23 January 2009
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and his delegation, today, Friday,
23 January 2009, arrived in Bamako, the capital city in the Republic of Mali,
ahead of the handover ceremony of the new building for the Ahmed Baba Institute
in Timbuktu.
President Motlanthe was received by his counterpart, the President of the
Republic of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure. The South African delegation includes,
amongst others, former President Thabo Mbeki, the Minister in The Presidency Dr
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the Minister of Defence Charles Nqakula, the Minister
of Communications Dr Ivy Matsepe Cassaburi, the Minister of Intelligence Dr
Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele and Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Ntombazana
Botha.
The Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu will be used to conserve the most
important collections of African manuscripts in the world. The project takes
place within the context of a New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad)
flagship cultural project, in line with South Africa's commitment to the
African Renaissance.
In August 2002, the South African and Malian governments signed an agreement
expressing the two countries' commitment to undertake a
government-to-government project aimed at conserving the manuscripts at the
institute and at developing the infrastructure for the proper housing of this
collection of historic artefacts.
It is estimated that there are between 600 000 to 800 000 manuscripts in and
around Timbuktu, due largely to the city's attraction of scholars in the 16th
century. These manuscripts cover a wide range of history in philosophy,
literature, poetry, music, astronomy, mathematics, traditional medicine, trade,
politics, law, social sciences, natural sciences, among other subjects. They
hold key insights into Timbuktu's place on the continent as a key trading city
between trade flowing up the Niger River and caravans coming from north in the
Sahara.
It tells us of daily experiences in Timbuktu over the last eight centuries.
Most of all, it challenges notions of the absence of written history in Africa.
President Motlanthe is expected to arrive back in South Africa on Sunday.
For more information please contact:
Sam Matome Bopape
Cell: 082 318 5251
Issued by: The Presidency
23 January 2009
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za)
