By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@CPUT.
The outgoing SA Revenue Services (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been conferred an honorary doctorate in Business and Management Sciences in Taxation during the autumn graduation series at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
An emotional Kieswetter credited his parents for shaping his values, recalling lessons in discipline, humility and resilience.
His father taught him the importance of hard work and living within one’s means, while his mother instilled the belief that dignity could be maintained even in poverty.
“I am the fruit of the selfless sacrifice, the incredible labour, and the unconditional love,” he said.
Kieswetter said that his parents would be “bursting with pride” at the recognition.
He also reflected on his education journey through Harold Cressy High School and his early technical training, explaining that financial hardship prevented him from attending university in the traditional way. Instead, he entered the Peninsula Technikon (now CPUT) as an apprentice and engineering technician in the late 1970s.
Kieswetter told graduates that what once seemed like disappointment ultimately became one of the greatest gifts of his life, as the institution taught him that theory must be linked to practical impact.
“The question is never only what do we do, or how do we do it, but so what, and why do we do it,” he said.
He expressed deep gratitude to CPUT, describing the honorary doctorate as a “full circle” moment in a life shaped by struggle, purpose and public service.
The honour recognises not only his contribution to public service and tax administration but also his broader impact as a leader committed to integrity, transformation and nation-building.