inception. 

“I am honoured to be elected as a board member of IASIA; this special recognition grants me the privilege of representing South Africa among global leaders in the public administration and management field. It is an immense opportunity to interact with board members from different countries, cultures, and beliefs, as well as sharing my knowledge of public administration and management in the South African context,” expressed Prof Lues.

Prof Lues has represented the UFS at the IASIA since 2006, where she made a significant contribution and had a broad influence over the years; in 2015, she was elected as the co-chairperson of the working group on Public Leadership, Management, and Governance. Today, Prof Lues is recognised as an international authority on public administration and management at IASIA. With this achievement, she has created an opportunity to engage with an international and interdisciplinary research community, while exchanging information on developments of common interest. “The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences congratulates Prof Lues on her election to the Board of Management of IASIA. The faculty is expanding its international footprint, and Prof Lues’ election strengthens that footprint significantly,” says Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

Insights from IASIA meeting 

The instructional deliberations at the IASIA conference, held in Rabat (Morocco, July 2022), alluded to the fact that the world ought to be knowledgeable about the challenges presented, and should be made aware of the associated vulnerability and interdependence. Conclusions targeted current improvement of world interest, which includes large transitions underway in technology, green economies, and topics of equality and effectiveness within the workforce. “I have an increased realisation that each country has unique challenges; the difference between development versus deterioration resides in the ability of the leaders to negotiate volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments,” added Prof Lues.

Institutional recognition for the UFS

This IASIA Board of Management membership that the UFS may now claim, provides a noteworthy platform for institutional recognition on national and international level. “The election creates an opportunity to engage with an international and interdisciplinary research community and to exchange information, ideas, and experiences on issues and developments of common interest. This position will allow sharing international best practices with students and colleagues in the Department of Public Administration and Management,” added Prof Lues.

The UFS will continue to be a pioneer in advancing excellence in public administration education and training, while building on the representation of former members of the Department of Public Management and Administration and the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

News Archive

Public Protector addresses large audience
2012-04-23

Adv. Madonsela condemns corruption and poor service delivery in South Africa.
20 April 2012

Audio of the lecture


Video of the lecture

Apartheid cannot be blamed for poor service delivery in the country - corruption should shoulder the blame. Eighteen years into democracy, South Africa still has a long way to go before it becomes the society it envisaged for itself.

“We are not there yet,” South Africa’s Public Protector, Adv. Thuli Madonsela, told a packed Wynand Mouton Theatre on the University of the Free State’s Bloemfontein Campus on Tuesday 17 April 2012. She delivered a public lecture on “Academic freedom and corruption in the context of secrecy laws”.

“Are we closer to becoming a society where values such as human dignity are sacrosanct, where freedom for everyone is the order of the day?” Adv. Madonsela asked the audience comprising students, academics and community members. She said corruption is the silent thief that steals the country’s constitutional dream, causing the poor to live undignified lives.

Adv. Madonsela appealed to students and academics to help retrieve the constitutional dream. In encouraging academic discourse on corruption, she said corruption is not only one person’s problem, but that of everybody. She told academics they could help develop the law and so help in the fight against corruption.

Adv. Madonsela, who spent most of Tuesday on the Bloemfontein Campus, met with senior management from the university as well as students earlier.

Her public lecture late on Tuesday afternoon had the Wynand Mouton Theatre bursting at the seams. Some members of the audience sat on the steps inside the theatre to hear the lecture.

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