Limpopo_leader_13

LIMPOPO IeaderIeaderDISPATCHES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPODISPATCHES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO

LIMPOPO NUMBER 13AUTUMN 2008

MEET THE DYNAMIC NEW CHANCELLOR of the University of Limpopo

BUILDING BRIDGES Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of Science

MEET THE DYNAMIC NEW CHANCELLOR of the University of Limpopo

BUILDING BRIDGES Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of Science

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Medunsa campus

Turfloop campus

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Merger updateASSIDUOUSLY SEEKING HARMONY

used; at Turfloop the direct contact method is used,with each module requiring 45 hours of contact over12 days.

According to the university’s merger manager, Dr Asaph Ndlovu, meetings have already been convened to deal with this harmonisation problem,and a final meeting will be held soon.

Similar difficulties exist in the Pharmacy programmes on offer. Although one curriculum (basedon standard units set by the South African PharmacyCouncil) is offered on both campuses, the methods ofdelivery differ. At Medunsa, tuition is programme-based and is provided in conjunction with theTshwane University of Technology. At Turfloop, on theother hand, the delivery method is content-based.

The imperative, says Ndlovu, is to establish a harmonised delivery method that will be acceptable tothe Pharmacy Council which must approve it. It’s adaunting challenge, since both modes of delivery havetheir advantages and disadvantages. Ndlovu’s opinionis that at the end of the day it will be the financialrealities that will dictate the choice of option.

So the search for harmony is still very much on theagenda.

Editor’s note: It has been decided that each issue ofL i m p o p o L e a d e r will report on interesting andimportant merger issues. Do you have any mergerquestions? Why not contact us and we’ll find answersto them for you.

tTHERE’S A CUMBERSOME WORD WITH A PLEASINGMEANING THAT HAS PASSED INTO THE INDISPENSABLE VOCABULARY OF UNIVERSITYMERGERS. That word is harmonisation. And that’swhat is still occupying not a few minds on the twocampuses of the University of Limpopo as 2008 wears on.

In a nutshell, harmonisation means the process ofgetting two departments – one at Medunsa, the otherat Turfloop – to effectively work as one, even thoughthe two teaching platforms will remain.

Let’s take an example. The Nursing Science programmes (one having been delivered at Medunsa,the other at Mankweng Hospital under the auspices ofthe School of Health at Turfloop) have already beenharmonised. In other words, they are now one depart-ment. But the new single programme will still be taughton both campuses. Incidentally, in spite of thisprogress, there are still delays as the university waitsfor a ‘new nursing curriculum framework’ to bereleased by the South African Nursing Council, thebody that controls nurse training. So the harmonisedin-house programmes are being held in abeyance,and will not be submitted for approval either to theNursing Council or to the university Senate until thenew externally generated framework has beenreceived and examined.

Harmony has also been achieved in the HumanNutrition and Dietetics programmes, including all thesupport modules in such disciplines as HumanAnatomy, Microbiology, Chemistry, Psychology,Statistics, Sociology and many others.

But in other areas of study there are complicationsand delays.

Consider the Public Health programmes. Both campuses offer postgraduate Masters degrees in thisimportant field. The problem when it comes to harmonisation is that the mode of delivery differs: at Medunsa on-line distance training on the Embanetplatform (plus two short contact sessions a year) is

EDITO

RIAL

wWE’RE BACK! Our regular readers will have noticed – we hope withconsiderable concern – that there has been a hiatus in the regularappearance of L i m p o p o L e a d e r . Number 13, the issue you’re reading now, should have been dated Spring 2007. As it is, we’re dating it Autumn 2008. So two issues have been lost. The reasons forthis loss are not important. Suffice to say that the in-house difficulties atthe University of Limpopo have now been resolved. What is important is that the people of Limpopo will once again be able to read about theirpremier university and its involvement in so many issues of vital concernto provincial and regional life. We have serious plans for the future ofthe magazine, and readers will be hearing about them in due course.Meanwhile, we offer our apologies – particularly to our growing band of subscribers – for the break in continuity.

So what’s in the current issue?Most importantly there is the profile on the new Chancellor. Dr Reuel

Khoza was inaugurated late in 2007, and he looks set to inject a newlevel of energy and determination in the university’s quest to become a premium African institution where excellence and social commitmentreally matter.

Also featured is the frequently misunderstood subject of local economic development and the arrival at Edupark of the Limpopo Centre for Local Economic Development. This centre will offer research,specialised training and advice to practitioners and to those in local government charged with developmental matters. Then there’s coverageof a small district hospital in Musina that is coping with the impact onthe provincial health service of the Zimbabwe refugee crisis.

Talking of hospitals, read the latest news on Polokwane’s new teaching hospital. Building is to commence during the current financialyear. And for readers interested in activities at Medunsa, read about thebridging programmes on offer in the Faculty of Science, about dwindlingsurgeon numbers, and about the exploits of persevering women academics who devote their lives to the health and welfare of others.

There’s more. And there’ll be even more in Numbers 14, 15, 16 andso on.

Please support the magazine by writing to us with your impressionsand comments; by subscribing; and by encouraging your company ororganisation to consider buying advertising space in the most authoritative magazine in Limpopo province.

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THE GEORGE MUKHARI HOSPITAL AT MEDUNSA HAS HAD A TURBULENT HISTORY. More recently it has operated under the threatof downgrading as well as being the subject of various rumours, notall of them pleasant. Nevertheless, the hospital has continued to offerits manifold services to the teeming catchments of Soshanguve andWinterveld, and to provide the essential teaching facilities for the production of around 200 medical professionals each year. Read thefacts about this often beleaguered institution. There’ll also be materialon mining and the university response to this backbone of the provincial economy.

NEXT ISSUE

L i m p o p o L e a d e r is published by the Marketing andCommunications Depar tment,Universi ty of Limpopo, PO Box X1106, Sovenga 0727, Limpopo, South Africa.HYPERLINK “http://www.ul.ac.za”www.ul.ac.za

E D I T O R : David Robbins. Tel: 011-792-9951 or 082-787-8099 ordgrwri [email protected] D V E R T I S I N G :Clare-Rose Jul ius Tel: 011-782-0333 or 072-545-2366E D I T O R I A L C O M M I T T E E :DK Mohuba (chairman),Daphney Kgwebane, Norman Nyazema, El izabeth Lubinga, David RobbinsGail RobbinsP H O T O G R A P H S :George Hugo: pages cover, 5,6, 10 (r ight & middle), 11, 12,13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 25,26,29, 31 ( top lef t )David Robbins: pages 7, 8, 9,31(top right & middle), 32Liam Lynch: pages 16, 20, 24Robby Sandrock: IFCMedunsa: page 21Limpopo Depar tment of Health:page 10 ( lef t )D E S I G N A N D L AY O U T:JAM STREET Design (Pretoria)P R I N T I N G : Colorpress (pty) LtdPRODUCTION MANAGEMENT:Gail RobbinsDGR Writ ing & Research Tel: 011-782-0333 or 082-572-1682 or dgrwri [email protected]

ARTICLES MAY BE REPRINTEDWITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

ISSN: 1812-5468

c o v e r p i c t u r e :DR REUEL KHOZA, distinguished Africanist thinker and businessman, is the first Chancellor of the merged University of Limpopo

p a g e 4 :Powerful new university leadership: DR REUEL KHOZA – COMMITTED, NOT MERELY NOMINAL

p a g e 7 :LIMPOPO IN THE NEWS: Read how a small hospital in Limpopo iscoping with the Zimbabwean crisis

p a g e 1 0 :The Polokwane hospitals saga: LOOK WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

p a g e 1 2 :Local economic development: A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FORRESEARCH, TRAINING AND ADVICE

p a g e 1 4 :Local economic development. PROFILE: DR CHRIS BURMAN. HE’S ATRAVELLING MAN

p a g e 1 6 :L i m p o p o L e a d e r update: GROWING OUR OWN. What’s happening to our indigenous chickens?

p a g e 1 9 :Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of Science: BUILDING NEW BRIDGES between secondary school and higher education

p a g e 2 3 :Under the knife: REVERSING THE TREND OF DWINDLING SURGEON NUMBERS

p a g e 2 5 :Under the knife. Profile: Dr Sooraj Motilall. THE SPECIALITY THATDEMANDS AN ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT

p a g e 2 6 :Women to the fore: Profile: Professor Olga Mzileni. A WOMAN OFACTION AND ACHIEVEMENTS

p a g e 2 8 :Women to the fore: MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR THE PATIENTS. Visitthe Tshepang ARV Clinic at George Mukhari Hospital

p a g e 3 0 :Sustainable rural agriculture: BUILDING ON INDIGENOUSKNOWLEDGE. A drive to Diphagane, a small Sekhukhune village100 kilometres south of Polokwane

IN THIS ISSUE

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Powerful new university leadershipDR REUEL KHOZA – COMMITTED,

aA JUNIOR PSYCHOLOGY LECTURER AND POSTGRADUATESTUDENT WHO LOST HIS JOBFOR POLITICAL ACTIVISM IN1974 HAS NOW BECOME THECHANCELLOR OF HIS ALMAMATER. He’s the first Chancellorto be appointed since the oldUniversity of the North and theMedical University of SouthernAfrica (Medunsa) merged into a single institution on 1 January2005.

Dr Reuel Khoza was inauguratedon 9 November last year.

He’s an apt and dynamicchoice for a university that has asits stated vision: ‘to be a leadingAfrican university, epitomisingexcellence and global competitiveness’ and to concernitself on the teaching andresearch side with ‘finding solutions for Africa’.

If you doubt his suitability, thenlisten to a brief description of Dr Khoza. He’s a highly successfulbusinessman; he’s an Africanist;he’s a change agent in the forefront of black economicempowerment. He’s currentlychairman and major shareholderof Aka Capital, a private equitycompany. He’s also chairman ofCorobrik, Nedbank Limited,Nedbank Group, Murray &Roberts Cementation and theNepad Business Foundation. On top of all this, he’s the president of the Institute of

Directors in South Africa, and heholds directorships on the boardsof Protea Hospitality Limited,Nampak, and Old Mutual plc.He’s also on the PresidentialEconomic Advisory Panel, and a member (and past director andpatron) of the Black ManagementForum.

The list of the achievements ofthis 59-year-old South African ishugely impressive. He exudesenergy and commitment. He saysof his new relationship with hisalma mater: ‘I have no interest inbeing merely a nominal or ceremonial Chancellor. I am concerned and I want to contribute – particularly in helpingto develop existing and potentialcentres of excellence on bothcampuses.’

He speaks impressively of hisconcerns over Africa, and of hisvision for the continent. In hisinaugural address last year hemade specific reference to the university’s motto: ProvidingSolutions for Africa. This means,he declared, that ‘our stance isclear. We purposefully andemphatically refuse to be conditioned by circumstancesimposed by a past of slavery,colonialism, neo-colonialism,racism and apartheid. Wechoose, instead, to create a newworld characterised by the rule oflaw, human rights, socio-economicdevelopment and prosperity. We

shall be masters and mistresses ofour own destiny … marching toour own brisk rhythm as we takeon a rapidly globalising andfiercely competitive world’.

But Khoza warned against several dangers that mightobstruct such a vision.

The first was the danger ofbeing so proudly African thatknowledge coming from ‘a heritage we could not claim asour own’ was sometimes rejected.‘It matters not whence knowledgeoriginates; it matters not what theideological slant of the knowledgeis; it matters not if we cannotclaim the knowledge as beingpart of our intellectual heritage.What matters is the purpose towhich the knowledge is put.’

What is the best possible purpose for the University ofLimpopo? ‘Our vision,’ saysKhoza, ‘should be to put our educational efforts towardsachieving an AfricanRenaissance. And what is thisRenaissance but the realisation ofa people that they can be mastersof their own destiny.’

The second danger againstwhich Khoza warned was whathe called the ‘victim mentality’,which is often prevalent in Africatoday, and not least in South Africa.

‘The realisation and belief thatone is the master of one’s owndestiny, whether as an individualor a people, is called a sense of

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efficacy. Lacking a sense of efficacy means that as a peoplewe consider ourselves subject tothe elements; subject to the environment; subject to fate; subject to the will of others; subject to providence. A culture ofdependency develops in such apeople: a culture of poverty, aculture of no achievement, a cul-ture of no self-esteem, no dignity,no pride.

‘Thus we observe people whoseek and expect handouts, donations, alms at every opportu-nity. We observe people whoseek survival and prosperity bystealing and looting. We observepeople who expect to be taughtrather than to learn. We see people who have perfected the artof blame. They blame colonialism,they blame imperialism, theyblame apartheid, they blame cap-italism, they blame globalisation,they blame government, theyblame nature, they blame God.’

Khoza makes mention of thestrides made in the Far East andPacific Rim when knowledge andthe technology from other sourceswere actively sought out andembraced. ‘By contrast, theAfrican approach has been toquibble about the Afrocentricity orEurocentricity of knowledge, andto venerate the pedigree of knowledge … But education foran African Renaissance mustreject this view. It must recognise

that in education there is noshame in borrowing from thosewho have travelled the roadbefore you. In fact, the core ofeducation is learning more fromthe experience of others than fromone’s own experience.’

The author of these challengingconcepts was born in Acornhoek,a deep rural area not far from theKruger National Park. He went toschool in Tzaneen andBushbuckridge, matriculating in1969. At the University of theNorth he did bachelors and honours degrees in psychology.During his postgraduate years heworked as a junior lecturer andresearch officer. And it was at thistime that he got into trouble withthe university authorities.

‘I had become the president ofthe Psychology Society on campus,and I was also the chairman ofthe University Choral Society. Iused both these platforms tobecome politically vocal. Mychoice of songs – their politicalmessages – particularly irritatedthe authorities. Finally, at the timeof the Frelimo rallies in 1974 andafter some bad reports from security branch agents – wecalled them sinister beasts – oncampus, I was asked to leave.’

But this setback Khoza turnedto his own advantage. He took ajob with Unilever and rapidly roseto the position of a brand manager.In 1978 he successfully applied

NOT MERELY NOMINAL

Dr Reuel Khoza

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for a Shell scholarship to study inBritain. He returned a year laterwith a Masters in MarketingManagement from the Universityof Lancaster. After a two-year stintwith Shell, he started his ownmanagement consulting companythat he grew over the next 16 yearsinto his personal foothold in theworld of business. In 2005, heachieved an EngineeringDoctorate (Business) from theUniversity of Warwick in theUnited Kingdom.

And earlier this year hereceived an honorary doctorate inrecognition of ‘a visionary Africanhumanist whose outlook and life’swork has been informed by astrong sense of integrity, by ahumble style of leadership, and

by committed service to his country’.Speaking again of Africa and

the role that the University ofLimpopo could play in it, Khozaexplains that the world wasdiverging as the developed countries continued to outstrip thedeveloping ones. ‘Yet at the sametime there is a powerful conver-gence: the world is a global village. My sense is this: if Africacan take advantage of all thetechnological aids to learning thatare becoming available today, thecontinent can leapfrog itself intothe 21st century. That is the realchallenge facing the continent –and our university – today.

‘The imperative, then, is thatwe pursue excellence – aggressively and actively. I would

like to work with the university,looking first at the funding andcreation of a comprehensive chairof mining engineering. We shouldbe doing nothing less because ofour position in the world’s richestplatinum basin. By “a comprehen-sive chair”, I mean not only oneprofessorial chair, but surroundingthat chair with other professorialand lecturing positions, researchposts, and of course the equipmentand infrastructure necessary tomake the potential really fly.’

Powerful new university leadershipDR REUEL KHOZA – COMMITTED, NOT MERELY NOMINAL

UBUNTU GOES GLOBAL

THE NEW CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OFLIMPOPO, DR REUEL KHOZA, IS OFTEN DESCRIBEDAS A ‘DISTINGUISHED AFRICANIST THINKER’. He’salso an astute and highly influential businessman. Itshould not surprise us therefore that his latest book has as its subtitle: A f r i c a n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a lL e a d e r s h i p f o r 2 1 s t c e n t u r y b u s i n e s s . The book is an important contribution to the growingdebate around the role of business leadership not onlyin the rejuvenation of Africa but in leadership generallyin the global village.

Central to Khoza’s leadership model is the idea ofAfrican humanism or Ubuntu. He begins by describingin detail the Ubuntu philosophy and the scope ofAfrican values that it contains. He then looks at Ubuntu-based African leadership in practice, and concludesby describing a new paradigm for leadership basedon the co-operative values – such as trust and integrity,sympathy and compassion, consultation and consensus– that are enshrined in Ubuntu. In short, the new paradigm is one that builds leadership on genuine

empathy for fellow human beings and on the win-winprinciple rather than on ruthless competition.

The book has been well-received. Gill Marcus, former deputy governor of the South African ReserveBank, sees it as ‘an important contribution to our thinking about the development of our intellectualpower so as to break the vicious circle that still holds much of Africa in the chains of poverty’. Anddistinguished writer, Professor Es’kia Mphahlele,remarks that ‘the reader cannot but be captured by the muscle of the style, which lends the work tensionand admirable conviction’.

Copies of L e t A f r i c a Lead can be ordered fromwww.letafricalead.co.za

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LIMPOPO IN THE NEWSOne of the features of Limpopo Leader’s coverage of subjects of relevance to the Province and its premier university

is how often these issues are relevant to the national and regional picture as well. To further emphasise these linkages,

LIMPOPO IN THE NEWS is set to become a regular feature in a periodical that is increasingly being seen as an important

mouthpiece for a province that is decidedly under-reported in the national and international media. The strengthening

partnership between provincial government and provincial academic expertise is placing Limpopo in a big way on the

regional map. It is appropriate therefore that LIMPOPO IN THE NEWS should look at major news events from the point

of view of the province.

LIMPOPO IN THE NEWS: The Zimbabwean crisisSMALL HOSPITAL, BIG RESPONSIBILITY

CEO Simon Netshivhambe

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LIMPOPO IN THE NEWS: The Zimbabwean crisisSMALL HOSPITAL, BIG RESPONSIBILITY

CEO Simon Netshivhambe

provide blatantly inaccurate details in order to gettreatment before disappearing without trace.

‘This lack of disclosure is a very serious problemfor us,’ Netshivhambe admits. ‘Particularly if thepatient dies. Then we have to conduct enquiries, trying to find out where the body should go. And wehave to hold the body for at least three months whilethe enquiries are ongoing. Only then can we provideit with a pauper’s funeral.’

Netshivhambe agreed to provide L i m p o p oL e a d e r with figures. He worked on his computer,calling them up. While he did so he explained that forthe past year he had kept detailed ‘migrant statistics’and had used these statistics to underwrite his requestfor expanded infrastructure under the provincialRevitalisation Programme. His strategy has worked:next year, in excess of R92-million will be spent on thehard-pressed Messina Hospital (no official namechange for the hospital yet).

‘Here are the figures,’ Netshivhambe says. ‘In thenine months between July 2006 and March last year(the end of the 2006/07 financial year) 48 migrantsdied in the hospital. That’s more than five a month. And of those 48, a full quarter (12) had inthe end to be given paupers’ funerals. As you can

iIT’S HOT ON THE BORDER, IT’S DUSTY, BUT THEDESPERATION IS LARGELY CONCEALED. Many thousands of Zimbabweans are crossing into SouthAfrica each month, but of course most don’t use theborder post at Beit Bridge. They’re running from economic collapse, from an inflation rate in excess of100 000 percent. They’re wading through the river,crawling under fences, eating whatever they can laytheir hands on. Thousands are arrested each week andrepatriated, but an estimated 3-million have got through.

They head to South Africa’s industrial and commer-cial heartland, Gauteng. But the point is that each andevery one of them must pass through the province ofLimpopo.

How is this extraordinary influx impacting onprovincial health services? To find out, L i m p o p oL e a d e r travels to Musina. There are plenty of soldiersand their vehicles on the crowded streets. But how isone to differentiate between Zimbabweans and SouthAfrican civilians? The same question arises in the smalldistrict hospital that serves Musina and surroundingboarder region. The refugees often tell lies to concealtheir identities.

‘Of course, we don’t call our Zimbabwean patients‘refugees’, says the hospitial’s CEO SimonNetshivhambe. ‘We call them migrants. There aresome from Zambia and the DRC as well; but yes cer-tainly, the majority are Zimbabweans. But I mustemphasise that we don’t discriminate against patientsof different nationalities. There are the SADC andNepad health agreements that we adhere to. And onpurely humanitarian grounds, everyone is allowedaccess to our services.’

Netshivhambe is precise, friendly, competent. Hebegan his career as a nurse, and now finds himself ina position of considerable responsibility. His small hospital is bursting at the seams. It’s also understaffed.Of the 80 beds available only 65 are being used.‘The posts are available,’ he says with a slight smile,‘but it’s difficult to get staff to stay long in Musina.Perhaps its too remote; its certainly too hot.’

It’s in the outpatients’ department that the real pressure exerted by the Zimbabwean crisis is beingfelt. Netshivhambe’s five doctors work long hours. To exacerbate the situation, sick migrants are under-standably reluctant to disclose their details, or they

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Joint prevention programmes involve South Africa withZimbabwe and Mozambique. Netshivhambe seemsconfident that the programmes will offer the normalprotection against Africa’s biggest killer disease. But ifthe programmes collapse on the far side of the border,serious problems could arise throughout the malaria-prone Limpopo basin.

Meanwhile, what will Netshivhambe’s hospital getfor it’s R92-million from the provincial RevitalisationProgramme?

‘First and foremost a bigger outpatients’ depart-ment,’ he explains with considerable satisfaction. ‘Infact, we’re getting a brand new building. There’ll be a gate clinic to reduce the queues at ODP proper, andalso a covered waiting area and refreshment kiosk.Then the wards will be expanded to increase the number of beds from 80 to 96, and a new theatre ison the way. The administration offices are also beingextended to relieve the current overcrowding.

‘And, oh yes,’ Messina Hospital’s friendly CEOadds, ‘we’re getting a new enlarged mortuary. In fact,it’s already being built. That is certainly the mosturgent need right now.’

imagine, this represents a serious drain on our finan-cial resources, and of course also on mortuary space.’

Netshivhambe’s statistics make for sombre reading.Bearing in mind the obvious reluctance of people ille-gally entering the country to present themselves at apublic institution, at least one so close to the border, itis astonishing that in the nine months under scrutiny atotal of 1 541 migrants were ill enough to presentAND identify themselves at Messina Hospital’s outpa-tients’ department. In addition, there were 517 in-patients, many of whom may have begun as outpa-tients.

A lot of attendances were made in connection withpaediatric concerns. In the nine months in question,193 babies were born to migrant mothers, and scoresof children were vaccinated against polio and BCG.

‘Increasing numbers of pregnant Zimbabweanscome across the border for a day simply to takeadvantage of our prenatal services, and then theycome for the delivery,’ says Netshivhambe. ‘My senseis that many of the migrants are in poor generalhealth. We have definitely noticed an increase in malnutrition in children.’

Although, the dry season is still in full swing, malaria could prove a problem once the rains begin.

The first step in making a serious attempt at achievingit is NOT closing Medunsa, as had once been mooted,and the second step must obviously be the building ofthe tertiary hospital in Polokwane as soon as possible.

‘It is of great importance,’ says Sekoati, ‘that theexpertise at Medunsa is nurtured and maintained andstrengthened, and then is fully used to develop thenew medical school in Polokwane. My department will do everything in its power to support the universityin this endeavour. It will be an arrangement – thismaintenance of two medical schools under one tertiaryeducational institution – that has considerable signifi-cance at a national level. And for Limpopo, of course,it will have a huge impact: it will transform healthservices here.’

The current situation is that Mankweng andPolokwane hospitals provide a total of around 350 beds, a few of which are privatised in PolokwaneHospital, and with some tertiary services on offer,maintained from Medunsa as the parent medicalschool. Compare this with what is now on the drawing-board: Mankweng and Polokwane hospitals remain atcurrent strength, while the new tertiary hospital willadd 550 beds. That’s 900 beds, more than half ofwhich will be attached to a full medical school for theteaching of health professionals and for research, particularly in those spheres that will benefit Limpopo’s(and indeed the Southern African region’s) predominantly rural population.

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i

The Polokwane hospitals sagaLOOK WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

IT’S AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY NOW. These are thewords of Seaparo Sekoati, Limpopo’s MEC for health,when he speaks of the tertiary hospital that will benecessary to support the development of the full medical school planned for Polokwane under the auspices of the University of Limpopo.

Sekoati knows precisely what is needed. The hospital will contain 500 to 600 beds; it’ll be built onopen ground near Edupark; the starting date is in thecurrent financial year (2008/09); and the provisionalprice tag – for the bricks and mortar and basic equipment – is in the region of R1-billion.

‘We in the provincial government are viewing theconstruction of the hospital as very important indeed.To expedite the process will be our way of giving fullsupport to the University of Limpopo as it movestowards the development of the new medical school.In fact, the hospital is now our number one priority.’

In L i m p o p o L e a d e r 1 2 (Winter 2007) it was reported that the University of Limpopo would almostcertainly become the first university in South Africa tooperate two medical schools, one at Medunsa to thenorth of Pretoria, and the other on a site close toEdupark in Polokwane. This situation has arisen fromthe national Department of Health’s strategic plan forhuman resources. In a nutshell, the call is for a doubling of health professionals emerging from universities (and nursing colleges) by 2014. That’s a mere seven years away. Can it be achieved?

MEC Seaparo Sekoati

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The implications of this expansion, and the level atwhich the expansion will take place, are enormous.

For a start, there are the benefits to be deriveddirectly in the sphere of health services. The most obvious benefit arising from a locally situated tertiaryhospital would be a reduction in referrals of seriouslyill patients to the tertiary hospitals in Gauteng. ‘This,’says Sekoati, ‘would not only save lives by reducingthe travelling time required to get patients to theappropriate level of care, but would also substantiallyreduce the costs of top-end care.’

On the training front, locally trained doctors andother health professionals would go a long way tostrengthening provincial health services in Limpopo’sextensive rural areas. Since an avowed intention ofthe University of Limpopo is ‘to be a leading universityaddressing the needs of African rural communitiesthrough innovative ideas’, the impact on rural healthproblems could be dramatic. This brings a distinctSouthern African regional flavour to developments surrounding the new tertiary hospital.

Sekoati: ‘Even though we’re essentially a poorprovince, we’re already engaged in synergies withsome of our SADC neighbours. This is bound toincrease with tertiary facilities. The new medicalschool as it develops will also become increasinglyattractive to students from other countries in the region.’

The expansion of health services – provincial andprivate – will also increase potential for what is now

widely referred to as health tourism – people comingfrom abroad for procedures not so readily available intheir home countries. It would also provide younghealth academics graduating from other universitieswith major new career opportunities.

‘For an emerging city like Polokwane,’ Sekoatiadds, ‘there’s often a problem in attracting professionals in all fields. One of the problems restricting development is a scarcity of top-class healthcare, particularly for young families and the elderly.This problem is now in the process of being solved –which augurs well for general development. Simply put, the new hospital will make investment in Polokwane and Limpopo more feasible. It will, in short, be an invaluable aid to our growing economy.’

Sekoati is confident that building will start on thenew hospital next year. ‘We’re currently engaged inthe planning through a process that involves thenational departments of Health and Education, as well as the University of Limpopo. The necessary financial resources are coming from national government. It will be a state-owned facility. But we’recurrently looking at various management models. In fact, we would welcome suggestions regarding private-sector involvement.’

COULD THIS ALSO BE A FACTOR?It’s difficult to find out what’shappening behind the scenes,but a private hospital forPolokwane would simplyboost local facilities evenmore, thus enhancing thepotential of Limpopo’s capitalcity as an important healthnode in Southern Africa.

Frangie van Rooyen Pn Nombulelo Komape

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Local economic developmentA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR RESEARCH, TRAINING AND ADVICE

s

things for LED to thrive are economic growth and education.They go hand in hand. Thereafter,building LED is relatively straight-forward. You can take a book offthe library shelf and do it. But it’snot happening in Africa. All theevidence indicates that investmentin infrastructure and educationreduces poverty and promotesgrowth. However in Limpopo thisis not happening, with budgetsunderspent and infrastructureinvestment low.’

What then IS happening inAfrica – and in Limpopo andPolokwane? What are the modelsbeing used? Where are the successes, and why the failures?How can local government structures better deliver on theirresponsibilities with regard tosocio-economic upliftment? Howcan the uneducated and the poorbecome an integral part of theirown local economies? The questions seem endless ...

The good news, though, is thatthey are shortly to be addressedin a methodical way by experts in the field. Enter the LimpopoCentre for Local EconomicDevelopment (LCLED).

The centre is to be establishedwith money from the EuropeanUnion under the terms of a memorandum of agreementbetween the Department ofHousing and Local Government(the contracting authority) and theuniversity which will run the

Tim Wilkinson

SOME PEOPLE AREN’T WILDLYOPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE CAPACITY OF LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS –LIKE THE NEW TERTIARY HOSPITALTO BE BUILT NEAR EDUPARK –TO STIMULATE SUSTAINABLEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTAMONG ORDINARY PEOPLE.

‘It may be that it will be amixed bag coming from the newhospital in terms of LED,’ says Dr Chris Burman of theDevelopment, Facilitation andTraining Institute (DevFTI) basedon the Edupark campus of theUniversity of Limpopo. ‘In fact, it could prove detrimental in someways. Scarce and specialisedskills are needed to build andoperate a facility like this. There’ll

be a tendency to cherry pickthese out of the whole province,which could leave some localitiesworse off than they are nowthrough the process of skillsurbanisation. It is difficult to pre-dict precisely the outcomes inthese types of cases.’

Then there’s Tim Wilkinson,team leader of Limpopo LED, a unit set up within the provincialDepartment of Housing and LocalGovernment to help deliver sustainable local economic development. ‘I suppose you can describe LED as all thosemechanisms that get localeconomies going, and that pullpoor people into the process bymaking economic opportunitiesaccessible to them. The critical

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LCLED. In fact, it’ll be housedinside the Turfloop School ofLeadership alongside DevFTI, andDr Burman will run it.

The main objective, saysWilkinson (who sees the establishment of the LCLED assomething of an exit strategy forEU involvement in the province),will be to aid in the reduction ofpoverty through pro-poor growth.

‘That will be the overall objective,’ Burman adds. ‘Morespecifically, though, because ofthe centre’s location in Limpopo,the focus will be on the creationof a Limpopo centre of excellencein pro-poor rural LED. With theemphasis on the rural which char-acterises most of our province.’

The memorandum of agree-ment between the province andthe university was signed inAugust; the EU has pledged R7-million over the next twoyears; and it is expected that theLCLED will open its doors for business during the second quarter of 2008.

‘The plan,’ explains Burman,‘is to hook the centre immediatelyinto the international network ofsimilar centres and universitydepartments working in LED.These linkages will be cruciallyimportant if we are to deliver realvalue for money in our three focusactivities of LED research, LEDcapacity development, and a LEDadvisory service. In all thesefields, we’ll be trying to give LED

a crisper modus operandi inLimpopo by drawing upon ourown provincial strengths as wellas the experiences of others.’

According to the LCLED business plan, three specific areasfor research have already beenidentified. They are:• Competitiveness. Economies

that are competitive and havea good business environmentseem to reduce poverty faster.Therefore a major theme forresearch will be to betterunderstand international andlocal competitiveness.

• Land reform. A major con-straint to investment and farming viability is the lack ofprecise ownership rights. Inresponse to these difficulties,the centre will immediatelyfocus on the thorny issues ofcommunity land and develop-ment, and post-land-restitutionfarm viability.

• Markets for the poor. A specialresearch focus will attempt tounderstand why markets arenot working for the poor inrural Limpopo, and SouthernAfrica generally, and then totest interventions designed tomake labour, product, capitaland markets more accessibleto and inclusive of the poor.

Capacity building will take theform of special training programmes,built on the knowledge emergingfrom the research and tailored for

government officials and NGOs.The centre’s advisory services willbe geared to assisting organisationsto develop and deliver LED andwill include assessments of localeconomies, the development ofpro-poor growth strategies, andmonitoring and evaluation.

The EU’s funding has beengranted with the stipulation thatthe LCLED must be self-sustainingwithin two years.

Burman: ‘It’s obvious that thetrio of activities – research,capacity building (training), andadvisory services (consulting) alllend themselves to income genera-tion. Indeed, the aim is to beginearning from the first year ofoperation, when the forecast is a total of R600 000, rising to R6-million in year four when thecentre is expected to employ a full-time staff of eight.

‘The emphasis on developmentin Limpopo must be maintained,’Burman concludes, ‘and I have nodoubt that the LCLED will contribute greatly to maintainingthe necessary urgency with whicheveryone here should be applyingtheir minds to the impedimentsthat stand in the way.’

Wilkinson states: ‘This is atremendous opportunity for theuniversity to use the seed fundingfrom the EU to create a centre ofexcellence. I hope they pick up onthe challenge and deliver the centre for Limpopo’.

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Profile: Dr Chris BurmanHE’S A TRAVELLING MAN

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m for five days across the desert to Timbuktu where Ibought some beautifully made French cakes. Anothertime I drove through Cameroon and down into centralAfrica. Everywhere I went the poverty gripped me;and I suppose it was on those trips and during thoseyears that the idea of development began its long gestation in my head.’

Not unsurprisingly, then, by the time he was 30,Burman was living in a caravan and doing a develop-ment studies degree at the University of East Anglia inNorwich. But his travelling days were by no meansover. He took himself to the Durban campus of theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal to do a Masters. But thesubject of his dissertation – the relationship of funders’expectations to the realities of rural development –was in the northern parts of Limpopo, so it wasinevitable that he finally make contact with people atTurfloop. The result was that he moved to Polokwane,and had his doctorate conferred on him by theUniversity of Limpopo in 2004.

Meanwhile, though, he had found the time tospend a short period in Australia where he becameinvolved in the challenge of providing sustainablesources of ‘bush food’ into the cities for the Aboriginalpoor who have little taste for western food.Aboriginals are regularly diagnosed with diabetesbecause of the absence of their preferred foodstuffs.‘It would seem that the Aboriginal people are some ofthe few people whose diabetes can be reversed if theyeat their own preferred foodstuffs – but getting it intothe city on a sustainable basis is a serious challenge,’explained Burman. When he came back to SouthAfrica to pick up his degree, the University offeredhim the DevFTI job.

‘Limpopo is changing rapidly,’ he observes, ‘andthe challenge is to respond. I really like the aim of theuniversity – to be a leading university while addressingthe needs of African rural communities through innovative ideas – and I’m ensuring that DevFTI’s focus is in line with this.’

But will he stay? ‘I’d like to stay in Africa,’ headmits. Limpopo must hope that he will linger in thispart of it for at least a few years more.

MEET CHRIS BURMAN. He’s a lean and restless forty-year-old who looks as if he could reach for his suitcaseat any moment and simply disappear. He’s certainlydone his share of travelling. He’s also done a sizeableshare of development work. That’s why he’s in chargeof the Development Facilitation and Training Institute(DevFTI) housed within the Turfloop School ofLeadership at Edupark. He’s been there for not muchmore than two years, but already his achievements aremounting up.

There have been contracts with Unesco and theNational Development Agency which asked DevFTI toresearch the relationship between co-operatives andproductivity – as well as co-organising a provincial conference entitled ‘Making Rural Voices Count’ withthe Office of the Premier. For the provincial government,Burman is designing training courses in media andcommunication, and he’ll shortly be putting theEuropean Union-funded Limpopo Centre for LocalEconomic Development on the map (see story on page 12).

‘There’s so much potential here,’ he says. ‘And I’mambitious. I want to make a real success of DevFTI.’

Burman was born into a middle-class family inBirmingham in the United Kingdom. His father was asurgeon who accepted a two-year posting toBulawayo (in Zimbabwe) just as the young Burmanwas reaching school-going age. Perhaps this early disruption to routine contributed to Burman’s restlessnessand insatiable curiosity about the world. There wereother influences as well.

‘After I had completed my A levels,’ he recalls, ‘I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. So I tookmy gap year and went to Brazil and worked in a children’s home and hospital. From my genteelBirmingham background into the jungle of northernBrazil – that was a major culture shock. But I thrivedon it.’

Back home, Burman drifted about, finally ending upon England’s extensive commercial canal systems, taking young people on adventure holidays and thenbecoming involved in the restoration of old barges tomuseum quality. But such activities, however enjoy-able, could not detain him indefinitely. Shortly after his24th birthday, he was back in the developing world.

This time it was West Africa. He had gone to assistwith a tourism and haulage enterprise in Ghana, andhe very soon became a partner in the business.

‘I did a lot of driving myself. It was wonderful. I drove from country to country. I found myself relishingBlack Africa. Here was the thriving source of whichBrazil had provided such strong echoes. Once I drove

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Limpopo Leader updateGROWING OUR OWN

inlets provide the required oxygen, and condensate isperpetually drained away. Chicken eggs take 21 daysto hatch, and the machine has a capacity of 1 680eggs that can be divided into 12 sets for phasedhatching. An automatic mechanism turns the eggsevery hour.

‘The incubator is a powerful tool for selectivebreeding,’ says Professor Jones Ng’ambi, an animalnutritionist at Turfloop, ‘but of course it needs to besurrounded by high-quality supplementary researchand data collection if its use is to be optimised. Forexample, work on improving productivity by changingor supplementing what the chickens eat is essential if selective breeding is to make any sense. But ofcourse these elements make wonderful topics for postgraduate research.’

Chris Mbajiorgu, a doctoral student from Nigeria,is tackling one such research topic: the effect of various nutrients on meat and egg production of theindigenous Venda chickens. Not surprisingly, Ng’ambiand Norris are Mbajiorgu’s supervisors.

‘Obviously,’ he says, ‘my first job is to establishsome baseline data regarding what chickens at various rural homestead sites are actually eating. I’ll do this by analysing crop content. Then the question will arise regarding improvements to the diet.I’ll be concentrating on protein intake and energyrequirements. But it’s not simply a matter of finding the

dDR DAVID NORRIS’S ORIGINAL RESEARCH WAS TOESTABLISH PHENOTYPIC BASE DATA THAT BROADLYDEFINED THE VARIOUS BREEDS IN TERMS OF OPTIMUM SIZE, GROWTH RATE, FEEDING REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS EGG SIZE AND OUTPUT. Next step was to be a programme of selective breeding to improve the productivity of thechickens without damaging their amazing adaptabilityto the Southern African environment. But this step washampered by the fact that Norris was working withone-day-old chicks from the Animal ImprovementInstitute’s centre in Irene.

Now the situation has radically changed. Norrisand his co-researchers have got hold of an incubator.This means that selective breeding can be fully controlled.

‘In other words,’ Norris explains, ‘improved growth rates for meat and greater egg productioncharacteristics can be achieved through generations ofselecting chickens that are genetically superior in thedesired traits.

The R75 000 incubator, which arrived late in2006, has been jointly funded by the NationalResearch Foundation (NRF) and the university. Indeed,the NRF has given R300 000 over the next threeyears to support the indigenous chicken researchbeing undertaken at Turfloop.

The incubator finely controls temperature. Humidityis achieved by spraying in water at a preset rate. Air

In the Spring of 2005, L i m p o p o L e a d e r 5 ran a story under the intriguing title ‘The Case of the Marginalised Chickens –

genetic research on Southern Africa’s tough indigenous poultry’. Chief characters in this drama were the naked-necked roosters,

the speckled Venda breed, and Dr David Norris, a quantitative geneticist at Turfloop. Although three-quarters of all poultry

production in Southern Africa stems from hardy local breeds, scientific neglect in favour of imported breeds has in the past

threatened to sideline this valuable local resource. Now read on for the next chapter in this fascinating narrative …

chosen Turfloop? ‘I believed I’d get the best basicknowledge here,’ he explained, ‘and my belief hasbeen confirmed.’ The University of Limpopo awardedMbajiorgu a Masters degree after his research intovitamin C and lysine supplementation to the feed ofbroiler chickens to improve live weight, growth rateand lower mortality.

‘Yes,’ he says with a smile, ‘I’ll definitely be goinghome, but not before my indigenous chicken PhD iscompleted. This should be by 2009.’

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ideal diet regardless of cost. What is available locally?How can low-cost supplements, or better still locallyproduced supplements, enhance existing diets?’

And he adds: ‘The underlying consideration here isthat small improvements in meat and egg productionwill make big improvements in human nutrition andincome at the village level.’

Mbajiorgu completed his first degree – a five-yearB Agric (Honours) in animal science – in Nigeriabefore coming to Turfloop in 2005. Why had he

Chris Mbajiorgu

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However, since national policy for higher educationdoes not provide for foundational qualifications andthe term ‘foundation programme’ does not accord withthe formal definition of a programme, which is ‘a purposeful and structured set of learning experiencesthat leads to a qualification’, government recentlymade the suggestion that the foundation programmesbe part of a whole degree programme in which foundational provision is located. Such a programmeis termed an ‘Extended Degree Programme (EDP). Thisis in line with Education White Paper 3,’ explainsSongca.

‘The essence of the EDP is that it takes learnerswho are considered to have inadequate schooling andputs them through a degree programme that is longerand more in-depth than the traditional minimum three-year degree programme. Throughout students aregiven additional support with curriculum review beingat the core. An EDP degree is quite different to a normal three-year degree. It’s not, as is often mistakenlyassumed, a feeder programme into the normal degreebecause the extended learning continues throughoutthe four-year course. In fact, the two are run on separate curricula,’ he adds.

What has placed the University of Limpopo aheadof the game with this new EDP programme is that formany years it has focused quite heavily on providingadequate tuition to disadvantaged students - more sothan has been traditionally offered in universities -through Unify, which provided a more holisticapproach to foundation provision.

Songca notes that the university had already beencontemplating a change in direction for foundationprovision by the time government introduced the concept of EDP. ‘These factors placed us ahead bothin experience and in our proactive anticipation of newgovernment thinking.’

EDP degrees can be offered in any universitycourse. The onus is on each faculty to determine if theextended degree programme can and should beoffered. ‘We quickly decided that our faculty wouldbenefit significantly from the programme so we opted

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Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of ScienceBUILDING NEW BRIDGES IN SCIENCE

fFILLING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP BETWEEN HIGHSCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION HAS TAKEN ONNEW MEANING IN THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANDAGRICULTURE AT MEDUNSA. It’s embarking on anambitious programme that is seeing government andhigher education institutions in an associated bid toensure that graduates are on a par with universitiesaround the world - and it sees the University ofLimpopo leading the field in establishing this programme.

Professor Sandile Songca, Director of the School ofPhysical Sciences, gives the background to this dynamicsituation. ‘The Bachelor of Science Extended DegreeProgramme at the university has its roots in the successful implementation of the University FoundationYear for Maths and Science – Unify – and the foundation courses that were offered at Medunsa.

‘Unify was conceptualised as an intervention programme within the then Faculty of Mathematicsand Natural Sciences, the Faculty of Health Sciences,and the Faculty of Agriculture at the former Universityof the North. The overall purpose of the programmewas to increase both quantity and quality of historicallydisadvantaged students with potential to succeedentering the faculties. Unify students enrolled for a year-long programme in Mathematics, Chemistry,Biology, Physics and English and Study Skills. Theywere also given computer-aided instruction and compulsory career guidance. When they completedthe programme, students could follow any science programme in the three faculties. Since 1992, Unifyhas successfully provided services to more than 2 000students who have gone on to study sciences withinthe university,’ elaborates Songca.

‘The Medunsa Foundation Programme has its background in the university’s response to studentswho wanted to pursue medicine without having met all the matric subject requirements. The students werethen enrolled in a BSc programme with additional support in the subjects in which they had lowergrades. In certain cases this meant completing the programme over a study period of four years insteadof the normal three.’

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for it with 200 BSc students - 167 on the Turfloopcampus and 50 at Medunsa,’ says Songca.

‘Implementing extended degrees is no walk in thepark. Firstly, about twice as much staff and studenttime as the corresponding regular course is needed.Secondly, the Bachelor of Science Extended DegreeProgramme is a four-year degree that covers all areasof tuition in the current Faculty of Science andAgriculture.

‘A student currently enrolled in the programme hasa choice of furthering studies in any combination ofcourses that are currently on offer within the faculty.The development of properly articulated BSc (EDP),therefore requires a review of all these possible studyroutes that a student can follow. Any attempt to do thisat once is a recipe for failure. Hence, I see the development and delivery of a successful BSc (EDP) asa process that would go through at least three majorphases: Phase one being the development and pilotphase; phase two, consolidation and expansion; andphase three, delivering and sustaining a successfulprogramme,’ concludes Songca.

GETTING IT RIGHT WITH INDUSTRYSeveral other issues came to light as the dynamics ofthe EDP were being thrashed out. The first was thenumber of possible courses which the faculty offers.‘We had about 55 course options available for students– about 30 of which are unlikely to ever be taken upbecause they offer combinations that are just not feasible. We realised that we needed to rationalisethe options to streamline our faculty for optimum

efficiency,’ says Songca.At the same time, a question had arisen at an

industry association meeting that was brought to the

faculty boardroom table. It was, ‘why don’t we seestudents from historically black universities in the workplace? The decision was taken to go out into industryand ask what it is that they want in qualifications frompotential employees.

Songca explains the rationale behind the researchproject. ‘We know that training at higher educationlevel can no longer be done whimsically. We must be fully accountable to industries that are running theeconomy. We also need to be responsible to studentloan providers. These organisations are all key stakeholders in our students’ futures.’

This Medunsa-led initiative involves taking itsProgramme & Qualifications Mix (PQMs) to industryassociations, professional associations, and directly to the workplace to find out what is useful to them.‘We will then compile reports and by the time theschool boards sit in August next year the idea is tohave a clear picture of what is desirable and whatcan be cut out of our faculty offering.

‘This project will give us several benefits. Apartfrom guiding us in which courses we should offer andwhich we should drop; it will also help us design useful curricula; it’s likely to generate sponsors for ourstudents; and it will make us better known in industry,’Songca states.

He’s proud of the fact that Medunsa’s faculty of natural sciences is leading the field on so many levels– and admits to a subtle competitiveness in the academic world. But this is quickly tempered with theassertion that collaboration among universities is farstronger. ‘We have been working with other institutions in helping them to establish their EDPdegrees – and we will doubtless share our learningexperiences as we progress,’ he emphasises.

BEING COMMITTED TO THINGS THATCOUNT‘BE COMMITTED TO THINGS THAT COUNT, RATHERTHAN TO THINGS THAT CAN BE COUNTED.’ That’sthe quotation at the beginning of Professor SandileSongca’s curriculum vitae. It’s by his wife, ReverendMizana Songca. It says a lot about the man and whatmotivates him in his professional and personal life.

And knowing what counts is half the battle won.For Songca, it has doubtless included service to theworld of science. He has made significant contributions to it since his student days at theUniversity of Transkei in the early 80s.

He describes those days as somewhat discouraging.He achieved his BSc and BSc Hons, but was aware ofthe vast disparity between that university’s standardsand those of the historically white universities.

While studying for his Masters, he got caught up inthe groundswell of political activism and joined themass exodus of exiles to Europe. It was in London thathe continued his studies and achieved his MSc andPhD degrees at Queen Mary and Westfield College.

Effective teaching methods have been an ongoinginterest for Songca, and while in exile he conductedresearch into the teaching of science with particularemphasis on laboratory teaching and affiliated interests, with a research team at the University ofSurrey in England. One of the spin-offs of this researchwas the creation of the Workbook-Based TeachingMethods Research Programme, which Songca pioneered. ‘The main aim,’ he explains, ‘was toaddress the problem of academically underprivilegedstudents into entry level chemistry. Some of the objectives of the programme included the improvementof independent learning skills of first-year students. The programme proved quite successful and attractedfunding from the private sector as a provider of localor indigenous teaching resource materials.’ Morerecently, Songca’s interests have been in the development and application of teaching and learningmaterials using modern technology.

Then came 1994 and the euphoric ‘coming home’of exiles – in time to cast their ballots.

Back in South Africa, he returned to the Universityof Transkei’s Department of Science, which by thistime was serving both BSc and Medical School.

‘I was appointed senior lecturer in Organic Chemistryand was then promoted to associate professor. In 2000 I took a research sabbatical as a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town at the LiverResearch Institute, following which I accepted the position of senior lecturer at the University of Zululand.

‘When the Methodist Church, for which my wife isa minister, moved her to Pretoria in 2004 I joinedUnisa as a senior lecturer. But I had been keen to joinMedunsa, and when I was approached to join this university as professor and HOD of Organic Chemistry,I eagerly accepted the position. That was in August2004.

‘I was then elected deputy dean of science for theinterim period of the merger and on retirement of theinterim dean at the end of 2005, I became interim actingdean.’ For Songca, it was then a short step to his currentposition of Director of the School of Physical Sciences –Medunsa campus.

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Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of ScienceBUILDING NEW BRIDGES IN SCIENCE

Professor Sandile Songca

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Inside Medunsa’s Faculty of ScienceBUILDING NEW BRIDGES IN SCIENCECATCHING THE SCIENCE BUS – EARLY‘SCIENCE UNFOLDS THINGS. I love it. It plays an important role in our lives - and it’s something we canapply all the time.’ Florence Seseng, Outreach ProgrammeCo-ordinator for the University of Limpopo’s (Medunsacampus) Faculty of Science and Agriculture, is responsiblefor passing on this passion and understanding of all thingsscientific to school learners in the university’s surroundingareas.

That’s what the Mobile Science Laboratory, the commonly called ‘science bus’, which this year celebrates10 years of service to the local schools, is designed to do.

The bus is kitted out with a demonstration bench thatcan be wheeled into classrooms; a generator for electricityat those schools that may not have; an extensive supplyof chemicals, equipment, apparatus, and models relatingto biology, physical science and mathematics syllabusesfor grades 9-12; and additional ‘gadgets’ that make science interesting.

Seseng, who has a BSc degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Potchefstroom, outlines the rationale behind the launching of the bus on13 November 1997. ‘The science bus project is a meansof developing awareness and interest in science and technology among high school learners by making scienceapparatus and training available to underprivilegedschools. Our role is not to take over the science lessons,but to offer assistance to teachers in the use of equipment,

Florence Seseng, Outreach Programme Co-ordinator for Medunsa’s Faculty of Science

conducting experiments and demonstrations, and to enhancebasic knowledge, skill and attitudes in science education.

‘We also try to make the community at large aware ofthe impact of science and technology on our everydaylives, not least on the environment and our health.’

Seseng says she has about 20 schools that she visitsonce a month in and around Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane,Winterveld, Hammanskraal and Kwa-Mhlanga - at a rateof one school per day. Efforts are always made to fit intothe school’s timetable. A memorandum of understanding(MOU) has been signed between the university and theparticipating schools to strengthen the established ties.

When she conducts experiments for learners, sheexplains the fundamental concepts; prepares the learnersbefore the exercise and then performs the school syllabusexperiments with the learners. With the aid of pre-setworksheets on which they report their observations, thelearners are guided to do the experiments. Seseng believesit’s making a big difference to their levels of understanding.All teachers agree and want the visits increased.

‘The best thing about visiting schools is the excitementand interest it generates among learners. Also seeingthem suddenly understand something they have only beenable to read about in their textbooks before,’ Sesengsays enthusiastically. ‘It makes it all very worthwhile.’

Seseng’s contact numbers are: 012-521-4610 or 084-442-3941 Email: [email protected]

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USA and Europe, is scarless or natural orifice surgery,using the latest flexible endoscopic techniques.

These new technologies are dramatically increasingcosts in health care and it is becoming increasinglydifficult for medical schools and their funders to implement the technologies at teaching level. As aresult, many of these advances can be found only inthe private sector. Mokhtari believes that medicalschools are under an obligation to students and registrars to bring this level of teaching back to theirinstitutions. This, he maintains, will go some way toattracting people to the surgical speciality.

These are dilemmas that particularly face postgrad-uate training, but the Department of Surgery handlesteaching of undergraduates as well. This responsibilitycomes with its own set of issues to be tackled.

‘Fear is a very real problem for many young medical students at undergraduate level. They oftenpick up an unrealistic idea of surgery and choose toavoid it rather than overcome their misgivings. Specialtraining at this level can make a tremendous differenceto their understanding of the demands of surgery, aswell as giving them confidence and an interest in surgery as a speciality.

‘Though it’s true to say that some students are gifted surgeons with natural talent, it is possible toteach technical skills to those who may not have special talent in this field.

‘It’s also important to make sure that we give adequate training across all stages of surgery, evenfor those students who may feel that they would preferto focus on MIS. It sometimes happens that MIS operations need to be converted to open surgery,’says Mokhtari.

SURGICAL SKILLS LABORATORYWhile these and probably many other issues willdoubtless continue to confront Medunsa’s Departmentof Surgery in time to come; an important step towards

Under the knifeREVERSING THE TREND OF DWINDLING SURGEON NUMBERS

sSURGEON NUMBERS AROUND THE COUNTRY AREDROPPING, AND THE ONUS IS ON MEDICALSCHOOLS TO REVERSE THE TREND. This is the firmopinion of Dr Arian Mokhtari, senior specialist inMedunsa’s Department of Surgery, as he outlined several challenges that his department is facing – and tackling.

He says surgery as a speciality is losing its appealto young doctors, both men and women, but especiallywomen. The main reasons are long and irregularworking hours, difficult and demanding conditions andremuneration. There are also many other specialitiesthat are more ‘lifestyle-friendly’.

‘Of the approximately 450 surgeons who areactive around the country, many are getting old andwill soon be packing away their scalpels for good,leaving even more gaps in this profession. We need tofind ways to build up the numbers again, whichmeans we need to attract young doctors before theyleave university,’ says Mokhtari.

Another difficulty confronting the department iskeeping up with technological changes within surgery.‘We are dealing with this issue, but we are still a stepbehind international developments,’ he notes.

Mokhtari explains that surgery has undergone threemain development stages in the past few decades. Thefirst was traditional open surgery. The second was thestart of minimally invasive surgery (MIS), whichbecame particularly popular in the 80s and 90s. Thisstage includes laparoscopic procedures – a modernsurgical technique in which operations in the abdomenare performed through small incisions and the insertion of an endoscope. This instrument generallyconsists of a tube, a lighting system to illuminate theorgan, a lens system to transmit the image, and achannel that allows entry of a medical instrument. A specific benefit to this type of surgery is the quickerrecovery of patients.

The third stage, which is still experimental in mostparts of the world and is becoming popular in the

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Under the knifeREVERSING THE TREND OF DWINDLING SURGEON NUMBERS

teaching obligations of technically advanced surgicalprocedures all the more on this and other medical schoolsas experience in hospitals will be limited,’ he says.

Other fields that the department is now able to consider establishing within the laboratory include vascular surgery training, as well as the percutaneousinsertion of a tracheotomy through the ENTDepartment. (In surgery, percutaneous refers to procedures where inner organs are accessed throughneedle-puncturing.) And the cardio-thoracic surgeonsare planning to use the laboratory for training in coronary artery grafts.

At present, much of the training is done on humananatomical models as well as on animal parts. Sincethe new laboratory was established, plans are underway to introduce training on anaesthetised pigsas pigs are very similar to humans internally. Mokhtarihastened to add that any activity involving live animals is first approved by the Ethics Commission.

While the focus of the Surgical Skills Laboratory ispredominantly on postgraduate training, it is alsobecoming a valuable venue for dexterity training forundergraduates, and exposing them to aspects of surgery that could encourage an interest in taking itup as a profession.

‘This laboratory has opened up new avenues for us in surgery, and we believe it will pay handsomedividends for our department into the future,’ says Mokhtari.

meeting these challenges has been taken with therecent substantial upgrading of the Surgical SkillsLaboratory.

With the help of industry, this laboratory – whichofficially opened in March this year – is now a greatvenue to introduce doctors and junior registrars to surgery, says Mokhtari, who has been highly involvedin the setting-up process. Laparoscopic equipment hasbeen installed in the laboratory, enabling training intechnically advanced surgical processes.

An accredited three-day training course aimed athouseman and junior registrar level, called BasicSurgical Skills, is run twice a year in the SurgicalSkills Laboratory for about 15 delegates per course.

This course was introduced to South African medical schools by Dr Damon Bizos, head of SurgicalGastroenterology at Johannesburg Hospital. It teachestechnical skills as well as other domains of surgicalcompetence through supervised video presentations.This course is in fact, often an introduction to othersub-specialities such as gynaecology, ENT, thoracicsurgery, and other fields, notes Mokhtari.

He is also keen to introduce the supplementaryintermediate and advanced skills courses to Medunsato further enhance the medical school’s postgraduatesurgical training.

‘The realities of health care in South African statehospitals mean that there is a lot more emergency andtrauma work than in private hospitals. This places

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the Dr George Mukhari Hospital which, as a majortertiary referral hospital that accepts patients fromPolokwane Hospital, gave him exposure to patientsfrom an extremely wide catchment area as well as a great variety of surgical and clinical experience.

He also believes he benefited greatly from thetremendous academic emphasis in the department, led primarily by HOD Professor Charles Modiba. ‘Heconstantly encourages registrars to do research beforequalifying. Meetings are also held almost daily andare extremely detailed, and there is also a highdegree of patient follow-up by the professor. ‘His focusis on our qualification, and that makes achieving itthat much easier,’ states Motilall. ‘I also gained phenomenal experience in general surgery fromProfessor Letlhogela Meshack Ntlhe, a brilliant teacherand surgeon,’ he says.

‘There’s a big difference between being a registrarand a consultant,’ Motilall explains. ‘When you’re aconsultant, the course of action that you decide on isactually what happens - so it must be the right one.’

As for the future? In January 2008 Motilall wasoffered a post to further sub-specialise in TraumaSurgery at Johannesburg Hospital. He took up the postin February, which is a two-year programme towardsa Fellowship in Trauma.

y

Under the knifeTHE SPECIALITY THAT DEMANDS ANADVENTUROUS SPIRIT‘YOU HAVE TO BE VERY ADVENTUROUS TO DOSURGERY. IT’S THE NATURE OF THE SPECIALITY.’That’s according to Dr Sooraj Motilall, who qualifiedas a surgeon from Medunsa’s Department of Surgerylast year.

He opted for general surgery for the very reasonsthat send less adventurous registrars scurrying forother specialities - those that don’t demand the instantaneous life and death decision-making skills thatgeneral surgery so often does.

Motilall, a Durbanite, attended Medunsa as anundergraduate. He achieved his MBChB degree andthen returned to Durban to complete his internship andcommunity service at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth,a suburb in the eThekwini health district. It was therethat he was exposed to the hospital’s ‘exceptionallywell-run surgical unit’ under renowned surgeon andHOD, Mr Yusouf Desai, who became his mentor, andhe was duly inspired to do surgery as his speciality.He returned to Medunsa in 2001 as a registrar in theDepartment of Surgery.

‘The thing about surgery is that it’s a very decisivefield. You seldom have time to consider your optionsfor too long. You have to make life-saving decisionsimmediately. It’s also an area of medicine in whichyou are exposed to a broad scope of diseases andsurgical procedures. You are constantly learning howto cope with new experiences and situations,’ explainsMotilall.

He adds that although general surgery is one of thedisciplines that demands longer working hours com-pared to other surgical and medical disciplines, aswell as a greater degree of commitment, it is highlyrewarding at the end of the day.

Motilall says his five years in Medunsa’sDepartment of Surgery have been valuable, and provided excellent training in all facets of general sur-gery as well as sub-specialities such as cardiothoracic,paediatric, plastic, urological, and orthopaedic surgery. He adds that one of the particularly beneficialaspects of his Medunsa registrarship was working in

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Women to the foreA WOMAN OF ACTION ANDACHIEVEMENTS

THREE HATS, IT CAN PROBABLY BE SAFELYASSUMED, WOULD BE DAUNTING TO WEAR FORMOST PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY IF EACH OF THE HATSREPRESENTS A JOB AS DEMANDING AS THE OTHERS – BUT FOR DYNAMIC PROFESSOR OLGAMZILENI OF MEDUNSA, IT’S ALL IN A DAY’S WORK.

The three hats that Mzileni wears include HOD forInternal Medicine, HOD for Pulmonology, and head ofTshepang ARV Clinic at George Mukhari Hospital. To those designations she would no doubt also proudlyadd mother, grandmother and church builder.

Internal medicine is the speciality that involves thediagnosis and non-surgical treatment of diseases inadults, especially of internal organs. Pulmonology is a sub-speciality within internal medicine and dealswith diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract.

Apart from wearing her many hats with alacrity,Mzileni has also achieved the George MukhariWoman of Excellence Award in 2004 and the BestClinical Department Award for Internal Medicine, also in 2004.

A key strength that has no doubt reinforcedMzileni’s ability to manage so much, so effectively, is her ability – and willingness – to keep lines of communication wide open among all the hierarchiesof the university, from the top to the bottom.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Hailing from the Transkei, Mzileni completed herJunior Certificate and went to Johannesburg, where she started her medical journey in 1966 atBaragwanath Hospital as a trainee nurse. She finished Professor Olga Mzileni

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her training with the highest marks in all the GeneralNursing exams written in South Africa – white andblack – which earned her the Cecilia MakiwaneMedal 1969. She followed this achievement with midwifery, and again achieved the highest marks, this time ever achieved in the course.

Mzileni then returned to the Eastern Cape whereshe worked at Livingstone Hospital for five years. Butshe soon became frustrated. She wanted to do morefor her patients. She wanted to do the work done bydoctors and be more involved in saving lives. So sheleft nursing and caught up her missing matric, teaching herself maths and physics and achieving better symbols than full-time students were achieving.She then enrolled at Fort Hare University for her pre-med. The following year she moved to Medunsaand achieved her MBChB with distinction in 1983.

She worked for a year as a medical officer andProfessor Frans Pretorius, then head of Medunsa’sDepartment of Internal Medicine, recognised OlgaMzileni’s potential as a specialist. She started her postgraduate studies and achieved her M Med InternalMedicine in 1989. During this time Professor Pretoriusencouraged her to start a Pulmonology Clinic, whichshe did with great success while still a registrar. And,as with everything Mzileni undertakes, with a lot ofhands-on involvement.

Pulmonology training, which was not yet availableat Medunsa, then followed at Groote Schuur andTygerberg hospitals in Cape Town for Mzileni, earningher a qualification in 1994 as a pulmonologist – thefirst black woman in South Africa to achieve this position. In fact, there hasn’t been another black SouthAfrican woman to qualify as a pulmonologist sincethen, and Mzileni is constantly striving to recruit suitable doctors to pursue this challenging speciality.

She picks up the story, ‘When I returned from CapeTown I set about transforming the Pulmonology Clinicinto a pulmonology unit, registering it as a trainingdepartment and ensuring that it was adequatelyequipped for the task. This included establishing a lung function department with highly specialisedequipment. Right from the start, the clinic serviced thewhole hospital – performing services such as lungbiopsies, needle aspirations, and so on,’ says Mzileni.

By 1996 Mzileni was principal specialist and senior lecturer in her department. Two years later shespent a year in London at Middlesex Hospital as aFellowship Student. On her return she took over asHOD Internal Medicine and HOD Pulmonology fromProfessor Pretorius who had retired, and in 2000 she achieved her professorship.

Her departments have thrived under her management,and the excellent results achieved by both undergraduates and postgraduates are testimony tothe emphasis placed on qualifying. To further enhancethe training offered, Mzileni applied for governmentsponsorship to establish a skills laboratory for herInternal Medicine students. It gives them training inbasic procedures such as taking blood and putting up drips.

Mzileni recently graduated with a ‘Women inHigher Education – Executive Leadership’ coursethrough the Wits Business School. This she believeswill help her improve her insight and management ofher various departments even further.

Looking ahead, Mzileni has aspirations for all herresponsibilities. She has a deep desire to producemore pulmonologists, particularly specialists who willstay in the country and build up the specialisationlocally. Similarly, for Internal Medicine, she would liketo see more postgraduates taking up the speciality. As it is, Medunsa’s Internal Medicine postgraduatesare known for their excellent results and researchskills, and are highly sought after in international institutions.

As for Tshepang ARV Clinic (see story in box),Mzileni is working to improve the down referral system. ‘Patients who are settled in their treatmentshould be attending the satellite clinics, freeing up thefacilities at Tshepang for new patients,’ she explains.She also aims to increase and improve the level ofresearch and data analysis from the ARV clinic, whichin her opinion is absolutely essential for progress inthe management of the disease.

Mzileni’s personal aspirations are no less ambitious. She aims to finish her PhD, which isalready at revision stage, and be more active in herchurch ministry. As it is, last year she felt called byGod to build a church out of her own pocket inKroonstad, which, after much careful planning, sheachieved in 19 days! It’s 215 X 105 square metres –and since it opened, is growing steadily in numbers.‘When I told the pastor of the church that I was goingto put up a building for them, he said they had beencrying for one for 21 years! They had been meeting in a shack for many years.’

Mzileni’s philosophy in life is probably wellsummed up by 19th century scientist and author Henry Drummond, who said: ‘Unless a man under-takes more than he possibly can do, he will never doall he can do.’ Only, he obviously didn’t know at thatstage that he was actually referring to a woman!

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Women to the foreMAKING LIFE BETTER FOR THEPATIENTS

tTHE NEED FOR AN AIDS CLINICAT GEORGE MUKHARI HOSPITALBECAME CLEAR TO PROFESSOROLGA MZILENI AS EARLY AS THE1980S WHEN SHE AND PROFES-SOR HEATHER CREWE-BROWN,HEAD OF MICROBIOLOGY,WERE THE FIRST TO DIAGNOSEAIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA IN1985, IN A PATIENT WHO WASADMITTED WITH TUBERCULOSIS.

‘We couldn’t work out why this patient was not responding toany treatment,’ recalls Mzileni.‘Eventually we identified the HI virus and realised we had anAids case on our hands. It wasexciting for us as a medical team,and I remember that we publisheda paper on the case at the time.’

That was in the very earlydays and much water has flowedunder the clinic’s bridge sincethen. Today it is known as theTshepang ARV Clinic at GeorgeMukhari Hospital, supplying anti-retrovirals to more than 3 000 patients per month. Theclinic has also just moved intobrand new, large and modernpremises that were built fromscratch according to Mzileni’sspecifications.

HOW IT STARTEDOnce Aids was diagnosed,Mzileni decided to establish anAids clinic – in the midst of her

other duties. She determined thatthe clinic’s services would bebased on research ‘that we coulduse’ right from the start. She cameup against bureaucracy to anextent that would have crushedthe dream of many a less determined person. But not her.She begged and cajoled until shewas given a premises; then whenshe was told there was no equipment, she found out whereold stretchers, trolleys, and lockers were dumped, collectedthem and fixed them herself. ‘I grew up learning to do thingsfor myself – including repairs,’she explains mildly. ‘It was some-thing my mother used to do.’

It also means that for Mzileniand her loyal and hard workingstaff members, every single piece ofequipment in the clinic has alwaysbeen a source of pride for them.

It wasn’t long before the clinicoutgrew the premises and onceagain Mzileni’s considerable powers of persuasion came intoplay. She organised and established consulting rooms in‘Zozo hut’ type accommodation –while the Department of Healthwas still trying to decide how tohandle the situation.

Staffing too, was an issue, soMzileni staffed the clinic with people from the Department ofInternal Medicine, under whose

auspices the clinic was being run.When it became apparent that

these premises were not providingthe services that patients shouldbe able to expect from a largeprovincial hospital, Mzileniappealed for bigger and moreappropriate premises. She wastold ‘not possible’. Completelyundaunted, she personallysecured sponsorship from theFoundation for ProfessionalDevelopment and took her requestto the Department of Health headoffice. The request was approved.

‘Tshepang is now the biggestand most beautiful clinic,’ enthuses Mzileni. ‘It has every-thing we need – even enoughspace for extensive data captureand research. It has a spaciousand light reception area; 10 consulting rooms – the doctorsare not going to believe the difference in their working conditions; pharmacy areas; storage rooms; a tea room forstaff; and even a paediatric section. Previously we couldn’thandle the paediatric Aidspatients as there was not enoughspace in the old clinic. Now it isall being operated as one facility.

‘This new facility is so muchbetter as far as overall manage-ment of the disease is concerned.It also will obviously enable us toimprove our research and

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analysis; giving us an even betterpicture of what the situation is inthis region.

‘The Department of Health iseven providing staff for our newclinic, which means I will nolonger need to keep poaching mydepartments for people.’

A network of outlying clinicsfalls under the umbrella of theTshepang ARV Clinic, to whichpatients are down referred whentheir condition has been stabilised. The clinics are carefullymonitored by visiting doctors andsupplied with prepacked ARVsfrom Tshepang. An efficient downreferral system is becoming moreand more important as numbersof HIV-positive people keep growing, notes Mzileni.

Running the clinic is SisterHazel Nkosi, who has been withMzileni in the Tshepang Clinicproject since the start. She isdelighted with the new premisesand has great visions for howsmoothly the systems will now beable to run. ‘The staff will findworking conditions quite luxuriouscompared with what they havebecome used to. But most importantis how much more comfortableour patients will be. This clinicwill improve their lives – and a trip to the clinic will not be asmuch of a hardship any more,’says Nkosi with a delighted smile.

Professor Olga Mzileni and sister Hazel Nkosi with a patient

Professor Olga Mzileni with a patient

Sister Hazel Nkosi and Professor Olga Mzileni

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strengthen local organisational capacity to plan forand manage the change, to experiment and then toimplement and monitor results, and finally to reflect onlessons learnt and re-plan for the future.

Ramaru is a soil scientist, and now works for theprovincial Department of Agriculture in Polokwane.Significantly, certainly in terms of the new agriculturalextension concept of working together, he has recentlybeen given the responsibility to manage a division withinthe department that looks specifically at indigenousknowledge systems. So he’s currently the manager of theIndigenous Knowledge Research and Innovation Division.

But what does all this new philosophical underpinning look like closer to the ground? A drive to Diphagane, a small village in Sekhukhune 100 kilo-metres south of Polokwane, provides some answers.

The occasion is a meeting of the Phadima Farmers’Association (PFA) of which the Diphagane group ofwomen farmers is one of seven that constitute the PFA.The groups are scattered throughout the Sekhukhunedistrict, but representatives have gathered atDiphagane for the meeting. Also attending are representatives of Ramaru’s division, Department ofAgriculture (Indigenous crops plant production systems),as well as people from the University of Limpopo’sCentre for Rural Community Empowerment (CRCE).

Ernest Letsoalo, CRCE’s co-ordinator, has a Mastersdegree in agricultural extension, and teaches BSc(Agric) students rural sociology. ‘Agriculture isn’t onlyabout soils and plants and animals,’ he insists. ‘It’sabout people. We must never forget that. The farmershave considerable stores of indigenous knowledge.The questions agricultural scientists must ask them-selves are: How can we validate what the small-scalefarmers are doing? And how can we improve traditional practices, ensuring no harm to the farmers,their animals, or the environment?’

Sustainable rural agricultureBUILDING ON INDIGENOUSKNOWLEDGE

tTHE PROVISION OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSIONSERVICES IN LIMPOPO’S RURAL HINTERLAND HASCOME A LONG WAY SINCE 1994. The trouble,before that date, was that extension officers weretrained to impose commercial farming practices onsmall-scale farmers who neither understood nor couldafford such solutions to their day-to-day productionproblems.

An overhaul of the underlying philosophy was necessary. This led to a complete revamping of agricultural extension services in Limpopo in 1998.Since then, suitable training modules, many designedand provided by the University of Limpopo1, are changingthe face of small-scale farming support in the province.

In a nutshell, one of the new approaches can bedescribed as ‘participatory extension approach (PEA)’. ‘Think of it,’ says Joe Ramaru, ‘as communityemancipation through the fostering of local knowledge,local innovation, and local organisational capacity.’

That’s a far cry from extension officers who offeredlittle more than a series of instructions that wereremote from the lives and realities of the instructed.The tacit assumption that it is the superior teaching theignorant has been swept away, replaced by the ideaof learning together.

Ramaru showed the final slide in a presentation he had recently given to an audience of governmentagriculturalists in Liberia. It said: ‘In loving memory ofCEA (conventional extension approach): born 1950s,died 2001: Rest in peace, never come back.’

But who is Joe Ramaru? He was one of the peopleinvolved in the overhaul of the concepts underlyingLimpopo’s agricultural extension services. He shows a chart (reproduced on the facing page) that clearlyillustrates the participatory extension approach. It begins with all the sub-processes needed to initiatechange, to search for new ways of doing things, to

1See article entitled ‘ A n i r r e s i s t i b l e a r g u m e n t f o r R u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t ’ published in Limpopo Leader 4, Winter 2005.

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Ernest Letsoalo

Farmers’ Association. They discuss the scarcity ofwater as the dry season drags on; they discuss theavailability of seeds; they clap politely after each participant has had her or his say.

Meanwhile, the L i m p o p o L e a d e r representativeis looking at a document that Joe Ramaru had passedon. It listed some of the local knowledge innovationsthat Ramaru’s division and the University’s CRCE willattempt to document collaborately. Here are someitems from this astonishing list:• Preserving maize seeds by smearing with dung and

ashes• Giving a local herb dose, presumed rich in vitamin

A, to animals to release retained placenta afterthey had given birth

• Feeding bananas to improve the libido of bulls• Using aloe mixture for the treatment of certain

diseases in chickens, goats and cattle• Using boiled donkey dung to treat gallstones• Pest control via a mixture of dried beetles• Using small shrubs called ndhulwani to prevent

nasal worm in sheep

An unavoidable observation is: why has all thisindigenous wealth been buried for so long? But fornow it must be recorded that after the meeting under theslatted poles and shade-cloth, the smiling women ofDiphagane farm, who are beautifully dressed for theoccasion, provide everyone with lunch.

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The farm at Diphagane consists of 1,5 hectares underdrip irrigation fed by gravity from tanks mounted highabove a pump-served borehole. Crops include tomatoes, carrots spinach, beetroot and green peppers. The seven women farmers service the localmarket for vegetables. They smile engagingly at theirguests. They conduct tours into their thriving crops. It is impossible to ignore the health of the plants, theleaves healthy and unravaged by pests.

Someone explains that the women use an organicpesticide concocted of four indigenous herbs collectedoff the hills, soaked overnight to make a solution thatis then applied to the crops by using the leafy branchof a shrub as applicator. Letsoalo says: ‘All fertiliserused is also organic. It’s kraal manure. In fact, thewhole farm would be an organic food freak’s dream-come-true. This is what we mean by indigenous knowledge. It’s been around for ages. It’s innovative.And it’s never before been seen as important – until now.’

Perhaps that’s why the news is that this particularsmall-scale farm may soon have 25 hectares of fencedand irrigated arable land added to it, plus marketingsupport for the vastly increased output of truly organic food.

The Phadima Farmers’ Association meeting takesplace at a long table under a slatted roof of poles andshade-cloth. Secretaries take careful notes as roosterscrow in a desultory way from the surrounding village.Those attending discuss the individual performances ofthe various groups incorporated into the Phadima

Sustainable rural agricultureBUILDING ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

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