UMP has a new chancellor

MBOMBELA – The President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (SCA), Justice Mandisa Maya, is the successor of President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa. This follows Maya’s appointment in July by the UMP council. Maya is the first woman in South Africa to hold the position as president of the SCA and is a candidate for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Her contribution to the country’s democratic institutions and jurisprudence dates back from 1994.

She served as a case investigator for the Independent Electoral Commission during the first democratic South African elections. She practised as an advocate until she was appointed as a judge in 1999.
In her speech, Maya said she joins the institution at a critical moment, at its inflection point of the short eight years of its existence and at a turn of its Vision 2022.

Sharing the story of how she got to been installed as a chancellor, she said, “When I asked my children what their contemporaries would like to hear the most from their chancellor, the consensus was that I should talk about how I got here, because that is what the young people would really want to know.

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“I am not certain that I have a coherent answer to that question. I suspect that my success is borne of a collection of random events and coincidences and a huge dose
of luck.

Many of my earlier memories have faded over time and some, the more painful ones, have been buried deep in my mind. What I can tell you is that this university was created to serve a student like me in my youth, a young person raised from adversity. Like my late parents before me, I come from a very humble, rural background. My parents, who were teachers and came from very poor families, were strict disciplinarians.

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“I started working during school holidays at the age of 15. It was lawful then, and that was to be the course of my life. “I want to believe that all those experiences – learning the value of hard work, learning to share and care for others, the love of books which evoked a deep curiosity in one, and the belief that if I got enough education, I could achieve any dreams – led me here to this incredible opportunity.”

Maya said a primary concern constantly raised by the young people is unemployment. “Despite more than half of our youth being unemployed, research suggests that over 500 000 entry-level jobs in South Africa remain unfilled. The reasons for this vary.”

The chancellor received congratulatory messages from the deputy president for higher education, science and innovation, Buti Manamela, the premier of Mpumalanga, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, his majesty King Makhosoke II Mabena of amaNdebele, the chair of the institutional form, Prof Hilda Israel, the president of the SRC, Vuyelwa Magagula, and many other dignitaries.