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Allan Gray Achievement Awards recognise outstanding UFS EMS Faculty students

07 November 2023 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo SUPPLIED

Katherine Swartland, a representative from Allan Gray addressing the delegation at the Allan Gray Achievement Awards, hosted on the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus.

The Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences (EMS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with Allan Gray, proudly hosted the annual Allan Gray Achievement Awards on 11 October 2023. This special event, held at the Awela Restaurant on the UFS’s Bloemfontein campus, was designed to celebrate the academic achievements of top-performing students within the faculty, recognising their excellence based on their year of study.

The award ceremony was attended by distinguished members of the EMS Faculty, the Commercio Students Association, and a delegation from Allan Gray, including Katherine Swartland, Managing Business Analyst, Yonela Makalima, Business Analyst, and Steven Motloung, Manager. The evening's guest speaker was Liz Letsoalo, a renowned entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. Notably, this ceremony marked a significant return to in-person events since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Katherine Swartland, who served as the programme director, described this resurgence as truly exciting.

The award winners

The Allan Gray Achievement Awards highlighted outstanding students from various year levels. In the second-year category, Modisaotsile Seekoei received a prestigious award of R5 000 along with a Thule backpack, while Melissa Mlotshwa was granted a prize of R3 000. Among the third-year students, Anthea Ralane was recognised with an award of R8 000 and a Thule backpack, and Modiehi Mpakathe was the recipient of a R5 000 prize. In the fourth-year category, Kelebogile Motlhanke earned a remarkable R12 000 reward and a Thule backpack, and Rykers Lues was presented with a prize worth R8 000.

Although not all students attending the ceremony received awards, Prof Brownhilder Neneh, the Vice Dean for Research Engagement and Internationalisation, aptly reminded the audience, ’It is important to recognise that each of you here is already a winner, as your presence signifies that you are among the top achievers in your field. You have demonstrated that with passion, perseverance, and a commitment to your goals, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.’’

A longstanding relationship

The Allan Gray Achievement Awards holds deep roots in a special relationship between the UFS and Allan Gray. Swartland noted that this initiative was founded by Faizil Jakoet, an executive at Allan Gray, and the awards ceremony, in part, celebrates the continued partnership between the UFS and Allan Gray. This enduring relationship has thrived for over a decade, despite changes in leadership, creating opportunities for meaningful engagement between Allan Gray and UFS students. Swartland further emphasised the importance of this bond, saying, ‘’Another special relationship is formed every time we visit the UFS, between us and you, a lot of exceptional students.”

As the event approached its conclusion, the audience had the privilege of hearing from guest speaker Liz Letsoalo, Founder of Masodi Organics, a prominent beauty and wellness brand. Letsoalo’s address centered on the ‘practicality of creating’, encouraging students to view themselves as creators, allowing them to pivot and adapt as their aspirations evolve. She urged students to stay dedicated to their dreams, emphasising that taking necessary actions and persevering is essential to turning their dreams into reality.

The Allan Gray Achievement Awards signify the remarkable achievements and potential of the UFS EMS Faculty students. This event not only celebrates academic excellence, but also reinforces the enduring partnership between the University of the Free State and Allan Gray, paving the way for further opportunities and engagement.

Prof Brownhilder Neneh and Anthea Ralane

Prof Brownhilder Neneh and Melissa Mlotshwa

Prof Brownhilder Neneh and Modisaotsile Seekoei

Prof Brownhilder Neneh and Kelebogile Motlhanke

News Archive

Game farming a lens to analyse challenges facing democratic SA – Dr Kamuti

2017-05-30

Dr Tariro Kamuti, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre
for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

One of the challenges facing South Africa’s developing game farming policy is the fractured state in the governance of the private game farming sector, says Dr Tariro Kamuti.

Dr Kamuti, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was presenting a seminar on Wednesday 17 May 2017 under the topic, Private Wildlife Governance in a Context of Radical Uncertainty: Challenges of South Africa’s Developing Game Farming Policy, which takes material from his PhD. He received his PhD from both the Vrije University in Amsterdam and the UFS in 2016.

His presentation explored how the private game industry positions itself in accordance with existing agricultural and environmental regulations. It also investigated the state’s response to the challenge of competing needs over land and wildlife resources which is posed by the gaming sector. “The transformation of the institutional processes mediating governance of the private game farming sector has been a long and enduring arrangement emerging organically over time,” Dr Kamuti said.

Game farming links wildlife and agricultural sectors
“I decided on this topic to highlight that game farming links the wildlife sector (associated with conservation and tourism) and the agricultural sector. Both make use of land whose resources need to be sustainably utilised to meet a broad spectrum of needs for the diverse South African population.

“The continuous skewed ownership of land post-1994 justifies questioning of the role of the state in confronting challenges of social justice and transformation within the economy.”

“Game farming can thus be viewed as a lens through which to study the broad challenges facing a democratic South Africa, and to interrogate the regulatory and policy framework in the agricultural and wildlife sectors at their interface,” Dr Kamuti said.

Challenges facing game farming policies
The state alone does not apply itself to the regulation of private gaming as a sector. “There is no clear direction on the position of private game farming at the interface of environmental and agricultural regulations, hence game farmers take advantage of loopholes in these institutional arrangements to forge ahead,” Dr Kamuti said.

He further went on to say that the state lacked a coherent plan for the South African countryside, “as shown by the outstanding land restitution and labour tenant claims on privately owned land earmarked for wildlife production”.

The South African government was confronted with a context in which the status quo of the prosperity of the middle classes under neoliberal policies was pitted against the urgent need to improve the material well-being of the majority poor. Unless such issues were addressed, this necessarily undermined democracy as a participatory social force, Dr Kamuti said.

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