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UFS to proceed with relocation of the MT Steyn statue to the War Museum in Bloemfontein

03 June 2020 | Story Lacea Loader

On 1 June 2020, the University of the Free State (UFS) received confirmation from the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Ms Limakatso Mahasa, that the relocation of the statue to the War Museum in Bloemfontein has been endorsed. The university was also informed that a permit will now be issued by the Free State Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (FSPHRA) for the dismantling, temporary storage, and relocation of the statue to the War Museum.

The notice from MEC Mahasa comes after the Appeal Committee of the FSPHRA decided on 20 August 2019 to uphold appeals from interested parties and to keep the statue at the UFS. Subsequently, the Special Task Team appointed by Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, to develop and implement a framework to engage with a review process on the position of the statue in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus, submitted an urgent request to MEC Mahasa to appoint a tribunal and refer the university’s appeal in terms of and in accordance with the provisions of Section 49(2) of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA), No 25 of 1999.

“The university’s executive appreciates the endorsement by MEC Mahasa and is satisfied with the findings of the Tribunal Committee, which supports the relocation of the statue. The University Council approved the relocation of the statue on 23 November 2018, after which an extensive process was followed to obtain a permit from the FSPHRA to relocate the statue. The Special Task Team went to great lengths to demonstrate the thoroughness of the public participation process and other supportive steps taken by the university,” says Prof Petersen.

“As there is no precedent for such a public participation process under the current South African law, the Special Task Team was at all times guided by the principles of fairness, inclusivity, and objectivity. It was not an easy process, but the outcome is a significant milestone,” says Prof Petersen.

The findings of the Tribunal Committee include, inter alia, that the university has followed the correct application procedure for the permit, that a proper public participation process was followed that was more comprehensive than required by law, and that no procedural unfairness took place during the public participation process. The Tribunal Committee furthermore found that the decision by the FSPHRA on 30 April 2019 to issue the permit was correct, and that the Appeals Committee appointed by the FSPHRA erred in its decision to uphold the appeal. As a pre-condition, the Tribunal Committee also determined that a conservation plan must be prepared by the university in order to address the process of relocating the statue.

According to Prof Petersen, the university welcomes the findings of the Tribunal Committee as it is in line with the Heritage Impact Assessment Report (HIA) and conservation plan initially submitted to the FSPHRA as part of the application for a permit.

“While we await the issuing of the permit by the FSPHRA, we will now proceed with the necessary arrangements for the relocation of the statue, such as appointing a team for the dismantling, temporary storage, and re-assembly of the statue at the War Museum and appointing a heritage architect to oversee the process. The wishes of President Steyn’s family will be accommodated during the relocation process, as per the findings of the Tribunal Committee,” he says.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Fight against Ebola virus requires more research

2014-10-22

Dr Abdon Atangana
Photo: Ifa Tshishonge

Dr Abdon Atangana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), wrote an article related to the Ebola virus: Modelling the Ebola haemorrhagic fever with the beta-derivative: Deathly infection disease in West African countries.

“The filoviruses belong to a virus family named filoviridae. This virus can cause unembellished haemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman monkeys. In literature, only two members of this virus family have been mentioned, namely the Marburg virus and the Ebola virus. However, so far only five species of the Ebola virus have been identified, including: Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo.

“Among these families, the Ebola virus is the only member of the Zaire Ebola virus species and also the most dangerous, being responsible for the largest number of outbreaks.

“Ebola is an unusual, but fatal virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes the blood-clotting levels in cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.

Since all physical problems can be modelled via mathematical equation, Dr Atangana aimed in his research (the paper was published in BioMed Research International with impact factor 2.701) to analyse the spread of this deadly disease using mathematical equations. We shall propose a model underpinning the spread of this disease in a given Sub-Saharan African country,” he said.

The mathematical equations are used to predict the future behaviour of the disease, especially the spread of the disease among the targeted population. These mathematical equations are called differential equation and are only using the concept of rate of change over time.

However, there is several definitions for derivative, and the choice of the derivative used for such a model is very important, because the more accurate the model, the better results will be obtained. The classical derivative describes the change of rate, but it is an approximation of the real velocity of the object under study. The beta derivative is the modification of the classical derivative that takes into account the time scale and also has a new parameter that can be considered as the fractional order.

“I have used the beta derivative to model the spread of the fatal disease called Ebola, which has killed many people in the West African countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, since December 2013,” he said.

The constructed mathematical equations were called Atangana’s Beta Ebola System of Equations (ABESE). “We did the investigation of the stable endemic points and presented the Eigen-Values using the Jacobian method. The homotopy decomposition method was used to solve the resulted system of equations. The convergence of the method was presented and some numerical simulations were done for different values of beta.

“The simulations showed that our model is more realistic for all betas less than 0.5. The model revealed that, if there were no recovery precaution for a given population in a West African country, the entire population of that country would all die in a very short period of time, even if the total number of the infected population is very small. In simple terms, the prediction revealed a fast spread of the virus among the targeted population. These results can be used to educate and inform people about the rapid spread of the deadly disease,” he said.

The spread of Ebola among people only occurs through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person after symptoms have developed. Body fluid that may contain the Ebola virus includes saliva, mucus, vomit, faeces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen. Entry points include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Note should be taken that contact with objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection.

“Based on the predictions in this paper, we are calling on more research regarding this disease; in particular, we are calling on researchers to pay attention to finding an efficient cure or more effective prevention, to reduce the risk of contamination,” Dr Atangana said.

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