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New partnership set to boost research into African Indigenous spirituality at UFS

26 March 2025 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Lethabo Machabaphala

Theology MOU 2025 — Prof Zorodzai Dube, Head of the Department of Religion Studies at the UFS, and Thabo Seotsanyana, representative for the African Centre of Excellence, formalised a collaboration to advance research into African spirituality.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Theology and Religion recently made history as the first institution to partner with the African Centre of Excellence in a significant collaboration advancing research and education on African indigenous spirituality.

This partnership is set to foster a deeper understanding of African indigenous knowledge, highlighting its importance and addressing misconceptions about its practices.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the parties outlines the facilitation of joint research and teaching initiatives. According to Prof Zorodzai Dube, Head of the Department of Religion Studies at the UFS, the MoU will provide UFS students with the unique opportunity to engage with African indigenous knowledge systems, particularly those related to herbs, healthcare, and traditional healing practices.

“The collaboration aims to enrich the students’ academic experience and provide them with critical insights into African indigenous spirituality,” Prof Dube said. “Furthermore, this partnership is seen as a key step toward furthering UFS’s vision to become a leading institution in research, including Africanisation and pan-African research.” He added that the faculty views this collaboration as a springboard for strengthening its position as a leader in addressing Africa-related issues in education and research.

Significance of this partnership

Thabo Seotsanyana, Curriculum Developer for the African Centre of Excellence, emphasised that this partnership will challenge long-standing misconceptions about African spirituality while fostering a deeper appreciation for its value and relevance in contemporary society. “This collaboration is a landmark event for several reasons. It emphasises the importance of African indigenous spirituality in academic discourse and provides a platform for decolonising knowledge systems.”

In his address, Seotsanyana highlighted that the African Hidden Voices is committed to transforming mindsets, particularly within African nations. He spoke about how generations have been influenced by ideologies that dismiss African spiritual practices in favour of foreign belief systems, and how this partnership aims to reverse that trend.

“We are delighted to be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with one of the most highly regarded institutions in South Africa,” Seotsanyana shared, reading a message from Imboni Dr uZwi-Lezwe Radebe, founder of African Hidden Voices. “This marks a significant milestone in our history that will be remembered for years.”

Impact on future generations

Seotsanyana highlighted that the organisation is dedicated to educating individuals about African spirituality, fostering African leadership, and embracing traditional African ways of life.

“Our mission is to nurture a new generation that understands, values, and actively engages with African spirituality,” he explained. “This initiative marks a significant step in the academic exploration and preservation of African indigenous spirituality. It aims to leave a lasting legacy that inspires future generations to reconnect with their heritage, challenge outdated views, and adopt an inclusive, spiritually enriched way of life. This aligns with the University of the Free State’s Vision 130, which promotes inclusivity and ethical values, ensuring that everyone feels represented, welcomed, and has access to the university’s resources.”

News Archive

Research helps farmers save with irrigation

2017-02-15

Description: Irrigation research Tags: Irrigation research

Marcill Venter, lecturer in the Department of
Agricultural Economics at the University of the
Free State, has developed the mathematical
programming system, Soil Water Irrigation
Planning and Energy Management in order to
determine irrigation pump hours.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Her advice to farmers is that they should make sure they are aware of the total cost (investment and operating costs) of an irrigation system. In most cases the investment cost is low, but the operating cost over the lifetime of the system is high.

“It is very important to have a look at the total cost and to install the most economic system,” says Marcill Venter, lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS), who has done research on the economic sustainability of water-pipe systems.

Irrigation systems important components for farming
This research comes at a time when many farmers are relying on their irrigation systems due to persistent drought and low rainfall during 2016. South Africa has also experienced an abnormal increase in electricity tariffs in recent years. Due to tariff increases which threaten the future profitability of irrigation producers, the Water Research Commission (WRC) has launched and financed a project on the sustainable management of irrigation farming systems. “I had the opportunity to work on the project as a researcher,” says Venter.

The heart of every irrigation system is the water pipes that bring life to crops and livestock, and this is what Venter’s research is about. “Water pipes are part of the whole design of irrigation systems. The design of the system impact certain factors which determine the investment and operating costs,” she says.

Mathematical system to help farmers
Venter and Professor Bennie Grové, also from the Department of Agricultural Economics at the UFS, designed the Soil Water Irrigation Planning and Energy Management (SWIP-E) programming model as part of the WRC’s project, as well as for her master’s degree. “The model determines irrigation pump hours through a daily groundwater budget, while also taking into account the time-of-use electricity tariff structure and change in kilowatt requirements arising from the main-line design,” says Venter. The model is a non-linear programming model programmed in General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS).

Design of irrigation system important for sustainability
The main outcome of the study is that the time-of-use electricity tariff structure (Ruraflex) is always more profitable than the flat-rate structure (Landrate). The interaction between the management and design of a system is crucial, as it determines the investment and operating costs. Irrigation designers should take the investment and operating cost of a system into account during the design process. The standards set by the South African Irrigation Institute (SAII) should also be controlled and revised.

Water-pipe thickness plays major role in cost cuts
There is interaction between water-pipe thickness, investment and operating costs. When thinner water pipes are installed, it increases the friction in the system as well as the kilowatt usage. A high kilowatt increases the operating cost, but the use of thinner water pipes lowers the investment cost. Thicker water pipes therefore lower the friction and the kilowatt requirements, which leads to lower operating costs, but thicker pipes have a higher investment cost. “It is thus crucial to look at the total cost (operating and investment cost) when investing in a new system. Farmers should invest in the system with the lowest total cost,” says Venter.

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