The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus recently hosted a long-service awards ceremony to honour and acknowledge staff members who have served the institution with loyalty, dedication and hard work for 10 years and more.

The event has become a highly anticipated occasion, and this year more than 40 staff members were awarded.

Dine Du Pleez, who has worked at the university as an academic adviser for 30 years, was honoured for being the longest-serving individual on campus at this occasion.

South Africa’s heightened global risk status due to greylisting unfortunately dents an investment profile already grappling with factors such as the negative impact of aggressive load-shedding, lack of energy security, ongoing junk status and other uncertainties.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, in commenting on the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to greylist South Africa, says although it has been widely expected for some months, it is bad news that South Africa’s present vulnerable economy can do without.

The 2023 Budget speech was a surprise-free, pragmatic and credible response to a challenging set of global and domestic economic circumstances.

Prof Raymond Parsons, an economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, commented on the 2023 Budget introduced to parliament by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana.

“Although having received some windfall tax-revenue gains, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana still had a difficult balancing act given the political and economic constraints within which he had to shape fiscal policy.”

On 27 January 2023 the North-West University (NWU) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), representing the Potchefstroom College of Agriculture and the Taung Agricultural College, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the NWU's Potchefstroom Campus.

Leané Naudé, an MSc Engineering student at the North-West University (NWU), will be packing her bags for Amsterdam in May to represent South Africa in the global finals of the Blue Sky science competition.

She earned this honour after coming second in last year’s national Blue Sky awards, a biennial competition acknowledging the work of students and young researchers in forest-based science product development.

The 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa to Parliament on 9 February gave a wide-ranging, candid and realistic appraisal of South Africa’s present tough and challenging economic landscape.

A proposed three-year deal by the Department of Tourism and SA Tourism to sponsor English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur has caused widespread consternation and has received plenty of condemnation in what many deem an ill-thought venture.

According to Prof Peet van der Merwe from the research unit TREES (Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society) at the North-West University (NWU), this amount could have been better used for other tourism purposes.

“As was expected, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) continued with its interest-raising cycle with an increase of 25 basis points (bsp), instead of the higher 50 bsp option that had also been widely canvassed.”

According to Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, this is the right decision in the present stressful economic circumstances.

It cannot be disputed that 2022 was an eventful year for news outlets. The invasion of Ukraine; a global rise in inflation; the death of prominent figures, not only in the entertainment industry, but also major international personalities such as Queen Elizabeth II; and the intensified effects of climate change, among other things, dominated the headlines as the world’s population crossed the milestone of 8 billion people.

The North-West University (NWU) will not allow persons who did not qualify for admission, did not receive an offer to study at the NWU or who applied late to enter its campuses to enrol as so-called walk-ins during the registration period for first-year students in 2023.

The NWU has reached full capacity for its 2023 intake, with no extra places available. Close to 200 000 applications were received, of which only 11 662 could be accommodated in terms of our approved enrolment targets.