About us

The Moses Kotane Institute (MKI) was established in 2007 as the South African National Liberation Institute of Technology, Philosophy and Political Science (SANLITPPS). In 2009, the MKI was formally registered as a non-profit company in terms of the Companies Act, 2008. In 2018, the institute was relaunched as a Research Institute. The focus is on Research and Development, Innovation and Technology, Maritime and Economics. The Institute is an entity of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.

The MKI is mandated to:

The Institute is mandated to conduct world class research into training, skills development, provincial strategic economic sectors; and to strategically lead on Innovation and Technology, Maritime and implementation activities to respond to the needs of the provincial economy.

MKI values:

Accountability
Collaboration
Equality
Passion
Ubuntu

The Origin Of Our Name

The Institute was named after Moses Mauane Kotane, who was the general secretary of the South African Communist Party, and the Treasurer of the African National Congress. He was a well-respected self-educated leader who received no formal education, but always believed that economic freedom would be achieved through education in strategic disciplines.

He became known for his discipline, leadership, wisdom and the ability to grasp and articulate the most abstract ideas in philosophy and politics. He was born in Pella, Rustenburg on the 09th of August 1905 and passed away in Moscow, Russia on 19th of May 1978. He was later repatriated and buried in South African soil on the 14th of March 2015.

The Institute is proud to carry a name of such an esteemed leader, and lives by the code of good governance, thought leadership and discipline. MKI subscribes to the values of accountability, collaboration, equality, passion and Ubuntu.