Education Important in Financial Liberation

BY: .

The importance of education in the financial liberation of people was the dominant theme of the keynote address delivered at the annual Strini Moodley Memorial Lecture by the former Minister of Science and Techology and former President of Azapo, Dr Mosibudi Mangena.

Director of Proceedings at the UKZN event, Umtapo’s Ms Arun Naicker, quoted the Strini Moodley statement: “Free the mind, free the land,” which proved to be particularly pertinent being in line with Mangena’s speech.

Mangena recalled the first time he met a young Strini Moodley, a political activist and journalist. ‘I first set eyes on him in the early 1970s at the University of Zululand where I was a student and he was a cast member in the Theatre Company of Natal, performing, on that first occasion, the drama, Antigone. Tall, thin and with a flowing hairstyle, you would have been forgiven for mistaking him for a pop star.’

Mangena noted Moodley’s commitment to South Africa and its people. ‘It was only with interactions later that I was exposed to his profound intellectual prowess, his gift with words, his sharp tongue, his tenacious revolutionary commitment and an unconditional love for this country and its people.

‘In his unwavering quest for freedom, he endured detentions, banning orders and time on Robben Island, where he found me well into my own term of imprisonment. In a sense, I taught him a bit about prison life, but with him generally ungovernable, that was not an easy task. So, Strini was all these attributes and more, rolled into his persona. That’s why he is not easy to forget.’

Mangena explored the developmental challenges facing the country in his lecture titled: “Beyond Elections: Towards One Nation and a People’s Democracy”. He commended South Africa’s successes, including a democratic government and a ‘vibrant civil society’.

‘On the positive side, we can be proud that at the political level, we succeeded, through heroic struggles, to overthrow the yoke of racist oppression and put in its place a democratic order where our people are able to elect their rulers. This is one of the factors that must be present in the lives of all free people throughout the world.’

He noted that inequalities remained entrenched more or less along the racial divides of the past. ‘The rich of yesterday are the rich of today and the poor of yesterday are the poor of today. This is unsustainable and is almost certain to lead to social explosions in the near future.’

Mangena examined the current state of education, and questioned the perceived lack of quality education.  ‘It is particularly tragic that we are unable to provide quality public education for all our children. And there is no excuse for this. Hendrik Verwoerd is long dead. We are in charge of the fiscus.

‘And yet education is one of the most potent weapons available to take people out of poverty. While social grants freeze people in their state of poverty and powerlessness, education gives people knowledge, skills and possibilities, not only to escape poverty, but a decent chance to thrive and find their true potential,’ he added.

UKZN’s Professor Anesh Singh and Professor Kesh Govinder thanked Umtapo for collaborating with the University in hosting the Memorial Lecture and ensuring it was a success.

Moodley’s eldest daughter, Ms Kimara Moodley, said a few words on behalf of her family and presented the Strini Moodley Peace Awards to the recipients.

Entertainment was provided by students Ms Silindile Meyiwa from Umtapo’s Tertiary Peace Forum (the UKZN chapter) and Mr Siyabulela Godlwana from Umtapo’s Tertiary Peace Forum (the UNISA chapter) who recited a poem.

-       Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer