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UFS signs groundbreaking MOUs with National Credit Regulator and National Consumer Commission

12 September 2023 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Charl Devenish

Faculty of Law signing of Memoranda of Understanding — The respective representatives from the NCC, NCR and the UFS celebrate the launch of their new partnership. From left, Thezi Mabuza, Acting Commissioner of the NCC; Nomsa Motshegare, CEO of the National Credit Regulator; and Prof Francis Petersen; Vice- Chancellor and Principal of the UFS.

The Department of Mercantile Law at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Law, in collaboration with the National Consumer Commission (NCC) and the National Credit Regulator (NCR), launched a partnership through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). The MOUs were signed at a function held on 7 September 2023 in the Equitas Senate Hall at the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus.

In attendance at the signing was the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, Prof Francis Petersen; the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Serges Kamga; the CEO of the National Credit Regulator, Nomsa Motshegare; Acting Commissioner of the National Consumer Commission, Thezi Mabuza; and Timothy Radikeledi from the Provincial Consumer Protection Office, amongst others.

“This gathering signifies the dawn of something new for the future of this institution and for consumerism. We hope that this partnership will contribute towards improved consumer protection through research which is going to influence consumer protection while addressing consumer concerns in the province and within the South African Development Community,’’ said Mabuza.

What the partnership entails

“The MOUs focus more on consumer protection in the surrounding communities of the university, the Free State province and ultimately in the country,’’ said Ntando Ncamane, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law.

Through the signing of these MOUs, the partners commit to accomplishing several objectives which will be beneficial to UFS students and beyond. For instance, this agreement allows the Faculty of Law to infuse consumer protection principles in the curriculum through developing and delivering various academic modules. The Consumer Protection and Credit Law module is one such example. The module was initially offered as a core module to second-year students, however, through this partnership it will also be included as an elective in the LLB programme as well as at a master’s degree level.

“We envisage an opportunity where real cases of the consumer commission and credit regulator will be shared with students to analyse and critique, and even develop novel approaches that address some of the consumer issues,” said Motshegare.

In addition, there is a research element infused in this agreement. According to Ncamane, the partners will work hand-in-hand to create a research-based approach that is responsive and effective in addressing consumer concerns in the Free State province.

There will also be a series of consumer protection programmes implemented in the Free State.

A partnership which upholds the values of Vision 130

The UFS is currently embarking on an ambitious plan to become a research-led and globally impactful institution by 2034. As such, Prof Kamga indicates that, “the strategic partnership between the UFS, NCC and NCR are really important to the University, they are an important step in the achievement of the UFS’s Vision 130”.

In addition, as the MOUs will make provisions for more research, Prof Kamga says “the MOUs will create opportunities to increase our research capacity and capability in the area of consumer production.’’

The significance and impact of the MOUs

Motshegare said this partnership comes at a time when concerted efforts are needed to promote and strengthen consumer protection measures in the country. Therefore, this partnership will ensure that the UFS shapes graduates who will ultimately contribute towards consumer protection across the country.

However, she said, most importantly, this joint venture will “produce graduates who will become the consumer protection activists and champions this country so greatly needs."

Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS.

Prof Serges Kamga, Dean of the Faculty of Law.

Ntando Ncamane, lecturer in the Department of Mercantile Law.

Nomsa Motshegare, CEO of the National Credit Regulator.

Thezi Buthelezi, Acting Commissioner of the National Consumer Commission.

News Archive

Historians must place African history on world stage – Dr Zeleza

2017-05-30

From the left: Panellists Rev Henry Jackson,
Prof Irikidzayi Manase and Arno Van Niekerk at a book
launch and panel discussion on Africa Day hosted by the
UFS Sasol Library.
Photo: Mamosa Makaya

“African historians must take seriously the challenge of placing African history in world history, and in the history of our species, Homo sapiens.”

With these words, Dr Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Vice Chancellor of the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, stressed the continent’s challenge.

According to him the contest should continue to recover and reconstruct Africa’s long history. Liberating African knowledges can be done by: “Provincialising Europe that has monopolised universality, universalising Africa beyond its Eurocentric provincialisation, and engaging histories of other continents on their own terms.”

University celebrates Africa Month in various ways
Dr Zeleza delivered the ninth Africa Day Memorial Lecture, titled The Decolonisation of African Knowledges, at the University of the Free State (UFS). The lecture, hosted by the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS), took place on 24 May 2017 in the Equitas Auditorium on the Bloemfontein Campus and was one of the ways in which the UFS celebrated Africa Month.

Scholars should immerse themselves in these thoughts
Dr Zeleza focused on two issues, which he said were interconnected. They were the unfinished project of decolonising African knowledges and the continent's positioning in global knowledge production.

He said Africa’s scholars and students should “immerse themselves in the rich traditions of African social thought going back millennia”. According to him the continent’s research profile still remains weak in global terms.

“It is imperative that the various key stakeholders in African higher education from governments to the general public to parents, and to students, faculty, staff, and administrators in the academic institutions themselves, raise the value proposition of African higher education for 21st century African societies, economies, and polities.”

“Colonialism is associated with injustice
and inequality, but what happens when
our liberators become our oppressors?”

Library celebrates with panel discussion and book launch
The UFS Sasol Library celebrated Africa Day by presenting a book launch and panel discussion on 25 May 2017, on the pertinent and current political theme of land redistribution with a comparative basis of land invasions in Zimbabwe.

Prof Irikidzayi Manase discussed his book White Narratives: The Depiction of Post-2000 Land Invasions in Zimbabwe, accompanied by Rev Henry Jackson who wrote Another Farm in Africa. A perspective of the economic implications of land redistribution in South Africa was discussed by panellist Arno Van Niekerk: Senior Lecturer of Economics at the UFS Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

Inequality still an African problem
The content of the books are a stark reminder of the burning issues of inequality and loss of identity of those who lost their farms in Zimbabwe, a collection of memoirs by white farmers and their families. Rev Jackson gave a religious perspective on reconciliation, forgiveness and the question of land ownership, saying that healing of injustice begins with forgiveness of past transgressions.

Van Niekerk highlighted that while land issues were important, “social cohesion is affected by the economic decisions that will be made”. In closing, Prof Manase called for serious consideration of what the future may hold. “Colonialism is associated with injustice and inequality, but what happens when our liberators become our oppressors?”

The panel discussion was attended by staff and students of the university, and was lit up by robust discussions on possible historical and future solutions to the question of land, decolonisation and political power struggles in Southern Africa and lessons to be learned from Zimbabwe.

UFS celebrates Africa Month (24 May 2017)

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