Durban — Prominent businessman and AmaZulu Football Club owner Sandile Zungu will be sworn in as chancellor of Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) on Friday.
Director of public relations and branding at MUT, Dr Azwi Mufamadi, said the Umlazi-born-and-bred entrepreneur will be the fourth MUT chancellor following in the footsteps of ex-tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu; former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu; and Human Rights Activist and Order of the Baobab in Bronze recipient Reverend Dr Khoza Elliot Mbuyisa Mgojo.
Zungu will be the first MUT chancellor from Umlazi in the university’s almost four and a half decades of existence, Mufamadi added.
MUT acting vice-chancellor and principal Professor Marcus Ramogale said they were honoured to have a person of Zungu’s stature, integrity and brilliant record of leadership in South Africa’s business corridors of power as chancellor.
“His selection is further evidence of MUT’s commitment to not only developing the community of Umlazi, but also recognising the potential that its people have,” he said.
Ramogale said there are many parallels between Zungu’s story and that of MUT, which makes him a good representation of where MUT comes from, and where the institution is going.
“Little did many know that he would later become an entrepreneur,” Ramogale added.
Zungu matriculated from Vukuzakhe High School. Engineering was his passion. Zungu completed a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at UCT. He went on to complete a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Programme for Global Leadership at Harvard Business School.
Zungu appealed to MUT alumni to share their skills and knowledge with students still studying at the university to motivate and inspire them.
Ramogale said his mission was to remind students every chance he gets, that nobody is born only to work as an employee, but must also use their qualifications and skills acquired at university to start their own businesses.
Zungu’s track record includes being the founder and executive chairman of Zungu Investments Company (Zico); chairman of EOH Holdings; non-executive director of Grindrod Limited and Novus Holdings; member of the BRICS Business Council; president of the Black Business Council; member of the Presidential Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council; and Chairperson of the UCT Graduate School of Business board of advisers.
Zungu has also won numerous awards in recognition of his business acumen. His accolades include top 10 participants in the erstwhile KwaZulu regional finals of the Old Mutual National Science Olympiad; Business Map Dealmaker of the Year; Outstanding Business Strategy Award at the 6th finals of the World Young Business Achievers; World Economic Forum’s Global Leader for Tomorrow; and member of the World Economic Forum.
Zungu said he is honoured and excited about the trust and the opportunity afforded him by the university in appointing him its new chancellor.
“It is imperative that an institution such as MUT serves its community, and empowers it with much-needed skills. Both business and the community of Umlazi township, and Durban, must take comfort and pride themselves in having an institution such as MUT within their midst – which guarantees their youth with great future careers,” Zungu said.
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