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On Tuesday, 26 August 2025, the University of Zululand hosted a historic ceremony which saw the unveiling and naming of three world class buildings.

These include a newly constructed Engineering building, new 442 beds, the refurbished Madiba House and the Richards Bay Lodge.

One of the highlights of the ceremony included the naming of the Engineering department at the Richards Bay campus in honour of the current Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande.

The University of Zululand decided to honour Minister Nzimande for his “contribution to education and development.”

Expressing his gratitude at this gesture, Minister Nzimande indicated how humbled he was and that he never imagined that “as a boy from Dambuza, he would ever have his name inscribed on the building of a university.”

Minister Nzimande also participated in the naming of the other two buildings. The one building was named after South Africa’s globally recognised icon and first democratic President, Mr. Nelson Mandela, and the other was named after Mr. Vuyani Cyril Gamede, a celebrated and pioneering black engineer and former Chairperson of the Council of University of Zululand.

Delivering the keynote address at this ceremony, Minister Nzimande stated that “As government, our investments in infrastructure are not just about expanding access and creating a conducive world-class environment where students can learn and innovate.

We also hope that these investments will inspire our students and academics to not simply see themselves as consumers of the knowledge that is produced by others, but to also see themselves as knowledge producers in their own right.

This of course resonates with your purpose-statement as a university that of positioning yourself as ‘A Node for African Thought’.”

Highlighting the importance of having an engineering department in the Mhlathuze District, Minister Nzimande stated that “Under apartheid, black people were not allowed to study engineering and were given the type of education that sought to prepare them for subservient roles in society. It is therefore important that we share this history with our young people so that they can have a deeper appreciation for the opportunities they now enjoy.

Furthermore, as the host of the largest aluminum smelter in the Southern Hemisphere, Mhlathuze plays a critical role in the facilitation of export of coal and metals, and the operation of the world's largest dedicated coal export terminal.

Through the Richards Bay port, this District is making a significant contribution in the area of minerals and metals, chemicals, and agro-processing, all of which are key drivers of local economic development, job creation, skills development, technology transfer, and international trade.

To maintain and enhance these economic advantages and to increasingly use them to address the economic needs communities in this District will require new technological know-how and skills and some of the most important competencies reside in the engineering field.

Therefore, your decision to build this Engineering department in this particular district is profoundly visionary."

Minister Nzimande also used the occasion to appeal to the students and broader university community to look after the newly built buildings and urged them “to never forget that these new buildings are for you and future generations, and you have a shared responsibility to make sure that they are well looked after. This is to make sure that, in a few years from now, the children of this area who are still in primary and high school can also come here to pursue their academic dreams.”

Issued by Department of Science, Technology and Innovation