Jan 24 2011 10:30AM
Cathy Dlodlo and Pule Lechesa
The building where the ANC held its first meeting in 1912 is now a car panelbeater’s shop. This highlights the neglect of some of the liberation heritage sites, a year before the ANC celebrates its centenary in Mangaung. The ANC turns 100 years old next January 8.
Several high-profile ANC-members have recently visited Bloemfontein to assess the state of these sites.
Among them is the Wesleyan school and the Methodist church in Waaihoek, where the first meeting of the ANC was held. Now a panelbeater’s shop, there is no sign of the building’s historic significance. The ceiling and walls of the more than 100-year-old building are the only signs that it was once a church.
During her visit to the province in June, ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete said the places needed urgent attention. In November, the provincial department for sport, arts and culture hosted a liberation heritage route summit, during which delegates complained about the state of some of these places.
Mbete asked the provincial century committee, which is organising the centenary celebrations, to team up with representatives of the Mangaung municipality to establish a listing of the buildings.
She said the municipality needed to establish how this historical building became a car repair workshop.
Bram Fischer House is listed as a national monument but it too is used as a workshop. Mbete said she was disappointed when she saw it. Fortunately, the house is in its original state and many of its fittings are still intact.
The most well-known of the province’s liberation sites is Maphikela House, located in Batho, one of the oldest townships in the country.
The house is closely associated with its owner and builder, Thomas Mtobi Maphikela, who was one of the founding fathers of the ANC, and speaker of the organisation for more than 25 years.
The house was built in 1926 and was Maphikela’s second house, following his forced removal from Waaihoek. The double-storey building is now in the hands of his grandchildren. One of them, ANC stalwart Candy Nosizwe Maphikela-Fikizolo, said the family was happy that the house was declared a national monument.
“We’ve had visitors from as far as America, Britain and Europe,” she said. Maphikela-Fikizolo said they had an influx of visitors during the Fifa World Cup last year. She was disappointed that few locals paid much attention to it.
“The only time we see the children from around here is when they have an assignment that relates to the place.”
Another Maphikela descendant, Andile Chuma Sebeela, 20, said the house regularly hosted prominent figures. “We have enjoyed meeting the likes of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. I am so proud of my ancestry,” she said.
Also bustling and well-kept is the provincial Heroes’ Acre at Bloemfontein’s Phahameng cemetery.
Mario Sefo, head of communication in the department of sports, arts, and recreation, said the department had appointed a national resource authority committee with powers to confer national monument status.
This committee would start working from February 1, Sefo said. Maphikela was declared a provincial monument during the apartheid era. The committee would soon declare it a national monument, Sefo said.
Director of museums, heritage sites and library services Vincent Khetha confirmed that plans were afoot to confer national heritage status on Maphikela House and other sites.
CEO of the National Heritage Council Sonwabile Mancotywa said: “It is worrying that a number of significant heritage properties throughout the country are left in a derelict state.”
Police MEC Thabo Manyoni, who accompanied Mancotywa on a tour to historical sites in Bloemfontein recently, said he was confident that Waaihoek would be high up on the list of priorities.
He said the provincial government wanted to buy the site before repairing it. A provincial research team of historians would record and verify the authenticity of information through collective memory and oral history.
These would also be submitted to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s world heritage committee.
Several high-profile ANC-members have recently visited Bloemfontein to assess the state of these sites.
Among them is the Wesleyan school and the Methodist church in Waaihoek, where the first meeting of the ANC was held. Now a panelbeater’s shop, there is no sign of the building’s historic significance. The ceiling and walls of the more than 100-year-old building are the only signs that it was once a church.
During her visit to the province in June, ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete said the places needed urgent attention. In November, the provincial department for sport, arts and culture hosted a liberation heritage route summit, during which delegates complained about the state of some of these places.
Mbete asked the provincial century committee, which is organising the centenary celebrations, to team up with representatives of the Mangaung municipality to establish a listing of the buildings.
She said the municipality needed to establish how this historical building became a car repair workshop.
Bram Fischer House is listed as a national monument but it too is used as a workshop. Mbete said she was disappointed when she saw it. Fortunately, the house is in its original state and many of its fittings are still intact.
The most well-known of the province’s liberation sites is Maphikela House, located in Batho, one of the oldest townships in the country.
The house is closely associated with its owner and builder, Thomas Mtobi Maphikela, who was one of the founding fathers of the ANC, and speaker of the organisation for more than 25 years.
The house was built in 1926 and was Maphikela’s second house, following his forced removal from Waaihoek. The double-storey building is now in the hands of his grandchildren. One of them, ANC stalwart Candy Nosizwe Maphikela-Fikizolo, said the family was happy that the house was declared a national monument.
“We’ve had visitors from as far as America, Britain and Europe,” she said. Maphikela-Fikizolo said they had an influx of visitors during the Fifa World Cup last year. She was disappointed that few locals paid much attention to it.
“The only time we see the children from around here is when they have an assignment that relates to the place.”
Another Maphikela descendant, Andile Chuma Sebeela, 20, said the house regularly hosted prominent figures. “We have enjoyed meeting the likes of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. I am so proud of my ancestry,” she said.
Also bustling and well-kept is the provincial Heroes’ Acre at Bloemfontein’s Phahameng cemetery.
Mario Sefo, head of communication in the department of sports, arts, and recreation, said the department had appointed a national resource authority committee with powers to confer national monument status.
This committee would start working from February 1, Sefo said. Maphikela was declared a provincial monument during the apartheid era. The committee would soon declare it a national monument, Sefo said.
Director of museums, heritage sites and library services Vincent Khetha confirmed that plans were afoot to confer national heritage status on Maphikela House and other sites.
CEO of the National Heritage Council Sonwabile Mancotywa said: “It is worrying that a number of significant heritage properties throughout the country are left in a derelict state.”
Police MEC Thabo Manyoni, who accompanied Mancotywa on a tour to historical sites in Bloemfontein recently, said he was confident that Waaihoek would be high up on the list of priorities.
He said the provincial government wanted to buy the site before repairing it. A provincial research team of historians would record and verify the authenticity of information through collective memory and oral history.
These would also be submitted to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s world heritage committee.
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