Continuously impacting lives

Virtuous, honest and trustworthy are the words that best describe Morné du Toit.
Evany van Wyk
Ester Kamati



Morné du Toit is a driven career man when it comes to his responsibilities as the acting vice-chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust).

He is also a family man who enjoys spending time with his wife and children.

He is chartered accountant and is the holder of B.Com, B.Com honours and M.Com degrees.

Du Toit started his journey at Nust on 1 August 2018 as the deputy vice-chancellor for administration and finance.

When former vice-chancellor Dr Tjama Tjivikua retired, Du Toit was asked by the Nust council to act in the position until a new vice-chancellor is recruited. He has then been acting in the position since 1 April.

Before he started at Nust, Du Toit worked at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia for a period of five years.

He said his proudest career moment was when he was promoted to associate professor at the University of Johannesburg, three days after his 30th birthday; although he confessed he would have liked to reach this milestone before the age of 30.

In 1999, Du Toit was also among the top 10 countrywide in the chartered accountancy qualifying exams (audit specialism) in South Africa.

“Nust is a complicated environment with many different stakeholders with differing needs and expectations,” he said.

Being transparent and open with stakeholders, as well as engaging with them with utmost honesty, is how he tries to overcome challenges.

Du Toit believes his foremost task is to build on previous successes achieved by those before him.

He also steadfastly believes in utilising the experience he has to make any improvements he can.

“As only the second vice-chancellor ever at Nust, and it being a young university, there is significant energy, opportunities and growth going forward,” said Du Toit.

He hopes to harness these to ensure that the institution moves forward, and upwards, towards being a world-class university.

In his free time, Du Toit enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the beautiful areas in Namibia.

He obtained his private pilot’s licence in 2000. One of the reasons Du Toit enjoys working at Nust is because he finds fulfilment in working with people who want to make a real impact in the lives of young Namibians.

In addition, knowing he contributes to this brings immense satisfaction to Du Toit.

Photo: Contributed