The University of Mpumalanga’s (UMP) vice chancellor, Prof Thoko Mayekiso, recently honoured and paid tribute to this institution’s most valuable assets.

These are its long-service employees who are busy leaving a lasting footprint at the institution and in the lives of its community members.

Speaking during the long-service awards ceremony at the Mbombela and Siyabuswa campuses, Mayekiso said the awards honour individuals who have shown unwavering loyalty and commitment.

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“These employees possess invaluable knowledge, work experience and problem-solving perspectives and abilities that make their worth to UMP almost incalculable. I must admit there is a growing and very pleasing sense of unity among our members. People who stay long at an organisation, to the point of getting long-service, are the ones whose personalities are usually most aligned with those of the institution.”

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Speaking on behalf of those receiving the awards, UMP’s senior engagement manager, Sithembiso Mbuyane, said,

“We are here because once you come to the university, you become part of a family, one that genuinely cares. So we must also care. We should show it by returning to the institution year after year. Today we will go out and be ambassadors, and we will use these awards as motivation to do even better.”