‘It’s not what you accumulate, but what you contribute’
- Wits University
Business icon Dr Reuel Khoza urges graduants to serve faithfully in their lives and careers.
“Nothing is more liberating than becoming the author of one's own destiny,” said Khoza, the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Commerce during this year’s Winter Graduation Cluster for the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management.
“Graduation is not the end of learning; it is the beginning of becoming. You now step into the world of work, a world replete with challenges; challenges of employment and unemployment, of enterprise and entrepreneurship, of uncertainty and opportunity. A world of moral degeneration, where might is considered right, where human rights and the dignity of the human personality are trampled upon with gay abandon, where whole populations, even nations, are exterminated in mounting numbers. As this carnage consumes the civilised world, decadent putative leaders are either the instigators or largely indifferent bystanders. As you graduate and swell the ranks of the intelligentsia, it behoves you to take a solutionist stand with a bias for action,” he urged.
Khoza, a distinguished business icon, academic and transformation leader, said he accepted his honorary doctorate not as a solitary achievement but “as a collective triumph of all who have walked with me, guided me, and believed in me; today is not mine alone. It belongs to my family, my mentors, my colleagues, and indeed the communities that have nurtured me.
“It belongs to Africa herself. Africa, the lion rising from slumber, shaking off the dust of history, and striding boldly into the future. Africa, whose soil has taught me resilience, whose skies have inspired vision, and whose people have instilled in me the sacred duty of stewardship.”
Khoza studied psychology before forging one of South Africa's most influential business careers, championing ethical leadership, corporate governance and economic transformation.
In his address, he pledged to continue striving for commerce that is humane, leadership that is principled, and scholarship that is liberating.
“May this day remind us all that the true measure of success is not what we accumulate, but what we contribute. Not what we possess, but what we pass on, not how loudly we speak, but how faithfully we serve.”
He is one of the architects of the King Codes on Corporate Governance, and has led major institutions including Eskom and Nedbank, shaped leadership thinking across Africa through academia and authorship, and dedicated his career to advancing good governance, African humanism and social development. Khoza has also served the higher education sector as an academic and as Chancellor of three universities.
A recipient of several awards and honorary doctorates, his qualifications include a BA Honours in Psychology (University of Limpopo, previously University of the North); a Masters in Marketing (University of Lancaster, UK) and a Doctorate in Business Leadership from Warwick University (UK). He is also a Chartered Director (CD SA) and has authored influential books, which include, amongst others, Attuned Leadership: African Humanism as Compass (2012) and Let Africa Lead: African Transformational Leadership for 21st Century Business (2006). A multitalented individual, he also writes lyrics and produces music.