The Director of Special Projects in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Dr Matheakuena Mohale, was recently appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as the Deputy Chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), with effect from 1 March 2024. The appointment will be for a period of five years.

This is Dr Mohale’s second appointment on the MDB. He was first appointed as the youngest member of the Board in March 2019, during which he also served as the Chairperson of the Research and Knowledge Management Committee.

Speaking about his new appointment, Dr Mohale said it came as a bit of a surprise. He indicated that he expected the reappointment but was not expecting to be appointed as the Deputy Chairperson.

“I have been told several times that I am a reflector. Almost an hour after the news was shared with me, I got really happy. I went on a solo celebration. I had a great time. My solo celebration was owing to the fact that I could not share the news at that moment. But I must say the news was a good distraction from my emotional pain. I had just lost a brother two days earlier,” shared Dr Mohale.

Dr Matheakuena Mohale.

Commenting on his new role, Dr Mohale said that the role of the DeputyChairperson was exactly that, to assist the Chairperson in discharging his responsibilities. Dr Mohale stated that he will soon meet with the Chairperson, for them to think deeper and to share ideas about the plausible futures of the Board, over the next five years and beyond. With the benefit of institutional memory, coupled with his leadership experiences elsewhere, and including at DUT, Dr Mohale believes transitioning to the new role should not be difficult.

Armed with the experience of leading the Research and Knowledge Management Committee, he believes that it was in the area of research where the Board performed exceptionally well. He stated that research work informed the decisions in the prosecution of the core mandate of the Board, namely, ward delimitations; determination and redetermination of municipal boundaries; capacity assessments of municipalities; and advisory services. In his view, their biggest milestone was showcased in the multiple papers they produced in the last five years.

“At the very beginning, I asked the question: where do we communicate the knowledge we produce? There was no answer. Through the Committee, we then advised Management to identify strategic channels, platforms and stakeholders for purposes of sharing our findings and their implications on policy. I am proud to say that with this approach, one of the papers was published in an international journal last year, while the other paper was voted the best paper in local government as the annual conference of South African Association of Public Administration and Management,” reiterated Dr Mohale.

Besides being the Chairperson of the Research Knowledge Management Committee of the Board, Dr Mohale also served in two other committees of the Board, namely Ward Delimitation and Boundary Determination Committee and Governance, Social and Ethics Committee.

The newly appointed Deputy Chairperson of the MDB is confident that his role at DUT, since his appointment in 2017, has invariably prepared him for any task anywhere in the world.

“By this, I am not bluffing. I often tell people that DUT’s biggest competitive advantage is its Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Thandwa Mthembu. My biggest blessing in life has been to work with Professor Mthembu intimately. My role requires that you have to almost fully understand the thinking and thought pattern of your line manager. I would like to believe that I have built and sustained that ability over the years. Now, if I have successively met his expectations, I do not see why I would not succeed. Besides, I must point out that I have lived up to the DUT Way wherever I am found. Once you internalise the DUT Way, its excellent performance becomes one’s way of life,” shared Dr Mohale.

He explained that he also serves as the Chairperson of the Free State Development Corporation. He is very young, leading a Board of highly experienced professionals and seasoned officials.

Dr Mohale feels being involved in various organisations naturally allows cross-pollination of ideas. There are certain things that are done differently in the organisations he serves, which he has been sharing with the DUT colleagues.

Asked on the potential benefits for DUT, he said: “There is much learning that happens from all spaces. Exposure at this level brings networks. DUT is an engaged university. With networks, there is always an opportunity for new meaningful partnerships that could help to advance a number of DUT strategic objectives.”

To the young people wishing to follow in his footsteps, Dr Mohale advised that once given an opportunity, they must not betray the trust of those who saw potential in them. He said they might not need to work hard but must work sufficiently smart “for purposes of attaining self-actualisation and reinforcing the trust invested in them.”

Pictured: Dr David Mohale who was recently appointed as the Deputy Chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board.

Photographer: Khulasande Tshayile.

Simangele Zuma