Low scores for education, wealth, land transformation from struggle veteran

15 July 2025 - Wits University

Mavuso Msimang gave poor ratings to these against Freedom Charter objectives in a speech at Wits University.

Msimang shared his views in the Great Hall on 15 July during the morning graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in commerce.

His acceptance speech dove into the 10 tenets of the Freedom Charter, the June 1955 foundational document of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, which informed the Constitution of the country post-democracy. Mavuso has served the country in various capacities as a civil servant including NGO structures and environmental management boards.

Mavuso noted that his reflections come “at a critical time in our country” when corruption and complacency were at a high.

Using a scale of 1–5 (with 1 being weakest) and speaking to the intents of the Freedom Charter statements that say: The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth; The Doors of Learning Shall Be Opened; and that There Shall Be Work And Security, Mavuso said these score 1.

“A total of 64% of Africans are poor; Coloureds, 41%; Indian or Asian, 6%; and about 1% of whites live in poverty.” This inequality is also reflected in the unemployment statistics.

“At the current rate, the future governance of South Africa will be determined by the rich, mainly by those who have been exposed to private education,” he said, lamenting the state of Basic Education in public schools which he said has been in dire need of an overhaul for over 20 years.

Criticising the lack of strategy in land reform and land cultivation, Mavuso said this gap made a mockery of the statement that ‘The Land Shall Be Shared Among Those Who Work It’, thus scoring a 2, along with ‘There Shall Be Houses, Security and Comfort’.

The top scorers were that The People Shall Govern, Equal Rights and Equality before the Law.

Speaking to the graduands and youth in general, the 84-year-old elder said they are the heirs of the Freedom Charter.

“Yours is the task of restoring its spirit in a digital, globalised world. You must insist on ethical leadership, you must challenge injustice in whatever form it appears, and you must never accept mediocrity as the norm.”

Thanking Wits University for the honour, he said: "I accept this honorary doctorate not as a reward, but as a charge. A reminder that we must never grow comfortable with the distance between what is and what ought to be.
Let us not squander the moment this moment. Let us not allow pettiness and pride to win the day. We owe the people more than that. We owe history more than that."

Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professsor Zeblon Vilakazi said: "Wits University is proud to acknowledge Msimang’s remarkable, lifelong contribution of outstanding public service, his efforts to secure a lasting natural heritage for South Africa, and his work to advance ethical governance and leadership. It is therefore befitting that the University awards an Honorary Doctorate degree to him."

ɳ°ÍÌåÓý¹ÙÍø_ɳ°ÍÌåÓýapp Mavuso

Mavuso Walter Msimang was born in 1941 in Edendale, outside Pietermaritzburg. He matriculated at Inkamana High School, a Catholic school in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1960. In 1962, at the age of 20, he enrolled at the University of Fort Hare.

However, his time at Fort Hare was brief and in May 1963 after coming to the attention of the security police for staging a successful boycott of the "institutionalisation of apartheid" at the University, he was among six students whom the ANC leadership advised to leave the country. And so, his first year ended in exile.

While in exile, Msimang underwent military training and specialised in communication. After a brief spell in Tanzania, Msimang was sent to establish a radio communication set-up in Zambia. He subsequently became a leading member of the liberation struggle and in 1969 he was appointed to serve as secretary to Oliver Tambo from 1969 to 1972, and later became the CEO of the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation.

During his years in exile, Msimang worked for various international development agencies such as World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and CARE-CANADA. But ever aware of the need for both formal and professional skills, Msimang also studied biochemistry and entomology at the University of Zambia, and in 1976, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science; and later received a Master of Business Administration from the United States International University, California.

 Msimang first became a UN volunteer attached to the World Food Programme (WFP) and was tasked with overseeing health and refugee programmes in Zambia, then worked for the World Food Programme from 1977 to 1984 in Zambia and, later, in Kenya. Based on his emergency food aid, water and health care logistics experience, Msimang was appointed country director in Kenya for Care International. Later, he was placed in charge of UNICEF's emergency programmes in Ethiopia.

On returning to South Africa in1993, Msimang did not go the route of high-profile political office but focused, instead, on turning around ailing state entities - often away from a corrupt, exclusivist apartheid past, and into viable, professionally run, and inclusive, national assets. These roles, increasingly complex and challenging, included chief executive officer, successively, of SATour (now SA Tourism), Tourism Kwa-Zulu Natal, SANParks and the State IT Agency (SITA). During his tenure as SITA CEO from late 2003 to 2007, he was responsible for overseeing government use of technology and restoring the confidence of both the government and the ICT industry. And it was in these roles that Msimang earned his wide recognition as a leader of change in South Africa. Msimang progress to a three-year stint as director-general at the Department of Home Affairs (2007-2010). Here, he led the implementation of Princeton University as “instructive examples of successful civil service reform.

In 2009, under his leadership, the Department of Home Affairs received first prize in the UN Economic Commission for Africa “Technology In Government Awards” for improved use of technology in the Public Service. He retired from the civil service in 2010.

Msimang currently serves on various of NGOs, civic society and environmental management boards, including WWF South Africa since February 2011. He has also chaired the board of Corruption Watch. He was one of the original founders of African Parks, a non-governmental organization focused on conservation, and as of 2021 is an Emeritus Board Member. He also served on selected corporate boards including Harmony Gold Mining, Investment Solutions, SekelaXabiso, an accounting firm, and others. In 2018, his good works were recognised, and he received the WWF South Africa Living Planet Award. From September 2018 through 2019, he served on the Wits University Council as Member appointed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training.

Msimang was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration from UNISA on 06 November 2020. In July 2023 he was elected unopposed as deputy president of the African National Congress Veterans' League. Msimang remains outspoken on issues of public interest such as social injustice, corruption and maladministration. His entire life course has been shaped by resistance to apartheid, from his teenage years of activism and self-sacrifice in pursuit of genuinely noble ideals, in fighting for and then building democracy, in serving with distinction and maintaining a sense of moral conscience as a public official.

Latterly, he has sought to uphold his commitment to principles of good governance and ethics while reminding the nation of the contribution of the illustrious former leaders of the national liberation movement and the many ordinary people whose sacrifices made it possible for contemporary South Africans to live in a democracy.