POLL | Should the government close down Orania?

13 October 2021 - 13:00
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Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi called for the Northern Cape town of Orania to fall as it goes against inclusivity and democracy. File photo.
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi called for the Northern Cape town of Orania to fall as it goes against inclusivity and democracy. File photo.
Image: Shelley Christians/ Sunday Times

Orania has again been thrust into the spotlight following Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi saying the Northern Cape town “will go”. 

Lesufi was reacting to the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) manifesto for an end to affirmative action and black economic empowerment (BEE).  

“Dream on! Affirmative action will be with us until your ancestors’ sins are eradicated. We are also nie bang nie [not afraid]. Orania will go — you can scream and shout as you wish,” said Lesufi

Head of the Orania Movement Joost Strydom told Pretoria FM the MEC was being held by the past. 

“Orania’s response to empty criticism has always been to grow even faster, provide better services and look after our community more efficiently,” said Strydom.

He said Lesufi’s only input was to criticise the town’s success. “However, we do not see he is successful in addressing any of the education challenges in his province.

“If we had the R300m wasted on so-called disinfection of schools in Gauteng, we could take the incredible development of our schools and tertiary education, which are already successes, to the next level.”

Situated in the Karoo, the town was established in 1963 in an attempt to preserve Afrikaner culture within SA — an effort cemented in the early 1990s when the then dilapidated town was bought and rebuilt.

According to a BBC report, prospective residents who apply to live in the town are screened by the town council using strict criteria, which include first and foremost being an ethnic Afrikaner.

The town has a population of nearly 2,000 people and its own currency called the Ora.


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