KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Zweli Mkhize has challenged academics to participate in the fight against corruption by instilling in students the moral values of ubuntu.
KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Zweli Mkhize has challenged academics to participate in the fight against corruption by instilling in students the moral values of ubuntu.
Many people involved in corruption had attended tertiary institutions of higher learning so it was important that academics "focus on teaching ethics" as much as on academic excellence, he said.
"The essence of inequality in the country indicates society's failure to practise ubuntu.
"It is unfortunate that we now have an environment that promotes the accumulation of personal wealth at all costs.
"We have a society that worships those who are regarded as Mr or Ms Bling," Mkhize said.
Addressing scholars, academics and political leaders at the Ubuntu Conference at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Mkhize said the equitable distribution of resources and the eradication of poverty were key elements of ubuntu.
He said embracing ubuntu would ensure that everybody participates in the struggle to ensure that poor people share in the economic progress of South Africa.
"I believe that ubuntu is a crucial tool that we must use to service humanity."