Article June 21, 2004 Issue

World-class players

A conversation with a South African educator, Sipho Khuzwayo By Kim Shippey Senior Writer

The further education and training (FET) head office in the upper reaches of Prince Alfred Street, Pietermaritzburg, tends to get lost in late summer among towering jacaranda trees and pink and purple tibouchinas. But if you ever battle to find the college, just stop and listen for the laughter of its rector, Sipho Khuzwayo. His voice booms down the open-sided corridors of this rambling campus—even in the middle of a subtropical thunderstorm, as I discovered during a visit a few weeks ago.

The only time Khuzwayo could see me was after hours, when there were very few people left to guide me to his office. But the voice did it. I followed it to a spacious room where we were soon sharing tea and buns—and looking for a bucket to catch a leak that threatened to soak the carpet.

"Quite a storm," he said, as I helped him drag furniture out of harm's way.

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