Chancellor, Professor Brian Figaji.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Nhlapo,
Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Professors Sheldon, Hay‑Swemmer, and Balkaran,
Registrar, Dr Masala,
Chair of Council, Dr Laurine Platzky; Deputy Chair, Dumisani Gumbi,
Members of the Governing Council,
My own families,
SARS Executive Committee and SARS colleagues — you are an important part of my village,
Distinguished guests, suitably proud families,
And most importantly: the Class of 2026.

There is a street, about thirty minutes from here, called Ventura Street.

It spans about ten avenues in Kensington, and somewhere along it is a house — number 23. It is not a famous street. You will not find it in any guidebook. But on that street, at house 23, a young boy grew up with his five siblings, their seamstress mother, and their general‑worker father. They had moved from a single room in Windermere into this three‑bedroom house that then felt like a palace. For weeks, the children continued to sleep in one room together with their parents until eventually they were coaxed into realising that there were two other rooms in the house they could use.

This house sat in the shadow of apartheid — the oppressive system that judged you not by your character or competence, but by the colour of your skin. A system that was rigged to deliberately limit your development, restrict your potential, and keep you a second‑class citizen in the country of your birth. With apartheid came extreme economic hardship, gross inequality, and deep social deprivation, by design. We were labelled as “hewers of wood and drawers of water”. To have aspired to more then, in itself, would have made you an enemy of the state.

I digress for a moment to bemoan the current reality that so many of our brothers and sisters in our beautiful country still suffer such horrific deprivation and are still denied the promise of our Constitution “to heal the divisions of the past… improve the quality of life of all citizens, and free the potential of every person…”.

And you only have to listen to the Mandlanga Commission, and witness the many service failures within municipalities and public services, to get a sense of how we’ve let our people down.

But let me return to 23 Ventura Street.

I draw attention to this house because I am the young boy who lived there. And my five siblings — who shared that space, a safe space — are here with me today. A safe space made possible by the incalculable sacrifice of our parents, Jocelyn and Edward.

It was in Ventura Street that I learnt a few lessons that have never left me.

From our mother: that the purpose of my life is to be a blessing.

From our father: the ethic and discipline of honest, hard work; he was a slave driver. (We hated school holidays because, for us, it was not a holiday. It was his opportunity for us to catch up on his job jar.) And I learnt the simple but radical wisdom to live within your means and save for a rainy day. A lesson I’ve never forgotten — “live within your means”.

From our mother, the lesson: “ons is arm, maar ons kan ordentlik wees” — we are poor, but we can be decent.

And from both of them together, I learnt not merely how to survive, but how to thrive in a world that is unjust, unequal, and fractured, and under a system designed to stereotype us as children of some lesser God.

At number 23, I learnt to be resourceful — to make something from nothing, to fix things that were broken, and to take care of younger siblings. They will tell you that I practised my management skills on them.

My parents would be the first to claim that they were not perfect people. But they were perfect for me — just the parents I needed. Today, in accepting this honour from my alma mater, I want to honour them. I am the fruit of their selfless sacrifice, their incredible labour, and their unconditional love.

They would have been bursting with pride today, but at the same time would have reminded me: “moenie laat jou kop te groot raak nie” (“don’t get a swollen head”). I carry them with me.

Beyond Kensington, it was in the church that I learnt to be a shepherd and to care for a community beyond my home. And, of course, developed a love for music, singing, and learning to be a young choral master. And it was at Harold Cressy High School, under the peerless leadership of our principal, Victor Ritchie — who has honoured me by accepting my invitation to be here today — that the resolve to become a social activist was truly forged in me. At Cressy, through the raising of my social consciousness, my deep desire to fix things extended beyond objects to a deep desire to fix the societal ills and injustices that we fought then — and quite frankly still fight now — to make the world just a little better than how we found it. That’s why I invited Mr Ritchie. I have spent my life pushing back against inequality, injustice, and poverty. I have always sought to use my many professional opportunities to serve a higher cause. That has never left me. It never will.

And then there is this institution — then a humble place in the bush. As if cast out into the wilderness, we were sent to study here. Some of you may not know that in those years we needed ministerial approval to study at UCT.

When I was told that CPUT wished to confer upon me an honorary doctorate, I felt truly humbled, undeserving, and deeply grateful. I felt something that is hard to clothe in words — the weight of a full circle now closing. Let me explain.

I did not arrive here the way most of you did. I came as an apprentice, and later as an engineering technician, because my parents could not afford university, and I had to find work when I left school. I had to earn my keep already at high school. As a member of the Class of 1976, we spent little time in classrooms and many days studying at home and plotting to overthrow a government. I studied hard after hours, once I had left school, to improve my mathematics and science results, and eventually arrived at what was then PenTech — a member of the Class of 1978.

Now, dear Class of 2026, that disappointment — not going to UCT — turned out to be one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Because what this institution taught me — what the technikon tradition carries in its very bones — is that theory must connect to application. That knowledge without consequence is incomplete. The question is never only what do we do, and never only how, but always, relentlessly: so what? And more fundamentally still: why? The question of purpose.

Seeing things work in practice, and watching that work change people’s lives, is what has always brought me joy.

I walked these grounds with remarkable people — Franklin Sonn, who has sadly passed; a young Brian Figaji; and Anthony Stark. Intellectual giants who expanded my sense of what was possible. We debated ideas and turned them into action. We took lectures from archaic overhead‑projector slides and photocopies of books we could not always afford. And yes, Professor Figaji — when you were not looking — we played endless games of klawerjas in those prefabricated classrooms that left us cold, but warmed our hearts, on those wintry Cape Flats mornings. And as a member of the SRC, I had many engaging conversations with our Rector, Franklin Sonn. I don’t think I ever won an argument with Franklin.

We were young, fearless, and hungry. And we did not yet know what we were capable of, but we remained relentlessly in pursuit of the conviction that a better future was up to us. We could not leave it to others. Whilst some chose politics, I chose teaching and the ministry to lead positive social change.

Class of 2026 — that is precisely where you stand today.

Enjoy this moment of well‑deserved recognition and the fitting sense of accomplishment. But this is not the end of the road. It’s a brief pit stop. And in the words of our beloved Tata Madiba:

“I have walked that long road to freedom... I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb... But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994

So enjoy the view today as you stand on the pinnacle of this hill. But look at the many hills ahead. Set out not only to master them, but to use them to leave this world a better place.

I never set out to have the varied career I’ve had. I merely set out to solve problems that mattered. What I discovered over forty years is this: the skills required to turn around a struggling power station are not fundamentally different from those needed to fix a financial‑services company or rebuild a revenue authority — not if you focus on doing the right thing rather than the convenient thing. In every institution, you face the same challenge: people, systems, culture, and the stubborn gap between what an organisation says it will do and what it actually delivers.

In your career, always choose to do what is right — not that which is convenient. Do not serve narrow interests. Serve a greater cause. A worthy cause!

I want to speak to you about leadership, because you are about to step into a world that is desperately short of it. And there is only one purpose to leadership: to serve.

Leadership is not about a single personality. The most dangerous leaders I have encountered are those who confuse being in charge with actually leading. They are not the same thing.

Leadership is stewardship. Stewards are the guardians of others’ interests and well‑being.

Look around — find a problem that matters. In our democracy, there is no shortage of problems. Find one that can improve the lives of people around you. When people feel that — truly feel it — you earn their trust. And trust, earned through consistent and verifiable delivery, is the only foundation on which lasting institutions are built.

People do not expect their leaders to be perfect. They expect them to be authentic. That means showing up. It means showing vulnerability. It means saying “I don’t know” when that is the honest answer. It means holding yourself accountable and not looking for excuses that glorify mediocrity.

When I returned to SARS in 2019, the institution had been deeply damaged by state capture. What restored public confidence was not a big communications campaign. It was consistent, verifiable delivery — month after month, year after year. Truth told plainly. Promises kept visibly. That is how public trust went from 48% to 75%, how service went from 54% to 90%, how voluntary compliance reached 70%. That is how we collected almost R12 trillion in seven years.

Three things I leave with you:

1. Tell the truth — even when it is uncomfortable. People handle honesty far better than being misled.
2. Build institutions bigger than any individual, including yourself. The true measure of a leader is not what happens while you are present. It is what endures after you have gone. Which is why I say “ngiyahamba ukuthula” (“I am leaving in peace”). Because when I look at those men and women over there, under the stewardship of Dr Makhubu, I know that I leave it in good hands, because the institution has been strengthened. Leaders must work themselves out of a job.
3. And take your work seriously. Never take yourself seriously. Far too many leaders take themselves seriously instead of taking their work seriously.

The future is both intimidating and inspiring. We are entering the age of agentic artificial intelligence — systems that do not merely answer questions, but take autonomous decisions and actions at a speed and scale no human organisation can match. The gap between how fast technology changes and how fast institutions can adapt will become the defining tension of your working lives. Vice‑Chancellor, even this institution will not be exempt.

Do not fear it, though.

There are distinctly human capabilities that — if you embrace and develop them — will secure your irreplaceability. I believe these are the capabilities that will define who leads, who creates value, and who matters in the decades ahead:

• The ability to pose the right problems — problems that matter, worthy of solving — not just to solve the ones in front of you.
• Ethical judgement and moral courage — the willingness to stand in a room and say, “This is wrong, and I will not do it”, regardless of the cost, even if it is to your boss, the President, or the Minister. In my work, I am guided only by the law and my conscience — respect all, but beholden to no one.
• Contextual wisdom — reading a room, understanding history, culture, relationships, and nuance in ways that no algorithm can replicate.
• Empathy and human connection — the capacity to be genuinely moved by another’s reality, and to lead from relationship, not from position.
• Creative synthesis and imagination — the ability to hold contradiction, connect unconnected things, and simplify complexity, making a future that does not yet exist feel inevitable.
• Adaptive leadership — stewardship — the capacity to serve, to change course without losing people, and to build trust slowly, visibly, and consistently across differences.

These are not soft skills. That phrase diminishes them. They are the hardest skills there are. And they are precisely what a world of powerful, self‑learning, autonomous machines needs now more than ever from us as human beings.

Your qualification gives you entry into the arena of life. But you still have to play the game once you’ve entered. These capabilities give you impact.

Class of 2026, let me be direct.

You are graduating into a South Africa that needs you desperately — not eventually, but now. This country’s promise is real. But promises do not deliver themselves. Institutions do not reform themselves. Communities do not uplift themselves without people who choose to show up, stay the course, and lead with integrity when no one is watching.

Your qualification is a beginning, not a destination.

Find a cause larger than yourself.
Find something you love.
Become the best at it.
Then use it to enrich the lives of those around you.

The question that will define your life is not: What did I achieve? It is: What did I build that will outlast me? How did I impact the lives of others?

At SARS, we set out to serve — not to build a legacy. And yet a legacy has been earned. It is respected, admired, and enduring. It will outlast my tenure because the true legacy of any institution is never the leader — it is the people left behind.

I bequeath an institution today more valuable than what I inherited. I am humbled beyond words to have had the privilege to lead.

I began in a home in Kensington — a space shared by eight people, two of whom were determined to give their children something better than what had been given to them.

My parents’ greatest gift was not material resources. It was clarity of purpose:

Our calling in life is to be a blessing to the world.

That is what I wish for each of you. Not merely success. Not merely status. Not merely a salary that reflects your qualification.

I wish for you a life that blesses the world.

Go and close the gap between what South Africa could be and what it is.

This institution — our institution, CPUT — gave you a disposition: the habit of connecting knowledge to consequence, theory to practice, idea to action.

Now go and use it.

Congratulations, Class of 2026.

And to CPUT — to the university that shaped a boy from 23 Ventura Street into whatever I have become — thank you for this extraordinary honour. I receive it on behalf of every young South African who was told that where they came from would determine where they could go and how they would end up.

May your lives be incontestable proof that those who condemn us and tell us to know our place in life are wrong. That we did not limit our lives to the labels they chose for us, but that we lived to be the best versions we were always meant to be.

Enkosi kakhulu!
Opregte dank!

Thank you most sincerely!

Ed Kieswetter

South African Revenue Service Commissioner Edward Kieswetter described receiving an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater as a full circle moment.

Kieswetter says CPUT is the university that shaped him and thanked the past and present management for changing not only his life, but also that of other young people who look to education to change the trajectory of their lives.

“I started here as a young man trying to get his start in life. It is ironic that it is the impact of the work that I have done over these past decades which brings me back now.

“I came to Peninsula Technikon as an apprentice in 1978. That turned out to be one of the greatest gifts in my life because this institution taught me that theory must connect to application. I walked these grounds back then with remarkable people who expanded my sense of what was possible,” he says.

“I receive this Honorary Doctorate on behalf of all the other young people on the Cape Flats and beyond who have had limits set on their lives,” he told the audience of the final graduation ceremony in the Autumn Grad Series.

Kieswetter had another very special person in the audience, his high school principal Victor Ritchie. Ritchie was a formidable figure in Kieswetter’s life and he credits the former principal of Harold Cressey high for seeing his potential and nurturing it.

Kieswetter was also supported in the audience by his proud family and members of the SARS staff, including the incoming SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhuba and other senior ranking members of the tax authority.

“The best leaders work themselves out of a job. I am proud to hand over an institution which is better today than when I received it,” he says.

“My legacy is the ethical and disciplined staff who will take it forward.”

Written by Lauren Kansley
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

On having a varied career spanning engineering, finance, power generation and government. What do you tell the graduates of CPUT, both past and present, on how to navigate a life with so much career variety?

“I never set out to have a varied career, I learned early in life, from my parents, that our purpose in life is to be a blessing to the world. One of the things I learned about myself is that I was fascinated by how complex things worked. I then set out to solve problems that mattered. What I discovered is that the skills required to turn around a struggling power station are not fundamentally different from those required to turn around a bank, fix a struggling financial services company, or rebuild a revenue authority - especially not, if you focused on doing the right thing instead of that which was most convenient.

In every institution, you are dealing with people, systems, culture, and the stubborn gap between what an organisation says it will do and what it actually delivers. My advice to graduates is this: “Institutions matter. Become a student of institutions, not just of your discipline. Your degree gives you a credential, what you do with curiosity, courage and commitment gives you a career. Never let a job title define the ceiling of your contribution.”

On the immediate plans for the month of May, in this new season of post-retirement

The month of May marks the beginning of a new chapter rather than a retirement. South Africa still has many problems that require fixing. Deep institutional rebuilding. This, by the way, is true for both the public and private sector. I have founded a company to do just that. Help companies and government build deep institutional integrity. I am establishing a Solutions Laboratory, whose central purpose is helping organisations close the gap between strategic intent and operational delivery. In the age of agentic AI, the asymmetry between the rate of change of technological development and organisational change will become exaggerated. I call this the Execution Gap.

And I am finally going to do some writing and complete my doctoral studies - something I’ve put off twice due to work pressures. This gives me the opportunity to formalise four decades of leadership experience into something that can genuinely contribute to knowledge. It is, in every sense, the most intellectually alive I have felt.”

On leadership insights and advice - building confidence and public trust

Although individual leaders matter, Leadership at the institutional level is not about a single personality. We set out to build a Leadership System that can endure beyond one’s tenure.

One has to be clear about Leadership Purpose - there can be no other purpose to leadership but to Serve. In this regard, Leaders must set out to serve the greatest good, and not their narrow self-interest. I call this Stewardship. Stewards are the guardians of others’ interest and well-being. When people feel that and experience that, you earn credibility and their trust.

People do not expect leaders to be perfect, but to be authentic. Authenticity is about saying what you mean and meaning what you say. Show vulnerability. Say I don’t know when necessary.

When I returned to SARS in 2019, the institution had been deeply damaged by state capture. What restored public confidence was not a communications campaign. It was consistent, verifiable delivery — month after month, year after year.

Three things I would offer to aspiring leaders:

• First, tell the truth, even when it is uncomfortable — people can handle honesty far better than they can handle being misled.
• Second, build institutions that are bigger than any individual, including yourself.
• Third, never confuse being in charge with actually leading. Leadership is measured not by the authority you hold, but by the change you leave behind.
• Lastly, Leaders must take their work seriously instead of taking themselves seriously

On his time at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (then PenTech)

I was disappointed that my parents could not afford to send me to university and instead I had to find work. I started an apprenticeship and eventually ended up at PenTech as a Technician. This turned out to be a blessing because it suited my flair to solve real world problems, fix broken things and make stuff. Learning how things worked theoretically kept me intellectually challenged, but seeing things work in practice is what really brought me joy.

This grounding in practical orientation to knowledge is a philosophy embedded in the “technikon tradition” that theory must connect to application, and that has never left me.

What I took from those years was not just a qualification; it was a disposition — the habit of asking not only what but how, and not only how but so what. That disposition has served me in every role I have held.

And of course, then rubbing shoulders with intellectual giants and personalities like Prof Franklin Sonn, Prof Brian Figaji and Prof Anthony Stark was an exceptional treat only surpassed by the endless games of “klawerjas” we played - even in those cold winter days when we had classes in the prefabricated classrooms and received lectures from an overhead projector.

On his early life

I grew up in Kensington. After we were forcibly removed from Maitland, we moved into a single room - five siblings with our dad, Edward, and mom, Jocelyn. My parents would have loved to share this proud moment of receiving this Honorary Doctorate. We later moved into a three bedroom family home in Ventura Street, Kensington, which was only made possible because of my dad’s incredible discipline to “avoid debt, live within one’s means, and save for a rainy day,” a lesson I observe to this day.

It was in Kensington where we learnt some of our most valuable lessons and became socially conscious. It was here, along with growing up in the church and attending Harold Cressy, where the strong resolve not only to “fix things”, but to become a social activist and help “fix the social ills of inequality, injustice, and poverty,” was sharpened. This led me initially into teaching, priesthood, and eventually as a senior public servant. Driven by the incessant desire to make things better in an increasingly fractured and unequal world. This is a cause to which I remain committed for as long as I have breath.

Parting words to the Class of 2026

I encourage you to invest in yourself. Strive to be the best version of yourself. You do not owe this to the world, but to yourself. But do not live only for yourself. Find a cause much larger than you, look around, find something you love. Be the best at it. Use it to enrich the lives of those around you.

You are graduating into a South Africa that needs you desperately, not eventually, but now. This country’s promise is real but promises do not deliver themselves. Institutions do not reform themselves. Communities do not lift themselves without people who choose to show up, stay the course, and lead with integrity even when no one is watching.

Your qualification is a beginning, not a destination. The question that will define your life is not “what did you achieve for yourself?” it is “what did you build that will outlast you?”
Go and close the gap between what South Africa could be, and what it is.

Personally, when taking on the role of SARS Commissioner in 2019, we set out to serve, not to build a legacy. And yet, a legacy has been achieved, is embedded, and is enduring. It will not end when I leave and hand the leadership mantle to Dr Makhubu. Because the true legacy of SARS are its incredible people, to whom South Africa owes a debt of gratitude.
I am humbled that we bequeath an institution more valuable than what we inherited.

Thank you for the privilege to serve South Africans!

Written by Lauren Kansley
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Honorary Doctorate Recipient Prof Anthony Staak had a simple message for the graduating class of 2025, “Your success is determined by the choices you make.”

Staak says many of the choices he made has culminated in him being on the stage receiving this latest honour,

Staak joined the then-Peninsula Technikon in 1982 when he assumed the position of Head of Department in Electrical Engineering. He retired after 37 years and was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning at the time.

The former DVC had the hall in stitches as he recalled making a collect call to the then DVC of the Peninsula Technikon to receive a job offer, because he didn’t want to incur the cost of an expensive international call.

He described weighing up his career choice options carefully, eventually deciding to join Peninsula Technikon because it was a new university with revolutionary teaching methods, which placed the students at the centre of learning.

Staak was integral in ensuring affordable textbooks were developed and that supplementary academic support was embedded into the curricula.

He told the packed hall of Engineering graduates that many of the choices made by those staff members in 90s and the 2000s laid the foundation for the strong university which CPUT currently is.

“The choices of those individuals have put this institution on a trajectory to being a leading university of technology,” he said.

Staak encouraged the students to work hard and commit to the choices they make.

“Give careful consideration to the choices you make. Strive to make wise choices, choices that stay true to your morals and values and that are aligned with your goals. You have the power to influence your life through the choices that you make."

CPUT Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo who worked alongside Staak for many years commended the former DVC for his meticulous work ethic and for still being willing to assist- long after retiring.

“As an institution we are humbled that you accepted this honour. Your contribution is etched into the CPUT,” he said.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On 9 April CPUT will be bestowing an Honorary Doctorate on its former Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Anthony Staak in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

Staak retired in 2018 after dedicating 37 years of his career to advancing Higher Education in South Africa. He played a crucial role in integrating technology into the core operations of CPUT.

The sector has not been robbed of his immense talent though – the Minister of Higher Education recently sought Staak out to be an independent assessor at Mangosuthu University of Technology.

Staak states that today's higher education challenges are similar to those he encountered as DVC, and a leader on various boards and oversight bodies. He says much of the governance concerns at universities are a result of university Council’s not fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities.

“Increased student enrolment in the face of funding constraints and infrastructure deficits, ongoing student protests along with declining throughput rates are not new issues. These challenges only appear to be much greater now,” he says.

But the seasoned academic says good work is being done and that there is much to be positive about.

The 69-year-old has overseen the graduation of thousands of students and encouraged young people not to consider this day as the end of their education journey but rather as one milestone in a lifetime of future goals and ambitions.

“The extent to which you will attain these goals and realise your ambitions, will depend crucially on the choices that you make. Your successes in life will be a product of those choices, as well as the conviction and hard work you are prepared to commit to those choices,” he says.

“Stay true to your morals and values that are aligned with your goals. You have the power to influence your life through the choices that you make.”

Staak’s legacy still looms large at CPUT. He joined the then Peninsula Technikon in 1982 when he assumed the position of Head of Department in Electrical Engineering. After serving a period as Dean of Engineering, he was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, a position he held for 17 years until his retirement.

The Lansdowne-born Staak was always a remarkable student and academic, from his school career at South Peninsula High School where he received a top 10 position in the National Senior Certificate (Matric) examinations in 1973, to receiving a first-class honours with distinctions in Physics and Mathematics in his BSc Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town.

Staak has been a recipient of both Rhodes and Fullbright Scholarships which saw him study at both Oxford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Written by Lauren Kansley
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CPUT made history today when it awarded its first honorary doctorate in the field of Environmental Health.

This honour was bestowed on Dr Selvanathan Mudaly, a trailblazer in the field of Environmental Health in South Africa.

Mudaly is the third recipient of an honorary doctorate from CPUT. Earlier this year, the university awarded honorary doctorates to Dr Brigalia Bam and Dr Christo Wiese, for their contributions to education and business respectively.

On acceptance of his honorary doctorate at the university’s Spring Graduation, Mudaly encouraged the graduating class to serve South Africa and to each play a role in developing the country.

He also urged the audience not to forget the communities they came from and to plough back.

“It is left to us to make a difference in South Africa,” he says.

An expert in Environmental Health, Mudaly made history in 1972 when he became the first black individual in South Africa to obtain the National Higher Diploma in Public Health from the then Natal Technikon.

Mudaly also carried out the first Municipal Health Services survey in South Africa and drafted a set of MHS by-laws.  However, Mudaly’s greatest contribution to the field of environmental health is his development of the ‘Scope of Practice’ for the profession of environmental health, which was approved by the Health Professions Council of South Africa and gazetted by the National Minister of Health in June 2009.

He was also recently elected as the President of the International Federation for Environmental Health.

Written by Candes Keating
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news

CPUT will soon be launching a prize, at the behest of its first Honourary Doctorate Dr Christo Wiese, to a student who achieves academic excellence against all odds.

Wiese is the controlling shareholder of Shoprite Holdings Limited, Africa’s largest retailer, and was honoured this morning with an Honourary DTech degree in Marketing.

Addressing the ceremony, Wiese thanked the university’s management for making him a CPUT alumnus and urged the university to seek every opportunity to strengthen the bond between academia and industry.

He then cemented the idea by announcing the annual prize which will not rely on academic marks but rather on how hard a student works to complete their studies successfully.

After the graduation Wiese elaborated on why he came up with the idea.

“It struck me that many people at university have to overcome immense challenges to make it,” he says.

“We often reward merit and it should be rewarded but there are many silent heroes who have overcome immense physical, financial or emotional difficulties to study. This prize is for them.”

CPUT Vice-Chancellor Dr Prins Nevhutalu commended Wiese for taking the initiative which will benefit many needy CPUT students for years to come.

“This morning he approached me about the idea and I would just like to say thank you very much,” he says.

More than 500 diploma and degree certificates were conferred to graduates in the faculties of Engineering as well as Business and Management Sciences this morning.

Monique Richards who received her BTech degree in Retail Business Management at the ceremony walked away with the Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for her outstanding academic achievements.

Last year Monique obtained 18 distinctions out of 19 subjects with a final aggregate of 85.64% over the four years of study.

Written by Kwanele Butana

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr Brigalia Bam was honoured for her contribution to the education sphere with an Honourary Doctorate on Tuesday evening.

Bam is best known for her role as the former chairwoman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and is respected for her smooth management of the electoral system in SA under her watch.

Bam was honoured by CPUT with a Doctorate in Education (DEd) and dedicated the honour to the hard-working women of South Africa.

“I accept this humbling honour because I think it represents more than just an honour for an individual but it is a symbolic recognition of all the people who have moulded me into who I am today,” she said.   

“I also take this honour to be a recognition of the strides women have made against all odds and adversities.”

Addressing the crowd during the graduation ceremony Bam encouraged universities to engage with their communities and not be ivory towers.

Bam also warned graduates to defy the lures of self-centredness and tenders, but instead to listen to the cries of their communities and be socially responsive.

She added that such work would ensure that when graduates pass on they would leave behind a legacy and not a vacancy.

More than 500 certificates, diplomas and degrees were awarded during the ceremony including two doctorates.

The Vice-chancellor’s medal was awarded to Carike Kriel, B Ed (HONS), who obtained 35 distinctions out of the 37 subjects with a final aggregate of 82.37% over the five years of study.

Dean’s Medallist Charlton Davids, B Ed, obtained 38 distinctions out of the 40 subjects with a final aggregate of 81.37% over the four years of study.   

Written by Kwanele Butana

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Honorary Doctorate in Public Management recipient Mildred Mandu Ramakaba Lesiea has spent most of her life serving others.

At the age of 16 she found work as a domestic worker after being forced to drop out of standard six at Kensington High School. After joining the ANC in 1954 she steadily matured as a leading anti-apartheid struggle activist in the Western Cape. Most of her fight focussed on the inequalities in the education system and she dedicated years of her life to the fight against Bantu Education. The pinnacle of this fight was her activism during the 1976 uprisings.

“Some of the students of 1976 are part of this audience and others are working at this university. I am so proud of the 1976 generation,” she says.

Lesiea told the audience that the Honorary Doctorate was a dream come true.

“I am receiving this award on behalf of those who travelled that road of sacrifice, discipline and commitment in the struggle for a free and just society,” she said.

Lesiea says her duty was now to pass the baton on to a younger generation to continue to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality.

“Of critical importance is that the youth forms a major part of this nation. It is our responsibility to inculcate in them a sense of patriotism, pride, equality and responsibility. They are our future.”

Leseia was honoured for her lifelong commitment to a democratic South Africa.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Life owes you nothing is the mantra by which Honorary Doctorate in Education recipient Marlene Le Roux lives her life. Her capping took place this morning during the Education Faculty graduation ceremony and cheering her on from the front row was a very special guest Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Le Roux was honoured for her contribution to the performing arts, education and social transformation in South Africa. She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Artscape Theatre Centre and the first woman and black person to fill this role since its inception in 1971.

Le Roux told the excited graduates that she was pleased to be honoured by CPUT because the education offered at the university was relevant and important.

“I stand here today to receive this honour from a university that focuses on vocational skills and technical training, innovative problem-solving and career directed courses with communities as end users- the kind of graduates sorely needed in our country. The doers, the engineers, the artisans, the teachers- produced right here!” 

Le Roux dedicated her honour to all persons living with disabilities, especially young rural girls.

“I count myself fortunate enough to be one of the few with a disability who is gainfully employed. The motto with which I live my life is ‘Life owes you nothing’. Your attitude in life will determine how people will perceive you. Share with others your wealth and life will become simple and manageable,” she advised.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Acclaimed film producer Anant Singh, who has been awarded an honorary doctorate from CPUT, has dedicated the accolade to the late struggle stalwart, Ahmed Kathrada.

Singh, the producer of films such as Sarafina and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was honoured with a Doctorate in Technology in Design for his outstanding contribution to the development and sustainability of the South African film industry.

“I want to dedicate this amazing accolade to Ahmed Kathrada,” Singh said during the graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Informatics and Design, during which his honorary doctorate was conferred.

“He was an exceptional human being and I was very fortunate to have him as a friend. He was a selfless leader, committed to humanity, a fighter and warrior for the downtrodden and less fortunate – not only of this country but people around the world.”

He urged the graduates to learn from Kathrada’s life.

“I would like to accept this accolade with humility and appreciation and acknowledging many thousands of people that come together to make films.

CPUT Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr John Volmink said the ceremony was a very special one.

“It is our privilege to have in our midst for the first time the newly elected Chancellor of CPUT, Thandi Modise.”

Modise is the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and took over as chancellor from Trevor Manuel.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr Conrad Theys received an honourary doctorate at the start of CPUT’s Summer Graduation.

Theys was capped Doctor of Arts and Design by Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo at the start of the third session of week-long graduation ceremonies marking the end of a successful year for CPUT.

In his commencement speech, Theys said it was a great honour to receive the award from CPUT as a citizen of Bellville South for more than 40 years. When first nominated for the doctorate Theys had expressed his pride at the education facilities in the area.

“We’ve got the Goeie Hoop Primary School and I was a teacher at Kasselsvlei Primary. And there’s Kasselsvlei High, Bellville South High and Bellville South Primary. And then we’ve got the University of the Western Cape and we had the Bellville Training College and the old Peninsula Technikon and now we’ve got CPUT.

This is an educational hub and the University of Technology is the biggest in the Western Cape.”

“I was on the board of Bellville Training College hostel and an adjudicator for the exams. My connection with that campus goes far back and come to think of it that campus is calling me back now,” said the ex-teacher who had graduated from Brighton College, Oudtshoorn in 1961.

Theys also called it a welcome recognition of the visual arts and design discipline. “By recognising me as an artist you also recognise the unsung and unknown artists,” he added.

The Cape Impressionist painter spoke about the hidden artistic talent he has discovered over the years working on community art projects and praised the Faculty of Informatics and Design (FID) for their art outreach amongst children in Grabouw.

The 78-year-old spent a good part of the day on the Bellville campus, taking part in a FID robing ceremony where Master’s and Doctoral candidates shared their educational journey and were ceremoniously “robed” by family members.

“When I look at the young people in front of me I realise what a creative force we have in this country. You need to realise that the success of this country relies on you.

“You have to work at your craft, whether that is art or architecture. You need staying power and a strong belief in yourself. CPUT has given you the framework to flourish, so be proud of what you have achieved,” Theys encouraged the graduating students.

Written by Theresa Smith
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The last surviving Rivonia Trialists, Prof Denis Goldberg and Dr Andrew Mlangeni, have been awarded Honourary Doctorate qualifications by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology today.

The men were capped by CPUT Chancellor Thandi Modise during the institutions Autumn Graduation ceremony which will see a total of 1572 diplomas, degrees, masters and doctorates conferred.

Goldberg, who was also celebrating his 86th birthday, likened the placing of the hood around his neck as a similar experience to facing the hangman’s noose during the Rivonia Trial.“You face, with your comrades, the possibility of being hanged and white South Africa as a whole wanted to hang you and rejoiced in that possibility, but we are here today with a bond that can never be broken, many of our comrades have passed on now but here we are and we celebrate our victories so far. Aluta Continue, the struggle continues, because there are a lot of people with apartheid ideas in their mind. But when I look at the graduates in this room I see that we are beginning to overcome these struggles.” he says. Goldberg, who received an Honourary Doctorate in Engineering, urged the graduates not to use their qualifications to become part of the ‘social elite’ and to remain embedded in their communities so that they could continue to be of service to those who needed them. “We really need to remain in touch, we have water problems, we have electricity problems, and we’ve got social problems. The future is up to us and I am tremendously excited when I see the list of qualifications being awarded here today,” he said. “Andrew we achieved something you know comrade.”

During his address, Mlangeni who received his Honourary Doctorate in Public Administration, joked about his advancing age robbing him of his sight and hearing.
“The doctors told me its old age but I told them it can’t be because I am 39 and not 93 as they said,” he told the laughing audience.

Mlangeni tackled the thorny topic of corruption head-on and bemoaned the fact that the news agenda was filled with multiple commissions of inquiry as a result.
“Corruption is a deliberate effort which takes a lot of planning. These acts of dishonesty and fraudulent conduct by those in power robs our people of their basic needs,” he said.

The struggle stalwart ended his address with a call for youngsters to vote in the upcoming elections. “If the statistics are anything to go by then half of the youth in this room have not registered to vote. A citizen who does not vote also has no right to complain when political decisions do not go there way.” The ceremony was presided over by CPUT Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo who himself was officially installed as the VC a day earlier.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

CPUT has awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering to Yskandar Hamam.

He was honoured for his indisputable contribution during recent years to the training of South African students and the promotion of the South African universities for which he has worked as a member of the French South African Institute of Technology, known as F'SATI.

Born in Haïfa, Palestine on 23 February 1943, Hamam spent his childhood and adolescence in Lebanon where his family had to take refuge.  He received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the American University of Beirut in 1966, and his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1970 and 1972 respectively.  Hamam was also awarded the Diplôme d'Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches degree, the highest national diploma of Higher Education in France, from the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille in 1998.

Hamam conducted research activities and lectured in England, Brazil, Lebanon, Belgium and France. He was the Head of the Control Department and the Dean of the Faculty of ESIEE Paris, France.  Hamam is an active member of modelling and simulation societies, and was the President of the European Federation of Simulation Societies, EUROSIM.  He is also a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

A major technical contribution during his research career is the development of a water and gas network analysis method, which has replaced previous methods and is now a reference for the analysis of piping networks.

In 2007, Hamam joined F’SATI at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)  as a Scientific Director, and then also at CPUT in 2008.  He remained in these positions until December 2012. He is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at TUT and also an Emeritus Professor at ESIEE-Paris, France.  Hamam retains an active involvement in the further development of F’SATI.

Of the 57 doctorate students who graduated under his supervision, 36 are in South Africa and many of them are now involved in academic institutions in the country.

He has co-authored four books and 40 chapters in edited books. He has also authored or co-authored more than 400 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and in peer-reviewed conference proceedings.

He is married to Annie Johanet and is the father of three children and grandfather of eight grandchildren.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis dedicated her Honorary Doctorate to all those who believe in the power of sport to propel them from their circumstances.

Ellis received the honour during CPUT’s Autumn Graduation Series which will see 7000 students getting capped this week.

The audience cheered as her accolades were read out including four successive Cosafa Cup titles between 2017 and 2020, and four Confederation of African Football CAF Women's Coach of the Year awards, amongst a host of other awards like coaching the women’s soccer national team to two Fifa World Cup Qualifiers.

Ellis says the accolades may be directed at her but are the culmination of teamwork.

“If the team does well then individuals stand out and I am fortunate that I am sometimes one of those individuals,” she said.

Ellis reflected on the thousands of women graduating at CPUT, many of whom will need to break barriers in male dominated spheres.

“At the end of the day if you are qualified then that space you want is not set aside for a male or female. Don’t be afraid of failing because that strengthens you and you get another opportunity to succeed later. To the females out there, just go for it, because other women who come from your neighbourhood is watching and want to emulate you.”

Ellis was supported by her mother and family along with good friend Ilhaam Groenewald who is herself a powerhouse female leader in sport as the Chief Director of Sport at Stellenbosch University.

CPUT Chair of Council Dr Laurine Platzky has known Ellis for many years and shared the stage with her as she received the honour.

“We are enormously proud of Banyana Banyana and their role on the African continent. Not only is Desiree’s message of hard work and patient persistence so important to all our young girls, but as a role model she lives a principled life untainted by the glamour of the spotlight. May this honorary degree be a recognition of her determined contribution to our country and an inspiration to all sportswomen.”

Nominations for Honorary Doctorate candidates are sourced from within the CPUT community, and the stringent process passes through a number of selection committees before being approved at Council, the highest decision making body at CPUT.

Written by CPUT News
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.