The Deputy Director-General for the Institutional Development Support at the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, Weziwe Hadebe obtained the prestigious Dean’s Merit Award for academic excellence for her Master of the Built Environment in Construction at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Spring Graduation ceremony. She was among the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment graduates and top achievers who were honoured at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday, 19 September 2024.
According to Hadebe, born in KwaMashu during the height of repressive laws of the apartheid government, she was motivated to better herself through education to ultimately have a much bigger role to play not only in KwaMashu but in the country. She was pleased to share she has indeed achieved most of her desires when growing up.
Commenting on graduating with a Dean’s Merit Award for academic excellence, Hadebe said it came as a huge surprise to her.
“I was really not expecting it even though I knew that I would do very well, owing to the long hours I had put into my work. This is indeed a motivation. It sends a clear message to me that if you work hard, the universe will always meet you half way,” said Hadebe.
She gave herself a pat on the shoulder for achieving this milestone despite her hectic work schedule, serving as a Deputy Director General (DDG) for Institutional Development Support (IDS) at the KZN Department of Education.
The title of her study was: “EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PORTFOLIO OF KWAZULU-NATAL”.
Some of the challenges she faced during her study journey was time management as she had to be at work, attend to her family and work on completing her Master’s degree. Hadebe expressed her appreciation to her supervisor, Dr Mowupe for ensuring that she got all the guidance and support she needed.
Hadebe revealed that she is an ardent worshipper of people who are able to maintain integrity, respect and accountability.
“Honesty is also everything to me. To this end, I can say without any fear of contradiction that the DUT Living Values and ENVISION2030 speaks my language,” added Hadebe.
She is planning to pursue her studies up to a PhD level and she will not rest until she reaches that level.
As a parting shot, Hadebe encouraged young people to study as much as they can so that in whatever they decide to do in the future they will always know that they have education as a foundation. She believes an educated person rarely suffers in life because one does not only learn about a specific field, but also get to learn about life in general.
Pictured: Weziwe Hadebe who was honoured for her academic excellence at the DUT 2024 Spring Graduation.
Simangele Zuma
