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17 October 2023 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Nonsindiso Qwabe
Mokitlane Manyarela
Mokitlane Manyarela reflects on his 41-year journey with the UFS Qwaqwa Campus

He has seen the many changing faces of the Qwaqwa Campus, and four decades later, Mokitlane Manyarela says he would not have it any other way.

Fondly known on campus as ‘Ntate Manyarela’, he has been with the campus for 41 years, having started on 1 January 1982 at the ripe age of 18 years. Manyarela recently received a long-service award for 36 years of service, dating back to when the campus moved to its current location from where it started at Lere la Tshepe in 1982.

He recalls arriving at the campus offices in town in 1982 seeking employment, as there were no “buildings or campus” back then.

“I started working as a general worker because there was nothing else to do. All the university’s content would come from Turfloop in those days. As time went by, I worked in the reprographic section, printing exam papers. That was my first official job until the campus moved in 1988 to where we’re now located. All the buildings that are now filling this campus were constructed right in front of my eyes,” he said.

He went on to work for various departments on the campus, such as procurement, cashiers, and finance. In 2007, he joined the transport department, and that is where he is still working as an assistant officer. “What’s made me stay this long is not getting into fights with anyone and always following instructions given to me. I’ve worked under many different bosses, and I believe that none of them have anything negative to say about me. Therefore, I can say I’ve never had a reason to leave because everything I’ve done, I have done wholeheartedly.”

Manyarela said the university also afforded his wife and children the opportunity to obtain their degrees, which is something he considers a huge achievement. “All that I have has been achieved at this institution. It’s been a wonderful journey. I have no complaints, and I am content. I’ve reached my old age here. I don’t know any other job or work environment; this place has become like home to me, and I’m prepared to still give my all to this university, even though old age is now catching up with me.”

News Archive

Chitja Twala: leading ANC historian
2017-12-25

Description: Dr Twala spotlight Tags: Chitja Twala, ANC history, history, UFS Department of History 

Dr Chitja Twala is a leading historian on ANC history in the
Free State. Photo: Sonia Small

Dr Chitja Twala is a senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University of the Free State (UFS), Bloemfontein Campus. Dr Twala has a substantial publication record on the history of the liberation movements, with special reference to the African National Congress in the Free State. He is the author of six chapters and has co-authored two in The Road to Democracy in South Africa: Vol. 4 (1970-1990) and The Road to Democracy in South Africa: Vol. 6 (1990-1996), published in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Dr Twala has a PhD in History from the UFS.

Dr Twala was part of the first group of the UFS Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP). He is currently collaborating with Prof Peter Limb from the Michigan State University in the United States of America on a book project on the history of the ANC in the Free State. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in local and international journals. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal for Contemporary History, Yesterday and Today Journal, and South African Journal of Cultural Studies.

Awards received by Dr Twala:
The National Research Foundation
New frontier in Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development Funding
Recipient of the Graduate School for Arts and Sciences at the University of Harvard
US Recipient of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Grant
Awarded the Mellon Foundation Scholarship 2016-2018


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