Durban – eThekwini Municipality’s former city manager Michael Sutcliffe was conferred with an honorary doctorate from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) at its Westville campus on Tuesday.
Sutcliffe thanked the university for the honour.
“I accept this with humility and pride not just for myself, but on behalf of the countless people who made me,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Sutcliffe, who is one of seven children, also thanked his parents who were unable to complete higher education diplomas or degrees.
“My parents stressed the value of education and I was fortunate to be the first child to get a degree, here at the former University of Natal. Today their 7 children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all continue to excel in their own ways.”
He also thanked his wife Felicity, his two children and their families whom he credited for continuing to inspire him.
One of the things Sutcliffe touched on during his speech was encouraging people to be lifelong teachers and not just learners.
“I must thank Professor PS Reddy for nominating me for this award. And I must also thank people like Professor PS, as we know him, because he has made a lifelong commitment to teaching and researching public administration.
“Countless students have been taught by him and I bump into many colleagues in government, particularly those I respect, who have had him as their supervisor. This lifelong commitment is something we must all learn from and it must be applauded, but it should also mean that we learn from people like him and become teachers too.”
Sutcliffe said that while he was city manager, the municipality developed the concept of a “City of Learning, a Learning City” and his colleagues worked to build the Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE) which is now a municipal academy.
“We must work hard to keep reskilling and learning and ensure we continue to build the competencies and knowledge bases of our public and private sectors.”
He said the most valuable skill was to be conscious and to keep thinking.
“You can’t measure these easily, but you can keep practising them.”
Sutcliffe also paid tribute to those who had fought against apartheid and had lost their lives in the Struggle.
“I must particularly thank those I still see in the empty seats today, including the young people who were brutally killed during apartheid and with whom I worked along the way so that we could have freedom. Many of them would be graduates today too if the apartheid state did not exist.”
“And, lastly I thank those who disagreed with me, as I continue to reflect and learn also from them.”
