THREE-SIXT-E | ALUMNI E-NEWSLETTER | ISSUE 10/SEPTEMBER 2014
Helping to build Africa
UWC alumni in Cabinet
UWC has for years produced graduates who are particularly active in development work, making sterling contributions not only locally but elsewhere on the African continent as well. Charles Birungi is a fine example of this trend. A development specialist and sociologist, he works at the Uganda Law Reform Commission (ULRC), a government institution charged with national policy and legal reforms. Birungi, who graduated with a master’s degree in development studies from UWC in 2005, has participated in policy and legal reform programmes at national and international levels in the areas of criminal justice, land justice, family and social justice and commercial justice. He has also acted as a social development consultant to intergovernmental organisations and government agencies, such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa and the Uganda Revenue Authority. He says these achievements were thanks to UWC’s conducive environment for students. Despite initial fears of racial discrimination and struggling with English, Birungi found the facilities, educational materials and systems at UWC provided the best conditions for academic study. “All these put together, encouraged me to put more effort into my studies, thereby enabling me to complete my master’s in less than the two years.” “I learnt that research and practice are interlinked and these helped me to transform research results into benefits for my society. The time I spent at UWC made me realise that university education brings people of different nations close to each other, resulting in the expansion of my social network from students to lecturers.”
Top, left to right: Nhlanhla Musa Nene, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Maggie Sotyu, Mohamed Enver Surty, Zou Kota-Fredericks, Ebrahim Patel, Gugile Nkwinti and Andries Carl Nel. (Pictures: Parliament RSA)
Below are short biographies of some of the UWC alumni serving in Cabinet. Nhlanhla Musa Nene, Minister of Finance, graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy in 2004 and a BCom Honours in 2009. Nene was the Deputy Minister of Finance from November 2008 and has been an ANC Member of Parliament since 1999. Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, now heads the Department of Energy. She obtained her BA in 1990, BA Honours in 1991 and HDE in 1992. Maggie Sotyu, Deputy Minister of Police since November 2010, has an Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy, 2009. She is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and is also chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security. Mohamed Enver Surty, has been Deputy Minister of Basic Education since 2009. Surty, who obtained an LLM degree in Constitutional Litigation in 1999, has served on the Judicial Services Commission and various portfolio committees in Parliament, including Justice, Safety and Security, Constitutional Affairs, and Local Government and Administration. Zou Kota-Fredericks, Deputy Minister of Human Settlements since 2009, holds a
degree in Social Work, an Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy obtained in 2008 and a BEcon Honours degree obtained in 2011 from UWC. She was a member of the Portfolio Committees of Defence and Sports and Recreation and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence. The following Cabinet members previously studied at UWC and therefore qualify as alumni by virtue of registration and attendance. Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development since 2009, was a longserving general secretary of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union. He registered for his BA degree at UWC in 1983. Gugile Nkwinti, Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform since 2009, was Speaker of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, and served as Eastern Cape’s MEC for Housing, Local Government and Traditional Affairs and as MEC for Agriculture. He registered for his LLB degree at UWC in 1990. Andries Carl Nel, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs since 2013, was the Deputy Minister for Constitutional Development from 2009, and has been an ANC Member of Parliament since 1994. Nel registered for his PhD in History in 2006. PAGE FIVE