Chairperson, hon members, MECs present here, ladies and gentleman, I stand before this House to present the Budget Vote for the Department of Arts and Culture for the financial year 2010-11, a year which the ANC has declared as the year of working together to speed up effective service delivery to the people.
We present our Budget Vote a day after we have marked the 47th anniversary of Africa Day, which this year we will celebrate under the theme, "Promoting and Maintaining Peace in Africa through Sport".
As we celebrate Africa Day, we once more commit ourselves to the goal of promoting unity and progress across the continent. We must also remember our African brothers and sisters in the diaspora, especially the people of Haiti following the earthquake that destroyed many of their lives and livelihoods. As part of our work in supporting the people of Haiti as they rebuild their country, we launched the African Artists for Haiti initiative last month.
This year's theme for Africa Day takes on even more significance as our country is preparing to welcome the peoples of the world to the 2010 Fifa World Cup. During that historic moment when the first whistle is blown to signal the start of the games, we will proudly proclaim that Africa's time has come: Afrika ke nako [Africa, now is the time]! The Department of Arts and Culture continues to make significant advances in pursuit of its vision to develop and preserve South African culture to ensure social cohesion and nation-building. Part of our work involves highlighting the important role that the arts, culture and heritage sector can play in the growth and development of our economy. This is particularly significant in the light of the need for us to continue strengthening our offensive on poverty and unemployment.
In countries such as the United Kingdom and India, the arts, culture and heritage sector represents one of the fastest-growing economic sectors contributing to job creation and poverty alleviation. In our country too, there is evidence that this sector is a significant contributor to the gross domestic product. Most importantly, this sector provides a sustainable livelihood to women, youth and rural communities.
This reality was reaffirmed at a presidential imbizo last year where President Jacob Zuma, various Ministers and MECs of arts and culture met with the creative industry practitioners. This imbizo marked renewed efforts by our government to reposition the creative industries. This will be done with a view to acknowledging and enhancing the sector's contribution to the broader objective of government to grow the economy and create jobs.
It is for this reason that the Department of Arts and Culture is currently siezed with the important task of mapping cultural industries and researching their economic impact. It is critical, for example, to know to what extent events such as the Mangaung African Cultural Festival, the North West Cultural Calabash held annually in Taung, the Cape Town Carnival, the National Arts Festival and many other festivals contribute to the economies of most of the host cities.
It is also important that we pay attention to the urgent need to build the appropriate skills base required to sustain and further develop this sector. In this regard, efforts are under way to establish a national skills academy for the arts. We are currently consulting with all relevant stakeholders, including our international partners, to ensure the success of this initiative.
The national skills academy will become a centre of excellence whose purpose will be to fine-tune the abundant talent that many of our artists have, with a view to ensuring that they become the best in the world.
Arts training initiatives and programmes conducted by different provinces will serve as feeders to the national skills academy. It is for this reason that we will continue to work closely with provinces to ensure the success of this initiative.
The Department of Arts and Culture, together with the Presidency, will continue to lead celebrations and commemorations of national days. In line with the directive from the President, we have begun a process of ensuring that all political parties represented in Parliament take part in these events.
We take this opportunity to thank the leaders of political parties for working together with us to ensure maximum and diverse participation in the celebrations and commemorations of national days. From now on, national days will no longer be seen as the exclusive preserve of certain sections of our society. We are building a country united in its diversity.
In order to sustain the momentum we have built up in this regard, provinces and municipalities will have to play a major role in mobilising communities to attend these events. Provinces and municipalities must therefore be part of the planning and the development of programmes for these events to ensure that they are relevant and can appeal to the targeted communities.
During the month of June we will be commemorating the 34th anniversary of the June 16 youth uprising. The Youth Day commemoration for this year will be in Kanyamazane in Mpumalanga. Of significance is that we will be marking this important event with the rest of the world who would have come to our country for the World Cup. It is therefore important that we continue to mobilise young people to participate in cultural activities for the 2010 World Cup and beyond.
In pursuit of this objective, the Department of Arts and Culture continues to encourage mass participation, especially by young people, in arts and culture. This we do through programmes such as the Arts Education Programme, which we have undertaken in partnership with the Department of Education. Through this programme, we seek to expand access to arts education and also improve the quality of arts and culture education, especially in public schools.
In addition, through the SA Schools Choral Eisteddfod, we continue to encourage mass participation by young people, especially learners, in choral music. This event, which also contributes to social cohesion and fosters nation-building, last year alone drew the participation of about 5 000 learners from across all provinces.
We have also partnered with the Field Band Foundation to strengthen efforts to build a strong and sustainable youth band movement across the country.
Another mass participation project is the My 2010 School Adventure competition. Through this programme, we seek to mobilise our young people behind the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Furthermore, this programme seeks to encourage our young people to know and take pride in their national symbols. Also linked to this initiative is the Fly the Flag in Every School campaign, through which we seek to further entrench an appreciation of our national symbols, in particular the national flag, amongst learners in all our schools.
This campaign is conducted in partnership with the provincial departments of education as well as the provincial departments of sport, recreation, arts and culture.
As we move forward, we will pay attention to ensuring that the Arts in School programme is implemented in all provinces. As part of our community arts project and developing performances in the rural areas, we will be participating in the establishment of a community arts centres in Muyexe in Limpopo this year. We will also be hosting a traditional music and dance festival in Muyexe.
We are doing all of this to ensure mass participation in arts and culture, especially by young people throughout the length and breadth of our country. We must not fail in these initiatives because the youth are the future of our country. Furthermore, we continue to encourage the use and promotion of all languages, especially among young people, through our programme to encourage multilingualism, and through the development of language policies and legislation.
Working together with the National Heritage Council, we have begun a process of consultation with all provinces on the implementation of the National Liberation Heritage Route. The involvement of provinces in this project can never be overemphasised. Indeed, we rely on provinces and municipalities to strengthen the process of identifying local heroes and heroines, as well as sites that will form part of the National Liberation Heritage Route. Provinces and municipalities also have a role to play in ensuring that the stories of these heroes and heroines, and the sites where they lived, are told correctly and in full.
Last year we announced the completion of a draft national policy on intangible cultural heritage. On implementation, the policy will affirm previously neglected aspects of our heritage such as folklore, performance and indigenous knowledge systems. Part of what this policy will do will be to ensure that the oral testimonies, especially of the indigenous people, the ordinary men and women of our country, are recorded as part of our history and are passed on to future generations. We will therefore rely on provinces to mobilise local communities to bring forward their perspective and experiences.
Part of the reconstruction and development of our country requires that we pay attention to the moral regeneration of our society. Moral regeneration is central to the objective of promoting the positive values and fully entrenching the values of ubuntu within our society.
The Department of Arts and Culture will therefore continue to work with the Moral Regeneration Movement in promoting the renewal of our society. This year we will participate in activities that form part of Moral Regeneration Month in July, to be held in the North West province. Furthermore, the department will this year undertake research into moral regeneration initiatives throughout the country to assess their impact on our society.
In conclusion, let me start by thanking members of the select portfolio committee for their oversight on the work of the Department of Arts and Culture. I also wish to thank MECs from the various provinces and provincial departments of arts and culture for working well with us as we together build this nation and promote social cohesion.
Let me also thank the director-general, managers and staff of the Department of Arts and Culture for their hard work, and for ensuring that we remain focused on the task at hand. Finally, I take this opportunity to wish our national team, Bafana Bafana, well during the World Cup. We have no doubt that they will indeed do their best to make us proud. Afrika ke nako! [Africa, now is the time!] Ke a leboga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon members, Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture ...
e re kwa ntlheng ke baakanye ... [... let me correct it from the outset ...]
... Deputy Minister, we are the select committee on arts and culture and not the portfolio committee. Today I feel privileged to participate in this important debate on arts and culture.
On 26 June 1955, 55 years and 30 days ago, the real Congress of the People, the ANC, adopted the Freedom Charter in Kliptown. Under one of the Freedom Charter's headings, namely "The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened", is stated, and I quote:
The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life.
In order to attain the Freedom Charter's objectives, we need policies or frameworks that will speak to the social, cultural and economic advancement of vulnerable and marginalised groups, especially the disabled, youth, women and children.
The strategic framework of the department states that it has a learnership programme that aims to recruit 20 learners for the current financial year, 2010-11. It is a good initiative. The question remains though: Does it give practical expression to the ANC's policy position on skills development? Is this enough to meet the President's call in his state of the nation address on the pace of delivery to the people, as per the mandate of the Freedom Charter?
The department's strategic framework lacks clarity on how much is budgeted for to realise its objectives. The department fails to give budget breakdowns under Programme 1: Administration to indicate how the budget is linked to the department's priorities.
In my previous speech I spoke about youth and women's training. The department responded positively by including youth as a target group, and this we welcome. Programmes should include other target groups such as women and people with disabilities, the reason being that we have an obligation to ensure that artists are adequately trained to unleash their potential in order to participate in the economic development of our country.
According to the department's strategic framework, more emphasis is placed on the commemoration of Women's Day and the Women's Art Festival and campaigns, than on activities focusing on the socioeconomic empowerment of women through training, skills, and participation and opportunities in the arts, culture and heritage sector.
The National Language Service's objective is to develop, promote and protect all official languages through policy formulation and implementation. On close scrutiny, the impact of the department's programmes on other departments is minimal, for example Grades R to 8 are expected to be taught in and to use their mother tongue, but they are facing the challenge of learning materials not being available in the indigenous languages. The issue of materials not being in indigenous languages in our libraries is still a challenge. Equally so, as parents we have a responsibility to encourage and teach our children our own languages and to be proud of our culture, lest they become a generation without identity.
Go utlwisa botlhoko go fitlhela bana ba rona ba sa itse puo ya rona ya SeAforika. Go utlwisa botlhoko gape le go lemoga rona batsadi re ikgatlha gore ngwana ga a itse Setswana mme o bua Seesimane fela. Selo se se dira gore bana ba rona ba fitlhele ba inyatsa, bana ba rona ba sa kgone go itse setso sa bona le go itlhaloganya gore ke bomang.
Gape go sa itse puo ga bana ba rona go dira kgolagano ya bona magareng ga bona le bonkgolo le borremogolo bokete gonne ga ba kgone go nna fa fatshe go tlotla le bona gore ba kgone go itse dilo tse di diragetseng mo nakong e e fetileng le setso sa bona. A jaaka MaAforika re rotloetse bana ba rona go itse puo ya bona. A re dire jaaka MaAforekanere. Bana ba bua Seesimane fa ba le kwa sekolong, fa ba fitlha kwa gae ba bua Afrikaans. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[It is heartbreaking to find out that our children cannot speak our African languages. It is also heartbreaking to realise that we as parents are proud that the child cannot speak Setswana but can only speak English. This leads to our children not being confident about themselves and being unable to know who they are and what their culture is.
Furthermore, not knowing their language makes their interaction with their grandparents difficult since they cannot sit together and communicate with them so that they can know their history and culture. As Africans let us encourage our children to know their language, let's emulate the Afrikaners. Their children speak English at school, but when they get home they speak Afrikaans.]
According to the department's current budget, the allocation to community libraries is R512,660 million, which is 21% of the department's budget. The budget is intended to promote access to information for the visually impaired by extending library services and co-ordinating Braille production. But these services are not available in most of our libraries in the smaller towns and rural areas.
The budget also aims to facilitate the establishment of the new community libraries and upgrade the existing ones through conditional grants. However, challenges remain, for example underspending by provincial departments. As the President said in his state of the nation address, we need clear policy interventions that are outcomes-driven. This will enable us to pick up early on such matters.
On the issue of name changes, name changes are a necessary process. It has the potential to promote national reconciliation if properly handled. It should be based on the clear principles aimed at changing colonial and apartheid-era names, while equally preserving the positive aspects that reflect our history and the need to restore the proud heritage of the indigenous people.
There is a need to accommodate diversity in our national heritage and have inclusive and democratic processes. We call on other parties to see this as a necessary process in which everyone should participate - and not only when it suits them through court interdicts - in order to contribute towards national reconciliation.
Re lebeletse thata go tswa mo lefapheng la Botaki le Setso jaaka e le lona le le tla agang set?haba sa Aforika Borwa. Ke batla go bua ka kgang ke e, e re fitlhelang re na le maitemogelo a yona go tswa kwa Bokone Bophirima. Ngwaga le ngwaga go na le moletlo o o tshwariwang o o bidiwang Taung Cultural Calabash. Morago go tshwarwe moletlo o mongwe kwa Potchefstroom kwa Tlokwe o o bidiwang Aardlop National Arts Festival. Ke batla go tlhalosa gore fa o ya kwa Taung Cultural Calabash ke batho ba bantsho fela mme fa o ya kwa Aardloop National Arts Festival, ke moletlo wa batho basweu fela.
Bothata ba me ka meletlo e ke gore re dirisa chelete ya lefapha go rotloetsa kgaogano go na le gore re age set?haba. Go ya ka nna, fa re sa tlhokomele selo se, ke rona jaaka lefapha re tsweletsang kgaogano ya merafe ya Aforika Borwa.
Kwa bokhutlhong, ke batla go nopola se se tlhageletseng mo Sowetan sa gore Rre Irvin Khoza o a leboga; o itumelela gore Sejana sa Lefatshe se dirile tiro e e botlhokwa thata ya go ruta batho ba rona go tlhaloganya le go itse matshwao a rona a boset?haba. Le rona re iponetse gore batho ba le bantsi ba itumetse ba itse le go opela pina ya boset?haba. Le nna jaaka ke eme fa ke itse go e opela. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[We are expecting a lot from the Department of Arts and Culture as it is the one that will build the South African nation. I want to talk about this story, which we have knowledge of from the North West province. Every year there is a celebration held called the Taung Cultural Calabash. After that other celebrations are held in Potschefstroom, or Tlokwe, called the Aardklop National Arts Festival. I want to explain that when you go to the Taung Cultural Calabash, only black people are there, while at the Aardklop national festival it is only whites who celebrate.
My problem with these celebrations is that we use the department's finances to encourage racial division rather than build the nation. In my view, if we don't take notice of this thing, we will be held responsible as the department for promoting racial division within communities in South Africa.
Lastly, I want to refer to what was printed in the Sowetan, namely that Mr Irvin Khoza expressed his gratitude; he is happy that the World Cup did an important job of teaching our people to understand and know our national coat of arms and symbols. We also saw that most people know and sing the national anthem. Even I, as I stand before you, know how to sing it.]
In conclusion, in about 15 days from today, we will be opening one of the biggest events in South Africa on behalf of Africa, the 2010 Fifa World Cup. We need to extend our inherited "ubuntu-ness" to our global visitors in order for them to share their experiences with others back home and crave coming back to our beloved motherland. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Just before I continue, hon Lewis Nzimande, we have been informed that you have not been well over the past few weeks. We are thankful that you have recovered so soon and that you have joined us again. On behalf of the NCOP, we welcome you and are thankful for your recovery. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members and guests, it is an honour to take part in this debate of the Department of Arts and Culture.
The department receives an allocation of R2,63 billion from Treasury. These funds are for the funding of the six of the planned programmes of the department. What is obvious about the funding is that administration has a nominal change of 7,24% and a real change of 0,51%. Arts and Culture in Society has a decrease of -16,94% in nominal change and -22,15% in real change over the 2009-10 to 2010-11 budgets.
Programme 3: National Language Service has a decrease of -6,08% real change. Cultural Development and International Co-operation has a decrease of -9,52% real change and Heritage Promotions has a decrease of -23,58% real change. National Archives, Records, Libraries and Heraldic Services has a real change of -10,14% over the 2009-10 and 2010-11 financial years.
The department has many challenges and the allocation of funds raises questions if the department expects to reach the critical goals set by them.
In Programme 2, the department struggled to achieve the following: firstly, access to the arts and education training in the correctional services programme and the Youth Enrichment Programme in all provinces; secondly, the establishment of the language units in government departments and the provincial language policies; and thirdly, the standardisation of geographical names nationally, provincially and locally; and making popular South Africa's national orders and symbols.
I received this information from the researcher of Parliament's documents. Many other challenges have been mentioned in this document. On the last challenge, the department said in its presentation that they experienced a lot of problems with role-players, especially in following the correct procedures in the process of name changes.
To solve the problem it is necessary to develop, revise and sharpen the regulations and do extensive advocacy so that everybody can understand what is expected from them when it comes to name changes. The problem of time and money wasted can be solved by this process. The respect and dignity in honouring our national orders and symbols need very much to be sharpened. This is key to nation-building in society.
Very few people and children have any knowledge of our national orders, symbols and anthems; how to display it, how to honour it, how to sing it, how and when to showcase it. We must educate the whole nation extensively in the understanding of our national orders and symbols. We will need money to run the programme extensively, therefore the real decrease of- 6,08% in this programme is problematic.
The development of our youth in communities and in prisons is very important because they are the new South African nation. The quality of the new citizens of South Africa must be secured and developed, now, and not later. One of the good characteristics drawn out of the Fifa 2010 World Cup is the weakness in the knowledge of our national orders and symbols.
Another problem that the department has in the Cultural and International Co-operation Programme is that government departments must direct a clear mandate of who is responsible to build this in society and internationally. We cannot allow the situation that when it comes to the allocation of funds, there is a viewpoint that the Department of International Relations and co-operation is the mandatory department. A memorandum of understanding and co-operation must be signed to solve this problem.
If we want to develop our youth, it is very important that government must have a clear and directed plan of programmes on how to address the many shortcomings in community and school libraries. It is of great concern that none of the provinces has a policy on libraries. I know that school libraries are the mandate of the Department of Education but we, as well as the department, must play a role to see how we can solve that problem.
We know that to address the legacy of apartheid by which only 7,23% of public schools have functional libraries, is a huge challenge. In the document, "We can't afford not to", by Equal Education in 2010, it is stated that with careful financial planning it is feasible for the government to phase in functional school libraries countrywide. Government must develop a strategic plan and implementation programme to address the problem. This will need government to restructure the funding and strategic objectives and programmes in a disciplined and responsible manner.
Chairperson, one of our valuable assets is the RobbenIsland Museum and we must get the managing and everything which goes with these museums and others right and functional because South Africa is unique in her diversity. The Department of Arts and Culture is the only department that can do this in all its programmes, but must never forget that it is integral to have an interdepartmental and public sector relationship with all role-players.
Allow me to thank the department for doing their utmost best with the available funding in service delivery in arts and culture as a whole. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Nk W P ZONDI (KwaZulu-Natal): Sihlalo, ngiyabonga ukuthola leli thuba lokuba ngikhulume lapha, ngizoqala ngokuthi ngibonge inkulumo kamhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe uLulu Xingwana. Inkulumo yakhe ikhuthaze kakhulu yenza nathi KwaZulu-Natali sizibone ukuthi sisemgqeni nekhwela likaMongameli wezwe elithi "Ngokubambisana singenza okuningi".
Ngaphandle kokuchitha isikhathi, uMnyango Wezobuciko Namasiko ube usuphuma emahhovisi waya phansi kubantu, komasipala, eMinyangweni, kubantu wayosebenzisana nabo ngenhloso yokwenza abantu ukuthi bazi amasiko nobuciko ukuthi kungamagugu abo. Kodwa, akusiyona into yokuhlomulisa ezinye izizwe, abanye abantu noma ogombelakwesakhe abazinothisa ngomnotho wabo.
Lokhu ngikusho ngoba KwaZulu-Natali sinomasipala abayishumi nanye, esithi imikhandlu yezifunda. Umnyango wethu uhambile-ke wayosekela amabhizinisi okubambisana kulabomasipala. Sakha abantu abazokwazi ukuthi uma ngabe kuqalwa umsebenzi, uqalwa ngomama noma yintsha lapha phansi, kodwa uthole ukuthi kufika abantu sebewuthatha lowo msebenzi bawudayise emazweni banothe ngawo. Uthole ukuthi laba bantu abalaphaya basadla imbuya ngothi, abahlomuli lutho kuloko.
UMnyango Wezobuciko Namasiko awubhekelele lokhu kuphela, uphinde ubhekelele ukuthi omasipala bethu abebesele ngemuva - ngoba sizokhumbula ukuthi KwaZulu-Natali ngonyaka ka-2004 lapho sakwazi ukuthi sifeze izinhloso zoMqulu Wenkululeko. Lapho sithi abantu bayokwabelana ngomcebo. Lapho sikwazile ukuthi siphume sisebenze, ngoba inkululeko ifike kamuva KwaZulu- Natali.
Ngaleyondlela uMnyango ube usuya komasipala wahlela nabo ngoba kuqala into ebiyenzeka ukuthi uma kuzokwakhiwa izindlu kwakhelwa abantu noma kuzokwakhiwa ilokishi, bekungabi nandaba nokuthi uma labantu bakhelwe, zikhona yini izindawo zokungcebeleka, nezindawo zokuthi benze izinto ezingamasiko abo, zibekhona ngesikhathi kuqalwa kuhlelwa. Lo Mnyango wethu ukwazile ukuthi uma kuzokwakhiwa izindlu noma ngabe iyiphi intuthuko, ubhekelele ukuthi izindawo zamasiko nezemidlalo zikhona.
IKwaZulu-Natali yisifundazwe esehlukene kakhulu, isenezindawo zasemakhaya. Uma ukhuluma ngedolobha, ukhuluma ngoMgungundlovu neTheku nje kuphela. Uma usuwehla uhambela bonke omasipala uthola ukuthi kuhlushekiwe laphaya, abantu abathuthukile. Yikho lokhu obekwenza ukuthi abantu banqwabelane ezindaweni ezisemadolobheni.
Yilokhu okwenziwa uMnyango wethu ukuthi abantu baqale bathole izinsizakuphila ezindaweni abakuzo. Ikakhulukhazi uMnyango uqale wasabalalisa imitapoyolwazi lapho abantu bakwaZulu-Natali bezokwazi ukuthola ulwazi, bafunde ngezinto zabo ezindaweni abakuzona. Abantu bangagcini ngenkathi mhlawumbe kade bemelwe uthisha esikoleni, uma ebuya lapho uyolusa izinkomo, bese ekuseni kube yima eyobonana nothisha. Kodwa namhlanje abantwana bakwaZulu-Natali ezindaweni abakuzona bayakwazi ukuthi baphume bayofunda kwimitapoyolwazi. Akugcinanga lapho, uMnyango Wezobuciko Namasiko ukwazile ukuthi usebenzise abasebenzi bawo abagxile kakhulu kwezolimi. Sinebhuku eselinamamakhasi angama-350 eseliphelile elihlanganise isiZulu nesiNgisi. Okusho ukuthi bonke abantu baseNingizimu Afrika bakhululekile ukufunda ngolimi abakhululeke ngalo KwaZulu-Natali. Lokhu sikwenza nje ... Ngiyabonga. [Kuphele Isikhathi.][Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Ms W P ZONDI (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak here. Firstly, I will start by thanking hon Minister Lulu Xingwana for her speech. Her speech was very encouraging and it has also made us realise that we too, as the people of KwaZulu-Natal, are on track in respect of the President of the country's slogan that says "Together we can do more".
The Department of Arts and Culture did not waste time; they went to the people on the ground - to municipalities and to different departments - with the aim of making them aware of the importance of their heritage, and that this heritage is not meant to benefit other nationalities, or only some people or capitalists who enrich themselves.
I am saying this because we have 11 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, known as district municipalities. My department, therefore, went to these municipalities to support partnerships. In so doing we are grooming people who would be able to protect projects that have either been started by women or the youth from people who would just come from nowhere and sell these products in other countries, enriching themselves in the process. You will then find that the people on the ground remain poor because they do not benefit from these projects.
The Department of Arts and Culture is not only dealing with that, but it also deals with our municipalities that were lagging behind - you will remember that in 2004 the KwaZulu-Natal province was able to fulfil the objectives of the Freedom Charter, which states that the people shall share the wealth of this country. We were able to go out and work because freedom came later in KwaZulu-Natal.
Therefore, the department went to the municipalities and engaged with them in planning because what was happening previously was that when houses or a township was to be built, it did not matter to the authorities whether entertainment facilities and places for practising cultural activities would be available or not. This department of ours made sure that if houses were to be built or any other development was to take place, provision had to be made that space would be set aside for cultural and sporting facilities.
KwaZulu-Natal is a very diverse province as it still has extreme rural areas. If you speak of a town you are only referring to Pietermaritzburg and Durban. If you go down to all the municipalities, you would find that people are so poor down there, because there is no development. That is what has resulted in people migrating to towns.
What our department is doing is starting to deliver services where people are staying. The department has started by building libraries where the people of KwaZulu-Natal would be able to gain information, and read about issues that concern them where they are staying. People should not read books when the teacher is standing in front of them only - and after school go to herd cattle, and only see a book again in the morning. Today children in KwaZulu-Natal can go to the libraries after school to read.
It did not end there. The department of arts and culture made use of its employees who are more focused on language. We have compiled a dictionary of 350 pages that comprises isiZulu and English words. This means that all the people of South Africa are free to be educated in the language of their choice in KwaZulu-Natal. We are just doing this ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, Mr Paul Mashatile, hon members of the NCOP, MECs from different provinces, director-general, Mr Wakashe and distinguished guests, I would like to premise my input on the Budget Vote on Arts and Culture from the policy perspective of the ANC. As the ANC, we forthrightly support Budget Vote No 13.
The slogan, Ready to Govern, adopted by the ANC in 1992 as its policy, was reflected in arts and culture in the following manner. Policy recognises that well-stocked libraries should be established throughout the country, in both rural and urban centres, to encourage a reading culture among our people.
The ruling party and government are on record as promoting social cohesion since the dawn of democracy in 1994. The ruling party still recognises the importance of building social cohesion through heritage, arts and culture, and sports and recreation. It is through building social cohesion that you can truly build a nation.
South Africa emerged from a troubled history. For the first time since the conquest of these shores, we are enjoying democratic freedoms. The collision of cultures does not necessarily lead to the subjugation and hegemony. It may also lead to subtle cross- pollination of ideas, words, customs, art forms, and culinary and religious practices.
This dynamic interaction has always played a role in cultural enrichment, which has resulted in an extraordinarily fertile and unique South African culture that binds our nation in linguistic, cultural, culinary and religious diversity in so many forms.
South Africa has a challenge in the dominance of certain languages over others. There is a need to balance this factor. All languages are recognised and given the same status in the Constitution. All South Africans should be free to use any South African language of their choice in dealing with the state.
Within reasonable limitations, steps should be taken to ensure that no citizens who are illiterate or whose knowledge of a particular language is limited are thereby impeded in their access to public services or in the realisation of their rights as citizens.
Hence we are saying that even those languages spoken by South Africans such as Portuguese, Hindi, Hebrew, and so forth, should be respected and promoted.
In view of the fact that the film and video industry has been dominated by the influence of commercial forces, the ANC believes that a national control mechanism should be strengthened. Such a mechanism should be responsible for the administration of the public funds set aside for the development of the film and video industry.
This structure should look at the viability of establishing professional training centres in film and video, and conducting research into the structure of the industry in the local communities.
Therefore, further funds for the arts should be raised from the private sector and taxes that were raised on local and overseas commercial exploitation of our cultural background. The creative arts industry is one of the growing industries in our society. It is one sector that promotes entrepreneurship and contributes towards job creation, skills development and the economic empowerment of many people, especially those in rural communities.
Cultural development and international co-operation combined allocated a total of R139,5 million towards cultural development and investment in cultural projects. The committee challenges the department to assist the poor with developing business plans and accessing that funding.
According to the President, in his state of the nation address, the role of arts and culture he alluded to was encouraged by the vision of an inclusive society, a country which belongs to all, a nation united in its diversity, and people working together for the greater good of all.
Our beautiful Constitution is a cornerstone of our cultural development. There is a strong connection between our Constitution and the cultural principle of ubuntu. Our liberation as a people will be judged by the extent to which our cultures develop. As such, development does not take place in a historical vacuum.
The strategy and tactics document of the ANC articulated that cultural heritage promotion should encourage nation-building and unity in diversity. It must ensure that tradition, religious expression and other belief systems are consistent with the values of our country's Constitution.
We have managed to build a new South Africa through our acknowledgement of the cultural diversity and cultural heritage that exist in the country. This has allowed us to embrace our differences and to live in harmony with one another. Coming from Mpumalanga ...
... ngizikhakhazisa ngokuthi eMpumalanga siyithathela ehloko indaba le yamasiko, ubukghwari namagugu kufikela ekutheni ... [... I am proud that in Mpumalanga we take seriously the issue of culture, arts and heritage and ...]
... we are proud of Nothembi Mkhwebane who had the national Order of Ihamanga in silver bestowed upon her by the hon President Jacob Zuma on Freedom Day. She received this honour for putting Ndebele music on the world stage. [Applause.]
Singapheleli lapho, begodu sinoJinda obuya kwaNyamazane, ... [Furthermore, we also have Jinda who is from KwaNyamazane ...]
... who recently won a South African traditional music award for the best traditional album in Siswati.
Asipheleli lapho, Sihlalo, sithi thina njengabantu ababuya eMpumalanga ... [Furthermore, Chairperson, as people coming from Mpumalanga we say ...]
... our MEC, Comrade Shongwe, is so serious about libraries that four new ones are going to be built in different municipalities and there will be upgrades in other municipalities.
In conclusion, South Africa is hosting a prestigious Fifa Soccer World Cup in June this year. The nations of this world will not only converge on our country, but will display their divergent cultures. South Africa took this opportunity to display its own cultures and this will be witnessed at the opening of the Fifa Soccer World Cup on 11 June 2010. Various forms of art will be presented to the whole world to admire and inspire.
I am thus excited about the hosting of the Soccer World Cup and its potential to present our culture to the people of the world. The ANC will continue to encourage an exchange between the people of South Africa and the rest of the world.
In building a caring society, let us join hands and work together towards developing and preserving South African culture in order to ensure social cohesion and nation-building. The select committee supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, Paul Mashatile, hon members, the national Department of Arts and Culture's budget allocation of R2 406 billion represents a growth of 25,5% from R1,3 billion in 2006-07 to R2,6 billion in 2009-10. It is noted that this growth was mainly due to the additional expenditure required as conditional grants for capital projects such as developing Freedom Park, upgrading and maintaining declared cultural institutions and improving public and community library services.
The co-ordination of the funding of the literary, visual and performing arts between the various government departments, the National Arts Council, provinces and their various structures as well as the lottery trust fund to ensure sustainability, has become a matter of urgency.
While government is providing various funding mechanisms, the arts, culture and heritage community must understand its responsibility to ensure good governance when it accesses public funding, whether it is from public funds or from donors. The Western Cape province is looking forward to discussing the proposed partnerships regarding the national department's arts, culture and heritage programmes for women, children and persons with disabilities in 2010.
Daar is kennis geneem van die onlangse uitspraak van die Hooggeregshof in Pretoria, rakende die noodsaaklikheid vir die Departement van Kuns en Kultuur om nasionale wetgewing te ontwikkel, rakende die gelyke status van die elf amptelike tale.
Dit is ook nodig dat nouer samewerking plaasvind tussen die taaldienste van die nasionale en provinsiale regerings, sowel as di van munisipaliteite en die taalontwikkelingsliggame wat by universiteite gesetel is.(Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Cognisance is taken of the recent judgment by the High Court in Pretoria, regarding the necessity for the Department of Arts and Culture to develop national legislation regarding the equal status of the 11 official languages.
It is also imperative that closer co-operation takes place among the language services of the national and provincial governments as well as those of the municipalities and the language development bodies that reside at the universities.]
In the Western Cape, a provincial language policy was developed in 2000. The Western Cape department of cultural affairs and sport, together with its partner, the Western Cape Language Committee, is responsible for oversight on the implementation of the provincial language policy as well as the provision of language services, translation, editing and interpretation, to all departments in the provincial government of the Western Cape. Aligned to the constitutional mandates, and in ensuring the equal status of the three official languages of the Western Cape, it is important to bear in mind that an active process of promoting the previously marginalised indigenous languages - this includes isiXhosa as a marginalised official language and the Khoi, Nama and San languages, as well as sign language and deaf awareness - needs to be maintained by means of awareness programmes across our province and in all the provincial departments and organs of state.
As far as the promotion of marginalised languages is concerned, it is worth noting that the Western Cape department of cultural affairs and sport received the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, multilingualism award for the public sector. It was received from the PanSALB Language Board in March 2010, for its campaign to promote multilingualism through its Nama project.
The Department of Arts and Culture indicated that it promotes job creation, skills development and economic empowerment; and supports business start- ups and poverty alleviation projects, through its Investing in Culture programme.
A question that arises, however, is: How sustainable are some of these projects that are funded through this programme and how does this interact with local economic development strategies as well as provincial economic development strategies?
The Department of Arts and Culture is responsible for administering the cultural agreements that the South African government has entered into over the last 15 years. However, it has become necessary that international co- operation in arts, culture and heritage should be co-ordinated between the national and provincial spheres, given the fact that all provinces do have bilateral agreements with other regional governments. Both national and provincial government initiatives should complement one other.
Die nasionale Departement van Kuns en Kultuur beoog om gedurende die jaar 'n nuwe nasionale raamwerk te ontwikkel vir die befondsing en gradering van al die departement se statutre instellings, en meer spesifiek, museums.
Die Wes-Kaap verwelkom hierdie doelwit, aangesien dit noodsaaklik is om te bepaal wat verstaan word onder nasionale museums, soos vervat in die Grondwet.
Provinsies moet op hulle beurt weer die eksklusiewe wetgewende bevoegdheid uitoefen ten opsigte van museums anders as na sionale museums. Tans is daar geen definisie van wat 'n nasionale museum is nie en maak dit die wreld uiters moeilik vir provinsies om hulle grondwetlike mandaat uit te voer.
Tien persent van Afrika se museums is in die Wes-Kaap gevestig. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat 'n nuwe museumbeleid en wetgewing, nie net op nasionale vlak, maar ook op provinsiale vlak, gefinaliseer word. Die nuwe konsep museumbeleid van die Wes-Kaap word binnekort bekend gestel vir kommentaar.
Dringende wysigings is nodig aan veral die Nasionale Erfenishulpbronnewet van 1999, om sekere tekortkominge en uitdagings aan te spreek. Die meeste daarvan is uitgewys in die Heritage Legislation Review Report, wat deur die nasionale departement geloods is. Die Wes-Kaapprovinsie word veral gekonfronteer met van hierdie uitdagings. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[During the course of the year the national Department of Arts and Culture intends to develop a new national framework for the funding and grading of all the department's statutory institutions, more specifically, museums.
The Western Cape welcomes this objective, since it is important to determine what is understood by national museums as it is contained in the Constitution.
In turn, provinces have to exercise the exclusive legislative powers with regard to museums differently to that of national museums. Currently there is no definition of what a national museum is and this makes the world a very difficult place for provinces to execute their constitutional mandate.
Ten per cent of Africa's museums can be found in the Western Cape. It is therefore important that a new museum policy and legislation are finalised, not only on a national level, but also on a provincial level. The new draft museum policy of the Western Cape will be published shortly for comment.
Amendments are urgently needed, especially to the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999, to address certain shortcomings and challenges. Most of these were pointed out in the Heritage Legislation Review Report, which was launched by the national department. Some of these challenges are what the Western Cape province is grappling with in particular.]
As a lead department in social cohesion, the museum service and provincial museums will host a number of events on public holidays and other commemorative, special and historic days, including the Freedom Day commemoration, International Museum Day and Heritage Day. Earlier this year, the department, together with the department of economic development and tourism, commissioned a study to assess the impact of the heritage sector on the economy of the Western Cape.
South Africa, and also the Western Cape, have a rich natural and cultural heritage. Heritage Western Cape, the provincial heritage resource authority responsible for the promotion and preservation of heritage resources in our Western Cape province, has declared three archaeological heritage sites on the West Coast as provincial heritage sites.
A fourth one, the Community House building here in Cape Town, was gazetted on 19 February 2010. During the current year, Heritage Western Cape will continue its efforts in engaging with communities in the province to identify and protect its rich and culturally diverse heritage.
The allocations for the community library services conditional grant will be extended over the MTEF period until 2012-13. The national library service funds libraries and institutions must provide information services and develop related policy. It is noted that the new national library in Pretoria was completed in 2008-O9, seemingly funded, to a large degree, from the conditional grant for community libraries.
These are praiseworthy objectives. However, the funding of an effective, efficient and economic public library service aligned with the constitutional mandate remains one of our country's greatest challenges. It is hoped that a solution for the funding of public libraries will be finalised as a matter of urgency in order to regularise the situation between the provincial and local spheres of government in all nine provinces.
In 2009, 43 libraries were built or upgraded. I am happy to report that the national Departments of Arts and Culture and Public Works, the Western Cape departments of cultural affairs and sport and transport and public works have reached an agreement on the transfer of the two buildings that house the Western Cape Archives and Records Service.
Finally, the provincial government of the Western Cape would like to thank the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the national Department of Arts and Culture for the support and co-operation we receive. Let us join hands and use arts and culture to help build a socially cohesive society for all our inhabitants. I thank you. [Applause.]
Dr U KEERATH (KwaZulu-Natal): Chair, hon Ministers, members of the Council, it was Amilcar Cabral who described cultural practise as an act of liberation. I want to go a step further and say it is an act of decolonisation of our minds. Therefore, culture is the repertoire of our behaviour, the essence of who we are, our identity and our sense of belonging. Therefore, the manner in which we spend our public finances must contribute to the development of the soul of the province and promote its cultural liberation.
The Department of Arts and Culture must enhance, grow, protect and regulate the trade in art and cultural artefacts. To me, this remains a serious challenge and a void that requires strategic thinking and careful consideration. Coupled with this, we must protect our hard-earned heritage. We must protect our small entrepreneurs, our beaders in the rural areas and those who deal with art and cultural artefacts. I stress this point because the illicit trading in art and cultural artefacts has recently increased dramatically.
We have to recognise that the arts have incubators and catalysts to impart new skills and we must make sure that our artists are given a creative space to give birth to their talents.
We know that museums and galleries showcase great products of human creativity and innovation. Museums are also said to be the repositories of culture and must be given pre-eminence. Good art always finds an audience. How true! But art is also vulnerable to commercial exploitation.
Hon members, I want to stress that we do need social policy experiments, but we also need engagement. We are still in the struggle to counter cultural imperialism. We know all too well that Western culture almost provides diffusion and dilution of African culture. We will know that if we study the case of Solomon Linda, the composer of the world-renowned song, Mbube, which was played in the blockbuster film, The Lion King. Therefore, securing the intellectual property rights for our provincial musicians is crucially important. We need buy-in from them.
Our cultural liberation must encourage nation-building, social cohesion and unity in diversity. This will be the basis for all practical coexistence, and it will further foster solidarity and inclusivity.
It is further worrying to note that we need to ensure the acceptance and utilisation of all African languages. It is said that language, the conveyor of one's culture, is the mode of communication. It takes various forms such as music, dance and the performing arts. If the department fails in this mandate, we shall have failed not only our province, but the entire country. We need to capitalise on indigenous languages; we need a revival of some sort.
While it is heartening to learn that the provincial department of arts and culture is said to provide bursaries to students interested in arts and culture and language studies, more needs to be done.
In conclusion, we must always keep in mind that our heritage contributes to redressing past inequalities; it educates; deepens our understanding of society and encourages us to empathise with the experiences of others; it facilitates healing and material and symbolic restitution; and it promotes new and previously neglected research into our rich oral traditions.
Let us not fail our people. Let us enhance our cultural and linguistic practices. Let us ensure the full realisation of our people's rights, especially the social and cultural rights. And let us go forward in promoting our indigenous language.
Ngiyabonga kakhulu Sihlalo. [Thank you very much, Deputy Chair.] [Applause.]
Before the hon member Feldman, may I actually extend recognition to our visitors from Correctional Services. Thank you very much for your presence. [Applause.]
Deputy Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, guests, I want to speak about promoting arts and culture for social cohesion. South Africa is the world's most unequal society. The gap between the rich and the poor is really a huge gulf.
As a result, the majority of the people in our country, our society, are excluded from one another. As President Mbeki pointed out, we are two separate nations. We cannot afford to go our different ways. We need to achieve cohesion. If for the next four years the arts programmes were to concentrate on promoting social cohesion, we would have moved forward. We must set ourselves targets.
With regard to arts and culture programmes, in many countries of the world the arts and culture contribute significantly to the gross domestic product, GDP. We also have so much to offer because we are a world in one country: east, west and the whole of Africa intermingle here. We need to see the volume of products from across the various arts and culture genres growing on a yearly basis. We need such goods for domestic consumption and export.
Arts and culture programmes should also have a concentrated focus on youth, especially the girl-child. Our children should understand the significance of education, lifestyle and constitutional freedom.
With regard to the promotion of linguistic diversity, language is a vital element in building cohesion and achieves empowerment. Language also plays a vital role in education. Today, vocabulary deficiency has become one of the most serious problems facing young people. A child who has a vocabulary deficit will not progress academically. How will this department support the Department of Education to overcome this vocabulary deficit among learners?
If the vocabulary deficit can be overcome through a massive one-year programme, the country would immediately witness a turnaround in educational performance, and this is a magic key.
With regard to support for cultural industries, cultural industries, especially in rural areas, must get technological and marketing support.
Cope believes that the department needs to vigorously support an advanced manufacturing strategy. Rural crafters should be incorporated into co- operatives. This should be done as a matter of urgency.
Asian countries like India and Thailand receive considerable foreign exchange earnings from the export of products developed by cultural practitioners.
In transforming the heritage sector, we are a country of diverse cultures, values and beliefs. While this contributes to our heritage, it has also kept us apart. We need a concerted drive to achieve a common national identity. The heritage sector must help to transform us into a people with a common national identity. This is a matter of extreme urgency and this department dare not fail the nation.
Finally, in a few days to come, the kick-off will take place. Are the heritage institutions of South Africa geared to take up the opportunity to showcase the full extent of our heritage? The media will be here in massive numbers to reflect South Africa to the world. Has the Minister herself devised the programme to receive the media and to provide the media with heritage information?
I wish the Minister would produce a cultural heritage blueprint as it is essential. As Cope, we would also like to see a programme of apprenticeship being launched so that young people can be drawn into the heritage sector. The heritage sector must be identified as an area of growth.
In conclusion, our South African culture must be an amalgamation of the different cultures of our country, incorporating the inherent particularities of each region. Our cultural life must be very dynamic and must serve as a catalyst for something new. This is a challenge to all our artists. I thank you. [Applause.]
Sekela Sihlalo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, Phini likaNgqongqoshe, Nhloko yoMnyango... [Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, head of department...]
Yima kancane mhloni shwa. [Hold on hon member.]
Chairperson, I am rising on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for a member to read a paper during the debate?
Who is it?
Sorry, Deputy Chairperson. Hon Gunda is reading about Cope in the newspaper. [Laughter.]
Order, order! Hon Gunda, could you please bring that paper here. [Laughter.]
Hon Gunda, I gave you an order. Continue, hon Zulu.
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Phini likaNgqongqoshe ngonyaka odlule sishilo ukuthi uMmnyango wakho ubhekene nezinselele zokuthi ulinganise izilinganiso zezilimi zabomdabu kulelizwe ngendlela enokucophelela.
Siyazi-ke manje ukuthi sikhuluma nge-Fifa 2010 World cup, lapho kufanele sibonise ubuciko ngamaphimbo ethu ase-Afrika, kanye nezandla zethu njengabantu base-Afrika, nangendlela yethu yokugqoka. Akufanele nakancane senze ithuba kulelizwekazi lakithi laseNingizimi Afrika ne-Afrika yonke, lapho siyozithola khona sibeke abantu abacula njengabaculi baseMelika o- Luther Vandross. Ngoba labantu bangaphandle babheke ukuthi ngisho ukuthi, "Uyamemeza okaNdaba oyiNkosi yohlanga", uma belapha bezwe kahle ukuthi base- Afrika.
Ngithi ngicela kinina ukuthi lezi zimili zethu nizifakele imali ngobuningi bayo. Lapho kwenziwa khona imisebenzi yezandla emakhaya, nifake imali ngobuningi bayo ezinhlelweni zenu zoMnyango. Ngiyezwa umhlonishwa uthi imitapo yolwazi ikhona - futhi kuyiqiniso lokho. Kodwa ngicabanga ingane ehlala oSuthu izokhokha ama-R20 iya kumtapowolwazi kwaNongoma, ihambe amakhilomitha amgama- 45.
Ngiyafisa ukuthi uhulumeni wethu uzibheke izindawo zasemakhaya, ukuthi abantu bayakwazi yini ukusizakala kuzona. Ngoba uma sikhuluma ngemitapoyolwazi sikhuluma ngezinto ezikude nabantu nokuthi bafinyelele kuzo. Kodwa siyabonga ukuthi kukhona okwenzekayo okuya phambili. Ekwenzeni imisebenzi yezandla kufanele sikubheke njengoba noMongameli wezwe asho ukuthi lelizwe lethu linothe ngokwamasiko. Ngakho-ke kufanele sikubonakalise ngempela ukuthi izwe lethu linothe ngokwamasiko.
Ngiye ngizwe kuthiwa izwe lethu yi-Rainbow Nation, ngiye ngithi mina yisaladi elibhorayo lelo [it's a boring salad], ngoba nami ngingumZulu ngeke ngakuyeka ukuthi ngithi,"Uyamemeza okaNdaba uyiNkosi yoHlanga" [praise song revserved for royalty], ngoba yilokho engikholelwa kukho. Ngiyazi nowaseLesotho ngeke ayeke ukukhuluma lokho akukhulumayo kwasekhaya eLesotho, ngoba kuyinto yakhe naye akholelwa kuyo.
Ngiyamuzwa umhlonishwa uma ethi laphaya esifundazweni sikababomkhulu uMamongo KwaZulu-Natali, inkululeko ifike ngo-2004. Ngikhuluma ngokuthi abantu bakithi baKwaZulu-Natali babephethwe yinkungu yokuthi balwe bodwa, abanye bengafuni ukubuswa. Akuzona-ke izinto okufanele sizikhulume lezi, kufanele sibheke ukuthi siyaya yini phambili, siyasebenza yini.
Ngoba kufanele ngivume uma ungehlulile ukuthi ungehlilile, ungibuse okwaleso sikhathi. Kodwa, uma ngizophikisana nawe ukuthi ungibuse, kuba nenkinga enkulu. Lowo mqondo kufanele uphele ngoba intando yeningi isebenza ngezinombolo, nokuthi ubani osephethe lapho, bese ngimhlonipha, ngimethulele isigqoko, kwenziwe umsebenzi.
Ngaphandle kwami ongeke avuma ukubuswa - njengombusi womdabu. Kufanele ngishaye umthetho njalo futhi ngibheke ukuthi uhamba kanjani lowo mthetho. Kodwa-ke ngibheke ukuthi lowo mthetho awushayisani yini nowezwe lakithi.
IPHINI LIKASIHLALO WENDLU: Ngiyabonga Mntwana uZulu, kodwa khumbula ukuthi intando yeningi ithini mhlonishwa. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Deputy Minister, last year we said that your department was facing challenges with regard to putting in a great deal of effort to ensure that African languages enjoy equal status in this country.
We are now shifting our focus to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, where we have to showcase our talent with our African voices, our crafts and the way we dress as African people. We must not afford people who sound like American singers such as Luther Vandross any opportunity to showcase their talent in our country and Africa as a whole. When foreigners are here they expect to hear me say: "Uyamemeza okaNdaba uyiNkosi yoHlanga" [praise song reserved for royalty], so they can get a real feel of being in Africa. In your plans, as the department, I appeal to you to allocate as much funding as possible for African language development and to rural areas where there are artworks. The Minister said that there are libraries, and that is true, but I am thinking of a child who stays in Osuthu, who will have to pay R20 to travel 45 km to get to the library in Nongoma.
Government must monitor the rural areas to see if services are delivered. If we are talking about the libraries, we are talking about the things that are too far from them and that they cannot reach easily. We are grateful though that there is some progress. Artworks must be appreciated - as the President said, this country is culturally wealthy. Therefore, we must really show that indeed our country is culturally wealthy.
Our country is a rainbow nation, but I normally say it is a boring salad because as a Zulu man, I will never stop singing: "Uyamemeza okaNdaba oyiNkosi yoHlanga" [praise song reserved for royalty], because that is what I believe in. I know that a person from Lesotho is not going to stop speaking his or her language back in Lesotho, because it is what he or she believes in.
The hon member said in the province of His Excellency Mamongo, KwaZulu- Natal, that freedom came in 2004. I am talking about the fact that our people in KwaZulu-Natal were still in the dark in that they fight amongst themselves, as some did not want to be led. We should not talk about these things; we must see to it that we are moving forward, and that we are delivering.
I have to acknowledge defeat if I am defeated, and you can govern me for that duration. But if I am going to fight against being governed then there is a big problem. That perception must be ended because democracy works with figures, and who is governing there. I have to respect and salute that person and we must get the work done.
Besides not wanting to be governed, as a traditional leader I must pass legislation every time and monitor how that legislation is received. But I must make sure that that legislation does not clash with the laws of our country.
Thank you Prince Zulu, but remember what democracy means, hon member.]
Sihlalo ngiyabonga kakhulu. Ngizoqala ngiphendule umhlonishwa ubab'uZulu kule nkulumo agcine ngayo khona manje - ukuthi kungamampunge lokhu aqeda kukukhuluma - ukuthi inkululeko yayikhona KwaZulu ngaphambi konyaka ka 2004.
Kwathi angabona uKhongolose ukuthi babusa ngegqudu walanda amavolontiya kanye namadelakufa eGauteng naseMpumalanga. Ngangingomunye walabo abazinikelela ukuthi siyogada amaphepha okuvota ngoba obekade kwenzeka ukuthi bekuvele kuvotwe bese kuyavalwa, ngemuva kokuba kubalwe bese beyawina.
Sathunyelwa ePiet Ritief, Olundi naseMahlabathini. Mina-ke, ngangiseMahlabathini mhlonishwa uZulu lapho kwakunenkinga yamabhokisi okuvota. Ngesikhathi sihamba ekuseni ngehora lesihlanu ngelanga elilandelayo, sesivotile, uKhongolose wabe esehamba phambili. Sathi sifika eGoli, iKwaZulu-Natali yase iyitholile inkululeko. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Ms B V MNCUBE: Chairperson, thank you very much. I will start by responding to the statement that hon Zulu has just made. What he has just said amounts to pure lies, namely that there was freedom in KwaZulu-Natal before 2004.
After realising that they were reigning with an iron fist, the ANC called upon the volunteers and daredevils from Gauteng and Mpumalanga. I was one of those who had offered themselves to guard the ballot papers because what was happening was that after the voting process was completed they used to close the voting station, count the votes and then win the province.
We were deployed in Piet Retief, Ulundi and Mahlabathini. I was in Mahlabathini, hon Zulu, where there were problems with regard to ballot boxes. By the time we left that voting station the following morning, after we had voted, the ANC was far ahead with votes. And by the time we reached Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal had already achieved its freedom.]
Hon Zulu, what is it? Is it a point of order?
Ukukhalima Okuphambukayo. Kuya ngokuthi uhulumeni waKwaZulu-Natali abantu bonke bamamukela yini ukuze bazuze inkululeko. [It is a point of order. It depends on whether all the people accepted the government of KwaZulu-Natal for them to achieve freedom.]
Okay, this is history. May I ask you to sit down?
No, if you do not allow me to raise the point of order ...
Hon Zulu, if you can sit down, I will respect you. Continue, hon Mncube.
Chairperson, Deputy Minister Paul Mashatile, we meet today, a day after the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and the whole continent celebrated the launch of Africa Day, 47 years ago in l963. This historic day took the Freedom Charter forward. Launched in l955 by the real Congress of the People, the ANC, one of its clauses states that -
All national groups shall have equal rights!
This is further defined to mean that -
All people shall have equal right to use their own languages and to develop their own folk culture and customs.
Hence, yesterday, we saw Members of Parliament and members of civil society dressed in multiple colours, attired in bright, rainbow colours and debating in their indigenous languages.
The ANC-led government then was not wrong to establish the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, in order to promote and develop indigenous languages. We note, however, that whilst PanSALB has been established in almost all provinces, not much has been done to ensure that African languages are developed to the same status as English and Afrikaans, even after 16 years of democracy.
The 4% increase to Programme 3 should then ensure that it equals the output. As members of the Select Committee on Education and Recreation, we have to ensure that we hold PanSALB and its provincial satellites accountable. A turnaround strategy is needed in order to address the concerns. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees South African citizens the right to cultural, religious and linguistic communities, to enjoy their culture, practise their religion and use their language, and to form, join and maintain cultural, religious and linguistic associations and other organs of civil society.
But these rights have limitations if they are practised in a manner inconsistent with any other provision of the Bill of Rights. It is against this background that we condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the hoisting of the old verkrampte [conservative] flag and the singing of Die Stem, the old apartheid national anthem, by the small community of Ventersdorp during the week of the funeral of the late Terre'Blanche.
We would have expected the department, in its programme on the promotion of social enrichment, social cohesion and nation-building through arts, culture and heritage, to engage any person, or community that takes us back to the apartheid period ...
Hon Tau! Continue.
... and threatens to reverse the hard-gained freedom. In future, we would like the department to condemn such acts and recommend that whoever is found doing the same be charged with an act of treason. The same education syllabus that the department uses to teach children the importance of national symbols and nation-building should be taken to Ventersdorp as a high priority.
Hon members, the ruling party, the ANC, at its 52nd conference, resolved to develop a policy that clarifies the approach to the naming and renaming of geographic places such as streets, towns and public places. It is in this vein that we welcome the plan in Programme 5 to increase the pace and ensure that there are functional district geographical names committees throughout South Africa, which will speed up the process.
We will ensure that we exercise oversight in the provinces that we are representing. For instance, there is a backlog of 34l names in Gauteng, and the current plan is to achieve l6l additional name changes.
In conclusion, we commend the department for including all political parties represented in Parliament in the celebration and commemoration of national days such as Freedom Day, Human Rights Day and Africa Day, celebrated just yesterday. May there be many more to come and we hope that they will bring their communities to celebrate with us next time. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 13. I thank you.
Sihlalo, mangibonge amalungu ekomidi loMkhandlu weziFundazwe Kazwelonke... [Chairperson, let me thank the members of the NCOP ...] ... for the manner in which they have dealt with the budget. I would like to thank the Chairperson, Mrs Makgate, and all the members.
Into yokuqala esifuna ukuyisho ukuthi sikubhale konke lokhu okushiwo namhlanje, njengoba nibona wonke lama sosha ahleli laphaya, abhala konke okushiwo lapha eNdlini. [Firstly, what is said here today is being recorded; as you can see all the soldiers sitting over there are recording all that is said in this House.]
Members have raised a number of issues around libraries, youth development, and language.
Ngingasho Sihlalo ukuthi le mibono yonke imibono emihle kakhulu ezintweni esizenzayo, kodwa sikusho ukuthi asinayo imali yokwenza zonke lezi zinto esithanda ukuzenza ... [Chairperson, I can say that all these ideas are great ones with regard to the things that we do, but we must say that we do not have money to do all that we would like to do ...]
... because our budget is limited. However, we are going to use the limited resources that we have across all the programmes that we are supposed to implement. We do know that there were a number of good ideas that came from members in their interaction with the department and also in the debate this afternoon.
Let me assure members that we have made progress on Robben Island and we have now appointed its fully fledged board. They have already started with the process of ensuring that the place is transformed into a proper heritage site that visitors would be proud to visit. We are speeding up the process of appointing a CEO. Members would be aware that until now, we have only had an acting CEO. That process is under way and we do hope that Robben Island will soon be sorted out.
Regarding the libraries, we are busy helping all the provinces. We have a dedicated conditional grant that we have been using to support provinces in rolling out libraries, particularly in previously disadvantaged areas. Let me say that the programme is currently unfolding in many areas and that libraries are being built. We are going to continue working with all the provinces to ensure that we reach out to many communities out there. Our main focus last year, and in this current financial year, was particularly on rural areas.
We are working hard to promote all official languages. We are working with the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, in making sure that all languages are being promoted equally. Together with PanSALB, we are working hard on that programme, trying to ensure the promotion of multilingualism in the country.
Members said a lot about youth development, and I fully agree with them. A lot of work is unfolding. The national skills academy will, amongst others, target a lot of young artists in their various spheres.
We are also working with the Department of Correctional Services, targeting young people in places of correction. We are also working with women who are in correctional centres, making sure that we are promoting skills development in those sectors as well.
Modulasetulo, a ke fet?e ka go leboga gape maloko kamoka a Komitikgetho ya Bokgabo le Set?o, ka moo ba bolet?ego ka gona. Ke re re tlo ?oma le bona mo ngwageng wo. [Hon Chairperson, in conclusion I would like to thank all the members of the select committee dealing with arts and culture for their well-delivered speeches. We will work hand in hand with them this year.]
We are going to make sure that we continue constructive engagement with the committee in order to address the issues that were raised as a priority, particularly, as part of nation-building and social cohesion.
I would like to end this debate by once again reminding members of the House to support Bafana Bafana. They should also go to the stadia to enjoy the games. We are welcoming all the visitors. As we have said earlier, I am sure that it is going to be a spectacular event which will be the first of its kind in our country and in Africa. With these few words, I would like to thank the hon members of the House and members of the committee. I thank you.
Debate concluded.