Bruce

The Journey

2008-11-30T06:14:00.000-08:00

During my internship period or the period before my appointment as assistant director, I went through phases that had challenges. The directorate that I was placed in had two interns: Mankwane, the other intern and I. We both commenced our internships simultaneously. A few months before the end of the internships our contracts were extended by three months. This was after a motivation by Mr Ando Donkers, the senior manager in our directorate.

In the middle of the three months extension the position of assistant director was advertised in the City Press and Sunday Times. I applied, and later four candidates were short listed. Of the four candidates two were interns, Makwane and I. The selection consisted of interviews and competency tests.

After a period of approximately four weeks following the assessment day, a human resources personnel called to inform me that I had been chosen for the opening. I commenced my new role as assistant director on the 1st of August of 2008.

In retrospect, I came to appreciate the fact that a variety of influences were at play in my selection for the position. As the main character in the whole evolution from being an intern to assistant director, I attribute the success largely to the quality of my work as well as hard work- sometimes I took work home to meet deadlines. I am grateful to my senior managers for if it was not for them I doubt I would be in the employ of my host organisation. Mostly, I am grateful to the almighty for the guidance.

Of course there were elements interfering with my work. This is the part that compelled me to resort to soft skills gained from the World of Work programme. At some stage one colleague made several attempts to create a hostile environment, seemingly hoping that it will affect my work. The sessions on emotional intelligence and conflict management during the World of Work programme reminded me that conflicts tend to undermine productivity at work places, and that it is crucial to avoid reacting instead of responding without emotions when a stressful situation arises. But gradually the situation mutated into an overt confrontation. I finally decided to be direct with my adversary, as result I made it clear that I am here to complement team work, not to compete. Later I approached the other colleague of mine who is someone close to my adversary to mediate between the two of us. I put it to the other colleague that it is not in my interest to create enemies for myself. Thereafter, relations improved. I must say I consider this water under the bridge, and the journey is still on-going.

The D-Day, 16 July 2007

2007-07-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

My first day at my host organization started at 8h00 am. I was not sure about the dress code. To be on the safe side, I went for formal outfit.

There were ten of us – three males, myself included and seven females. During the gathering of the ten interns a human resource manager, Mr Alfred Tau, gave a presentation about the organization and the code of conduct, among other things. He highlighted that systems in the public sector are the same. That is, it does not really make any difference whether you are in the Health Department or the Department of Housing, procedures in the public sector are similar. He went on to mention that in the event of dismissal on grounds of misconduct it will be impossible to find employment in the public sector as all details about each government employee is kept in a single data base. Alas!

Then came, Terrence and Poppy, human resource representatives who grouped us according to our respective expertise and later on sent us to different Directorates. I was sent to a unit called Governance, Policy and Research which falls under Intergovernmental Relations (IGR)

Mankwe and I were the only two interns in the IGR unit. Upon our arrival work stations were already in place. Moreover, we had already been allocated a mentor, Mr Johan Beukman. Mr J. Beukman is a manager in the unit. At 4h30 pm we knocked off.

After work I went straight to bed as I was not feeling well. I had contracted flue – both my nostrils were blocked. But before I succumb to bed I took some medication.

On the March

2007-07-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

On my own initiative, I responded to an advert of internships in the public sector, carried by the Sunday Times careers section. I am pleased to inform you that I was successful in my application. I will be joining the public entity as a research intern for a period of 12 months. The interview occurred on the 1st of June 2007, which happened to be my day of birth. I must mention that topics or themes explored during the WOW programme, to a great deal, helped in improving my approach to interviews, among other aspects.
Though the internship’s financial rewards are not so impressive, I maintain that I shall benefit by way of accumulating experience. However, of utmost importance is that I shall be doing what I enjoy. Moreover, I regard this internship as a unique opportunity for me to serve my country, the Republic of South Africa. I look forward to my first day at the host organization.

The Zimbabwe Situation

2007-06-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

What started as a political project (namely, the land reform) mutated into an economic crisis rendering the Zim dollar into a worthless currency. In fact, economic crisis in Zimbabwe display in part what is termed stagflation. In definition, stagflation is high inflation coupled with high levels of unemployment. During a talk show on KayaFm presented by John Perlman, one caller suggested that the solution to the Zimbabwe problem will not come from Mbeki or ZanuPF-MDC negotiation but from a negotiation process that will include ZanuPF, MDC and Britain.

"History's Importance for the Future"

2007-06-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

For, he who desires to build a future dare not neglect the past.
Seek, therefore, all that is good and beautiful in the past,
built on it your ideal, and strive to realize that ideal for the future.

President Paul Kruger’s last message to his people

As a black South African, I believe there is a compelling case for affirmative action to prevail in South Africa. Sadly, not every person is of this view. Opponents of affirmative action often argue that it is not a necessary and effective policy intervention as it leads to reverse racism, and hence the incidence of fronting. Thus far evidence indicates that affirmative action has not really crowded out white South Africans in the area of employment in particular.

In retrospect, the 1926 Mine and Workers Act or the Colour Bar Act, which lasted until late eighties, served to prevent blacks from taking up skilled employment. The objective of the Colour Bar Act was to make skilled employment the exclusive preserve of whites in South Africa. Therefore, it would be appropriate to view affirmative action as an antidote to the anomalies stemming from the Colour Bar Act.

Hamilton Naki, a black man without formal training in the medical sciences, is recorded as someone who contributed in making it possible for Chris Barnard to perform the first heart transplant in the world. The Sunday Times article (5 June 2007), states that Hamilton Naki also participated in the training of students who went on to become professors in surgery. Some of his students actually became heads of university departments’ in countries like Japan and the US.
Hamilton Naki’s story highlights the need for affirmative action in South Africa. Unfortunately, there have been incidents that display the opposite of what is intended by the policy of affirmative action. In my view for affirmative action to have more weight, it has to be driven by meritocracy. Moreover, mentoring of those from the disadvantaged background holds potential to enhance affirmative action. If one takes the case of Tito Mboweni, the current governor of the South African Reserve Bank, his success in bringing down the rate of inflation from double to single digit and bringing about the lowest rates of interest in many years could perhaps be attributed in part to effective mentoring from the previous governor, Dr Chris Stals. This is because at one stage Tito Mboweni served as deputy to Dr Chris Stals before assuming the position of governor of the Reserve Bank.

My Ideal Host Organization/Employer

2007-06-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

Employees tend to spend a considerable amount of their time in organizations. To get the most out of them, organizations should ensure that workplaces are free of conflicts. But conflicts are part of reality. Ideally, they should be prevented. Should they occur measures to amicably resolve them ought to be in place.

Rewarding and nurturing of talent drives me to perform to the best of my ability. Similarly, I value diversity for it brings to the fore a variety of ideas and approaches to problem solving exercises. Though mistakes are undesirable, I believe a room for mistakes is necessary because it allows individuals to stretch their boundaries of creativity. Thus I concur with Albert Ianstein’s claim that “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. Knowledge is worth celebrating but if it does not inspire imagination it will be of limited benefit.

My CV

2007-05-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

Personal Details

Surname: Nkgodi
First names: Molifi, Bruce
Email: molifi@webmail.co.za
Contact no: 073 3522 854
Health: Excellent

Education

Tertiary Education

BA Honours (Politics) University of the Witwatersrand, 2006

Econometrics module (non-degree purpose), University of Johannesburg, 2003

BA (Economic & Political Studies), University of the Witwatersrand, 2002

Achievements

Investigated the efficacy of Structural Adjustment Programmes in redressing inefficiencies in African agriculture (Voluntary honours long paper).
Investigated the origins of the Third World Debt Crisis.
Built an econometric model using data for South Africa’s economy to test the interest elasticity of money demand. That is, the sensitivity of borrowing to changes in interest rate.
Assess the impact of the emerging black middle class on the structural configuration of South Africa’s economy under free trade-with special focus on the manufacturing sector (Honours dissertation).

High School Education

Last school attended: Mokgome High School
Highest standard passed: Standard 10 or Grade 12

Achievements

Soccer team member
Study group member

Employment History

Employer: Hofmeyr House, 2002 to 2003
Designation: General Assistant – Skills acquired – administration, people’s and multitasking.
Reason for leaving: Part-time

Employer: International Project Consultant (IPC), 2001
Designation: Field worker – Skills acquired – communication and information gathering skills.
Reason for leaving: Part-time

Employer: Wits Anatomy Department, 2007
Designation: General Assistant – system planning skills
Reason for leaving: Part-time

Other Skills

Report writing
Micro-soft: Word, Excel, Internet & PowerPoint
Familiarity with general office work
Participating in team work

Objective

To be part of an organization that will employ my analytical and communication skills. Thereby add value to the organization’s endeavour to utilizing scarce resources as efficient as possible.

Reference

· Name: Ms Karen Fridi
Tel no: 011 717 9320 (Manageress)

· Name: Prof Rod Alence (Lecturer)
Tel no: 011 717 4493

· Name: Prof Daryl Glaser (Lecturer)
Tel no: 011 717 4373

Another Lesson in Time Management

2007-05-09T04:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s assignment made me aware of some things which I consider crucial. One is that in my blogs I pay more attention to content than ensuring that my writing is free of typographical errors. Efficiency dictates that content should be error free. Temitope and Ijeoma, your comments during Elspeth’s session were valid and constructive. I’m please to see that I’m not surrounded by yes men-and-women. Secondly, having failed to submit on time, I have realized that I’m yet to master the art of effective time management. On Sunday I managed to write and complete my assignment. The only thing left was to type it. But because I do not have a computer at home I rely on University's resources. So I had to wait until Monday. All these weaknesses could have been overcome if I had a computer of my own. Nevertheless, the reality is that there is no computer at my place. It is partly for this reason that purchasing a computer is one of my future goals.
In her session about time management, Janet Askew mentioned that effective time management needs one to have a contingency plan or plan B. In my case plan B would have been to over-deliver. In other words, because I had more than a week to complete the assignment, I was suppose to have finished compiling it a few days before the due date.

HIV prevention

2007-05-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Statistics on the state of HIV/AIDS in South Africa give a gloomy view. Thus it should be a high priority to protect oneself from contracting the HIVirus. Be faithful, practice safe sex and abstinence from sex, of which many find unattractive, are preventative measures that can be adopted to contain HIV/AIDS. Those infected already have a responsibility to protect those who are still HIV negative from the virus. After all it is to the detriment of HIV positive individuals to practice unsafe intercourse or have multiple partners. Equally, HIV negative persons ought to provide a support structure that will create a caring atmosphere for HIV positive individuals. This support structure require everyone to discard the tendency to stigmatize HIV and AIDS suffers. I believe at the core of HIV/AIDS prevention is our ability as individuals not to allow instant gratification to counteract rational.

2007-04-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a big day for South Africa. The Proteas, that is SA cricket team, will be playing against Australia in the cricket world cup semi-final. South Africa has tasted victory against Australia before, so I believe our boys can do it again. My advice to the Proteas is that they should delete any memory of failure against Australia and think more about the day they emerged victorious against the Ausies. This may boost their mental strength - something that was missing in our last semi-final encounter with the Ausies.

2007-04-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

South Afrca (SA) is one of the few countries that underwent the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) assessment. In the final report a number of issues were highlighted as undermining good governance in SA. One of these factors is the dominance of a single party in the political processes. Single party dominance tends to work against democracy as it blurs the difference between party and state. Thus a dominant party can use state resources to further party interests.

In the South African context the dominance of the ANC is something that can be attributed to the nature of opposition politics. For instance, to a majority of black South Africans the DA, which represents the official opposition party, comes across as not wholeheartedly committed to non-racialism. This allows the ANC despite a plethora of discontents among its constituency, to maintain control of the state and its institutions. My hypothesis is that until the DA re-invent itself into something appealling to the black populace, the ANC will remain a dominant force in South African politics.

2007-04-20T01:10:00.000-07:00

Open minded individuals are aware that Christianity is not the only way to God. But there is substance in the biblical claim that "God created man in his own image". This is no rhetoric claim. In fact, there is ample evidence in support of this claim. Some of it can be found in the Origins Centre, situated in Wits University campus. The New York Times suppliment of the Sunday Times (8 April 2007) ran a story about a caucasian farmer who recently dicovered that he has black relatives through a DNA test. Therefore, im my opion labels such as black/coloured/white are nothing but human invention. They only reflect our infallibility as humans.

2007-04-19T04:20:00.000-07:00

I want to talk about creative destruction. A car to me is a product of creative destruction because of its contribution to green house gases, the cause of global warming. Now there are genetically modified (GM) foods. Do we know the long-term implication of consuming GM foods? Perhaps, preoccupation with the long-term rather than the short-term in our endevours to finding solutions to world's problems would help us discover solutions that will not be problematic in future.

2007-04-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Many young black men are not happy about their situation in the new South Africa. In fact, the general feeling is that it seems as if in the new South Africa men (in particular black men) are either women or child abusers. But men also experience abuse, which is non-physical in nature in most cases, from their female counterparts. Therefore why gender activists or champions of women emancipation are turning a blind eye to men abuse? In my view genuine women empowerment should also seek to correct women imperfections.

2007-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

For blogging to be more robust and ineteresting, I think people like Bill Gates and probably the Silicon Valley IT boffins should devote more resources to finding new ways to enable more individuals in the developing world to access IT and computer facilities.

2007-04-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Now that I have done some blogging, I feel like I'm part of the global village.

2007-04-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

I feel blogging is a useful tool simply because it holds immense potential to connect one with like-minded individuals from different parts of the globe.