Afrikaners want South Africa to prosper ‘for all’

Afrikaners want South Africa to prosper for all of its citizens. This according to Dr. Dirk Hermann, CEO of Solidarity, after a summit between 12 Afrikaner interest groups and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation this past weekend. Hermann said the state is weakening and not delivering the services they should to their citizens and thus communities must take hands and look after themselves.

“But we will only be able to do that if we acknowledge our differences and live in mutual recognition and respect,” Hermann said.
Solidarity shared their experience of self-help projects at the summit after completing a technical college, Soltech, which will train artisans, a much-needed skill in South Africa.

The movement also started their own university, Akademia, which is currently training 2 000 students in various academic disciplines.

“It is in telling our stories that we can start to understand each other and rebuild a country in need of hope,” Hermann said.

According to Hermann, the various groups at the summit started finding common ground after sharing their stories. Issues such as indigenous languages, the alienation of minority groups and mother tongue education were identified as issues the different groups share.

The groups who attended the summit agreed upon a common vision for the future, Vukuzenzele. This Xhosa word means “wake up and do things yourself”, Hermann told Izak du Plessis.