Former health minister and current ANC MP Zweli Mkhize has graduated with a master’s degree in administration from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus.
Mkhize, 68, was awarded the degree at a graduation ceremony held at UKZN’s Westville campus on Tuesday night.
The title of his master’s study was Service Delivery at the Provincial Sphere of Government: A Case Study of Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mkhize was supervised by UKZN public governance specialist Prof. Purshottama Reddy.
Previously, Mkhize graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the erstwhile University of Natal in 1982. He served UKZN as its second chancellor from 2009 to 2017.
Inspired by observations of local government issues
During his tenure as the premier of KwaZulu-Natal from 2009 to 2017, Mkhize observed that local government was plagued by ineffective service delivery. This was mainly due to poor coordination and power contestations caused by overlapping constitutional mandates. Also a lack of cooperation and poor alignment of state entities.
In response to these challenges, the provincial administration under Mkhize’s leadership introduced the Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) model. This was in an effort to improve service delivery and eradicate structural poverty and inequality in the province.
Mkhize said that he decided to focus his research on the OSS model because, during his time as premier, the project attracted a large number of scholars.
“A number of masters and doctoral theses were produced and the OSS model formed a foundation for the District Development Model implemented by the national government,” said Mkhize.
Challenging journey
Mkhize said his master’s degree studies were a challenging journey.
“It was a challenging but rewarding journey. I personally interviewed all 22 respondents during the difficult days of Covid-19 with restrictions. This while balancing it with all other demands and responsibilities of the time,” said Mkhize.
“The study highlighted many subjective and objective factors that affect our public service. They include poor and uncoordinated planning and budgeting and poor implementation of programmes. Also poor supervision and a lack of community consultation to address community discontent.”
“I have had extensive experience in public administration since the dawn of democracy. During this era, practitioners had the innovation, creativity, and ability to explore new approaches and solutions. These were used to address challenges that had not been experienced before,” said Mkhize.
He said he is grateful to his family, peers and supervisor for their inspiration throughout his research journey.
Hopes to inspire others
“I hope this will inspire younger generations, leaders and public servants. To embrace postgraduate education and pursue ever-widening horizons in academic research.”
Reddy congratulated Mkhize on his achievement, describing him as an exemplary student.
“It was a pleasure working with Dr Mkhize because he is hard working and co-operative. He is willing to contribute to the knowledge base in the field of public governance,” said Reddy.
