Rotary awards outstanding achievers

The gala dinner was held at the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park on 2 October.

A special citation was presented to Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) chairperson Wayne Duvenage for his perseverance and leadership in the pursuit of citizens’ rights regarding mobilising opposition to the proposed urban tolling.

Duvenage said he was honoured to be a part of the evening’s proceedings and took the opportunity to explain the costs involved in e-tolling and his opinion on government’s actions.

“We are selling our country down the tube,” he commented.

“Our biggest lesson was that it was not as easy as we thought it would be to raise money,” he said. Duvenage added the organisation had worked out that if 10 percent of road users gave Outa the money they would save if e-tolling was not implemented for one month, they would have enough to fight against the tolling system.

Duvenage said a mere one percent heeded Outa’s call and as a result the organisation is still short R1.5 million.

Professor Jonathan Jansen of the University of the Free State sympathised with Duvenage and thanked him for the tremendous sacrifice he had made for the country. Jansen was at the event to receive the Achiever of the Year award for his uncompromising approach to education in South Africa, his fearless criticism of unworkable education policies and his outstanding achievements as

Rector of the University of the Free State.

Jansen said he was optimistic about the future of the country because of the youth. “Our children are amazing, they are going to be the people who save our country.”

He urged people attending the event not to live for themselves but to live for the service of other people.