Art centre a victim of satire?
NEW Farm Temple devotees were surprised when they arrived to offer prayers on the night of Shivarathri, on Friday, to find their 75-year-old sacred bell had been stolen.
“The temple bell is an antique. Some enraged devotees assumed drug addicts stole it, while others thought it was hidden somewhere on the property,” said devotee Premilla Bhoonsun.
“We usually ring the bell to commemorate prayers and alert devotees to a gathering. On Shivarathri night, we had no choice but to use a school bell to gather devotees, but some did not hear it.”
Bhoonsun said thieves had broken into the main temple, in Phoenix, a few months ago and stolen the jewellery that adorned a deity. They broke the arms and legs of the goddess Lakshmi and destroyed the lighting around the temple.
Indian indentured labourers used tin to construct the temple on a former sugar cane plantation, said Bhoosun, and a cement structure was later erected.
Glen Naidoo of KZN VIP Security encouraged religious institutions to increase their security.
“Religious organisations are easy targets and they need to jack up security. I see a lot of temples, churches and mosques having fences but not all have gates,” he said. URBAN cartoonist Nanda Soobben suspects he is being victimised by the Department of Higher Education, which de-registered his fine art and animation college because of his satirical depiction of the government.
Soobben took to social media to vent his frustration after his Centre for Fine Art and Animation (CFAD) was officially de-registered in November for failing to submit its annual report for two years.
But the department has emphatically rejected his claim.
Dr Shaheeda Essack, the director for private and higher education in South Africa, said: “It’s a simple administration matter. Any private higher education institution must fulfil all the legislated requirements each year in their annual report. CFAD has failed to do so, not just in 2016 but 2015 as well.”
She said the legislation was in place to protect students.
“The institution must show financial viability and produce evidence to support the meeting of all the necessary requirements, which includes occupational health and safety, a student database, an academic curriculum, a sample of enrolment forms, tax accreditation and compliance.”
Soobben told POST the centre had appealed against the decision.
“What they are not taking into account is that we have been burgled several times and all our databases on our computers have been stolen. We could not submit the annual report in time.”
The institution, said Essack, would cease to be recognised by January 1 next year and had been ordered to make arrangements for students to be registered at other institutions to complete their courses.
In the appeal, Soobben must show evidence that the CFAD did meet the criteria to remain a registered institution. If he can prove this, the institution will be given time to complete the report and will remain registered. Soobben expressed shock. “I feel like this is a personal