As North West premier Prof Job Mokgoro steps to the podium to deliver his State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Mahikeng on Friday, 28 June, he will do so armed with valuable suggestions from the province’s academics and other professionals.

The premier held a consultative meeting with students and a number of stakeholders at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng on Tuesday, 23 June.

“The NWU cannot afford to be an armchair critic,” warned NWU vice-chancellor, Prof Dan Kgwadi, who hosted the engagement session to garner input for the premier’s much-awaited address.

Chief among concerns raised, were corruption, the dire state of the North West local and provincial government, water shortages, rampant crime, lack of student accommodation and a general lack of service delivery to residents of the province.

Many of the people attending the meeting bemoaned the tendency by government to “take decisions that are not evidence-based”, and made an appeal for the now-defunct Research Days between government and the NWU to be revived. Valuable research findings continue to gather dust instead of informing government work, some academics complained.

The NWU’s academics also appealed to the premier to apply political pressure to secure the realisation of the NWU Medical School and the university’s School of Veterinary Sciences. The university is still awaiting feedback on the application for the establishment of both entities which are critical for the province.

Both Prof Kgwadi and the premier committed themselves to closer working relations for the benefit of the residents of the province.

Meanwhile, the Public Service Commission and the NWU signed a memorandum of understanding on 19 June to provide a framework for collaboration for the improvement of public administration and management in the province.

Here are North West premier Prof Job Mokgoro and NWU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dan Kgwadi during a consultative meeting with professionals ahead of the State of the Province Adress.