Programme Director,
The Acting Executive Dean of Students, Mr Themba Khumalo,
Deputy Dean of Students, Ms K Nyembezi,
Acting Director of Student Housing, Ms Rose Yende,
MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Ms Weziwe Thusi,
The Mayor of Msunduzi Municipality, Councillor Chris Ndlela,
Soccer coach, Manqoba Mngqithi
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
An emotion of nostalgia plays out whenever I see or think of this revered institution, the great University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), because this institution has been my home for many years.
More than just a home, it was a calabash of knowledge which fed countless students with the necessary academic content that positioned them to become upstanding citizens. It was a fountain of wisdom which watered many young minds to think consciously against the broader challenges facing humanity. It was a well from which the sons and daughters of the working class quenched their thirst for education. It was a place to make friends and share your dreams with them. Regardless of the political situation at the time, it was home away from home that served as a platform for the sharing of progressive ideas of how to fight for freedom, especially peace in our land.
Today it gives me great pleasure to be with all of you, 22 years after I graduated from this University. This institution, as a generator of knowledge, continues to play an important role in the academic space to groom professionals of note.
As the country grapples with poverty and under development, we rely on academic institutions to emerge with informed views and fruitful debates that seek to find solutions to these problems. By their own nature, universities have the potential to come up with sophisticated and scientific analysis that can add value in the public discourse. This university, my institution, should occupy that space. Importantly, there is a need to ensure that the original views of academics are tested and debated regardless of their race. We must never be concerned about how high-blown these ideas are, but how grounded they are.
In my view, this will show that we move as a country from mere tolerance to acceptance, especially on issues that will be for the benefit of the nation.
Our country is at such a pedestal that requires socially conscious professionals with the ability to locate their role in helping solve the complex societal problems facing our nation. Institutions of higher learning provide the necessary space and time to groom the calibre of such professionals. The academia has without doubt located itself in the context of these dynamics. Students should be taught value changing education that alerts them to the realities of society, as well as the role of education in development.
But it is very crucial that students, as recipients of education, must remain grounded, committed, dedicated and disciplined. Many of them being young people, they must never be consumed in negative social ills that will derail the education. The scourge of alcohol and substance abuse has sadly found its way in the social fabric, also affecting the youth of school going age. Our message today is that the youth must never allow alcohol or drugs to ruin their future. Students must take it upon themselves to ensure that there is no space for alcohol and drugs both on campus and in student residences.
As government, we have come up with a clear programme that seeks to reduce the demand and supply of alcohol due to the negative impact it has on families and communities. The measures that we will undertake include ensuring that the price of alcohol is increased so that we make its accessibility more difficult. We have to ensure that we regulate the number of licensed outlets able to sell alcohol so that we limit access. We have to put in place measures that will raise the legal age for purchasing alcohol so that we can protect our youth and become very strict with regard to drink driving. These strategies are regarded as common sense and serve as guidelines for good policy by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In all these efforts, government is driven by the need to protect our people against an industry whose main concern is to generate maximum profit. We will go to the length and breadth of the country to urge all South Africans to support us in this course.
In conclusion, I thank the University for inviting me back home, to come and share this awards ceremony with the family of UKZN. We congratulate the achievers and wish them well.
Thank you
