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Dr Mpumelelo Ncube driven by the need to succeed and inspire

10 January 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied

A drive to be an advocate for social justice is what drove Dr Mpumelelo Ncube, the new head of the Department of Social Work, to pursue a degree and career in Social Work. “I needed to be an advocate for social justice and empowerment of the vulnerable individuals and communities,” said Dr Ncube, who took over from Prof Sandra Ferreira earlier this year.

Dr Ncube’s academic and professional repertoire is exceptional and his deep-rooted passion for social work is definitely a bonus for the UFS Department of Social Work. He has a PhD in Social Work from the University of Johannesburg, a master’s degree in Social Development, and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Witwatersrand.

Driven by the need to succeed in whatever task he sets for himself, Dr Ncube says that he strives to make the lives of those in his path better – “The positive change should, however, begin with me so that others could easily believe in my efforts.”

Opportunity to raise a new generation

He joined academia in 2013 after working as a psychosocial services manager in the NGO sector. “My move to the UFS was in line with my career progression and the need to contribute meaningfully at a strategic level of social work education and practice,” Dr Ncube says.

The opportunity to work in academia has in fact provided him with an excellent opportunity. “I have the opportunity to raise a new generation of social work professionals that would be passionate, ethical and professional in their practice. In that way, my impact as an educator can be felt in all corners where my students are,” Dr Ncube says.

An academic of note

As a senior lecturer, he also notes the tidal changes currently sweeping through academia. He says, “In the age of the fourth industrial revolution, the Social Work academic programme should be able to identify and embrace various developments that would provide the flexibility to attract postgraduate students in different places without the need for relocation. This relates to the delivery of the programme. However, apart from adapting to these changes, the Social Work programme should also foster a cultural innovation with students and enable them to embrace the technological advancements in their social work practice.”

“I have the opportunity to raise a new generation of social work professionals that would be passionate, ethical and professional in their practice.” – Dr Mpumelelo Ncube.

Apart from being an advocate for social justice and a lecturer he also sees his position as HOD as a being a catalyst to enable others within the department to publishing more research. “Research is a key performance area for any academic, hence the mantra, ‘publish or perish’,” he says. However, he also cautions that trick of publishing research lies in “self-discipline, self-motivation and finding a research niche”.

Social work is his passion

Social work is Dr Ncube’s passion but he also says that it is a profession, which is “seriously underutilised especially in under developing nations”. The socio-economic conditions in these countries largely drive the underutilisation. “These are nations largely plagued by poverty, unemployment, political illiteracy challenges with policy development and implementation, and moral degeneration among many challenges,” he says. In addition, it is therefore, as Dr Ncube mentions, that “the relevance of the social work profession shall be ever-present”.

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorate to global peace ambassador Dr Lakhdar Brahimi

2015-07-07

Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS and Dr Lakhdar Brahimi.
Photo: Mike Rose from Mike Rose Photography

The Faculty of the Humanities and Centre for Africa Studies rewarded the contributions of Dr Lakhdar Brahimi, a prominent global peace leader, with an honorary doctorate on Thursday 2 July 2015.

The conferment formed one of the highlights of the 2015 Winter Graduations. Dr Brahimi’s work as a United Nations’ (UN) envoy, and African peace leader of note, was deeply respected by the university. Professor Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS, accepted the PhD on his behalf.

In his acceptance speech, read by Prof Hudson at the Chancellor’s Dinner the same evening, Dr Brahimi expressed his gratitude to the university. “I deeply appreciate your generous recognition, and even now, in the twilight years of my life, I shall try to be worthy of your confidence in everything I say or do.”

“My generation did its share: its successes and its failures are things of the past. We must accept to be judged by you, the graduates. You, the young graduates here at the University of the Free State, and your fellow members of the African intellectual elite, have an exciting opportunity to take on the challenges and fulfil the dreams you have. We must accept to be judged by you.”

Algerian-born Dr Brahimi was first involved with the UN in 1992 as rapporteur to the Earth Summit. Distinctively, he is the most-frequently appointed special envoy of the UN. Amongst many other countries, he has worked as a mediator for South Africa, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the UN.

Significant peacekeeping efforts in South Africa (1993- 1994)

The ambassador– in his capacity as special representative to South Africa from December 1993 to June 1994 –played a direct role in South Africa’s democratic transition.

Prof Hudson expressed appreciation for the ambassador’s role in facilitating a peaceful transition from South Africa’s Nationalist government into the current democratic dispensation.

“One of the reasons we selected him as recipient of the honorary doctorate, is because of what he did for the African continent,” she said.

In addition, she commented Dr Brahimi for being a living testament of Ubuntu. “He has displayed an ethic of humanism in everything that he has done, in the way that he has mediated in certain conflicts - his main contribution is as a mediator.

According to Hudson, his humility, modesty, and generosity are the epitome of Ubuntu which states that “I am because we are.”

Dr Brahimi as a global peace practitioner

Dr Brahimi served as Undersecretary-General of the Arab League, Arab League Special Envoy for Lebanon, and Foreign Minister of Algeria.

The UN Peace-building Commission was established as a result of recommendations in his2000 Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (Brahimi Report).

Since 2007, Dr Brahimi has been a member in The Elders - an alliance chaired by Kofi Annan -of peace and human rights advocates including Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson, and Jimmy Carter. His passion for justice led to his membership in the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

In 2010, he was Laureate of the Special Jury Prize for Conflict Prevention, awarded by the Chirac Foundation (France), which promotes international peace and security.

Dr Brahimi’s influence in Peace Education

The Brahimi Report has had an indelible impact on scholars specialising in the broad field of peace operations. Dr Brahimi’s writings have also contributed to knowledge on post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD), a signification part of the African Union’s narrative.

He is a distinguished senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics. He has taught a postgraduate course on Conflict Resolution at Sciences Po, Paris (2011); is Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University; and is affiliated to the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, where he was a visiting professor from 2006 to 2008.

In addition, Dr Brahimi is a founding member of the French-language Journal of Palestine Studies, and a board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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