The Annual General Meeting of IITPSA (Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa) was held on Tuesday 22 July 2014 at the Constantia Hotel and Conference Centre in Midrand. As part of the AGM proceedings, Rabelani Dagada (University of the Witwatersrand), Ulandi Exner (Vunani) and Gail Sturgess (TalentAlign) were re-elected as Directors of the Institute, and Mabongi Ngidi (Eskom) was elected to the Board for the first time.
The Board of Directors of IITPSA has subsequently elected its new Office Bearers for 2014 / 2015, with Wellington Matope (Standard Bank, Vukisa ), the previous senior Vice President of the Institute, being elected as President. Ulandi Exner and Adrian Schofield (JCSE) will be the Vice Presidents for the next year. Moira de Roche remains in the role of Honorary Treasurer for the Institute. As he handed the IITPSA Presidential Chain over to Wellington Matope, Rabelani Dagada (outgoing IITPSA President) noted: “I am proud to have led the transition to the new IITPSA brand and I look forward to supporting Wellington as he takes the Institute to the next level”.
Commenting on his appointment as the new President, Wellington Matope stated: “Firstly, I would like to thank my friend Rabelani Dagada for doing a sterling job during his term of office. We have to note at least 3 achievements that transformed the organisation during his term of office:
- We became an Institute
- We established a Foundation
- We became a recognised professional body
“Now that we have transformed ourselves from a society to an institute and we are a professional body, I would like to see the IITPSA brand embedded in the ICT industry with us being the voice that informs, educates, inspires and enables. I will be working with CIOs, members, EXCO, MANCO and all our strategic stakeholders to take the organisation to the next level and become more relevant to the industry.
“I would also like the organisation to take its national influence on ICT policy matters to another level and to do that we will need to work closely with government.
“I am very pleased with our membership growth and the diversity thereof. Whilst I am very grateful for the international support and membership growth, I want the organisation to be just as attractive to South Africans”.
Members attending the AGM were also privileged to hear a thought provoking presentation from the guest speaker, Prof. Barry Dwolatzky (Director of the JCSE at Wits University), on the subject of ‘Nurturing Young Talent and Emerging Entrepreneurs’. This is a joint project between Prof. Dwolatzky and Mteto Nyati (Microsoft) who were the co- winners of the IITPSA / ITWeb IT Personality of the Year award in 2013. Prof. Dwolatzky noted how each new direct IT job creates at least 1,37 indirect jobs, thereby helping to address unemployment and boost the economy. Prof Dwolatzky also thanked IITPSA for being a founding partner in the Tshimologong Precinct, the exciting technology hub being developed under his leadership in Braamfontein.
Rabelani Dagada (outgoing IITPSA President) highlighted the Institute’s continued commitment to the development of professionalism among ICT practitioners in South Africa.
