South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) recognized for empowerment and transformation

Pretoria: 14-04-2016

An apparent and ‘disturbing’ poor intake of post-graduate students by South Africa’s business sector is at best, an unusual and unacceptable anomaly given both the students’ significant academic knowledge depth but also vast economic opportunities especially in the country’s maritime economic sector.

That was the sum total of remarks by South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) chief executive officer, Commander Tsietsi Mokhele in his acceptance speech of the Oliver Empowerment Awards 2016’s Legends of Empowerment and Transformation Award bestowed the organisation at a ceremony held at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on Thursday.

SAMSA was honored with the prestigious Legend of Empowerment and Transformation Award at this year’s 15th version  of the Annual Oliver Empowerment Awards in recognition of its sterling record in the arena of empowerment and contribution to the country’s broad transformation.

Mr Mokhele, responding in part to Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor’s complaint in her speech at the event about an apparent glaring lack of appetite by South African business for post-graduates, Mr Mokhele said the country’s maritime economic sector offers vast opportunities especially for business keen on research and innovation.

He quantified the economic benefit for innovators in the maritime economic sector as worth between R129-R179-billion per annum, and waiting for the takers.

For Mr Mokhele’s full remarks on the matter listen to this 58 seconds audi clip….

For highlights of SAMSA’s work honored at this year’s Oliver Awards 2016, please click here

In an earlier slot, main guest speaker Ms Pandor decried South Africa’s poor intake of post-graduates by the country’s businesses and outlined interventions taken by the Department of Science and Technology in response to the situation.

These include the establishment a decade ago of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) to bridge what she described as “chasm” between research and development from higher education institutions, science councils, public entities, and private sector, and commercialisation.

For Ms Pandor’s full remarks click here to listen…