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