| ####

35 / 36

35 / 36

33

M U T

S P I R I T

/ /

J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 2 0

Executive which is relatively young;

yet this youthfulness has been hailed

somewhere else as a huge advantage.

After 11amall the delegationmembers,

except the driver bringing the big

token for the founder, were parking the

vehicles at the MUT founder’s offices

where the meeting was to be held.

A seasoned reporter, Knowledge

Simelane, was already there. As soon

as the formal greetings were over,

everybody filed in. The delegation

was ushered into a huge hall, and

was told the Prince would be joining

them soon. After they had taken their

positions, with the Convocation’s

Executive President taking a seat nearest to the one

reserved for HRH, the Prince appeared from an inside

door. The broad smile he offered gave assurance to

all: “You are all welcomed!” This was followed by the

formal greetings, with the Prince clearly recognising old

friends, and acknowledging the presence of new ones.

The Prince then invited the Convocation President

to state the reasons for the visit. Sandile informed

HRH of Convocation’s desire to assist the University

to deal with a number of challenges, some of which

are its huge student debt, the unavailability of funding

for post-graduate students, inadequate resources,

and need to acquire some land for expansion. The

Convocation leadership requested the Prince to

communicate with his networks, and see if they could

assist in improving the situation at the University.

Prince Buthelezi said the visit was “historic, and

impressive. I am humbled by your message, Mr

Dlamini”. Prince Buthelezi, who built 6 000 schools

in KwaZulu-Natal, is a brilliant story teller and gave

a long, clear history of the events that resulted in the

founding of MUT. His point was that he has always

been aware of the plight of the black people, and that

education was going to provide a real improvement in

their lives. Even before the meeting was over, he tried

calling someone he thought could help. He relished

the opportunity of once again helping MUT so it could

continue to produce more graduates.

As a sign of great respect, and a clear indication that

they would like the relationship with the Prince to

continue, the delegation presented a cow to Prince

Buthelezi, as well as a framed collage of pictures of the

students that have graduated at MUT over the last few

years. The Prince was more than elated. He spent time

looking at the frame, which is a reflection of his desire

to improve the lives of people through education. He

also appreciated the cow gift very much, and said he

might return the favour, in one way or the other.

The following day, the Convocation leadership

visited Mr Willies Mchunu, the former Premier of

KwaZulu-Natal. They had the same request for the

former Premier, who is also the former Chancellor

of the University. This time they emphasised the

necessity of dealing urgently with the historic debt.

Mr Mchunu was also more than happy to welcome

the Convocation leadership. He commended them for

the new tactics they were employing in dealing with

the problematic issues that have bedevilled South

African universities. “I really commend you young

people for employing different tactics in dealing with

the challenges. Although I am officially retired from

government, I am still an active cadre of the ANC, and

the general community. On that basis, I am going to

consider your request for me to help,” said the former

Premier. Like Prince Buthelezi, the former Premier

tried connecting them with an individual whom he

described as someone that would take the lead in

facilitating what was going to happen regarding the

Convocation leadership’s request.

The Convocation Executive leadership is waiting

with bated breath for the outcome of the visits. In

the meantime, they are continuing with their visits to

strategic partners. The former Premier was more than

impressed with the line-up of the people they intended

to meet.

Former KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Mr Willies Mchunu, middle, shaking hands with

Sandile Dlamini while other members of the Convocation look on. Mr Mchunu is a

former Chancellor of MUT