UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
JOHN DLUDLU: New University of Johannesburg vice-chancellor a beacon of hope
‘How UJ deals with the fees crisis will be one of the key tests of Tshilidzi Marwala’s leadership’
This column tries to pontificate about matters of the political economy and attempts to point out gaps and, humbly, suggest workable solutions. But every now and then, it will deviate from this mandate to celebrate South Africans who are doing well.
So, bear with your columnist as he dedicates this space to acknowledging the well-deserved elevation of Tshilidzi Marwala to the post of vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Marwala, whose 30-page curriculum vitae reads like an obituary of a 90-year old, takes over in January from Ihron Rensburg.
His promotion, after nearly a decade of service to the university, represents one of the best, but rare, examples of succession-planning for one of the most strategically significant posts in our country. This is when the system works. It’s hard to celebrate Marwala’s enormous achievements without recalling painful episodes in our past, especially those regarding the higher education sector. Two come to mind. First, there is Malegapuru Makgoba, and then there’s the case of Samuel Nolutshungu.Makgoba came within a heartbeat of becoming the University of the Witwatersrand’s first African vice-chancellor in the 1990s. His march to the high office was scuttled by reactionary forces in the university. Nolutshungu accepted the job, only to turn it down a few months later due to ill-health, before dying months later of cancer. In a positive turn of events, Makgoba was later appointed vice-chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he served two successful terms before becoming th...
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