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UFS to host ABASA’s sixth annual Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu Lecture

18 July 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang

UFS to host ABASA sixth annual Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu lecture

The University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased to host the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa’s (ABASA) sixth annual Wiseman Nkuhlu lecture on 28 July 2023 in the Equitas Auditorium on its Bloemfontein Campus.

The prestigious lecture will be delivered by Tantaswa Fubu, ABASA past President and CEO of Great Well, under the theme, The Value of Accountants Reimagined.

ABASA was established in 1985 to promote the professional interests of black persons engaged in the accounting profession. Through this lecture, the association aims to raise renewed support from ABASA stakeholders, captains of industry, and corporates to assist in providing the resources and expertise required for the university to continue producing the leadership excellence it is known and respected for.

Attendees can look forward to presentations by Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu, Chancellor of the University of Pretoria and Chairman of the Board of KPMG; Linda Maqoma, ABASA President; Dr Molapo Qhobela, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the UFS; Ayanda Mafuleka, CEO of Fasset; and Likeleli Monyamane, Programme Manager at Standard Bank Group.

The event will be attended by dignitaries from the UFS, SAICA, Fasset, and ABASA.

Event details:

Date:	28 July 2023
Time:	14:00-16:00
Venue:	Equitas Auditorium
RSVP:	communications@abasa.org.za

For more information, click here: https://ufsweb.co/3rzOORh

The prestigious lecture will be delivered by:

Tantaswa Fubu

Tantaswa Fubu was Group Executive: Human Capital and Transformation at Barloworld Limited, an industrial brand management company based in Sandton, South Africa. Fubu’s experience spans 30 years in diverse areas of the economy, including the banking, industrial, automotive, medical scheme, and mining sectors. At Barloworld, she was also instrumental in the integration of newly acquired businesses that performed exceptionally well in their first year; under her leadership, Barloworld was named among the overall Gender Mainstreaming Champions of 2020.

Fubu has worked for KPMG SA, where she was Executive Head: People (HR) and Transformation, and a member of the executive committee. She is a chartered accountant with qualifications in industrial psychology, accounting, banking, and finance.

She has also served as National President of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA). In addition, Fubu has previously worked for Standard Bank and Nkonki Inc, and serves as a non-executive director on several boards.

She is the founding CEO of Great Well, as well as a mentor and coach.

Bios of speakers:

Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu

Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu is the former Chancellor of the University of Pretoria and a member of the advisory board of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Prof Nkuhlu served two terms as President of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, from April 1998 to April 2000. He is passionately involved with the development of black accountants and is the patron of the Nkuhlu School of Accounting at the University of Fort Hare.

He served as economic adviser to the President of the Republic of South Africa, TM Mbeki, and as chief executive of the secretariat of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) from 2000 to 2005, playing a major role in the elaboration of NEPAD policy framework and in promoting the programme both in Africa and internationally. He regularly participates as a speaker at international conferences on African development issues and corporate governance.

In recognition of his contribution to education, business, and development, Prof Nkuhlu has received a number of awards, including honorary doctorates from the University of the Free State, Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Fort Hare; and merit awards from the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce, the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa, and the Black Management Forum. He was also awarded the President of Convocation Medal by the University of Cape Town in June 2004. The medal is awarded to graduates of UCT for outstanding community service.

Linda Maqoma

Linda Maqoma is the national president of ABASA, as well as the founding and chief executive of the Nomatshawe Group. Maqoma holds a BCom Accounting degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Fort Hare and has 11 years of experience in the audit space, both in the public and private sectors. She is the deputy chairperson of the Southern African Institute of Government Auditors (SAIGA) Africa and Global Committee, a member of the Black Business Council, National Council and Women's Alliance, Black Management Forum, as well as a member of the Black Business Women's Alliance steering committee.

With an inherent passion for business, people, and development, Maqoma is also an independent non-executive director of the Young African Entrepreneurs Institute, providing advice on the finance and fundraising portfolio. She is a candidate fellow of the fourth class of the Young African Leaders Initiative – South Africa (YALI), an extension of the Aspen Global Leadership Network fellowship. She has served as an audit manager in financial services at KPMG and as a success coach at SAPRO.

Dr Molapo Qhobela

Dr Qhobela holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from the Kansas State University in the United States of America. His career started at Rhodes University in 1991, where he was a lecturer in microbiology and pharmacy, after which he joined the University of Cape Town, before joining the public service sector. His leadership and strategic direction have been sought by several large and complex organisations in the course of his career. From 1998 to 2007, he was Chief Director: Higher Education Policy and Development Support in the Department of Education, from 2007 to 2009 he was Deputy Director General: Higher Education in the same department, and from 2010 to 2011 he was Deputy Director General: Human Capital and Knowledge Systems in the Department of Science and Technology.

Dr Qhobela was appointed Vice-Principal: Institutional Development at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2011 and held the position until 2015. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation (NRF) from 2016 to 2020.
Dr Qhobela has strong governance credentials, having served and led governing boards, among others as the former chairperson of the boards of the Agricultural Research Council, the Global Research Council, and the Committee of Heads of Organisations of Research and Technology (COHORT). He is currently the chairperson of the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET).

Ayanda Mafuleka

Ayanda Mafuleka was appointed CEO of the Financial and Accounting Services Seta (FASSET) with effect from 1 January 2019. She previously served as the CFO of the state-owned coal mining company, African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC). Prior to her AEMFC role, she was CFO at the National Credit Regulator. She has worked in finance across a diverse range of departments in government, including Transtel, the National Ports Authority, National Treasury, the Department of Home Affairs, and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo. She holds a BCom Honours, Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Auditing, and an LLB from UNISA.

Likeleli Monyamane

Monyamane sought to utilise the platform that her profession provided to serve her community. From her articles days, Monyamane served as a member of the Free State chapter of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA), rising through the ranks to become its first female chairperson. She also served as the youngest member of the University of the Free State Council, as well as on its audit and risk and finance committees.

She co-founded the Keep Lesotho Clean Campaign, which aims to solve Lesotho’s waste management challenges. The group hosts monthly clean-up campaigns and is planning to host a waste management conference and business and innovation challenges.

Monyamane is committed to the development of the accounting profession in Lesotho and has partnered with the Lesotho Institute of Accountants to host a number of development initiatives, such as a young accountant development workshop and a student leadership summit.

Monyamane is also a successful businesswoman who runs a professional services company in Lesotho – Inspire Innovation Business Consultants – with a number of leadership achievements, including the Mandela Washington Fellowship. She holds an MBA from the African Leadership University.

News Archive

The launch of a unique conservation project

2011-06-06

Our Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences launched a very special pilot project at Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate in Bloemfontein on Friday 03 June 2011, which aims to eventually aid in the conservation and study of one of Africa’s most graceful animals.

The project aims to provide the scientific basis needed for making future decisions in the best interests of the giraffe in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape and involves collaring and monitoring the behaviour and movement of these animals via GPS.

Based on the public interest in the giraffe and the increased impact of the growing giraffe population on the vegetation in the area, SANParks has been considering the translocation of a number of Kgalagadi giraffe. Due to limited information regarding their adaptation success and potential impact on their new environment, thorough planning and subsequent monitoring of the species is required.

Mr Francois Deacon from our university decided to undertake a PhD study to address the existing challenges. This will be the first study of its kind, undertaken on giraffe.

He says he decided on this project because of his love for animals and conservation. “There are nine sub-species of giraffe and seven of these are already endangered. I want to involve people and make them aware of the plight of the animals and the need for conservation,” he said.

The project kicked off on Friday morning, with a group of students and curious nature-lovers tracking a herd of giraffe at Woodland Hills. The challenge laid in identifying one of the animals which could easily be collared with a GPS device, tranquilising it, and applying the device, without harming the animal.

After a young bull was identified, it was up to Dr Floris Coetzee, a veterinarian, to get close enough to the animal to tranquilise it, and to the group of students to catch it and hold it down. All this was done perfectly and the animal was fitted with its new collars. The collars were designed and made by Mr Martin Haupt, who gained extensive experience in the design of similar collars for other research studies.

Mr Deacon will spend the following two weeks personally monitoring the animal constantly, to ensure that the collars do not cause any discomfort or injury and to determine whether it should be removed or adapted.

It has taken Mr Deacon over a year to plan the collaring process and the associated study. He says the main challenges in the project are financial, since it will cost approximately R500 000 to run over five years.

Thus far he has been supported by Mr Pieter Malan of Woodland Hills, Mr Cas Kempff of Cas Kempff Consulting Engineers and Prof. Frans Swanepoel of the UFS’ Directorate of Research Development, all of whom have been benefactors of the project.
Information gathered from the pilot project will provide the data to assess how to best fit the collar onto the giraffe to ensure that the animal is comfortable and that the collar will last in the wild. Scientific data will be generated and processed for use by the Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate management.

Should the pilot project be successful, between four and eight giraffe in the Kgalagadi will be tracked using the satellite GPS collars. The GPS collars will enable the constant recording of the location of individual giraffe for up to 2 years. This will allow control and monitoring of the animals in real-time.

The main benefits of the project include, amongst others, improved decision-making, informing tourism development, education and community involvement, improved sustainability and improved cross-border collaboration between South Africa and Botswana.

Anyone who wishes to get involved with the project or get more information, should contact Me. Sonja Buhrmann at sbuhrmann@vodamail.co.za or 0827735768.

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