SOL PLAATJE University (SPU) has elected its first female SRC president, Ntesang Makutu, a Bachelor of Education student at the university.
The elections were held on Tuesday after the post became vacant following the departure of the previous student representative council president.
Makutu was elected by a majority vote and assumed her position from Wednesday.
She is the first female president of the SRC at SPU in its almost seven years of existence.
SPU spokesperson Kashini Maistry said yesterday that the higher education institution wished Makutu success during her tenure as SRC president.
The various SRC members are assigned to the following portfolios for the remainder of their 2020 term of office:
President: Ntesang Makutu
Deputy President: Sylvester Molawa
Secretary: Tebogo Takane
Deputy Secretary: Nathan Louw
Treasurer: Patience Lotlhare
Project Officer: Kamogelo Sethunya
Media, Events and Publicity Officer: Kegomoditswe Maruping
Residence Officer: Quinton Swartz
Transformation and Student Development Officer: Laurenzo Chabalala
Sport, Arts and Culture: Olorato Mmakwa
Makutu grew up in Mogale City and later moved to Kimberley to complete her high school studies. She is passionate about young minds and loves being surrounded by children.
Her passion for her siblings inspired her to be a primary school teacher.
Makutu believes that everyone has been given a precious gift to share with the world and that, with the relevant support structures and the right environment, everyone is able to unleash the gift within themselves.
She is committed to community development, education and health and is an alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative Cohort 15 in Civic Leadership.
At SPU she volunteered to serve as a Peer Educator and a Digital Footprint Facilitator. Her role was to educate her peers about the importance of maintaining a professional online presence, as well as taking charge of their lives in the university environment, through participating in extra-mural activities such as sports and debate.
She was elected in 2019 to serve on the SRC as the Transformation and Student Development Officer.
She is a committed community activist and co-founded Eyethu Pop-up Library, which is a social initiative that gives the gift of reading to all citizens of Kimberley, young and old.
With her co-founder they started the project by providing a total number of thirty-five books from their personal collection. They then created a book drive in an attempt to receive more books.
The first pop-up library took place at the Kimberley taxi rank and was planned to continue every two weeks.
People are free to go to the pop-up library, collect a book and return it at the next pop-up.
Recently, she was one of four students selected from SPU for the JustLead! course, presented by the University of Stellenbosch.
JustLead! aims to develop the leadership competency and capacity of young leaders across South Africa and is founded on three core pillars: personal leadership development, contextual awareness and social responsiveness.
It provides participants with rich insights into a variety of social justice challenges, with an emphasis on designing community engagement which is thoughtful and responsive.
