Jaspreet Kindra
A former deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Durban-Westville has accused an organisation headed by the African National Congress’s KwaZulu-Natal leader, S’bu Ndebele, of “hijacking” his idea of an annual African Renaissance festival.
Ndebele’s African Renaissance KZN, a Section 21 company, is organising the festival in Durban from March 19 to 23, without the knowledge of the the African Renaissance Development Centre, which claims to have developed the concept. For three years, both organisations have jointly hosted the event.
Professor Pitika Ntuli, who quit his job at the university to set up the centre in 1996, told the Mail & Guardian this week that his organisation had come up with the idea of the festival some years ago in response to President Thabo Mbeki’s call for an “African renaissance”. “We were approached by Ndebele’s body in 1999, who told us that they were interested in joining hands with us.”
Ndebele called a press conference in Johannesburg this week to announce the festival. He said Ntuli’s organisation had merely been a “service provider” and that “this year we decided to use various other groups. The festival cannot be a monopoly.”
Insiders said the relationship between the two organisations has been “quite stormy”.
Ntuli said there had been skirmishes in the past over the selection of speakers for the conferences. “Our organisation has always wanted to give the platform to independently minded thinkers with diverse points of view our objective being to bring about a consensus around issues.” Apparently this was not acceptable to African Renaissance KZN.
Sources close to Ndebele’s organisation have dismissed Ntuli’s claims as “ludicrous” and as “an attempt to embarrass the minister”. They claimed that several members of other groups, including Professors Sihawu Ngu- bane and Ari Sitas, were involved in this year’s festival.
Ntuli said he was “saddened” by the company’s attitude: “They have discredited the term ‘renaissance’.” He said Ngubane and Sitas were not aware of the dispute between the two parties.
While the M&G was unable to contact the two academics, another member of Ndebele’s organisation said he assumed that joint organisation would proceed as usual.
Ntuli also lashed out at Ndebele’s organisation for claiming that an empowerment project, Kwa Ximba, was theirs. “We initiated the project to uplift the Kwa Ximba community.”
Commenting on the exchange of angry words, former KwaZulu-Natal government director general Professor Otty Nxumalo, who is one of the directors of the Section 21 company, remarked that “true renaissance will only be achieved when all parties join hands to hold the festival together”.