{"id":352,"date":"2018-03-18T11:52:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T09:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jgf.org.za\/?p=352"},"modified":"2018-03-18T11:52:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-18T09:52:59","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/tribute-to-professor-jakes-gerwel\/","title":{"rendered":"","raw":""},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false,"raw":""},"author":2,"featured_media":353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_en_post_content":"<h5>By Dwight Triegaardt<\/h5>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA cartoonist has limited space (10cm) to tell a story, which on the face of it appears to be humorous, but hides a profound message for the leader to decipher.\r\n\r\nThe Business Day of 29<sup>th<\/sup> November 2012 features a cartoon by the celebrated Brandan Reynolds.\u00a0 The picture appears under the caption \u201cHamba Kahle, Professor Jakes Gerwel\u201d.\u00a0 The picture shows Jakes (with a halo above his head) about to enter the Pearly Gates of Heaven.\u00a0 Jakes is carrying his familiar satchel in one hand, and a few books in the other.\r\n\r\nHe glances to his right where an angel is about to fix an advertisement to the clouds.\u00a0 The advertisement reads: \u201cVacancy \u2013 Right-hand man; strong admin skills; Academic and Intellectual; Leader; Diplomat. Enquire within.\u201d\r\n\r\nJakes possessed all the qualities required and more.\u00a0 I wonder who the angels would have sitting on the selection panel. Would it be the late Johnny Issel; Percy Sonn; Henry Isaacs; Steve Biko; Strini Moodley?\u00a0 If so, then Jakes would certainly get the job.\u00a0 Since time is not a factor in heaven, the appointment could be delayed until some of our current politicians and officials get there, in which case they would declare Jakes overqualified for the post.\r\n\r\nJakes and I have been close friends for of 47 years.\u00a0 Only a few months separate us in age.\u00a0 When you have more years behind you than ahead of you, then such friendships become dear to you. I do not have another 47 years ahead of me to again form a friendship like the one I enjoyed with Jakes.\u00a0 It then becomes clear that one must work on and treasure those relationships which you find meaningful.\u00a0 As Jakes always said, \u201c julle moet in vrede met mekaar leef\u201d.\r\n\r\nIn the late \u201860s, Jakes and I realised that the Student Representative Council (SRC) was by its very definition working in the interest of the authorities rather than the students.\u00a0 I served on the council then, and moved that the SRC resign.\u00a0 Jakes felt that I was more vulnerable than him, and that he should move and I rather second him on this motion.\u00a0 This is how it transpired then and in so doing we brought about the demise of the SRC.\r\n\r\nThis action thus paved the way for the introduction of the South African Students Organisation (SASO) to the campus. It was the late Johnny Issel, Henry Isaacs, Ben Palmer, Jakes and myself who introduced Black Consciousness (BC) to the Western Cape.\u00a0 The Ultra Left in the Western Cape accused us of being racist by excluding Whites from participating in SASO activities, while the \u2018Coloured\u2019 political entities and the Security Police were ever mindful of the threat the movement posed.\r\n\r\nWhen the Security Police increased their crackdown on the BC activities, Jakes and I clandestinely smuggled Jerry Modisane, then President of SASO, out of the Western Cape late one night and drove him to Jakes\u2019 Family home in the Eastern Cape.\u00a0\u00a0 From there Jakes\u2019 brothers moved Jerry further to safety out of the Country. A few months later, Jerry\u2019s body was found floating in the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn in Lesotho.\r\n\r\nI then left the Country for Canada, and later the USA, and for the next decade or so, Jakes and I kept in touch by exchanging letters once a month.\u00a0 During these years, Jakes then furthered his studies in Brussels, and I in the USA.\u00a0 Jakes visited us in St Louis once and after spending a few memorable days with us, I took him to the airport.\u00a0 After checking in, we had enough time to find the bar and enjoy a few drinks.\u00a0 We were so engrossed in our conversation that we barely heard the lady who called over the intercom: \u201cWill Mr Gowell please board the flight to Brussels Now!\u201d\u00a0 Jakes retorted, \u201cHell Dwighty, daai ou het a kak van.\u201d We laughed and ordered another round of drinks. Once more the lady informed us that Mr Gowell will be downloaded.\u00a0 Jakes respond, \u201cHaai dis vir my wat sy roep.\u201d We scampered to the check in counter where Jakes was let in to board the flight.\r\n\r\nIn 1985, the post of Rector and Vice Chancellor of UWC became vacant.\u00a0 I was then President of Convocation and Chairperson of the Alumni.\u00a0 As a collective, we decided to campaign for Jakes to be a candidate.\u00a0 I had to persuade Phoebe (who was then scared that Jakes would lose) that we would work hard to ensure that he did not lose.\u00a0 It is well known that he became Rector Designate with effect from January 1987.\r\n\r\nIn 1998 the CEO of Africon (now Aurecon) asked me to assist him with his search for a non-executive Chairman of the Consulting Engineering group.\u00a0 I introduced Thys Cilliers (CEO) to Jakes.\u00a0 Jakes was keen to take up the post, but felt that he needed to discuss the matter with the then President Mandela. The following day, Jakes informed me that President Mandela urged him to accept the post since Africon was a resource for Africa and in the process, Jakes should help the Organisation to transform itself to a truly South African Company.\u00a0 Jakes informed Thys in his letter of acceptance that the day that Dwight leaves Africon, so will he.\u00a0 I will retire from Aurecon as at the end of December this year, but never in our wildest dreams did we envisage that Jakes would leave the organisation through his premature death a few weeks before my retirement.\r\n\r\nBy now I am overcome with emotion, and have decided to cut my talk short.\r\n\r\nGo well Jakes, Go Well.\u00a0 I will miss you sorely.\u00a0 Your death has left a void in me.\u00a0 Hamba Kahle my friend, go well.","_en_post_name":"tribute-to-professor-jakes-gerwel","_en_post_excerpt":"By Dwight Triegaardt","_en_post_title":"Tribute to Professor Jakes Gerwel","_af_post_content":"","_af_post_name":"","_af_post_excerpt":"","_af_post_title":"","edit_language":"af","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-inmemoriam","8":"czr-hentry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgf.org.za\/af\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}