6 April 2007
Today is the 6th of April. It is a date of significance generally in the South African calendar. This year the date happens to coincide with an event of special significance for Christians, it is Good Friday, a day of mourning for Christians. But as you know the 6th of April used to be observed as Jan Van Riebeek's day, to commemorate the arrival of Jan Van Riebeeck from Holland charged with initiating a settlement for whites in South Africa paradoxically the 6th of April was also the date on which the racist government of South Africa chose to send Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, a student and soldier of Umkhonto we Sizwe to the gallows.
Comrades, let us stand in silence in remembrance of Solomon Mahlangu and the gallant young heroes of the South African Revolution.
Today, on the 6th April 2007 we have gathered to launch the SOMAFCO Trust. The idea of the SOMAFCO X Trust is the brainchild of former students of Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College and I request you to show our appreciation in particular to three comrades: Oupa Mahlatsi, Tlholo Mohlathe and Motsamai Maleka to whose commitment and untiring assiduousness we owe the nurturing of the idea and this project launch. In the initial correspondence we received from the comrades. This is what they had to say about the SOMAFCO Trust:
(Quote) "Comrades, we are trying to have ideas about how we can raise funds and also what the trust can do to be of assistance to anyone wherever possible. The Trust is still relatively young but a lot of work has gone into setting up formal structure so that it can operate effectively.
We also want to express that the Trust is open to everyone who subscribes to its values and principles... chiefly promoting thought, leadership and youth development. So if you have a friend or persons who would like to be part of SOMAFCO X (Trust) activities, feel free to bring them through... This is after all the way we can facilitate integration and promote SOMAFCO's history." > The aforegoing does give in my view, a fair explanation of the aims and objectives of the Trust.
SOMAFCO In Perspective after 30 Years (1977 to 2007)
The holding of this event therefore is indicative of the important role the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College - SOMAFCO - played in the history of the African National Congress, and, indeed of South Africa.
I will in the first instance outline the ANC's achievements in the sphere of physical production and self-reliance projects, then outline the ANC's education policy and practice, and lastly, discuss the legacy of SOMAFCO.
Physical and Agricultural Output
Between 1977 and 1992, the ANC established two unique Settlements near Morogoro in Tanzania. The Government of Tanzania provided the ANC with land at Mazimbu (1000 hectares) and Dakawa (10,000 hectares). At Mazimbu, the ANC built SOMAFCO'S secondary school, primary school, nursery school and the Adult Education Centre, while at the ANC Dakawa Development Centre, the Ruth First Education Orientation Centre, the Vocational Training Centre and the Dakawa Arts and Textile Centre were built. These structures were complemented by boarding complexes, youth centres, a multi-purpose library, daycare units, sports facilities, a 16-bed hospital, two clinics, and many staff houses.
Two farms and several small industries for furniture, clothing and leather production provided for the needs of learners and the community at large. Both Settlements were endowed with infrastructure for running water, electricity, sewage and a road network. All these facilities were the result of the ANC's planning and construction departments headed by a remarkable cadre, Comrade Oswald Denis. Volunteer experts from many countries and local Tanzanian workers made substantial contributions.
Mazimbu and Dakawa developed as mini-municipalities which provided services, undertook maintenance work, supplied food and other needs and had a range of structures for administration, transport, housing, motor repairs and so on.
The impressive output of physical facilities, the production of food, clothing, etc, and the provision of various services made the ANC significantly self reliant. Looking back, the ANC's achievements in 14 short years can be seen as a remarkable case study of service delivery. Dedication, discipline and volunteerism were important ingredients that contributed to this success story.
ANC Education Policy
If the building of facilities was a daunting assignment, even greater was the challenge to formulate education policy, the curriculum and pedagogic methods and principles. This was at the heart of the SOMAFCO project. In the context of the People's Education movement inside South Africa at the time, Comrade Jack Simons, a member of the ANC's National Education Council (NEDUC), wrote in 1985:
"Developments at SOMAFCO have to an increasing extent been coincident with those in SA. It is in this way that SOMAFCO has not only become the site of an alternative educational establishment for exiled South Africans, playing a pivotal role in the overall strategy of the ANC for seizure of political power, but also an important platform from which to develop, experiment with and adapt rudimentary forms of People's Power".
ANC education policy aimed to prepare cadres for the struggle and for a liberated South Africa and the following six principles, the antithesis of the philosophy underlying Bantu Education, were adopted to guide the development of SOMAFCO. The ANC Education Policy Document, adopted by NEDUC and the NEC, states that the education programme should aim to be:
Curriculum and Pedagogy
In many respects, SOMAFCO's secondary and primary schools had curricula that were in essence outcomes based, i.e., learner-centred, based on collaborative learning and continuous assessment, as well as, non-authoritarian teacher-learner relations. The secondary school offered 10 subjects. There was dual emphasis on the social sciences and the natural sciences/mathematics. The former were examined by the ANC's own examination board, while English and the sciences/maths were examined by the University of London Examination Board.
SOMAFCO graduates had the option of obtaining scholarships through the ANC's National Scholarship Committee to universities in African, Asian, East European and Western countries, or doing vocational training either at the Dakawa VTC or elsewhere.
In some respects, SOMAFCO was a microcosm of what pertains in SA at present. The teacher complement was uneven, with excellent teachers on the one hand and poorly qualified or unqualified teachers on the other hand. Teacher shortages and a high turnover were perennial problems. However, even with these constraints, results were reasonable and many students went on to tertiary and further education and vocational qualifications.
Students
SOMAFCO had quite a mix of students. There were those who had taken part in the Soweto Uprising and other subsequent student resistance activities and were highly politicized. At the other extreme were those with no political background. Those with leadership potential were a great help to the administration of the school. There were those students who could not come to terms with the harsh realities of exile, some of whom were deeply affected by the torture and imprisonment they had experienced.
The SOMAFCO Legacy
Let me conclude by taking a look at SOMAFCO's significance to us at present. Today, 30 years after the start of SOMAFCO, we can proudly list the following legacies:
Firm Tanzania-SA Friendship Ties: In July 1992, when the late ANC President Oliver Tambo handed over SOMAFCO to the then President Hassen Ali Mwinyi of Tanzania, he expressed the hope that Mazimbu and Dakawa would remain as monuments of the friendship and solidarity between the peoples of Tanzania and South Africa. 1
Continuation of Education and Training: the facilities of Mazimbu and Dakawa are now used by the Tanzanian Ministries of Education and Labour. The Sokoine University of Agriculture based in Morogoro uses the extensive facilities at Mazimbu, which is now called the Solomon Mahlangu Campus of the University. At Dakawa, the Ruth First Orientation Centre is now a thriving secondary school while the Vocational Training Centre we left behind offers training in 6 trades to 150 trainees annually.2
Health and Other Facilities: the ANC-Holland Solidarity Hospital has become part of the Morogoro Regional health service while the farms and small industries are also functional.
International Solidarity: SOMAFCO featured strongly in the ANC's international campaign against Apartheid during the exile years. It was instrumental in creating bonds of solidarity between ordinary citizens in many countries and the oppressed people of SA. As a result, since 1994, South Africa has been able to established strong diplomatic ties worldwide.
Human Resource Skills: human resource skills became available to South Africa after 14 years of education and training at Mazimbu and Dakawa. Those of you who were former scholars and trainees of SOMAFCO are testimony to that. Many are serving in important roles within and outside government today. The objective of preparing cadres for the liberation struggle and for a liberated South Africa was achieved by-and-large.
The SOMAFCO Archives: Documents and artifacts from Mazimbu and Dakawa are lodged as part of the ANC Archives at the University of Fort Hare. They provide a rich source of information on SOMAFCO and the wider Mazimbu and Dakawa communities, giving insights into the many issues and complexities of a unique and proud exile experience.3
It is against the background of this legacy that we launch the SOMAFCO Trust. It is a legacy of hardwork, commitment, sacrifice, which should stand us in good stead to achieve the objectives of the Trust: Thought (and initiative), Leadership, and Youth Development.
I thank you.
NOTES:
1. In the context of xenophobia in SA today, we should be aware of the solidarity and friendship shown to exiled South Africans by Tanzania and other African countries. 2. The ANC has bequeathed to the people of Tanzania permanent education, training, production and health facilities 3. Among the publications that have resulted from research based on the Archives and interviews is the book Education in Exile: SOMAFCO the ANC School in Tanzania, 1978-1992, authored by Sean Morrow, Brown Maba and Loyiso Pulumani.