After almost 25 years IT very reluctantly has to say goodbye to Basil Pietersen.

Basil is the one person who will never walk past your office in the morning without saying good morning. And if he forgets (which rarely happens), he’ll make sure he does so later.

Over the years I’ve known him as someone who will always make time to talk, crack a joke and go out of his way to do something for someone else. And its exactly this need to keep people happy which led to the fork in his road.

In future his focus will be ministry – something he had to keep on the back burner since he was ordained as pastor in 2013. Now that his time will be a bit more flexible, a holiday might be a possibility for the first time in a while. And his wife Magdalene (Maggie), three sons, Bradley, Shane and Elvizo will be especially happy to see more of their husband, father and grandfather.

“Ministry is my passion. It’s who I am.”

He wants to improve the lives of others and is closely involved with upliftment in the community. Whether it’s through input on the municipal housing committee or social work, counselling and community interaction in Idas Valley. He also serves on the Idas Valley ministers’ forum and one of his main aims is to enable local ministers to work together and build relationships within the community.

But he won’t limit himself only to his own community – “I go where I’m needed”. Work in Transkei and even in the Netherlands lies in the future.

His colleagues agree. “[Basil] is a good counsellor who guides you in life. I see him as Information Technology’s pastor”, says one of his longstanding colleagues, Anthony Bailey. He’s always willing to help anyone, any time of day.

“IT led me to where I am now. I’ll never diminish what it meant to me.”

The challenges that user support can sometimes bring was never a frustration. He saw it as part of the growth process. Apart from acquiring work and technical experience, it made him develop as a person. And this brought him to where he is now – ready for the next phase of his life.

Data transfers were his specialty as it’s a time consuming process and he’s “as patient as Job”.

Do you still remember Windows 3.1 and XT DOS CW16? That was the software Basil used when he started working at SED (Central Electronic Services) in March 1991 as a supervisor in the cabling team. This was before the IT department as we know it even existed. Albrecht Bester, currently head of network infrastructure, was also his manager at the time. The team was responsible for starting the phasing out process of coaxial and Ethernet cables. A large task which would lay the groundwork for the network in its current state.

By completing his A+ qualification, a new path opened up for him and he started to train as a technician. During this time he was frequently thrown in the deep end and he had to swim to survive.

Being on stand-by afterhours was challenging at times. You are on your own and when there’s a crisis you need to make the right decision and this brings huge responsibility.

“Basil is a people person. And you can never take that away from him.”

By being on campus on a daily basis and interacting with users, taught him a lot about people. In time he could quickly determine how to approach someone, when to listen and when to rather keep quiet. But in the end, his main aim was to protect ITs name and portray a positive image.

Of course being born and bred in Stellenbosch and knowing many people also helps. This is where he belongs and where he’s at his happiest.

Going away was a difficult decision and made for many a sleepless night. But he knows he’s making the right decision and that a new phase is about to start. For the first time in a long while he feels both content and excited about what lies ahead.

“ITs people meant a lot to me and they’ve been there through the good and bad times. But above all, I have to thank by Saviour. Without him none of this would’ve been possible.”

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2015 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Our people. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.