This was part of the message delivered by the Minister for Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, during his keynote speech at the UP Conference Centre on the Hatfield Campus on Thursday morning. Dr Nzimande shared his views on public management and administration with attendees of the Fourth International Conference of the School of Public Management and Administration, hosted by the School’s Director, Prof Jerry Kuye under the theme: Leadership, Governance and Policy in the Public Sector.

Dr Nzimande’s views on the role of higher education were amplified by Prof Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal. She outlined UP’s development plans for the next decade and beyond, and assured the Minister that the University will grow to meet its moral and ethic duty to taxpayers of helping to deliver enough graduates, especially in scarce-skill sectors.

Member of cabinet, Mr Richard Baloyi, Minister for Public Service and Administration, will deliver Friday’s keynote address at 08:30.

During the two-day conference the focus will be on developing democracies that are under extreme pressure to develop policies and implement programmes, in order to give effect to election manifestos and other policy announcements by political office bearers. It seems as though a gap exists between policy statements and the capacity of the administrative structures to deliver the services efficiently and effectively. Therefore, it is imperative to reconsider the potential of public administration to realise the objectives of the developmental state. Issues such as leadership, governance and public policy; the public financial system as cornerstone of accountability and responsibility, and the promotion of cooperative governance will be discussed.
 

Prof Carolina Koornhof, Dean of the Faculty Economic and Management Sciences and Prof Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-chancellor and Principal with Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training.

The Minister visited UP's Hatfield Campus on Thursday and delivered a keynote address at the School of Public Management and Administration's fourth International Conference.