President Paul Kagame has welcomed the formal installation of Precious Moloi-Motsepe as the Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, wishing her ‘every’ success in this role as she helps lead this University into the next chapter. Kagame made the remarks Friday afternoon while virtually addressing special guests at the hybrid event. Motsepe who becomes the sixth Chancellor of the prestigious University began her 10-year-term last year in January, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other restrictions, the tradition of installation was not feasible. Kagame said that the University of Cape Town is not only one of Africa’s finest, but also recognised around the world for excellence. “Among its graduates, we count South Africa’s best and brightest as well as many emerging professionals in my country and throughout Africa,” he said. “The time our students spent on the University of Cape Town campus not only enriched them but prepared them for a productive life of service after graduation.” Kagame maintained that the Chancellor is much more than a symbolic head of the University. Overtime, he added, the incumbent chancellor of the University of Cape Town has tended to reflect where South Africa is, and where it is going. “Precious is not only an eminent successor to our sister Graca Machel but an inspiration in her own right, as a physician, a philanthropist and an entrepreneur,” he highlighted. Kagame also highlighted that, “my family and I are proud to call her and Patrice (Motsepe) as friends, indeed family members.” “Going forward, we want to see an even greater connection between the University of Cape Town and our continent as a whole as we work to deepen African economic integration and Unity.” Speaking at the ceremony, the Chair of Council of the University of Cape Town, Babalwa Ngonyama said that the chancellor is the titular head of the University and presides at graduation ceremonies, confers degrees and awards diplomas as well as certificates in the name of the University. “The role of chancellor requires an individual of stature with exceptional personal qualities and integrity” Ngonyama asserted. Precious Moloi-Motsepe is a philanthropist and an entrepreneur, who is recognised as one of the 50 most powerful women on the continent by Forbes Africa. Her philanthropic and business interests are intertwined, focusing on education, women, youth empowerment and the creative arts industries. As Co-Founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation, she has grown the foundation into one of the largest philanthropic organisations on the continent. The foundation, established in 1999, aims to contribute towards eradicating poverty and to sustainably improve the living conditions and standards of living of poor, unemployed and marginalised people in South Africa, Africa and the world.
