Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Online Reporter
CLIMATE change and sustainable development and the inclusion of communities in the formulation of policies were a lifelong pursuit for the late Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Lutho Tapela, a renowned academic in the field of development studies, Dr Myengwa Joshua Madida Nyoni has said.
He was speaking during a public lecture on Friday in honour of the late educationist Tapela.
Tapela, who was also a former Senator for Bulilima-Mangwe, died in 2018.
The lecture was held at Thekwane High School in Plumtree, where the late Tapela did his education, and teaching and was once a headmaster.
It coincided with the institution’s centenary celebrations
Dr Madida Nyoni said the late Tapela was a man who stood for the inclusion of people from the grassroots level in the formulation of policy, especially regarding climate change, as they were the ones greatly affected.
“I am aware that these issues were pertinent to our leaders, the likes of Lutho Tapela, because, in their quest to expand education, they also wanted to expand our knowledge base about things that sustain us in life,” said Dr Nyoni.
“Let’s have time to listen to those affected voices so that you don’t leave them behind in your formulation of the problem. In the present moment, there is a lot of exclusion whether by design or by default of the actual affected communities.”
Dr Nyoni said most people do not know about climate change and sustainable development as they would not have been consulted in the formulation of mitigation strategies.
“For example when I ask local authorities do you know anything about Nation Determined contributions, do you know anything about COPE28, they will stare at me in amazement and say what are you talking about?” said Dr Nyoni.
“Local authorities and rural district councils are the custodians of the environment. There is a whole thing of carbon credits and it is a new business and there are people who want to preserve certain things for themselves, because in it there’s a lot of potential to make money.
“The scourge of opportunism and deprivation of benefits of new opportunities to local communities should be avoided and fought against. It is things like this that people like Lutho Tapela would have voiced in his status as a senator in parliament.”
Present during the presentation was Deputy Minister for Information and Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services Cde Dingumuzi Phuti, Prince Peter Zwide Khumalo and journalist Zenzele Ndebele who acted as moderator.
Deputy Minister Phuti said the late Tapela was an inspirational man whose name must be immortalised in the annals of history.
“Tapela was such a man who we have loved and have learnt a lot from to the extent that I am the one who constructed a bus stop at Thekwane High School as I was leading the Interact Club at the school. We forced the school to name it Thekwane Tapela Bus Stop,” he said
“The continuation of the series of lectures is going to immortalise the giant nature and stature of our departed hero, to keep reminding people that that name was not a coincidence and a charm or play game. We have a responsibility to respect and immortalise the character and name of our heroes like Tapela,” said Deputy Minister Phuti.
The late Lutho Addington Tapela was born at Nyele in Bulilima-Mangwe District, Matabeleland South in a family of 13 children, 10 sons and three daughters.
He attended Nyele Primary School for his Sub A to Standard 1. Then went to Tjehanga Primary School for Standards 2 to 4 before proceeding to Mzinyathini Mission for Standards 5 and 6. That marked the end of his primary education. He then attended Thekwane to do RJC before proceeding to Waddilove for his Primary Teachers’ Higher Certificate PTH.
This enabled him to teach up to Standard 6 at primary schools. Tapela who started teaching in January 1964, taught at several schools in the Bulilima-Mangwe District before proceeding to Vungu Primary School.
It was whilst at Vungu that he met Violet Ollinah Maphosa who became his wife in December 1967. Violet was married to Tapela for 50 years.
After a stint in the Midlands, Tapela went back to teach in his home district of Bulilima-Mangwe and again taught at several primary schools. From 1977 to 1978, he was promoted to head Patse Primary School.
In 1979, when the liberation war intensified, he moved to Bumburwi Primary School, in Gweru as an ordinary teacher.
During all these years in the primary school system, Tapela was burning the midnight oil. He read for his ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Levels and made it to the University of Zimbabwe to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Ndebele in 1980 and finished in 1983.
In January 1984 he started on a new journey – that of becoming a secondary school teacher. Accordingly, he was posted to Mzilikazi High School to teach ‘A ‘Level History and remained there until December 1986.
While at Mzilikazi High School, he was also the school’s choir master. During the school’s Speech and Prize Giving Day in 1985 he conducted the choir in singing Amazwe Akude, and it was superb.
In 1987, Tapela was promoted to the post of Education Officer in the Lupane District. Having taught for years in different schools including being the head for Thekwane High and later becoming the district education officer for Bulilima Mangwe until his retirement from education in 2005.
He later joined politics and became a senator in 2008 before being to the post of Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education until 2013.
Tapela was laid to rest at Nyele Village, the resting place of his parents on 22 January 2018.
Online Reporter