(AGENPARL) – lun 05 giugno 2023 PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5 June 2023
CUT academic reaches the pinnacle of academic hierarchy and scholarship
On 2 June 2023, the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) inducted Professor Tryna Van Niekerk as a full professor. The Inaugural Professorial Lecture constitutes an important date in the university calendar. It is a full sitting of the Senate and is regarded as a pinnacle of academic hierarchy and scholarship. CUT awards these to academics who are highly accomplished and widely recognised among their peers.
In her address, Prof. Pamela Dube, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, mentioned that the professorial inaugural address is a full academic address of the senate. “This occasion is to honour and celebrate academics for their excellent work, achievements, and prowess as researchers of note in their respective fields.
Prof. Van Niekerk is an expert in Government Management and the Head of the Government Management Department in the Faculty of Management Sciences, with many years of experience and numerous publications. She holds a PhD in Public Management (CUT), a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) in Public Management (US), a Certificate in Military Management (UNISA), an Advanced Diploma in Public Management and Governance (University of Stellenbosch), and an Advanced Diploma in Higher Education (ADHE) with Distinction (UFS).
Her inaugural address, titled: Ethics, Oversight, and Accountability: Efficacy and Failure, takes a descriptive and analytical approach to provide insight into key observations made by the efficacy of ethics, oversight, and accountability in the South African public sector.
Her lecture directed our thoughts into ethics, oversight, and accountability: efficacy and failure- a subject dear to her. Her lecture allowed universities, state organs and civil society to re-examine their roles, thinking on ethics, and desire for clean governance in public and private sectors.
She stated that the practices of ethics, accountability, and oversight structure are increasingly being challenged in the work of negative reporting about state capture, state corruption, and unethical conduct of functionaries of the constitution.
In the South African environment, ethics, oversight, and accountability occur within a specific statutory, regulatory, legislative, and policy framework. "South Africa has a plethora of statutory and regulatory frameworks, as well as Codes of Conduct, aimed at holding public and elected officials accountable. But, unfortunately, these rules and Codes of Conduct are frequently disregarded, with little or no repercussions for wrongdoers."
Her address argued that if top political leaders of government, including executives of state departments of public entities, do not account for transgressions committed, an environment susceptible to fraud, corruption, and state capture will thrive.
“Therefore, effective oversight and consequence management are needed to improve accountability for a sustainable impact on service delivery and the promotion of good governance in all three spheres of government. If top political leaders and top Executives such as Ministers and senior public officials and directors in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) ignore constitutional and other legislative prescripts and Codes of Conduct, subordinates in all spheres of government tend to get involved in unethical practices such as corruption, fraud, and money laundering,” she concluded.
Caption:
1. CUT inducted Prof Tryna van Niekerk, an expert in Government Management and the Head of the Government Management Department in the Faculty of Management Sciences, as a full professor on 2 June 2033.
2. From left to right: Nemutshili Mili, CUT Director: Financial Operations; Prof David Ngidi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning; Prof Tryna Van Niekerk, Newly promoted Professor; Prof Pamela Dube, Vice-Chancellor and Principal; Prof Alfred Ngowi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Innovation and Engagement and Prof Albert Strydom, Dean of Management Sciences.
About CUT
CUT is the foremost higher education institution in the heartland of South Africa, dedicated to quality education and training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. CUT boasts pockets of excellence, including a premier Hotel School and leading research and innovation platforms, e.g. world-class medical product development through 3-D printing technology.
For more information about CUT, visit http://www.cut.ac.za<https://www.cut.ac.za>.
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