Introducing the 2020/2024 UCT Council

Dear colleagues and students

I write to officially welcome the new University of Cape Town Council and share, with delight, a historic and significant development following the election of the 2020/2024 Council leadership.

The new Council officially started its term on 1 July 2020 and will be in office until 30 June 2024. The election of the Chair, Deputy Chair and committee chairpersons took place at the first meeting held on Saturday, 11 July 2020.

I am excited to share with you that Ms Babalwa Ngonyama was elected as the new chair of Council, and Ms Nazeema Mohamed as deputy chair. I am sure you will all join me as we congratulate both Ms Ngonyama and Ms Mohamed for their election and wish them all the best as they carry out, over the next four years, the task of leading a collective that is responsible for steering the institution at a governance level.

The election of Ms Ngonyama and Ms Mohamed is a significant occurrence as it will be for the first time in UCT’s history that these two key roles on the oversight structure of the university are simultaneously occupied by women. Even more historic, it is for the first time that UCT has a female chair of Council.

Furthermore, the election of Ms Ngonyama as chair also means that the university now has women leaders at the helm in the crucial governance, ceremonial and executive roles, with the latter two being the chancellor, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe and myself.

Council also elected the chairs of its main committees and appointed members to these. The chairs are as follows:

• Honorary Degrees Committee: Ms Sheila Barsel
• Naming of Buildings Committee: Mr Malcolm Campbell
• University Audit and Risk Committee: Ms Tshidi Mokgabudi
• University Buildings & Development Committee: Mr Malcolm Campbell
• University Finance Committee: Ms Zama Khanyile
• University Human Resources Committee: Ms Pheladi Gwangwa

Council’s Executive Committee (EXCO) is composed of the chair and deputy chair of Council, the vice-chancellor, one of the Senate-elected members of Council, one of the student members of Council and three other members of Council, one of whom must be the chair of the University Finance Committee.

The EXCO membership has been confirmed as comprising Ms Ngonyama (chair of Council), Ms Mohamed (deputy chair), the vice-chancellor, Professor Ntobeko Ntusi (Senate-elected Council member), Mr Sihle Lonzi (student member), Ms Khanyile (chair of the University Finance Committee) as well as Ms Barsel and Ms Dianna Yach as Council members.

We are looking forward to working closely with the new Council. We have no doubt that all the members bring a diverse range of expertise and experience that will serve UCT well through the four-year term.

• See the full Council membership for the 2020/2024 term.

Sincerely

Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements