Chairperson, hon members, thank you for the opportunity to debate the important matter of this year's Heritage Month celebrations, during which we celebrate the heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle in South Africa.
In his article entitled The Native Union, published in 1911, Pixley ka Isaka Seme wrote:
There is today among all races and men a general desire for progress, and for co-operation, because co-operation will facilitate and secure that progress.
This iconic African intellectual of our liberation struggle continues -
The greatest success shall come when man shall have learned to co- operate, not only with his own kith and kin but also with all peoples and with all life.
These prophetic words laid the foundation for the formation of the African National Congress, Africa's oldest liberation movement. These words also spoke of a vision of the kind of society we seek to build. This is a national democratic society, a society that is united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous.
The pursuit of the goal of building a national democratic society remains at the core of our struggle to transform our society. This struggle, which has a rich and diverse history, has produced many heroes and heroines to whom this year's Heritage Month celebrations are dedicated.
It is who we are. It is the source of our national pride and it is our historic mission, therefore, to preserve it. In our resolve to preserve our national liberation heritage, we must honour all those who authored this history by taking part in the struggle to free our country.
This we must continue to do because our freedom can never be taken for granted. We must continue to honour those men and women whose love for their country and its people motivated them to sacrifice even their lives for freedom. Those patriots were inspired by the words of Pixley ka Isaka Seme, and I repeat:
The greatest success shall come when man shall have learned to co- operate, not only with his own kith and kin but also with all peoples and with all life.
Hon members, it is for these reasons that this year's Heritage Month is dedicated to reaffirming the significance of our national liberation struggle as part of our country's cultural heritage. Throughout this month we remind ourselves that our liberation came at an enormous cost and that it produced heroes and heroines, worthy of our recognition and honour.
As we celebrate Heritage Month, we draw inspiration from the early resistance movement led by unsung heroes and heroines, such as kings, chiefs and warriors. We remember those brave fighters that took part in the Bambatha Rebellion, the Pondo Revolt and the Frontier Wars of resistance against dispossession.
We are also reminded of those who suffered and fell during the Boer Wars and we reiterate that these unfortunate events also form part of our heritage. We honour those who in 1955 declared boldly that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. We also honour the heroic women of 1956 who pioneered the struggle for gender equality in our country.
We salute the youth of 1976 and subsequent generations who rendered the apartheid state ungovernable. We pay tribute to the workers who took the struggle for liberation to every factory and shop floor as well as to every farm.
Hon members, our understanding of the heroes and heroines of our national liberation struggle goes beyond those who directly took part in that struggle. It includes the artists and intellectuals who used their creative talent and vision to draw attention to the realities and demands of our national liberation struggle.
We refer here to icons such as Alex la Guma, Mazisi Kunene, Mama Miriam Makeba, Zakes Makae, Winston Mankunku Ngozi and many others. Heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle also include those in the sporting fraternity who ensured that the apartheid state was isolated from the international community. They include those of our sports men and women who, even under the most difficult conditions, excelled in what they did.
Heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle also include members of faith-based organisations and a number of traditional leaders from whom our struggle drew support and moral guidance. The contribution of these sectors reasserts that our liberation struggle was indeed nonracial and nonclassist and that it was fought on many fronts.
As we celebrate our heroes and heroines we must recommit ourselves to the ideals for which they stood and fought for so bravely. Our ultimate goal should be to build a society where, and I quote:
Man shall have learned to co-operate, not only with his own kith and kin but also with all peoples and with all life.
Hon members, as part of celebrating our heroes and heroines, the Department of Arts and Culture has begun a process of identifying sites that are of significance to the national liberation struggle. Many of these sites will form part of the national liberation heritage. [Interjections.]
Thank you very much, House Chair, for giving us this opportunity. And I am sure that we will have a lively debate... [Interjections.]
Order! Hon Minister, just a moment. I am told that there is something wrong with the clock, because you had 15 minutes. [Interjections.]
The hon Speaker is giving me more time and now ... [Interjections.]
Can we adjust that, please.
So, how much more time do I get, Chair?
Can we adjust that to five minutes?
Five more minutes, okay. [Interjections.]
House Chair, is it parliamentary to reverse your own judgment in respect of proceedings? [Laughter.]
I did not make any judgment here. [Laughter.]
Thank you very much, Chair. We are honouring the heroes and heroines of our struggle, Ntate Lekota.
Many of these sites form part of the national liberation heritage route. We are also embarking on a programme to honour our national icons. These are the men and women who taught us never to abandon the cause of freedom. As we embark on this journey, I am reminded of words from a poem by the father of the Cuban nation, Jose Marti, titled I dream of cloisters of marble.
In this poem Marti dreams of a world where the sculptures of dead heroes of the Cuban revolution come alive. I quote:
I dream of cloisters of marble Where in silence divine Heroes are upright sleeping.
I speak to them at night At night by the light of soul!
Marti continues -
Then the eyes of stone are open, I see moving lips of stone, Beards of stone are trembling, They grip a sword of stone and cry.
He concludes the poem by saying -
The stone resounds, The white hands reach down to touch their belt, And then from high on the pedestal, The men of marble leap down!
Hon members, we will remember these heroes and heroines of our people by erecting monuments in their honour. We carve sculptures of stone and marble. We will also build museums that will tell the stories of their lives of bravery and courage to current and future generations.
As we preserve our liberation heritage, we must be mindful of those who seek to rewrite and distort our history. This they do in particular to wish away the existence of the liberation struggle, its values and its traditions. We must continue to remind them that the national liberation struggle is part of our country's collective memory, our rich history and heritage.
Without fear or favour we must reaffirm our liberation heritage as part of the broader cultural heritage of our country. This we must do as part of contributing to national healing, national dialogue, reconciliation, nation- building, social cohesion and an inclusive citizenship.
Equally, we must work hard to promote and defend our democratic Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our national symbols, the national flag and the national anthem, all of which are the result of our liberation struggle.
In this regard our department will in the coming months intensify its campaign to hoist the national flags in all public schools and every public building. We will also continue to encourage South Africans to hoist flags in their homes and in their places of work. Efforts will also be intensified to ensure that all South Africans know how to sing the nation anthem properly.
In conclusion, this will include publishing guidelines on how the national anthem should be sung and observed. Let us use our liberation heritage as a vehicle to make new and decisive advances as we build a South Africa of our dreams, a society that we can all be proud of, a society that takes pride in its history and heritage. Ke a leboga, Modulasetulo. [Thank you, Chairperson.] [Applause.]
Sihlalo, le yinyanga yamagugu, amasiko nomlando wethu eSewula Afrika. Kuhle-ke, ngithi kilendlu ehloniphekileko nabayeni abakhona namhlanjesi ngithi: Nzunza noManala. Senginilotjhisile-ke njalo. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Mr S J MASANGO: Chairperson, this is Heritage Month, in which we celebrate our culture and our history in South Africa. It is good for me to salute this august House and our guests present and say: Nzunza noManala. I have already greeted you by saying so.]
This month we will be celebrating one of the most important public holidays on the South African calendar. On 24 September 2011 South Africa will once again have the opportunity to reconnect and celebrate its history on national Heritage Day. As noted by Archbishop Tutu, Heritage Day is a celebration of our diverse history and culture.
When asked to describe the meaning of heritage, the concept becomes vast in the South African context. Heritage is defined as that which we inherit: the sum total of wildlife and scenic parks, sites of scientific or historic importance, national monuments, historic buildings, works of art, literature and music, oral traditions and museum collections, together with their documentation.
The celebration of our South African heritage must be the celebration of all these factors that contribute to our rainbow nation, and of how all South Africans have worked to build this country and its history. It is a day of celebrating the diversity that can bring us together as a strong nation, not separated and divided by our diversity.
South Africa was blessed by committed and dedicated men and women of integrity, who fought for this democracy that we enjoy today. However, are we living up to the expectations and dreams which the heroes and heroines of this country aspired to achieve? Undoubtedly, no.
President Nelson Mandela, one of the leaders in the struggle for democracy, stated ... ngiyamudzubhula: [I quote him:]
When our first democratically elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.
We did so knowing that the struggles against the injustice and inequities of the past are part of our national identity; they are part of our culture. We knew that, if indeed our nation has to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of division and conflict, we had to acknowledge those whose selfless efforts and talents were dedicated to this goal of nonracial democracy.
We have to ask ourselves these questions: Will we be celebrating the dreams and the struggle of these selfless fighters for freedom? Are we truly building a rainbow nation of nonracial democracy? Are we celebrating a nation of opportunity and transparency?
The former Leader of the DA, Tony Leon, stated:
A climate of fear has been allowed to develop where parents are too scared to let their children attend school and of allowing them to play outside.
How do we celebrate what we inherited without security of what we have? How do we pass over the richness and wonders of our individual cultures to our children in situations like these? We all know the culture of ubuntu. Are we who once believed in communities and taking care of our neighbours still upholding this important part of our heritage? The simple answer is no.
South Africa is blessed with minerals and wildlife. The world knows our country to be one of beauty and diverse wildlife. Yet again, I have to ask, can we celebrate these blessings that we, as a country, have received?
Our water system is failing; sewage water is streaming into the rivers and infecting our unique marine life; rhino poachers are ruining our animal of pride; our mining industry has forgotten about the value of rehabilitation; and our ecosystems are on the brink of extinction.
New mines are being opened all over, like tuck shops. Procedures to operate mines lack scrutiny. The health and safety of the citizens no longer matter. What matters most is how much profit one makes in the shortest period.
Can we honestly answer the question with positive conviction? Have we risen from the ashes as Nelson Mandela has predicted for this country? No, we have forgotten our heritage, the pride of our history and the hopes and dreams of those who fought for the rainbow nation. We are now driven by self-enrichment. Caring is solely about oneself, family members and friends. Youngsters are obsessed with positions, tenders and selfprofiting things.
Helen Suzman, former apartheid activist and one of the founders of the Democratic Party, said:
Naye ngiyamudzubhula: [I also quote her:]
I stand for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights. The indispensable element in a democratic society is well worth fighting for.
Njengoba sengitjhwile ngaphambilini, kobana lesi sikhathi sokuthi sizihlanganise begodu sigidinge ilanga lamagugu, kodwana akusinjalo kithi soke. Lokha urhulumende nakufanele asekele umlando namagugu wethu, akhange kubenjalo ngamaNdebele wakwaNzunza. AmaNdebele wakwaNzunza ngiwo anomlando wakade nonothe khulu hlangana neentjhaba zamaNdebele. Begodu umlando lo wakhiwa barholi bamambala abafana neKosi uNyabela, uMayisha, uMabhoko hlangana nabanye bamakhosi. Umlando oqakatheke khulu namagugu uNzunza azikhakhazisa ngawo lirholo lakoNomtjharhelo elaziwa nge-Rosenekaal. Lapha ngikhuluma ngamaKhosi wamambala lawo alwa nesitjhaba samaBhunu namaNgisi. Kodwana urhulumende orholwa yi-ANC ngaphasi koburholi bakababa uJacob Zuma ubone kufanele bona aphelise ubuKhosi besitjhaba sakwaNzunza, amasiko, umlando namagugu waso. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[As I have said before, this is the time for us to unite and celebrate our heritage, but that is not so to all of us. When government is supposed to support our heritage, that did not happen with the amaNdebele of Nzunza. The amaNdebele of Nzunza are the ones that have a long and rich history among the Ndebele ethnic groups. This history was made by leaders like King Nyabela, Mayisha and Mabhoko, to mention just a few. The caves of Nomtjherele, known as Rosenekaal, are the heritage and the pride of the Nzunza tribe. Here I am talking about real kings who fought with the Boers and the English settlers. However, the ANC-led government under the leadership of Jacob Zuma has deemed it fit to annihilate the Nzunza kingship, their culture and heritage.]
This history, heritage and culture are important to all of us and it is important that President Zuma respects the history, heritage and culture of other tribes. All these must be left to the traditional leaders and their people as they are far better equipped to deal with such matters.
It is regarded as an allegation when the Public Protector presents her findings on an investigation to the President for actions to be taken, but it is not an allegation when the Nhlapho Commission presented a report to the President on an investigation into a kingship that existed over four centuries ago, and the President is quick to take action.
It is also correct when the President rewrites history by abolishing the kingship and the heritage of amaNdebele wakwaNzunza, which has been there for centuries. But it is bad when others rewrite history.
I am proudly South African, and I still believe in the vision of our leaders, Nelson Mandela and Helen Zille. This Heritage Day will be a day to commemorate. [Interjections.]
Order! Order, please.
Are you worried about Helen Suzman? [Interjections.]
Order! Order, hon members!
The last time you were happy about her - Helen Suzman. Helen Zille is also a freedom fighter. You must just remember that.
This Heritage Day will be a day to commemorate our history, appreciate our country, and dream again about our future in its entirety. national Heritage Day will be the day for all South Africans to come together as one diverse nation, with the dream of a democratic and prosperous future. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, today we celebrate the heroes and heroines of our nation, not of our individual parties. [Applause.] We celebrate the heroes and heroines of our long and diverse historical journey.
As we do so, it is relevant that we take a bird's eye view of the road we have travelled. We started not as the nation state that we are today. Rather, we forged ourselves into one nation state over centuries, since earlier than 1652. Today, South Africa in all its beauty and ugliness, with all the virtues and vices of its people, is a heritage of all of us collectively.
None amongst us are more entitled than others. We collectively claim South Africa, as well as jointly accept the responsibility of making it better as we go forward.
Interestingly, as a nation, our roots lie in various areas, even outside of the confines of Africa. They lie in Africa and Asia, in Europe and the Malay Peninsula. We boast kings like Moshoeshoe I, Shaka, Hintsa, Sekhukhune, Awutshumayo and others. We were led to the shores of this country by Jan van Riebeeck, Van der Stel and their successors from Europe.
We arrived on the east coast of our country, South Africa, as indentured labourers and without leaders from those parts of the world from which we came, but we were brave and creative enough to cultivate our own Mahatma Gandhi.
We arrived here with King Abdurahman Mortula from the Malay Peninsula as slaves; yet we loved freedom enough to organise a slave rebellion that caused us to follow Awutshumayo to Robben Island, where he lies buried to this day.
We discovered the diamonds, the gold and other mineral resources of our vast country. We fought over these on different sides: first as British colonies and then as Afrikaner republics. In the process, we even cut Kimberley out of its natural province, the Free State. Finally, we forged this country into the Union of South Africa, independent of our erstwhile colonial masters, Great Britain, but then we excluded the majority darker skinned citizens of our country from full participation in government.
In this way, we perpetuated the political struggle over equality of rights and democracy for all. That struggle went through the constitutional phase, 1912 to 1949, the extraconstitutional phase, 1949 to 1960, and finally the armed phase to the convention for a democratic South Africa in the 1990s.
Interestingly, in the course of all this drama, our African forebears produced a document called The Africans' Claims of 1943. By the way, it is this document that contributed to making Gen Jan Smuts one of the main authors of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Listen to history. [Interjections.] I say - and this is not smuggled - that The Africans' Claims of 1943 was a document, principally, that educated Gen Jan Smuts and made it possible for him to be the main author of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That is the heritage of South Africa, and, by the way, South Africa is not just some sectors. It is the people. In its turn, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became a vital instrument for the mobilisation of the international community to support the anti-apartheid movement and contribute to the victory of the people of South Africa.
What then of the tribute to the heroes and heroines of this history now that we have achieved a democratic dispensation? In the spirit of these leaders who went before us, we must strive for, and deepen, peace amongst the people of South Africa.
Order!
Our African forebears constantly remind us and say, "Kgotso, Pula! Nala!" ["Peace be with you!"] After all, the natural state of the human being is peace ...
Mohlomphehi, nako e ho siile jwale. [Hon member, your time has expired.]
Is it finished, sir?
E ho siile jwale. [Time expired.]
Sorry, Ntate [Sir.] Thank you, Chair. There is more where that came from. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon members, as a nation we need symbols on which to hang our understanding of the past. We need a Nelson Mandela to express our endurance under injustice and our hope for reconciliation.
We need a Pixley ka Isaka Seme to represent the moral high ground from which we commenced, and we need an Albert Luthuli to symbolise our faith and convictions. These are the symbols of South Africa's liberation struggle.
Many more will be named in this debate, like Oliver and Adelaide Tambo and Walter and Albertina Sisulu; the Right Rev Bishop Alphaeus Zulu and the Rev Canon James Calata; Prof Z K Matthews and his son, Mr Joe Matthews; Mr Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe; Dr Wilson Zamindlela Conco; and Mr Steve Bantu Biko, to name but a few.
However, let us not create an elite group of heroes and heroines to the exclusion of the millions of South Africans who furthered our liberation struggle through their individual choice to let go of resentment, to seek to understand and to lay down the desire to retaliate. Today, this House will honour freedom fighters who took up arms, but the IFP seeks to honour the ones who refused to take them up.
After October 1979 the IFP fell from grace with the then ANC's mission-in- exile, for we refused to support the armed struggle. A decades-long campaign of vilification was launched against Inkatha and its president, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The rift between our parties became a chasm when the ANC's people's war was turned against the very people they sought to liberate, their fellow oppressed who happened to be members of the IFP.
We have never entirely breached the divide. The reconciliation efforts that began with Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi inviting Nelson Mandela to address a joint rally in Taylor's Halt in 1991 continued into the Government of National Unity, but reconciliation was never complete and now seems to have been muscled off the agenda by the leadership of the ANC.
The truth of the IFP's role in the liberation struggle is belittled and ignored. In debates like this, the ruling party remembers icons from the ANC, but it does not remember Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose uncle was the founder of the ANC in 1912, whose mentor was Inkosi Luthuli, who undermined the apartheid system from within at the behest of Oliver Tambo and, indeed, did many other things that contributed to where we are.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi is therefore one of the greatest unsung heroes of South Africa's liberation struggle, whose full contribution has not been recognised and cannot be captured in such a brief debate. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Voorsitter, ek wil die Minister gelukwens met sy poging om die erfenis en kultuur in ons gemeenskappe terug te bring sodat hulle die waarde van ons landsvlag en ons lied kan verstaan. Ons mense kan so maklik die vlag verkeerd hang en soms die lied sonder toewyding sing, en by ander geleenthede ken hulle nie eens die woorde nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr J J MCGLUWA: Chairman, I would like to congratulate the Minister on his attempt to bring back the heritage and culture in our communities in order for them to understand the value of our national flag and our anthem. Our people can so easily hoist the flag incorrectly and sing the anthem without dedication at times, and on other occassions they don't even know the words.]
Heritage Day is a celebration of South Africa's rich and diverse cultural heritage. For nearly two decades everyone, from leaders to people at grassroots level, were encouraged to adopt a common goal, which has been to make an effort to understand the demonstrations of the extraordinary richness of the South African social fabric. It is important that we explore the struggle for cultural liberation in our new democracy. We should be united in creating a new heritage and in recontexualising the legacy of the past.
This year's theme is dedicated to men and women of South Africa's races who fought tirelessly for political liberation. It is up to us to keep alive the dreams and aspirations of those who have perished. As leaders we often find obstacles despite our common goal for unity in our country.
We should be working towards shaping and creating contemporary heritage initiatives in which we can all find meaning and expression to share together as South Africans. We cannot allow this ghost of the past to haunt us in the present.
It is therefore important that we reinforce our social fibres by immersing ourselves in an indigenous culture and language. The historical and current context of the language issue in South Africa remains fraught and continues to have an influence on the relationship between language and society. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, the clapping of hands and shouting at the end of a well-sung national anthem should be discouraged. I'm saying this because it has become a custom that when we have celebrations where the national anthem is sung, at the end people shout or clap hands.
I regard the national anthem as a prayer. We are talking to our Creator. There is no prayer that is better than the other. I'm just pleading for this. I'm happy that the Minister said something along those lines and I feel that something must be done so that we stop the clapping of hands and shouting at the end of the national anthem. We are spoiling a good thing.
Heritage Day is one of the most important holidays on our national calendar. On this important day South Africans of all walks of life are encouraged to celebrate their cultural heritage, the diversity of cultures, languages, traditions, belief systems and the flora and fauna which all define our rainbow nation.
As we celebrate this important day, South Africans of all races ought to take time to reflect on and appreciate the heritage our forefathers have left us. What we have today was built on a tremendous amount of sacrifice.
Many people sacrificed their lives so we could claim our legitimate place in the world as the people of Africa. We are able to uphold and freely practice cultural activities and traditions which define who we are.
While we all agree about the beauty of the physical inheritance, today we face the danger of establishing many negative things as part of our culture because these have become common lifestyle choices and habits.
Easy money and crass materialism seem to be the biggest sources of motivation for many people, including many in the elite. They replace the principle of hard work and destroy the link between effort and reward.
Nako e fedile? Aowa, banna! Gape ye ga se metsotso ye mebedi. [Disego.] [The time has expired? No, it cannot be. Two minutes is not yet over. [Laughter.]]
Ke ne ke sa o tebele. Ke re phetha. [I am not chasing you away. I am asking you to repeat.]
I thought you would give me more time, one minute and not five minutes, like the Minister. May I conclude? We need to resist the culture of conspicuous consumption and greed as well as the inevitable corruption that is required to sustain it.
Sadly, today these practices seem to define what it means to be successful in the new South Africa. Our habits and culture today will determine the heritage we will leave for the next generation. A failure to change course will leave behind a squabbling, greedy and lazy generation.
O se o e sentse jwale. [Now you have ruined it.]
Thank you very much.
Ke leboga metsotso ye o mphilego yona. [Thanks for the extra minutes.]
Voorsitter, agb Ministers, agb Adjunkministers, agb Parlementslede, dames and here, Suid-Afrika is besig om te herrys uit 'n ontstuimige geskiedenis. Vir die eerste keer sedert die stryd om hierdie kuslyn geniet ons demokratiese vryhede.
Die botsing van kulture lei nie noodwendig tot onderwerping en heerskappy nie. Dit kan ook lei tot die substantiewe kruisbestuiwing van idees, woorde, gebruike, kunsvorms, kookkuns en godsdienspraktyke.
Hierdie dinamiese wisselwerking het altyd 'n rol gespeel in kulturele verryking en het 'n buitengewoon vrugbare en unieke Suid-Afrikaanse kultuur tot gevolg gehad wat ons nasie op so baie wyses in sy taalkundige, kulturele en godsdienstige diversitieit saamgevoeg het.
'n Volk sonder 'n verlede is 'n verlore nasie, en mense sonder 'n verlede is mense sonder gees. Afrika word vandag erken as die wieg van die mensdom. In ons deel van die kontinent het ons 'n ryke en uiteenlopende verlede wat eers nou vir sy kompleksiteit en diversiteit waardeer word. Ons erfenis is inderdaad die fondament waarop ons werk om ons samelewing te herbou.
Voorsitter, my boodskap vandag is om vrede te vind in die rykdom van ons samelewing. Ek dring daarop aan dat agb lede deel in die talle geleenthede wat elkeen van ons, ons gemeenskappe, ons land en ons kontinent geniet. Ek wil graag h dat u dink aan hoe anders u erfenis in baie opsigte is as di van u ouers.
Dink aan die besondere eienskappe wat vir u aan vorige geslagte bind; aan temas en tradisies wat u lewe gevorm het, soos byvoorbeeld die vryheidsliedere, slagspreuke, gedigte en danse.
Die beginsel van vryheid van uitdrukking is 'n fundamentele vereiste vir die demokrasie. Gewortel in vryheid van uitdrukking en kreatiewe denke speel die kunste, kultuur en erfenis 'n belangrike rol in die ontwikkeling van nasiebou en die volhoubaarheid van ons ontwikkelende demokrasie. Die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing het 'n wesenlike transformasie ondergaan. Vir diegene wat s hierdie transformasie het nie gebeur nie: dit het. Ooreenkomstig die beginsels van geregtigheid, demokrasie, nierassigheid en niesekssisme staar elke sektor van ons samelewing verandering in die gesig. Terwyl dit sommiges kan omkrap, bring dit vir ander hoop dat hul behoeftes, sieninge en begeertes nou ook deel van die hoofstroom van Suid-Afrika is.
Suid-Afrika se eerste demokraties verkose regering het bygedra tot hierdie proses wat deur die eerste Ministerie van Kuns, Kultuur, Wetenskap en Tegnologie geskep is.
Vir die doeleindes van Erfenismaand geld die volgende, en dit is die kunste, kultuur en erfenis. Suid-Afrika ondervind inderdaad 'n kulturele renaissance. Kulturele uitdrukking en identiteit, soos taalregte en toegang tot grond, is sommige van die belangrikste kwessies van die dag.
Dit is geen verrassing dat die dominante temas wat hierdie velde kenmerk, 'n gemeenskaplikheid met temas elders het nie. Die bestuur van en toegang tot finansies is die groot uitdagings, en dit moet ons tromp-op aanpak. Hierdie renaissance in die Suid-Afrikaanse kunste is afhanklik van 'n beleid wat billikheid verseker en wat verbind is tot die bevordering van 'n bewussyn wat diversiteit vier.
Die kunste, kultuur en erfenis kan nie uit hierdie transformasieproses uitgesluit word nie. Uitings in elke kunsvorm - van teater tot dans, opera tot kabaret, die skone kunste tot kunshandwerk, klassieke musiek tot jazz, posievoorlesings tot lesings - vind regdeur Suid-Afrika plaas.
Die land is ryk aan kulturele diversiteit, wat dit 'n belangrike bestemming vir alle kunsliefhebbers maak. 'n Groot getal kunsgalerye bied geleenthede aan bekende en onbekende kunstenaars om hul talente ten toon te stel. Die Departement van Kuns en Kultuur streef daarna om die Suid-Afrikaanse erfenis te ontwikkel en te bewaar om sodoende maatskaplike kohesie en nasiebou te verseker.
Die agste Januarie 2012 sal 'n jaar van feesvieringe inlui om die honderdjarige bestaan van die ANC te vier; dt ondanks enige agenda wat 'n afskuwelike botsing mag uitbroei in 'n poging om die ANC of sy beeld te vernietig.
Afrika, die diaspora en die res van die internasionale gemeenskap is besig met voorbereidings om die honderdjarige bestaan in solidariteit met die ANC en Suid-Afrika te vier. In 'n verklaring oor erfenis in Suid-Afrika is dit die moeite werd om te noem dat die eerste sekretaris-generaal van die ANC, Solomon T Plaatje, 'n belangrike letterkundige, prominente vertaler en briljante uitgewer was - om net 'n paar van sy bydraes tot die ontwikkeling van kultuur te noem. Dit is 'n integrale deel van ons erfenis.
Soos ons volksdigter dit duidelik gestel het, was storievertellers, nog vr die bestaan van die boek, die bewaarders van 'n volk se kollektiewe ervaring en geheue wat hulle kulturele waardes en erfenis gerig en benvloed het. In kort, selfs nog vr die boek was letterkunde 'n belangrike bewaarplek van 'n volk se geheue, en was kulturele waardes een van die belangrikste komponente van 'n volk se erfenis, en so is dit steeds.
Agb Voorsitter, laat my toe om hierdie Huis 'n vraag te vra ...[Tussenwerpsels.] Maak maar geraas aan daardie kant; dis goed. ... 'n vraag om oor na te dink: Hoe ver het ons vandag gevorder ten opsigte van geletterdheid en die leesgewoontes wat nodig is om die weg te baan vir leer en kultuur? Dit is geen geheim dat lees nie naastenby een van die gewildste nasionale tydverdrywe is nie.
Die Departement van Kuns en Kultuur werk saam met sy vennote in die Suider- Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap en die Afrika-unie om museums en gedenktekens te bou en op te gradeer om die helde en heldinne van die bevrydingstryd te herdenk. Die Matola-monument en en -tolksentrum sal die Matola-inval van 1981, waartydens Suid-Afrikaanse vryheidsvegters deur die apartheidsregering gedood is, herdenk. Die ANC-regering en Algeri werk saam aan 'n projek wat Miriam Makeba, ook bekend as Mama Afrika, sal vereer.
Saartjie Baartman is in Frankryk uitgestal om mense te vermaak met wat as hoogs ongewone liggaamseienskappe beskou is. Sedert die begin van die 1940s is oproepe gemaak om haar stoflike oorskot terug te besorg, maar die saak het eers prominent geword nadat Stephen Jay Gould in die tagtigerjare The Hottentot Venus geskryf het.
Vir die eerste keer in die geskiedenis van ons land het alle kuns- en kultuurpraktisyns die reg om deel te neem aan die skep van openbare beleid en strukture wat hul lewens en bestaan regstreeks, en grootliks ook die gehalte van die lewe van die gemeenskap, raak.
Laastens wil ek ook s dat die Departmente van Kuns en Kultuur, van Basiese Onderwys, asook van Sport en Ontspanning ons landsvlag en ons volkslied moet uitbeeld deur dit 'n vereiste te maak dat elke huisgesin die volkslied moet sing. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Ms L N MOSS: Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, South Africa is rising from a turbulent history. For the first time since the fight for this coastline we are enjoying democratic freedoms. The clash between cultures does not necessarily lead to subjugation and domination. It can also lead to the substantive cross-pollination of ideas, words, customs, art forms, culinary art and religious practices.
This dynamic interaction has always played a role in cultural enrichment and has resulted in an extraordinarily fertile and unique South African culture, which has on so many levels joined our nation together in its linguistic, cultural and religious diversity.
A nation without a past is a lost nation, and people without a past are people devoid of spirit. Africa is today acknowledged as the cradle of mankind. In our part of the continent we have a rich and diverse past which only now is being appreciated for its complexity and diversity. Our heritage is indeed the foundation upon which we labour to rebuild our society.
Chairperson, my message today is to find peace within the wealth of our society. I urge hon members to participate in the many opportunities that are enjoyed by each one of us, our communities, our country and our continent. I want each one of you to consider how different in many ways your heritage is from that of your parents.
Think about the particular characteristics that bind you to previous generations; about themes and traditions that have shaped your life, for instance the freedom songs, slogans, poems and dances.
The principle of freedom of expression is a fundamental requirement for democracy. Rooted in freedom of expression and creative thinking, the arts, culture and heritage play an important role in the development of nation- building and the sustainability of our developing democracy.
The South African society has undergone a significant transformation. For those who say this transformation has not taken place: it has. In accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, nonracialism and nonsexism, every sector of our society is faced with change. While this may be irritating to some, it has brought hope to others that their needs, views and desires are now also part of the mainstream of South Africa.
South Africa's first democratically elected government has contributed to this process that was created by the first Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
For the purposes of Heritage Month the following applies, namely arts, culture and heritage. South Africa is indeed experiencing a cultural renaissance. Cultural expression and identity, such as language rights and access to land, are some of the most important issues of the day.
It is no surprise that the dominant themes characterising these fields share a commonality with themes elsewhere. Management of and access to finance present a huge challenge that we must deal with head-on. This renaissance in the South African arts is dependent on a policy which promotes fairness and is committed to the promotion of a consciousness that celebrates diversity.
Arts, culture and heritage cannot be excluded from this transformation process. Expressions in all art forms - from theatre to dancing, opera to cabaret, fine arts to artistic crafts, classical music to jazz, poetry recitals to lectures - are taking place throughout South Africa.
The country is rich in cultural diversity, making it an important destination for all lovers of art. A large number of art galleries are offering opportunities to well-known and unknown artists to display their talents. The Department of Arts and Culture aspires to develop and preserve the South African heritage in order to ensure social cohesion and nation- building.
On 8 January 2012 a year of festivities will be ushered in to celebrate the ANC's centenary celebrations, this despite any agenda that might hatch a grisly clash in an attempt to destroy the ANC or its image.
Africa, the diaspora and the rest of the international community are busy with preparations to celebrate this centenary in solidarity with the ANC and South Africa. In a statement on heritage in South Africa, it is worthwhile to mention that the first sectretary-general of the ANC, Solomon T Plaatje, was an important literary expert, a prominent translator and a brilliant publisher - to name just a few of his contributions to cultural development. This is an integral part of our heritage.
As our national poet put it clearly, before the advent of the book the storytellers were the keepers of a nation's collective experience and memory, who directed and inluenced their cultural values. In short, even before the book, literature was an important depository of a nation's memory, and cultural values formed one of the most important components of a nation's heritage, which is still the case.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to ask this House a question ... [Interjections.] Yes, make a noise on that side; that's fine. A question to ponder: How far have we progressed today in respect of literacy and the reading habits that are needed to open a way for learning and culture? It is no secret that reading is nowhere near being one of the most popular national pastimes.
The Department of Arts and Culture is collaborating with its partners in the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to build and upgrade museums and memorials to commemorate the heroes and heroines of the struggle. The Matola monument and interpreting centre will commemorate the Matola invasion of 1981, during which South African freedom fighters were killed by the apartheid goverment. The ANC government and Algeria are collaborating on a project to honour Miriam Makeba, also know as Mama Africa.
Saartjie Baartman was put on display in France to entertain the people with what were regarded as her highly unusual physical attributes. Ever since the early 1940s, calls were made to repatriate her mortal remains, but the matter only gained prominence after Stephen Jay Gould wrote The Hottentot Venus in the eighties.
For the first time in the history of our country all arts and culture practitioners have the right to participate in creating public policy and structures that directly affect their lives and livelihoods, and to a large extent also the quality of life of the community.
Lastly, I also want to say that the Departments of Arts and Culture, and of Basic Education, as well as that of Sport and Recreation should promote our country's flag and national anthem by making it a requirement for each family to sing the national anthem. Thank you very much.]
Chair, for Heritage Day our Iziko Museums are encouraging South Africans to see things differently, to gain a fresh perspective on our diverse cultural heritage. As the nation celebrates the lives and achievements of heroes and heroines, and as we are made aware of diverse topics in which to actively engage with our legacies, our history and heritage, we will also be able to hear a precolonial archaeologist discussing the all but forgotten freedom fighters, the Khoisan.
The struggle was not only to gain political freedom and regain cultural dignity and respect for the environment, but to have a legacy to pass on to their children.
In every age, there are multiple challenges facing our communities and cultures. Nuclear development, for example, is threatening to permanently scar areas with exceptional heritage qualities. Duynefontein, Bantamsklip and Thyspunt, identified for proposed nuclear power stations, are excellent natural heritage landscapes and make a substantial contribution to the character of the region. Together with the archaeological material, they represent a largely intact precolonial cultural landscape.
In the words of one researcher, Bantamsklip was planted as a Khoisan women's kitchen - with waxberry here, soap plants there, herbs in another place - thus giving an insight into their lives that we would not get in any other way. The former Prime Minister of Japan says the biggest reason why he changed his views on nuclear power was that they could not afford to take the risk of accidents happening that could make half the landmass of Japan uninhabitable. Just last week, Koeberg had an unplanned shutdown due, they say, to either mechanical or instrumentation failure.
Errors and accidents happen, not to mention unsolvable nuclear waste problems! The age-old struggle for survival itself is not honoured in the building of nuclear plants, which put land and the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of our heroes at risk in the years to come. Thank you.
House Chairperson, distinguished members of this House, an opportunity to celebrate the lives and times of the heroes and heroines of our national liberation struggle is an opportunity to reflect upon and reaffirm the intrinsic roots of our nation, and the continuing relevance for nation-building and social cohesion.
Since biblical and pharaonic times, all the great nations and empires that arose and prospered were those that were founded on and preserved the history of their founding fathers and mothers, in particular the revolutionary moral values which inspired their struggles for national liberation, freedom, equality and justice for all. Those nations who abandoned their history and revolutionary morality declined and perished.
House Chairperson, South Africa has a great history of a national liberation struggle and, in particular, a rich history of revolutionary moral values which were born out of that struggle. The revolutionary morality of the founders of our struggle for liberation continues to inspire other nations and people who are grappling with issues of nation- building and social cohesion.
We have received delegations from other foreign countries who, inspired by our miracle nation and its foremost icon, Nelson Mandela, sought to learn about our South African experience. Recently we hosted the Angolan parliamentary delegation, and this past Sunday I addressed the national conference of Sinn Fein in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They all want to engage and learn from us.
Nelson Mandela, affectionately known as Madiba, was able to spearhead our national liberation struggle because he understood and embodied the history and values which inspired generations of heroes and heroines of our struggle.
The founders of our democracy, like the French and American revolutionaries, were inspired by the Masonic principles of liberty, equality and brotherhood. The Western nations which owed their birth to these noble principles were disbelieving in their views that African and other Third World people were also an integral part of the human family and that they, too, deserved to enjoy the right to self-determination, liberty and equality.
The underdevelopment paradigm of the African continent today was as a result of the absolute absence of the sense of complementarism as it relates to Western countries that consider themselves totally independent of others.
The founders of this Parliament and the historic designs of its historic buildings were inspired by the same Masonic heritage that inspired Prince Hall. He was the founder of the African Masonic lodges in the US, and teacher of great Pan-African revolutionaries such as Frederick Douglas, Booker T Washington, Rev Richard Allen, Prof William B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey.
The founders of this Parliament and the heroines and heroes of our national liberation struggle drew their inspiration from the same revolutionary heritage.
However, the founders of this Parliament, like the leaders of the French and American revolutions, did not know that they owed their revolutionary principles, which guided them, to the African people whom they enslaved, colonised and forcibly deprived of their land and its natural resources. When the Africans, in particular, and black people, in general, stood up to fight for their right to self-determination and human rights, they were labelled terrorists, hunted down like wild animals, arrested, tortured, imprisoned or killed.
The democratic breakthrough of 1994 awakened all of us, both black and white, to the fact that we are, after all, members of the same human family and that we are all inherently free, equal and are brothers and sisters.
This realisation did not come to us like manna from heaven. It was born out of the national liberation struggle and the revolutionary morality that underpinned it. President Nelson Mandela and all his successors preached the African Renaissance, reconciliation, nation-building and social cohesion based on our common humanity.
Hon Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was applauded by all of us when she told this august House that in 2012 the ANC will celebrate 100 years of selfless struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all, and that this will be a centenary for all the people of South Africa, Africa and the world. This centenary would not be possible without the selfless sacrifices of the heroes and heroines of our national liberation struggle. The celebration of their lives, times and revolutionary morality is long overdue.
We are who we are because of others and it is difficult, if not impossible, to build a new, cohesive, caring and sustainable nation without anchoring it in the revolutionary values of our heroes and heroines. Given that nearly one third of our population is younger than 15 years of age, it is difficult, if not impossible, to envisage the sustainability of our democracy by our youth and children, unless the public representatives commit themselves to teaching our democratic values and principles.
How else can future generations sustain this democracy when our schools and institutions believe that teaching the history of our national liberation struggle and revolutionary morality is the introduction of politics in institutions of learning?
The history of our national liberation struggle and the revolutionary morality that inspired it are the bedrock and mainstay of our heritage, nationhood and social cohesion. Every young person and child, regardless of race, class or gender, must know this history and morality, lest we build our nation on quicksand.
Every institution of learning, private or public, should teach this history and morality in the same manner that we teach about the patriarchs, Abraham, Moses and Solomon in the Bible and the Koran. Thus Parliament must ensure that the curricula in our institutions of learning are transformed in our lifetime to reflect upon the contribution of our heroes and heroines for the freedom, democracy and civil liberties that we enjoy today.
The successful celebrations of Nelson Mandela Day in three successive years since its inception have shown that the history and revolutionary values that our icon embodies are able to bind us together and mobilise us to do good to others. It would be a great omission and tragedy of our times if we do not use this sitting to highlight the distinctive principles and values of our national liberation struggle to advance our nation-building project.
The history of our national liberation struggle is not the history of a political party, but rather the story of a people united in their refusal to accept that they are a subhuman race, and who asserted their humanity and inherent values of freedom, equality and justice for all, both black and white. They did this by embodying African values that speak of a complementary framework where individuals and community need each other, where each cannot claim to be superior to the other, but rather require harmonious interaction. The wisdom in this lies in the expression that the community is part of the individual, and by accepting the existence of the community, individuals achieve self-definition.
This is abundantly evident in a number of assertions by the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela. In an unpublished autobiographical manuscript written on Robben Island in 1973, Mandela says:
I wish I could tell you more about the courageous band of colleagues with whom I suffer humiliation daily and who nevertheless comport themselves with dignity and determination.
Upon his release on 11 February 1990, Mandela said:
I call in the strongest possible way for us to act with the dignity and discipline that our just struggle for freedom deserves.
From that day on, Madiba pursued a principled and peaceful struggle that led to the 1994 democratic breakthrough. One wonders why the month of February, and 11 February in particular, has not yet been declared South African and African history month to be used to remind and teach our people, both black and white, where we come from as a nation and what pitfalls we should avoid so that we do not forget or return to the dark days of apartheid colonialism.
As early as 18 June 1990, Nelson Mandela gave notice of the kind of society he sought to build when he declared that -
Our people have the right to hope, the right to a future, the right to life itself. No power on this earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity. Our land cries out for peace. We will only achieve it through adherence to democratic principles and respect for the rights of all.
In his first state of the nation address, Madiba elaborated on the postapartheid constitutional vision embodied in the Freedom Charter:
My Government's commitment to create a people-centred society of liberty binds us to the pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom from ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear. These freedoms are fundamental to the guarantee of human dignity. Our definition of the freedom of the individual must be instructed by the fundamental objective to restore the human dignity of each and every South African.
Our freedom fighters, both black and white, knew full well that the recovery of our humanity and restoration of the dignity of all South Africans, both black and white, would require the transformation of the South African economy. Nelson Mandela represented the vision and mission of all generations of freedom fighters when he told the Canadian parliament in June 1990 that -
We are also determined that the political freedom of which we have spoken should go side by side with freedom from hunger, want and suffering. It is, therefore, of vital importance that we restructure the South African economy so that its wealth is shared by all our people, Black and White, to ensure that everybody enjoys a decent and rising standard of living.
In his address to the Joint House of Congress, Madiba articulated the type of economy that is desired:
We require an economy that is able to address the needs of all the people of our country; that can provide food, houses, education, health services, social security and everything that makes human life human; that makes life joyful and not a protracted encounter with hopelessness and despair.
President Zuma told this House, early this year, that the achievements of the five priorities of his administration would advance the recovery of the humanity of all South Africans and improve the quality of their lives.
This government also understood and advanced the vision of our democracy, as articulated by Madiba. Thus, in the January 8 Statement of 2011, we said that political freedom without economic freedom is meaningless. We then went on to declare 2011 the year of job creation and transformation of the economy.
The call of the ANC Youth League for economic freedom in our lifetime must be understood in this context. The achievement of economic freedom in our lifetime has always been part of our national liberation struggle for the right to political, cultural, social and economic emancipation.
The call for economic emancipation must be embraced by all of us to defuse the ticking bomb which Deputy President Motlanthe referred to in his address to the national conference of the Board of Deputies.
Economic freedom and prosperity require a culture of learning and teaching. They require an educational system directed to the full development of the human personality. The deepening moral degeneration in our country highlights the fact that our educational system must address both the spiritual and material aspects of the human personality.
The pursuit of material gains, mainly sacrificing at the altar for money, will not help us build a cohesive, caring and sustainable nation. Our educational system must first and foremost build the character of our youth and children. Secondly, it must equip them with technical skills which are required for our development.
Thirdly, it must teach them to prioritise education rather than material gains and to make value choices. Our schools should list, define and recommend a core of citizenship values essential to our society that need to be part of every child's school, home and community.
In short, I am saying that, in the same manner that those who read the Bible and believe that they should base their lives on the Ten Commandments, we need 10 commandments of values on which to build our nation so that it can be cohesive, sustainable and caring. I thank you very much for your indulgence. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.