MEC Sihle Zikalala.KZN MEC Graduates With BAdmin Degree Cum Laude
ANC’s Provincial Chairperson and Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Mr Sihle Zikalala graduated with a Bachelor of Administration Honours degree cum laude.
Zikalala, now doing a Masters in Commerce with the Graduate School of Business and Leadership, said as an MEC and a leader, possessing the theoretical and practical knowledge of public administration is a responsibility he does not take lightly.
‘I hold a view that public representatives must be familiar with governance and administration and not just leave things to officials. To provide proper leadership, in this regard, public representatives need to be knowledgeable about policies and public administration. I can say with no doubt that I’m better off than before in the execution of my duties,’ he said.
Driven by his passion to better the lives of South African citizens through quality service delivery, Zikalala chose the societal impact of dependency caused by social security as his research focus.
‘It is easy to conclude that people tend to depend on social grants but the real evidence proves that very few are wittingly dependent on social security. In essence, social security plays an essential role in alleviating poverty,’ explains Zikalala.
‘Another interesting lesson is that while we generally talk about social security provided to the poor, government provides a lot of financial support to other sectors through pension fund and contributions such as medical aid. The research taught me a serious lesson that empirical evidence is far different from general observations,’ he added.
As a public representative and a responsible South African, Zikalala encourages the youth and everyone else to follow his example and prioritise education.
‘I encourage young people to further their studies. Nowadays a single degree is not so valuable. But studying must not be merely about academic qualification but also absorbing and internalising knowledge which is crucial for one to be effective in different aspects of life.’