In Zulu culture, there is a saying: “The first customer to buy from your shop opens the door for many more to come.” This proverb aptly captures what recently occurred at the Faculty of Applied and Health Sciences at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). On the morning of 10 October 2025, Professor Alfred Msomi, the newly appointed dean of the faculty, received the first donation from Cataler South Africa (Pty) Ltd, signalling that more donations from other stakeholders would follow in the future.
The giving ceremony was attended by the faculty heads of departments, MarComms, as well as Dr Xolile Ngubane, senior director in the Office of the VC. Professor Msomi said, “The official handover of the state-of-the-art microscopy and imaging equipment is a momentous day, not only because of the cutting-edge instruments arriving on campus, but also because it marks a new chapter for me as a newly appointed dean. I would like to thank Cataler and the MarComms giants who submitted the proposal to Cataler. To Cataler, we acknowledge how your support is aligned with MUT’s mission to produce skilled professionals dedicated to sustainable development”.
The donation included an impressive suite of tools: the Olympus SZ40 Stereo Microscope, the Olympus BX41M LED Compound Microscope, the Olympus SC30 Digital Microscope Camera, and the Schott EasyLED Microscope Lighting System. These advanced instruments will serve as gateways to discovery for students and faculty alike.
Leandro Steenkamp, speaking on behalf of Cataler, indicated that since their company has downsized, they felt it necessary to give the equipment to MUT as they are no longer using it. “We have great graduates coming from MUT, and the proposal aligned with how we feel about the graduates from MUT”, he said.
Professor Msomi elaborated on how these tools would benefit multiple departments within the faculty, environmental health, biomedical health sciences and agriculture. All the department heads expressed gratitude, and requested that Cataler send people to train them. Interestingly, they will be trained by some of their graduates. Zama Sishi, director, Stakeholder Relations Engagements, persuaded Cateler to look for more graduates at MUT.