Chairperson, hon members, addressing the UN General Assembly in October 1976, the then President of the ANC and great patriot and internationalist, Comrade O R Tambo, spoke about the contribution of the student uprising in helping to free South Africa. In the same speech he projected the vision of the ANC for a future South Africa. He said:
Like all other patriots, we love our country and its peoples - all its peoples. It is a varied land of snowcapped mountain peaks, of deserts and subtropical greenery covering vast mineral resources. Its warm seas to the east and cold ones to the west contain also large animal and mineral resources.
Our peoples, with their varied cultures which are continuously mingling and interacting to their mutual enrichment, exhibit, despite their conditions, a great love for life and a sensitive joy in the creative and humane endeavours of the peoples of the world, without exception.
These ordinary, industrious and peaceful people want to revolutionise themselves and their country.
It is this selfsame spirit described by Comrade O R Tambo that characterises our people today. It is indeed our great love for life and a sensitive joy that enables us to share our stories and to value our cultural expressions.
It is precisely our commitment to the creative and humane endeavours of the peoples of the world that has propelled us to want the story of our people, our nation and our national living human treasures to take pride of place in the narratives of the world, as our contribution to our own development, and as part of world culture.
It is in this context of drinking from the fountains of history and learning from the men and women of practical wisdom in our communities, who gave birth to us, that we are embarking upon an initiative to honour and celebrate our living human treasures.
Celebrating South Africa's living human treasures - the custodians of our intangible cultural heritage - is an initiative of the Department of Arts and Culture to draw attention to the role played by our living legends and to seek to protect and preserve this knowledge and to transmit it to future generations.
Intangible cultural heritage covers a wide range of cultural manifestations, which include oral traditions and expression, language, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature, the universe and traditional craftsmanship.
Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, defines living heritage as being -
... transmitted from generation to generation. Culture is dynamic and is constantly being recreated in response to changes in the social and cultural environment. It provides individuals, groups and communities with a sense of identity and continuity and constitutes a guarantee for sustainable development.
However, due to globalisation and the technologies associated with it, heritage broadly and living heritage in particular are facing significant pressures. These pressures have resulted in people no longer practising and transmitting living heritage.
Cultures, once thriving, now face restriction and possible destruction. Ways of life that emphasise ubuntu and communalism have to compete with the individualism that comes out of highly materialistic societies that profit by and propagate through accumulation.
In order to address some of these realities, in 1993 the Republic of Korea proposed to the executive board of Unesco the establishment of a Unesco Living Human Treasures Programme. The board adopted a decision inviting member states to establish such systems in their respective countries. The purpose of establishing Living Human Treasures Systems is to preserve the knowledge and skills necessary for the performing, enactment or re-creation of intangible cultural heritage elements with high historical, artistic or cultural value.
In 2007, the Department of Arts and Culture embarked on the process of the ratification of the 2003 Unesco convention on intangible cultural heritage.
At the same time, the department began drafting a national policy on South African living heritage. The key objective of the policy is the safeguarding of living heritage, but it is also aimed at ensuring compliance with the convention once it is ratified. The draft National Policy on South African Living Heritage provides for the establishment of a national Living Human Treasures Programme as part of the protection, promotion and transmission of living heritage. The policy argues that the recognition of living treasures, as well as the encouragement of their role, will protect, preserve and promote living heritage.
The policy outlines the following selection criteria, namely the value of their skills as a testimony of human creative genius; the character and reputation of such individuals in their community; the risk of their knowledge disappearing; the ability to transmit living heritage; and the recommendation by the community.
The policy also makes provision for the posthumous recognition of living treasures, where strong recommendation is made by the bearer communities and where the strength of the criteria listed above is applicable. According to the policy, being a national living treasure is a lifelong status.
In this way, we shall recognise the value and importance of human agency in the transmission of norms, values and skills in society. The arts, culture and heritage sector is full of such distinguished individuals.
Unfortunately, due to a myriad of reasons, most of these individuals pass on without transferring their outstanding skills to other people. The department wants to arrest this and help to create the conditions for a seamless passing on of knowledge to future generations.
The department will host a national seminar on living human treasures on 30 September 2010 - and you are all invited, hon members. The main objective of the seminar is to start a national dialogue that will expand and further elaborate on the concept of living human treasures as articulated in national policy.
As from next year my department, in collaboration with other spheres of government and the provinces in particular, will begin identifying these living human treasures in a systematic and transparent manner.
This programme has the potential to significantly contribute to the outcome of one of government's priorities and programmes of action, which is the improved quality of basic education, as well as Outcome 5, which is a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path.
The Department of Arts and Culture is embarking on this project as a result of its significant potential to contribute to human development and job creation. This project also simplifies and puts a face on otherwise esoteric concepts of living or intangible cultural heritage. Another objective of the project is to bridge the intergenerational gap so that the youth of today can benefit from this knowledge and so that the elders are accorded respect and honour for the possession of this knowledge. In this way we can add value to contributions made over generations and take a long view of history and of sustaining development.
When we closely examine our intangible cultural heritage, we find there are many examples of contributions that need to make their way into our history books and be defined as part of our cultural wealth.
In the arena of literature and literary heritage, the Department of Arts and Culture has reprinted 27 titles by authors such as Sibusiso Nyembezi, O K Matsepe, A C Jordan, M L Bopape, T N Maumela, S P Lekabu and Samuel Mqhayi, who have made an indelible contribution to our cultural wealth. Many of the books were written in indigenous languages. The books are both informative and substantive, making younger readers aware of the literary merits of these writers. The next phase of this project is to identify more texts that need to be made available, as well as writings by our national living human treasures.
In the area of craft, traditional crafters are very important as the bearers of culturally specific craft products and skills that have been carried down through the generations in diverse communities around South Africa. Many of these craft products have meaning and significance to specific groups, like basketry, blanket-making, beadwork and clay pots, to mention but a few. We need to increase the contributions of these living human treasures in the crafts industry to take them to even greater heights.
In order to recover the indigenous music of the past, with the use of traditional instruments, the department has partnered with three institutions, namely the University of Fort Hare, the University of Zululand and the University of Venda, to do research in this area and to preserve and promote this musical culture.
An important method of preserving and amplifying our heritage comes through oral history as well.
Lastly, at the end of Women's Month we honoured women in the arts with awards. The event was at the State Theatre, and it included a reproduction of some of their musical products, like those of Miriam Makeba. There are many others.
We were able to recognise as national living women treasures the likes of Dorothy Masuka, Abigail Kubheka, Nothembi Mkhwebane, the Mahotella Queens, Thandi Claassen, Miriam Tlali, Esther Mahlangu, Busi Mhlongo, and Sis Dolly Rathebe, to mention but a few. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ke a leboga, Modulasetulo. Tona ya lefapha, Maloko a Palamente a a leng fa ... [Thank you Chairperson. Minister, Members of Parliament present here today ...]
... hon Chairperson, I welcome this opportunity to speak on the very important topic: "Celebrating our Living Human Treasures and Heritage". This topic is very relevant, as we all know that September is Heritage Month. Heritage refers to something which is inherited from one's ancestors. It includes several different areas, such as natural heritage and cultural heritage.
Allow me to quote one of the cultural activists, Greg Richards, who said in 1996:
Cultural heritage tourism is important for various reasons; it has a positive economic and social impact, it establishes and reinforces identity, it helps preserve the cultural heritage... facilitates harmony and understanding among people.
Today we can proudly say we are South Africans, despite our diverse cultural backgrounds. We are one nation with one national identity.
National heritage sites reflect the birth and beauty of our heritage. South Africa has several national heritage sites, three of which have been selected for their cultural significance, another three for natural importance and one for a combination of both. These sites are, amongst others the Cradle of Humankind, which includes Swartkrans, Kromdraai and Environs, and Vredefort Dome.
Let me point out something important about the Vredefort Dome. It is situated 120 km from Johannesburg on the border of the North West and Free State provinces, and the greater portion of it is in the North West. It dates back 2 023 million years and it is the oldest astrobleme on the planet. It is also the site of the world's greatest known energy release event. Many activities are enjoyed in this area, from river rafting, river tubing and abseiling to horse riding, to mention but a few, creating job opportunities for our people.
The division into homelands was based not only on colour, but common culture and language, which was a strategy of divide and rule. The cultural differences were exploited for political reasons, the Balkanisation of our country. It is for this reason that today, when we are debating this important topic, we should keep in mind the Preamble to our Constitution:
We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
Article 1 of the Unesco Convention against Discrimination in Education defines the term "discrimination" as -
... any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference... based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin ...
Contrary to this, during the apartheid era the divisions between communities were based on race, and different laws governed education. The Bantu Education Act, Act 47 of 1953, was promulgated for Africans, the Coloured Persons Education Act, Act 47 of 1963, for coloured persons, and the Indians Education Act, Act 61 of 1965, for Indians.
These denied the majority of our people cultural education. They neglected indigenous languages and led to their underdevelopment. This led to the underdevelopment of our culture and denied us an opportunity to learn and develop our own languages. This discouraged and distorted the history of our people. There was no equal access to education and the right to learn in the mother tongue.
As this august House we have a responsibility to ensure that enough resources are allocated and programmes are in place to respond to these anomalies of distortion of our history and neglect of our mother tongues as the medium of instruction.
In its response, the ANC Freedom Charter, as adopted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955 states:
The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life.
Article 5 in the draft Bill of Rights of the ANC, the 1993 Bill of Rights for a democratic South Africa, recognises the right of association, religion, language and culture.
Under language rights it is stated that the state shall act positively to further the development of these languages, especially in education, literature and the media, and to prevent the use of any language or languages for the purpose of domination or division. As we allocate resources in this House, the issue of development of these languages should remain a priority.
The manipulation of and attack on the cultural rights and practices of our people have manifested themselves in many ways, for example, the passing of bylaws which denied our people the right to practise their cultural beliefs. If I have to give an example, in the African culture, when there is a funeral, it is within our culture to slaughter a cow in the back yard of the bereaved family. Go tsholola madi ka setso sa rona ... [In our culture to spill blood ...]
... is an important ritual that needs to be observed. According to the bylaws that were imposed upon us it was seen as cruelty to animals.
We welcome the passing of legislation that gives recognition to our traditional healers and practices which were suppressed on the basis that they were barbaric. The practices that were observed by our people ...
... go tswa kwa ga lowe e bile di na le bokgoni ba go thusa batho ba rona [... from ancient years also have a fulfilling role in our people's lives].
This is part of our indigenous knowledge system. The Act provides for traditional healers to co-operate with western trained doctors and health institutions in our fight against prevalent diseases such as HIV/Aids. It provides for the erection of consulting rooms for those suffering from these dreaded diseases.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is the supreme law of the country, founded on, amongst others, the following values: human dignity, the achievement of equality, the advancement of human rights and freedoms, the supremacy of the Constitution, and the rule of law.
These values, particularly the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms, underpin the right of the recognition of the protection of individuals, communities or minority groups. Today there is equality, and the right to education; freedom of religion, belief and opinion; and language and culture. The Constitution promotes cultural diversity and restoration of human dignity.
South African-based journalist and sociologist, Vidya Bhandarker, too familiar with religious wars in her home country, was inspired by President Jacob Zuma's inauguration ceremony, which included prayers by various faiths, and had this to say:
I saw so much hope for the future of South Africa ... I saw a Gandhian country - tolerance, patience, forgiveness and genuine bonhomie.
The importance of the point she makes about interfaith matters links directly with the freedom we enjoy in our country today, the "freedom of religion, belief and opinion", as stated in the Constitution. In our struggle for freedom, the ANC has always ensured that there shall be freedom to worship and tolerance of all religions, and, indeed, this is what gives her hope about our country. Today we are a country at peace with itself because of the cultural tolerance amongst among our people.
The ANC draft Bill of Rights, 1993, asserts that sporting, recreational and cultural activities shall be encouraged on a nonracial basis, drawing on the talents and creative capacities of all South Africans, and autonomous organisations may be established to achieve these objectives. Our sports federations are transformed to fulfil objectives set out in this section. All South Africans participate on an equal footing to showcase their talents and to project our country as a sporting nation. Since the dawn of our democracy we have as a country used sports to promote reconciliation, social cohesion and nation-building.
Once again, the World Cup was a great success. Dr Danny Jordaan described it as the most important event since the end of apartheid in 1994. He also said: "It was a moment of special unity".
It undoubtedly brought us together. We stood and celebrated together as a nation and we supported our national team as South Africans and hoisted our flag high across the class and racial divide. I thank you.
Hon Chairperson, please allow me at the outset to deviate slightly from the subject in hand in order to say goodbye to our two very good friends and colleagues. Firstly, there is the hon Tim Harris, who has already taken up a position in the NA and has been appointed the DA's shadow minister of trade and industry.
Secondly, there is our very well-loved hon Sherry Chen, who is leaving us at the end of September to devote more time to her charity work all over the world, but especially in Africa. This will be her last sitting.
I would like to have said a lot about these two exceptional people, but because I am using the little time that I have, I will just say that I will be missing them very much. I am sure that most of you will do so too.
We were requested to wear traditional clothing today, but that has been quite a challenge for me. [Laughter.] On the paternal side I am of Scottish ancestry, but each successive Watson, from my great-grandfather onwards, married an Afrikaans lady, just like I did. So, I can't appear here today wearing a Scottish kilt, and sporting bagpipes, or even worse in a khaki boere outfit, with a voorlaaier [muzzle-loading rifle] slung over my shoulder.
My earlier childhood was spent amongst the Xhosa people; so I also suppose that I qualify for a knobkierie and a red ochre-stained calico blanket. Then again, my formative years were spent with my parents in Lesotho. I could also have worn a Basotho hat and a genuine pitso blanket. I don't know if you know what the pitso blanket is. [Laughter.] However, I do think that my pale face would have given me away. So, in the end, I settled for a traditional dark suit and a white shirt. I hope you will forgive me.
On a serious note, I think we are on very thin ice in saying that we are celebrating our living human treasures because we really have very little to celebrate. The governing party of this country is in turmoil because of the infighting. Just three days ago, the local municipality of Nokeng Tsa Taemane, in Gauteng, was disbanded because of this. We have heard that heads will be rolling next Monday. I am not sure what that is all about.
Municipalities, which should be the lifeline of service delivery to our people, are in turmoil, especially outside the Western Cape where the DA is governing. [Interjections.] Hon member, you are welcome to comment, but through the Chairperson. I can see that the hon Adams has been writing his speech. [Interjections.]
[Inaudible.]
I am trying to. That was part of my input. Municipalities are in chaos and disruption. In my province, Mpumalanga, not a single municipality is functional any more. In the industrial hub of Emalahleni, especially in Witbank, all services have broken down totally, so much so that the DA councillors and party members have had to attend to refuse removal, whilst the bottled water industry is booming! [Interjections.] Now who is speaking? Madam Chair, why don't you protect me? [Laughter.]
The factionalism and infighting in South Africa have escalated to criminal antics and brutal political murder. In Mpumalanga, no less than nine assassinations and two unsuccessful attempts have been recorded since 1998, including the murder of the Speaker of Mbombela Municipality and the Deputy Mayor of Govan Mbeki Municipality. We must ask ourselves what living human treasures we have to boast about when we consider what is happening around us, and when the President of the governing party is ousted by one faction to favour the crowning of their own candidate. Barely two years down the line, there are again murmurs of discontent and removal from the same group.
Order! Hon Mashamaite, can you try the next one.
Hon Chairperson, on a point of order: The hon member is no longer talking on the subject of the day. He should not take advantage of being given the time to speak on the subject of the day, and then speak about something else. He is out of order.
Hon Watson, you are running out of time. Can you please conclude your speech?
Madam Chairperson, it is clear that the hon member's first language is not English, because he was not listening to what I was saying. [Laughter.] I asked: How can we celebrate Heritage Day when acknowledged World Heritage Sites like the Cradle of Humankind and the ancient rocks of Barberton, and many others, like those mentioned earlier by the hon Makgate, are endangered by exploitation for worldly gain?
It is good and right to pay tribute to our past leaders and national heroes. Of course, we must honour and acknowledge our heritage, especially the tangible heritage sites which we are charged to preserve. We cannot pretend that nothing is wrong and continue on the current road of self- destruction.
The vital question that we, as elected representatives of the people, should be asking ourselves very seriously today is: What can we do to honour and preserve the fine heritage of our wonderful country? Indeed, we should do everything within our power and ability to leave a heritage for our children and for the generations to follow. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Acting Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Members of the NCOP, distinguished guests, comrades and colleagues, let me bring your minds back to the fact that the debate today is about heritage, but there are people who are not wearing their cultural attire, and who have forgotten that this is a heritage debate. Our Heritage Day debate provides the opportunity to outline how colonialism and apartheid neglected, distorted and suppressed the culture of the majority of South Africans. It provides us with the opportunity to reflect on how the freedom of expression, cultural rights and linguistic rights of black South Africans were destroyed, their creativity stifled and their dignity attacked.
It provides us with the opportunity to reflect on how the ANC, after the demise of the apartheid regime, strategically positioned itself to use the arts and culture to advance its commitment to building social cohesion and respect for human dignity.
This strategic positioning has ensured the allocation of resources and facilities to develop an inclusive cultural heritage of the African value of ubuntu as the embodiment of our national objective to build a united, nonsexist, democratic South Africa.
The ANC's Arts and Culture policy deals with custom and tradition, belief, religion, language, identity, popular history and crafts, as well as all the art forms, including music, theatre, dance, creative writing and visual art.
Let me mention some of the integral components. Culture is an integral component of the process of human development and also plays a facilitative role by seeking to inform and contribute to nation-building efforts. Colonialism neglected, distorted and suppressed the culture of the majority of South Africans. Freedom of expression was destroyed, and systematic efforts were made to stifle creativity. Communities were denied resources and facilities to develop their own cultural expression, unless they coincided with the aims of the colonial masters.
The absence of an effective education system, high rates of illiteracy, and extreme poverty compounded the cultural deprivation of the majority. In response to this, and to the suppression, the culture of the majority of South Africans became one of resistance to colonialism and apartheid. The resistance became a major instrument in the achievement of political democracy and social transformation in our country.
A flourishing cultural life is vital to the wellbeing of South Africa. The ANC strives to facilitate and celebrate cultural productions that capture the diversity, complexity and vibrancy of all South Africans. The ANC upholds, promotes and protects the rights of all South Africans to practise their religion and their culture and speak the languages of their choice.
ANC policies and guidelines recognise that through arts and culture a sense of national identity and pride can be cultivated. Arts and culture are thus a potential unifying force in our diverse country.
Thriving and thought-provoking artistic and cultural practices do contribute to a democratic and tolerant sociopolitical environment. Arts and culture are not the property of any one political party or group.
Apartheid policies have resulted in an alarmingly high rate of illiteracy amongst the black population. This is especially true of Africans, but blacks in particular. ANC policies strive to raise the national level of literacy, particularly as literacy is a precondition for many forms of creative and artistic expression.
ANC policies promote artistic and writers' associations, which explore and encompass the diverse cultural values in South African society.
As the ANC, we strongly believe that arts and culture should assist in transforming customs and practices that oppress or discriminate against women and girl-children.
ANC policies, through various programmes in diversity, strive to increase the participation of black people and women in particular in all spheres of the arts and culture, including participation in the direction of management of state-funded cultural institutions.
Access to heritage and art centres is one of the fundamental principles of freedom of expression and heritage practices. Arts and culture centres with appropriate facilities should be established in disadvantaged communities and promote all art forms. The ANC recognises that a broad spectrum of South Africans should have the opportunity to pursue and appreciate the arts, including the visual, performing, and traditional art forms. In this regard, access to training and facilities should be promoted and created.
Policies of the ANC recognise that well-resourced libraries should be established throughout the country, in both rural and urban centres, in order to encourage a reading culture among all our people. This should give recognition to the fact that arts and culture should be preserved, promoted and exhibited as part of our national heritage, and the production of arts and crafts should be supported and encouraged in our communities. This should also include the creation of a comprehensive and accessible archive of South African photographic and digital material, both past and present.
The ANC recognises and appreciates programmes that have been implemented by government through the Department of Arts and Culture in promoting and making arts, heritage and culture accessible to everyone in the country.
However, it believes that more effort should be made to allocate greater resources, and to ensure that the available funds for arts and culture are widely distributed in order to reach poor and rural communities. Currently, this is biased towards urban areas.
The xenophobic attacks that gripped our country in 2008 and 2010 were partly a manifestation of the lack of community identity and diversity, between South Africans and foreign nationals. An HSRC study noted that:
On a much broader scale, the xenophobic violence which has occurred in the country invokes the imperative to go beyond institutional safeguards that can best manage diversity but to take into consideration the issues of subjectivity, history and lived meaning in our communities. The latter infers the need to look into a long-term strategy in order to create a new and appropriate national identity framework and consciousness. There is now an imperative to invest in ideological resources that will foster the inculcation of a tolerant and inclusive "we feeling" in our communities.
It is against this background that the ANC encourages cultural exchange between the people of South Africa and those of the rest of the world, especially those on the continent of Africa. Immigrants and foreign nationals from African countries bore the greatest brunt of xenophobic attacks. In the arts and heritage sector, this exchange must take into account the views of cultural workers and associations, and promote local development programmes and international understanding, without undermining the ethos and values of arts and cultural communities.
I would like to conclude my speech by quoting from a declaration of the recently held national conference on ubuntu values.
Recognition was made that ubuntu values include integrity and honesty, respect and acceptance, self-worthiness and self-reliance, compassion and care. There need to be tangible partnerships and investment by government and the private sector towards the development of ubuntu, and the establishment of centres for its promotion through culture, education and recreation. The conference declared that a just and caring society cannot be achieved without collective and cohesive ownership by all institutions and individuals and declared that ubuntu is the key to bringing about social justice and is an inseparable part of social development and the RDP of the soul.
I thank you! [Applause.]