27/11/2025
WELCOME DINNER OF VICE-CHANCELLOR, PROF THENJIWE MEYIWA
Chairperson of Council,
Madam Vice-chancellor,
Members of Council, allow me to stand on the protocol that has already been established.
As a disclaimer, I have a lot to say, and I was given limited time.
Sanibonani. Good evening.
My name is Prosper Chiloane, the SRC President who is left with 3 days in the UMP 2025 SRC office.
On behalf of the entire University of Mpumalanga student body and the leadership of the SRC, it is with great privilege to officially welcome, Professor Thenjiwe Meyiwa, to the University of Mpumalanga.
Your appointment has been received with great optimism and excitement by our students and UMP community at large.
We are confident that your unwavering commitment to student-centeredness will bring renewed energy and vision to our institution.
As student leaders, we often say, “leadership is not about the position, it is about the posture.”
Your posture of humility, compassion and clarity of purpose gives us hope.
And as we welcome you, Madam Vice-chancellor, we bring with us the collective expectations and heartfelt appeals of our student body.
Allow me to reflect on few key areas where students hope your leadership will bring transformation.
1. A Student-Centred University
Students are yearning for a University that does not just enrol them, but one that embraces them.
A University where policies breathe life, where systems listen and where administration speaks the language of ubuntu, “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.
We hope for a leadership that recognises:
- that mental health is as urgent as academic performance,
- that hunger is a barrier to success,
- that delays in support services translate into student suffering,
- that a student’s dignity must never be compromised by bureaucracy.
Students hope for a Vice-Chancellor who will not merely manage the institution but humanise it.
2. Restoring Confidence in Reporting Processes for Harassment and GBVF
One of the greatest wounds that lingers in our institution is the broken trust in reporting cases of harassment and Gender-Based Violence.
There have been painful moments when students felt unsupported, when cases disappeared into administrative silence, or when justice felt too slow to matter.
Under your leadership and with your first 16 Days of Activism at the University of Mpumalanga, we hope to see these concerns becoming a thing of the past.
We hope to see a reporting system that is not only functional, but believed in, one that is swift, compassionate and transparent.
3. Strengthening Support for Off-Campus Students
Madam Vice-chancellor, the heartbeat of our university extends far beyond the gates of our two campuses.
A significant portion of our students live off campus in areas where University student support structures are limited.
These students often feel invisible, struggling with transport challenges, unregulated accommodation conditions and much safety concerns.
Students hope to see an institutional shift, a support system that ensures no student feels neglected simply because they stay off campus.
4. Building a Vibrant Campus Life
A university is more than lecture halls, it is a living, breathing space of culture, ideas, talent and community.
Students long for a campus that is vibrant not only on paper but in lived experiences.
Where we have sports that inspires pride, societies that shape identity, arts that celebrate our culture and spaces where young people discover themselves.
We believe that under your leadership, vibrancy will no longer be an aspiration, it will be a lived reality.
5. Prioritising the Growth and Expansion of Siyabuswa Campus
Siyabuswa Campus holds a special place in the soul of UMP.
It is not just a campus; it is a hub of potential.
Students hope to see this campus grow in infrastructure, academic offerings, student life and strategic investment.
We hope to see Siyabuswa elevated to its rightful status as a centre of excellence, with resources that match its ambition and programmes that attract local and national interest.
6. Curriculum Expansion: Especially Engineering and Mining
Mpumalanga is a province rich in minerals, agriculture, tourism and energy potential.
Our academic programmes must speak to our geographic regions and economic aspirations. They must speak to opportunity.
Students hope to see a future where UMP becomes a leading institution in:
- engineering sciences,
- mining studies,
- renewable energy technologies,
- and other fields that feed into the economic potential of our province.
As students, we want to be partners in building the economy of Mpumalanga.
We hope that through your leadership, UMP will be positioned as a strategic contributor to the regional workforce and knowledge economy.
Madam Vice-chancellor, allow me to conclude even though I have much more to say.
UMP students hold high hopes in your leadership.
They look to you as a leader who will place them at the centre, who will preserve the integrity of our academic project and who will continue building an institution grounded in excellence, accountability and care.
As Maya Angelou reminds us, “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.”
Tonight, as we welcome you, we invite hope to stay.
Siyakwamukela ekhaya, enyuvesi yaseMpumalanga!
Ngiyabonga. I thank you!
DELIVERED BY THE 2025 SRC PRESIDENT, PROSPER CHILOANE
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