Speech by Minister of Communications, MS AF Muthambi, MP on the occassion of the launch of UNIVEN Commercial Company, Thohoyandou

Distinguished guests,

Present Students and Honourable Alumni,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentleman,

Aa!

It is my great pleasure to be with you all here this evening on the occasion of the launch of the University of Venda Commercial Company, Univen Innovative Growth Company in short (UIGC), an auspicious and important event in the university calendar.

Currently universities in South Africa are expected to create means through which they can sustain their survival. It is becoming increasingly more obvious that government alone will soon not be able to fund universities. In order for universities to provide quality teaching, learning, research and community engagement, universities are encouraged to establish creative means of generating extra income. I’m told that the establishment of this company will be responsible for ensuring that UNIVEN has practical and sustainable means of generating extra income. At the end of each financial year, the company will be expected to give 10% of its revenue to the university. Such money will be used entirely to benefit students.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Universities in South Africa are by law not allowed to make profit. This is despite the very difficult challenge of keeping up with the high cost of commodities and services. It is encouraging to see UNIVEN taking an initiative to address the financial challenges by introducing the commercial wing that will be a third stream for income generation. I’m proud to say UNIVEN is the first historically black university to establish a commercial wing company, and that deserves a round of applause.

Universities have a long tradition and association as important institutions in helping to drive the process of social transformation and social cohesion. Around the world, higher education institutions have often been at the forefront in helping to build new institutions of civil society, instilling new cultural values, and training and integrating members of new social elites. Their most explicit role can be seen in the production of highly educated, skilled and knowledgeable citizens able to meet the changing socio-economic needs of a country that is undergoing significant developmental change.

Over the years, UNIVEN has played a significant role in the social transformation and cohesion in the country, no more so than in its contribution to producing some of the most influential and inspirational leaders who have helped to shape its present and future direction. The current Alumni of this university boasts some of the country’s most distinguished and well-known names in the field of politics, industry and social transformation including Jerry Ndou, Jayson Ngobeni, Prof Azwindini Muronga, Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela to name but a few. I am also proud to be a product of this institution.

Universities have always played an instrumental role in the modernisation of societies and the drivers of social change. Whether as institutions that can ignite positive change in much needed areas of society, or as institutions that can accelerate the speed and nature of change, by creating new leaders, new thought processes, or new ways of doing things. They have a role to play as autonomous role, able to question current ways of thinking and approaches to solving problems, or as strategic partners working with government to find solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our fledgling democracy.

Here in South Africa, the past two decades of transformation have also seen the restructuring of higher education, as a response to the growing pressures of globalisation and increasing competition. As a result, universities in this country have had an increasingly critical role to play in the continuing positive social transformation process. This can particularly be seen in the response of universities servicing the needs of both urban and rural areas, where the need for innovative and proactive responses to achieving social transformation is often at its greatest.

In order to effectively contribute to achieving real and lasting social transformation in rural areas, it is imperative that students at university are taught and encouraged to maximise the opportunity to learn and develop critical skills that will maximise their career and employment opportunities. At the same time, those students need to be encouraged to utilise their acquired knowledge, skills and expertise in specialist fields to contribute to the development of their local communities, particularly those in rural areas. Those same students need to understand that they have a shared responsibility to contribute to social transformation and the building of a strong nation that can effectively compete in the world.

If our communities are to have a positive influence on the people that live and work in them, then our universities need to recognise the critical role they have to play. Not only in the sense of teaching the skills and knowledge required to a new generation, but also instilling the values and sense of responsibility needed in people that can positively influence others for the better. In this way, they will be able to make effective personal contributions to the advancement of social transformation and social cohesion throughout the country.

Universities like UNIVEN, have a direct and influential role to play in providing the necessary support mechanisms required to realise the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan, New Growth Path, and Human Resources Development Strategy.

University of Venda, I applaud you for this innovative mileage. Yours is to educate the young and old and so far you are discharging the responsibility to the satisfaction of the majority of people. Get involved in communities around you. Let your researches be relevant to pressing needs of the communities around you. Strive to be among the top Universities in the world.

I thank you.

Source: Government of South Africa.