On 24 November 2020 the North-West University (NWU) Business School hosted a webinar exploring how institutions in the North West Province – including provincial government departments and the NWU – responded to the Covid-19 crisis.

According to Theo Venter from the Business School the purpose of the webinar was to learn from their experiences and to focus on relevant change management mechanisms.

During the webinar two NWPG organisations that experienced severe challenges during the pandemic, the Mmabana Foundation and the North West Housing Corporation, shared their experiences.

Itumeleng Mogorosi represented the Mmabana Foundation, and Paul Mogotlhe shared the North West Housing Corporation’s experience.

Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark operations, also shared the NWU’s response to the pandemic.

She said the NWU’s main response was to salvage the 2020 academic year through accountable and responsible quality driven processes.

“We are still using online learning as primary means of delivery during this period of emergency, and will start with contact classes as soon as it is possible, subject to developments at national level,” she explained.

“We provided support for students who do not have optimal access to online learning with our main motto being to leave no student behind,” she added.

North West Premier Prof Job Mokgoro also attended the webinar and said the Covid-19 pandemic actually helped to break down walls that existed between government departments.

“After we made a rapid assessment of our Covid-19 response in September, and I can assure you that we have improved our planning and capacity in the province,” he said.