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31 May 2018 Photo Stephen Collett
Well-known activist delivers 34th DF Malherbe Memorial Lecture
From the left are: Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Acting Vice-Rector; Academics; Prof Aneglique van Niekerk, Head of the Department Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French; Dr Bettina Wyngaard, and Prof Heidi Hudson, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities.
Read full speech here

The author and lawyer, Bettina Wyngaard, delivered the 34th DF Malherbe memorial lecture with the theme The politics of the mundane. Among others, she spoke about everyday issues such as language, land, and racism. This year’s guest lecture was held on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) on 17 May. Since 2011, the memorial lecture has been presented every second year.

Wyngaard is also an activist who strives for the rights of women, with a special interest in gender-based violence. Both her BA and LLB degrees were obtained at Stellenbosch University. She now joins a prestigious group of academics who have previously delivered this lecture. Some of the previous guest lecturers include Coenie de Villiers, Prof Jonathan Jansen, former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, and Prof Leopoldt Scholtz.

Racism, Language, Land, and many other topics under discussion 
With the fierce debate around language, especially in higher education, Wyngaard requested the guests to afford her the opportunity to speak in “the language of her heart”, Afrikaans. 

“What I want to do tonight is to share my thoughts on the story of South Africa. In this story, there are certain words that occur regularly, and I want to pause at some of those words,” she said. Regarding racism, she said that every South African had somehow gained a black belt in racial politics. 

“I wish and hope the day will come when we will be able to look beyond skin colour and only see a person with a unique personality.” Another wish is that people will learn each other’s cultures and languages. 

“Language is one of the things we use most to express our uniqueness. Unfortunately, it is becoming more of a battlefield where we are wounding and trying to kill each other,” she said. 

For Afrikaans-speaking people, the assault on Afrikaans is inconceivably difficult to accept, but Wyngaard poses the question, “How many of us are attempting to acquire language skills in a third or fourth vernacular?” Wyngaard’s statement could be interpreted as a way in which to achieve the ideals of the rainbow nation.

Regarding land and land expropriation, she said farmers and farm workers in her hometown of Grabouw were working hand in hand. “In some cases, they have made the workers shareholders and co-decision-makers in the businesses.”

She concluded by saying: “Archbishop Tutu’s rainbow nation do exist. It is within each of us. It is in each mundane interaction we have with each other every day.” 
She again emphasised that it was time for all South Africans to roll up their sleeves and get to work to do what needs to be done.

News Archive

Suspension of the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
2016-05-04

The senior leadership of the UFS and the management of the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) take note of the decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to suspend the laboratory’s accreditation to perform doping control analysis on biological samples of athletes and sportsmen and -women until 30 September 2016. During this time of suspension, all sport-related samples will be sent for analysis to the WADA accredited laboratory in Qatar until the accreditation of SADoCoL is re-established. Analysis according to WADA accreditation will therefore not be interrupted during the period of the suspension of the accreditation of SADoCoL.

The announcement by WADA on 3 May 2016 follows a voluntary decision by SADoCoL in March 2016 to temporarily close the laboratory for some of its routine analytical duties for six months, as from 1 April 2016. The decision was taken in consultation with the senior leadership of the UFS and other role players, especially the Department of Sport and Recreation of South Africa (SRSA) and the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS). SADoCoL is a specialised service laboratory of the University of the Free State (UFS) and has been in existence for more than thirty years.

Due to the ever-increasing demands on the number, variety and analytical sensitivity of compounds to be analysed according to the Prohibited List of WADA, technical and infrastructure adaptations need to be implemented in the laboratory continuously to keep up with the demands. Over the last year, SADoCoL has drastically increased its capacity in both personnel and infrastructure, to a point where these changes can be implemented for optimal performance of the laboratory.  This has to be done while normal routine analysis continues, and it became clear that at present, implementation cannot be successfully accomplished together with the workload from normal routine analyses.

The time of suspension will be utilised to implement and test these new systems in order to achieve the standard presently required by WADA, as well as to perform development and improvements.  This development will be performed in close collaboration with other role players in the anti-doping movement in South Africa, such as SAIDS and SRSA. Scientific development aid will also be acquired from other doping control laboratories worldwide in order to assure that the high analytical quality is maintained and expanded to meet the fast growing challenges in this field. The progress of the process will be closely monitored, and the upgraded methodologies will then, after rigorous testing, be implemented to ensure that the required analytical quality is maintained so as to obtain re-accreditation by WADA at the conclusion of the suspension period.

Issued by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27(0)51 401 2584 or +27 (0) 83 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 (0) 51 444 6393

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