"Venda is my source of strength"

The Council of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) last week announced the appointment of Prof Tshilidzi Marwala (45) as the new vice-chancellor and principal of the university.

“Venda is my source of strength,” said Marwala in an interview with Limpopo Mirror last week. “I am very happy to accept this position. UJ is one of the biggest universities in the country and it has a huge role to play when it comes to developing our economy,” he added.

He was born and raised at Duthuni and although he has climbed the academic ladder to its top, he respects his tradition. He said that he will assist academically deserving students from Duthuni and surrounding areas who wish to enrol at the University of Johannesburg.

Marwala is currently the deputy vice-chancellor of Research and Internationalisation at UJ and will succeed Prof Ihron Rensburg on 1 January 2018. Previously he was UJ’s executive dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

He has received about 45 honours and awards, including the Order of Mapungubwe and was the first African engineer to be awarded the National Research Foundation’s President’s award.

Date:10 July 2017

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

Read: 5784