By Sandile Mahlangu

The North-West University (NWU) annually celebrates Facing Race Week during the third week of July.

Facing Race Week is usually celebrated to help create a learning opportunity and promote awareness about the diversity of the university and how all individuals can co-exist with one another. The Potchefstroom Campus students participated by hosting a three-day campaign from 17 to 19 July during which they informed, educated, and engaged with one another.

The Nedbank Capital Expenditure Project Listing, which shows a dramatic decline in fixed investment activity in the first half of 2023, flashes a strong red light about future investment and growth trends in the South African economy.

This is as persistent power outages, rising interest rates and cost pressures weigh on profitability and erode business confidence.

Caretaker coach Amos Xabanisa is brimming with confidence that the North-West University (NWU) football team is fully prepared to take on the challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming Varsity Football tournament.

In their bid to gauge their readiness, the team has engaged in a series of friendly matches. The NWU faced tough opponents, including Tuks FC, the Bafana Bafana team that recently participated in the Cosafa competition, and the SuperSport United FC MDC team.

Whether his graceful dive would cause his wings to be clipped was touch and go. He still gives a slightly embarrassed laugh when he thinks about it. It was Monday, 27 February in Potchefstroom during the Varsity Cup. The North-West University (NWU) Eagles were battling the Shimlas on the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in what was to end in a 63-16 victory against the visitors from Bloem. Just before the break the ball was played along the line and landed in Naiden Jaarts’s eager hands. This wing did what all try gluttons do.

The Rugby Institute of the North-West University (NWU) has again proven itself to be one of the country’s foremost player factories, with no fewer than six players from the NWU Eagles’ Varsity Cup-winning squad having secured provincial contracts.

These players have also obtained or are in the process of completing their respective academic degrees from the NWU, thereby yet again underlining the NWU’s commitment to providing well-rounded athletes with a future beyond the sports fields.

Prof Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, executive manager for SADC WaterNet and extraordinary professor at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, has been elected the secretary-general of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS).

Prof Onema's election, which took place during the 28th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Berlin, Germany, marks a momentous occasion in the history of IAHS. He is the first African to hold this significant position since the association's inception 101 years ago.

As was widely anticipated, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided by a 3:2 majority to keep interest rates on hold for now, instead of opting for a further increase of 25 basis points.

In commenting on the MPC’s decision on 20 July, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the Business School at the North-West University (NWU), says it was the right call by the MPC, given the latest global and domestic economic cross-currents, as well as the cumulative impact of previous rate hikes on the economy.

It is again time for students to don their judicial robes for the popular annual NWU-Juta Mock Trials competition.

This year’s competition promises to be especially exciting, with the semi-finals and final taking place on 6 and 7 August respectively in the North West High Court in Mahikeng. The opening function will be hosted on 4 August.

“This will also be the first year that all four our semi-finals will take place simultaneously, bringing all the action to the courtrooms at the same time,” says Adv René Koraan, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law.

The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) hosted a successful fourth workshop on Resources for African Indigenous Languages (RAIL) in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

By Sandile Mahlangu

With the country having commemorated Youth Month last month, some North-West University (NWU) students celebrated the event differently this year. Four students from the university got an opportunity to embrace being a young person in our country and shared it with the rest of the world through commercial radio stations – 5FM and OFM.