“He is a fool who will not learn even from his opponent,” my father used to admonish us.
But it profits me little to dig into the archives to learn how Jan van Riebeeck’s army defeated me in the 1650s. This was at the first skirmish in which Autshumao (or Herrie as they called him) engaged them. He was commander of my Khoi ancestors (I am an African – you remember that oratory in parliament).
It profits me little to learn their tactics of domination then. After all, the artillery used must be as archaic as the form of government of oppression they employed.
At the dawn of our liberation in 1994, my oppressor was the apartheid regime. I need not look back beyond the institutionalisation of apartheid in 1948 to learn from my opponent.
That system was hugely successful for the National Party which increased their majority in the white general elections with each successive parliament until 1994 when the first democratic elections were held.
To take a leaf from my father’s book of advice, I should ask how that oppressor achieved these successes?
The Nationalist Party of DF Malan surprisingly won in 1948 mainly because it promised whites supremacy, security and dominion against the advancing “swart gevaar” purportedly sponsored by the United Party and its supposed British colonial ally.
The ground had been well-prepared by the Jeug Bond led then by BJ Vorster and Connie Mulder under the Ossewa Brandwag. They preached fear, that white supremacy would end if Afrikaner socialism was not adopted. Probably right, considering Harold Wilson’s subsequent winds of change remarks.
So the question is how did the Afrikaners promote, perpetuate and entrench the apartheid dogma after ascending to power in 1948?
Before I attempt to answer that I must decide who to listen to.
One often hears the cliché that “you people must not make the same mistakes we Afrikaners made. Hamba kahle . Twenty years of freedom after 350 years of subjugation is too short a period. You will be ready to exploit your rights someday.”
Well, that is the voice of the former oppressor. Another lesson I have learnt in life is that a lamb cannot be advised by a lion as to where and how to graze.
Further, history makes a different case and tells us that time is not necessarily the key factor. Make no mistake, apartheid was well on its way within just four short years – by 1952.
The lesson then for you and me, the liberated African of 1994, lies in how this was achieved.
Let’s start with the language – Afrikaans.
DF Malan’s ruling passion was that Afrikaans was to become the dominant South African language in double quick time.
Public positions were held by uncompromising Afrikaners. Even though these places were reserved for blankes alleen, English speakers themselves were to be conversant with Afrikaans if they were to get service.
At official gatherings, Afrikaners spoke Afrikaans unreservedly.
Realising that language equals national identity, Afrikaans suddenly emerged from being a boere taal (farmer’s language) to being an official government and academic language.
The medium of educational instruction was popularly Afrikaans up to university level.
I was taught statistics by a young PhD Afrikaner who carried an Afrikaans/English dictionary to class and spent more time checking English equivalents than imparting statistical knowledge.
Right up to the democratic elections of 1994, every white, whether English or an Afrikaner, was required to have learnt Afrikaans up to matric level.
Institutions catering exclusively for Afrikaners sprang up. For example the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit (RAU) – which later metamorphosised into University of Johannesburg – and University of Port Elizabeth, openly viewed as a vain attempt to eclipse the troublesome Rhodes University.
Giant business houses elbowed out traditional businesses. Do you still remember the full names for SANLAM, AVBOB, etc?
Africans were also not spared from the imposition of Afrikaans. The resultant 1976 student uprisings is still fresh in our minds.
Now when it comes to my indigenous languages, the Afrikaners brought out every red herring possible against the use of these.
As many reasons were advanced as to why indigenous languages could not be made dominant as spooks existed in our midst. Chief among them was that indigenous languages could not express “foreign” scientific concepts.
Educationist Nadeema Musthan is axiomatic when she states: “Every language has the potential to express the full range of human experience. The decision (or not) to develop a language is a political one that has nothing to do with its expressive capability.”
In 2012 – 18 years into our democracy Education Minister Blade Nzimande appointed a panel to advise him on African languages at South Africa universities! He still needed advice on this topic? It was not five years into the Nationalist Party rule – give DF Malan a break!
Moving on, where’s Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in all of this?
What those in authority do not realise is that justice delayed is justice denied. They are guilty as charged.
My government overall is failing to promote the mandate of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) which is to promote the use of all official South African languages. Instead the PanSALB is in complete disarray and is now under administration.
Although there must reasons of maladministration, for this organ of state to be receiving a budget of only R20-million per annum, as was stated over the radio, is to be setting it up for failure. Excluding Afrikaans and English, this translates to less than R2-million per indigenous language.
The body of indigenous language experts in this country is also to blame for their failure where it matters most – lobbying and agitating government for reasonable financial support and establishing career opportunities.
They should also be the vanguard for marketing the languages to our children who justifiably do not sense value in their pursuit.
Now let’s go on to the Afrikaners’ favourite sport – rugby.
Professor Mncedisi Jordan is a former professor of accounting and an indigenous researcher
No need to go back as far as 1652, rather go to 1952
But it profits me little to dig into the archives to learn how Jan van Riebeeck’s army defeated me in the 1650s. This was at the first skirmish in which Autshumao (or Herrie as they called him) engaged them. He was commander of my Khoi ancestors (I am an African – you remember that oratory in parliament).
It profits me little to learn their tactics of domination then. After all, the artillery used must be as archaic as the form of government of oppression they employed.
At the dawn of our liberation in 1994, my oppressor was the apartheid regime. I need not look back beyond the institutionalisation of apartheid in 1948 to learn from my opponent.
That system was hugely successful for the National Party which increased their majority in the white general elections with each successive parliament until 1994 when the first democratic elections were held.
To take a leaf from my father’s book of advice, I should ask how that oppressor achieved these successes?
The Nationalist Party of DF Malan surprisingly won in 1948 mainly because it promised whites supremacy, security and dominion against the advancing “swart gevaar” purportedly sponsored by the United Party and its supposed British colonial ally.
The ground had been well-prepared by the Jeug Bond led then by BJ Vorster and Connie Mulder under the Ossewa Brandwag. They preached fear, that white supremacy would end if Afrikaner socialism was not adopted. Probably right, considering Harold Wilson’s subsequent winds of change remarks.
So the question is how did the Afrikaners promote, perpetuate and entrench the apartheid dogma after ascending to power in 1948?
Before I attempt to answer that I must decide who to listen to.
One often hears the cliché that “you people must not make the same mistakes we Afrikaners made. Hamba kahle . Twenty years of freedom after 350 years of subjugation is too short a period. You will be ready to exploit your rights someday.”
Well, that is the voice of the former oppressor. Another lesson I have learnt in life is that a lamb cannot be advised by a lion as to where and how to graze.
Further, history makes a different case and tells us that time is not necessarily the key factor. Make no mistake, apartheid was well on its way within just four short years – by 1952.
The lesson then for you and me, the liberated African of 1994, lies in how this was achieved.
Let’s start with the language – Afrikaans.
DF Malan’s ruling passion was that Afrikaans was to become the dominant South African language in double quick time.
Public positions were held by uncompromising Afrikaners. Even though these places were reserved for blankes alleen, English speakers themselves were to be conversant with Afrikaans if they were to get service.
At official gatherings, Afrikaners spoke Afrikaans unreservedly.
Realising that language equals national identity, Afrikaans suddenly emerged from being a boere taal (farmer’s language) to being an official government and academic language.
The medium of educational instruction was popularly Afrikaans up to university level.
I was taught statistics by a young PhD Afrikaner who carried an Afrikaans/English dictionary to class and spent more time checking English equivalents than imparting statistical knowledge.
Right up to the democratic elections of 1994, every white, whether English or an Afrikaner, was required to have learnt Afrikaans up to matric level.
Institutions catering exclusively for Afrikaners sprang up. For example the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit (RAU) – which later metamorphosised into University of Johannesburg – and University of Port Elizabeth, openly viewed as a vain attempt to eclipse the troublesome Rhodes University.
Giant business houses elbowed out traditional businesses. Do you still remember the full names for SANLAM, AVBOB, etc?
Africans were also not spared from the imposition of Afrikaans. The resultant 1976 student uprisings is still fresh in our minds.
Now when it comes to my indigenous languages, the Afrikaners brought out every red herring possible against the use of these.
As many reasons were advanced as to why indigenous languages could not be made dominant as spooks existed in our midst. Chief among them was that indigenous languages could not express “foreign” scientific concepts.
Educationist Nadeema Musthan is axiomatic when she states: “Every language has the potential to express the full range of human experience. The decision (or not) to develop a language is a political one that has nothing to do with its expressive capability.”
In 2012 – 18 years into our democracy Education Minister Blade Nzimande appointed a panel to advise him on African languages at South Africa universities! He still needed advice on this topic? It was not five years into the Nationalist Party rule – give DF Malan a break!
Moving on, where’s Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in all of this?
What those in authority do not realise is that justice delayed is justice denied. They are guilty as charged.
My government overall is failing to promote the mandate of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) which is to promote the use of all official South African languages. Instead the PanSALB is in complete disarray and is now under administration.
Although there must reasons of maladministration, for this organ of state to be receiving a budget of only R20-million per annum, as was stated over the radio, is to be setting it up for failure. Excluding Afrikaans and English, this translates to less than R2-million per indigenous language.
The body of indigenous language experts in this country is also to blame for their failure where it matters most – lobbying and agitating government for reasonable financial support and establishing career opportunities.
They should also be the vanguard for marketing the languages to our children who justifiably do not sense value in their pursuit.
Now let’s go on to the Afrikaners’ favourite sport – rugby.
Professor Mncedisi Jordan is a former professor of accounting and an indigenous researcher
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