Highest national honour for CSIR President - (SABC Morning Live Interview)

Abstract

At a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday, CSIR President and CEO, Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, was among a group of South Africans who received the National Orders from President Thabo Mbeki. The Orders are bestowed on South Africans who contribute to the betterment of the country in their respective fields and represent the highest award that a country, through its President, bestows on its citizens. Dr Sibisi was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe: Silver. At the ceremony, President Mbeki referred to the recipients as "our symbols of human creative talent, the guardians of ubuntu who manifest the national gift of courage that rises with danger, our touchstones for our collective accomplishments as a nation, and stalwarts of human solidarity." The Order of Mapungubwe represents ingenuity and excellence, and is awarded to South African citizens for exceptional achievement. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe existed a millennium ago in the northern part of what is now South Africa. The kingdom had a developed mining, metallurgy and agricultural industry, and traded with countries as far afield as China. Various elements in the Order’s design symbolise new horizons, creativity and excellence, and human resourcefulness