Orania, Xhosa community sign agreement

2012-12-11 14:29

Marida Fitzpatrick (Marida Fitzpatrick)

Johannesburg - The Afrikaner cultural separatist town of Orania and the Xhosa community of Mnyameni signed an agreement on Tuesday to help both settlements achieve greater self-reliance.

They had agreed that their communities should take greater responsibility for their own progress, Orania spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said in a statement.

"By signing this agreement today we prove that an alternative exists for the present syndrome of dependency that affects so many South African communities."

The agreement outlined the priorities of both parties.

The Mnyameni group wanted to move away from being "totally dependent" to an "economically, socially and environmentally" self-reliant community.

Orania aimed "to be a self-determining Afrikaner community taking responsibility for its own future in terms of economy, culture and labour".

They resolved to recognise their differences and commonalities for the purposes of working towards the improvement of both groups.

According to the agreement, they would share "the knowledge and experience at our disposal, to unlock the potential of our people, develop the assets of our areas, empower our members and capacitate our institutions".

- SAPA