ACCOUNTING LECTURER IN THE COUNTRY’S TOP 35 UNDER 35

A WSU lecturer who gave up a cushy lifestyle in Johannesburg to fulfil a promise to his professor to plough back to his community has been selected as a finalist in one of the country’s most prestigious competitions.

Since arriving in Mthatha four years ago after leaving a lucrative job as a specialist analyst at the Financial Services Board in Johannesburg, WSU financial accounting senior lecturer Rolihlahla Vuzane, a chartered accountant, has actively engaged in uplifting the area.

His major focus has been transferring knowledge and skills to youth, providing them with learnership opportunities, creating unemployment and providing tax services to the town’s business community.

These tireless efforts are what have earned him a place at this year’s SAICA Top-35-Under-35 finals.

“The majority of youth here have little to no hope and are consequently demotivated. For me, my purpose has always been to inspire the youth and to move them to better heights that will enable them to reach their goals,” said Vuzane.

Through his company Kunokhar Tax Services and Administration (Pty) Ltd, established at the end of 2015 and of which he is CEO, Vuzane and his wife opened their doors to many TVET college accounting students in the area and have given them an invaluable opportunity to do their practical training – a central part of their syllabus.

It was in 2017 that Khunokhar would first advertise for and accept students for their accounting training programme.

“When I arrived in Mthatha, I remembered how many times we suffered to get training in accounting. There was no opportunity at all to get practical training and this really demotivated many of my people.”

“When my wife and I returned to Mthatha we decided to use some of our money towards training many young students that were trapped in the TVET system because they didn’t have practical training,” said Vuzane.

The company currently trains 44 students in disciplines such as financial management; office management and public relations, and is looking to add another 10 IT students to its roster by October.

Vuzane says a further addition of 12 Human Resource Management students is contemplated as part of the 2020/21 intake.

“Simultaneously, we have realized that the demand for this training is very high and we have spent a significant amount of time developing an online training platform that will reach many N6 students that cannot come to Mthatha. We intend to roll out the programme in October of 2020,” he said.

The company currently has six employees on its payroll – all of whom are from the area and were trained by the Kunokhar. With an ever-expanding footprint and two new branches in the pipeline, the company’s staff compliment is expected to rise to 15 within the next year.

Kunokhar’s establishment in the Mthatha area has also closed a major gap in the market for the businesses community in the area, who’ve had to make roundtrips to East London or Durban to get their tax affairs in order.

“Our biggest area of business expertise is Tax Administration and in the past, businesses would have to travel long distances to seek tax advice. Coming here and really looking into the matters that hinder clientele growth, we’ve helped businesses reduce their travelling costs; reduce their time on the road; helped them to focus on areas that would help grow their businesses and thereby spending more money in Mthatha,” said Vuzane.

His affinity for WSU and Mthatha dates back almost 15 years ago when he first enrolled for a Bachelor of Accounting degree at the NMD Site in 2005.