Seek knowledge and wisdom
- Wits University
Mosa Mabuza, Wits alumnus and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Geosciences urges graduands to seek knowledge and wisdom.
“I have learnt that a combination of knowledge and wisdom is indeed formidable. Seek both. Enhance yourself by seeking that wisdom every day. It is time for our country to drift towards men and women of integrity, neither black nor white, but proudly South African.”
Addressing graduates during the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 6 December 2017, Mabuza - “a humble servant” of the country - implored the graduands to remain focused on their ultimate goal, despite the circumstances. “Priorities may change as you traverse your journey, they generally do, but you have to keep going,” he said.
He related his own story of perseverance and resilience. Mabuza had to return home in his first year of studying engineering as he was unable to continue his studies, for various reasons. For the remainder of that year, Mabuza had to work in the garden at home. He was later offered a scholarship by a leading mining company, which enabled him to study mining. He is now serving his country with dignity.
The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment graduation ceremony was a special day said Mabuza.
“It is fitting that this special day for Wits graduates in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment coincides with some of the greatest innovations in the recent history of humanity broadly and in our country in particular.”
He made reference to the first human to human heart transplant in the world performed by South African cardiologist, Christiaan Barnard and his team, almost 50 years ago in December.
Despite the technological advances which have enabled such life changing procedures, “we have not solved the most fundamental societal challenges of poverty, inequity and unemployment in our country,” says Mabuza.
He encouraged the graduands to collectively tackle these societal challenges.
“South Africa is our home, Africa is our home, and the world is indeed our world. We have the responsibility to make it work. The solutions to challenges that confront us lie with the coalition of the willing. It is increasingly evident that the future – that the traditional model of multinationals creating employment and hope for the future – are no longer. The future lies with the youth generating new ideas, laced with entrepreneurial flavour.”
网易体育 Mosa Mabuza
Mabuza is a qualified geologist with extensive exploration experience in multiple regional jurisdictions that span the SADC region, West Africa, and Canada, amongst others.
In 2006, he served as the Director of Mineral Economics in the former Department of Minerals and Energy. In 2012 he assumed the role of Deputy Director-General of Mineral Policy and Investment Promotion.
During his tenure as an official in the Department of Mineral Resources, Mabuza lead the technical teams that delivered:
- the draft strategy for sustainable development and the meaningful transformation of South Africa’s mining industry
- the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill, and
- an assessment of the progress impact on the implementation of the Mining Charter in 2009 and 2015.
Mabuza also represented the Department of Mineral Resources on the boards of a number of state-owned entities including the Council for Geosciences, Mintek, and the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator.
He was deployed to the Council for Geosciences in November 2016. In this role, he worked with his team to refocus the geoscientific programme to optimise impact in line with national developmental priorities.