Hon Minister, Mr Paul Mashatile; Deputy Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla; provincial MECs present; council and board members of arts, culture and heritage institutions; hon Members of Parliament; and guests ...
... ndiyanibulisa nonke namhlanje kule Voti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali yeSebe lezoBugcisa neNkcubeko. [... I greet you all today on the occasion of the debate on the Arts and Culture Budget Vote.]
I would like to say that the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I would like to thank Almighty God for giving me the grace to debate on this Budget Vote once again. I stand here, confident and without fear of intimidation, because my parents, Mr and Mrs Sunduza, are in the gallery. [Applause.] I am therefore protected and I am talking about the two ANC cadres who taught me to fight for justice till today. I would also like to acknowledge my friend, Dumisani Booi, who is also in the gallery.
Niyazithanda neendaba. [You are also inquisitive.]
I would like to quote an unsung poet, who said:
No amount of torture No amount of innocent blood being shed No amount of distortion or pretence can stop us In your Holy Name, Morena, We are, you with us, taking our land back, Declaring peace, not only as absence of war, But as Shalom, justice in action In your holy name.
These are the words of my special guest in the gallery. Her name is Joyce Boitumelo Dipale, who was shot by Dirk Coetzee in exile, helped by Almond Nofemela and Joe Mamasela. She is a poet and a cultural activist, but her speech and memory were severely affected by the torture.
Sisi Joyce, khanimncede aphakame. [Joyce, please help her up.] [Applause.]
She is a former soldier of uMkhonto weSizwe and she is still committed. Thank you for coming.
History is heritage and it must be told and archived correctly. This is the history that has not been told to our generation. A member of the DA, the opposition party, once said, "Parliament is boring because it becomes a history lesson." Indeed, it is boring to them because it is not the history of Vasco da Gama or Christopher Columbus, who got lost in a ship, or the Anglo-Boer War. That is why it is "boring". This is the history that we must be recording - and it is our heritage as well. We only know about the war that was lost, but nothing is even said about Africans who suffered in the Anglo-Boer War; who were tortured kwezo mfazwe [in those wars.] We are disillusioned because we only knew about the Mfecane or Difaqane and they never told the truth - that we were fighting for our land. I'm saying this because this year we are celebrating the centenary of the Natives Land Act, which no one wants to talk about.
Africa must unite as we also celebrate 50 years of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU. No one will ever say that mathematics was invented in Egypt because, to some, nothing good comes from Africa. [Interjections.] Therefore, the only time we must digest anything is when the Dutch and French ancestors write it for us.
We commend the SA Democracy Education Trust, SADET, project of writing our South African history. We are very grateful to them because the only history we know was taught by the DA's predecessors, the National Party. I call on African writers to write our history. [Interjections.]
Umthetho wenu niyathanda ukungxola kakade xa nixelelwa inyani. [As usual, you make a noise whenever someone is telling you the truth.]
As I support the Budget Vote, I call on the Minister and on Africans to write our history. I also call for Lovedale Press to be revived. I am saying this because I'm proud that some African women have started to write books. I have a book here, I honour the women who wrote it by James Arthur Calata. This copy is for the hon Naledi Pandor because she promised she would come and listen to me.
Yeyakho le mama. [This is for you, Ma'am.] [Applause.]
We must also honour those who fought in World War II, such as Mfanasekhaya Linda Gqobose, who is the father of Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa.
I would like to comment on the false claim the DA is making in their "Know your DA" initiative of being South Africans who fought apartheid. I am not talking about voices who spoke about apartheid, but about people who took action against apartheid. We honour people like uMkhonto weSizwe fighters, and Beyers Naud and Trevor Huddleston are the people who fought for democracy, not ... ... aba bathi sasikhona babe bethetha ngomlomo kungekho nto bayenzayo. Yiyo loo nto behambisa iiplastiki ezizuba behamba besipha abantu bethu ukutya. Ndiyathetha ngoku ndithi ... [... those who say they were there, but did not even lift a finger. That is why they are distributing food parcels in dark blue plastic bags amongst our people. I say ...]
... to the youth of South Africa: Know your history and beware of the DA because ...
... iza kumane ininika ukutya kuba iyayazi ukuba niyalamba kwaye bathatha imiyalelo esuka e-Europe. [... they are going to offer you food parcels from time to time because they know that you are poor, and they take orders from Europe.]
I will not leave the DA alone because they are misleading our people. [Interjections.]
I also want to say that when we talk about culture, we are talking about social cohesion; where people meet. That is why some people will never understand it when we take Parliament to the people because only a few were represented. Indians and coloured people were represented in the tricameral Parliament. That is why Sandy Kalyan will never understand why we are taking Parliament to the African people. It is part of social cohesion!
Akayazi loo nto kuba yena wayemelwe ngelaa xesha. [She does not know that because she was represented in the tricameral Parliament.]
Then she asks the questions about the food. Our people are hungry. I'm not sure when they go to those houses. They think that people are full.
Ngoku uthi simosha ngemali, akazi nto kuba kaloku yena uqhele ukutya. [Now she says we are wasting money; she knows nothing because she is used to having food.]
We mark 50 years since Nelson Mandela arrived on Robben Island as a prisoner. It is important to mark 20 years of freedom and democracy. This Parliament should use this opportunity to honour Madiba as its first President. I will continue to say that we must build a statue for Madiba here at Parliament.
Elaa hashe lisuke liye kwiziko lezenkcubeko. [The statue of General Louis Botha must be moved to a museum.]
There is space in the museum for that horse. It does not represent us; it represents them. We must also declare the month of July as Ubuntu Month, in honour of Madiba.
The National Development Plan has identified nine major challenges that are facing South Africans. While all these are of critical importance to the nation, the budget of the Arts and Culture Department will strive to contribute to the creation of decent jobs, economic growth and the realisation of a socially cohesive and inclusive South Africa.
My debate will focus on cultural development and heritage promotion, which are programmes 4 and 5 of Vote 14. The main purpose of cultural development is to promote and develop South African arts and culture. The main focus of this programme is to implement the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy projects. The Mzansi Golden Economy has finally come, in 2013. It will attack poverty, expand all cultural industries and become a beacon of our economy. The Mzansi Golden Economy will invigorate and expand economic opportunities in the creative industries by building infrastructure in the arts, culture and heritage sector and create conditions for entrepreneurship and an inclusive economy.
This programme is significant and that is why the budget allocation has been increased by 32% in the current budget, relative to the previous financial year. We are also championing the liberation route - when I say "we" I mean the ANC - in Africa. The continued support of the National Literary Awards is one of the key achievements of this programme.
Heritage promotion provides policy legislation and strategic direction for identifying, conserving and promoting cultural heritage. This programme takes the largest chunk of the Arts and Culture budget allocation, which is R834 million. The bulk of this allocation is transferred to heritage institutions for operations, capital works and some of the key functions of this programme, including monitoring and evaluating the performance of heritage institutions protecting and preserving our heritage. The Minister has referred to the Sara Baartman centre and the Matola raid project.
We must not be apologetic when we build more monuments to acknowledge our heroes of liberation. That is why the issue of land becomes very important: We need land to build these monuments.
Intloko ka-Strydom le yawa ePitoli yayinkulu, yawa ngenxa yobukhulu bayo. Nathi ... [The sculpted head of JG Strydom in Pretoria fell off because it was huge. We too ...]
... must not be apologetic. Therefore, we must not have small museums for honouring our own heroes.
One of the challenges that the department is grappling with is the issue of consultants. Therefore, we appeal to the department to minimise the use of consultants and create more employment opportunities. There is a great overreliance on consultants. That is why we are saying we are disappointed with the management challenges in some of the public entities, such as the SA Heritage Resources Agency, SAHRA, for instance.
Piracy and counterfeiting are killing the music industry in South Africa.
Siyanicela bantu musani ukuthenga izinto ezibiweyo nezo kotshiweyo. Thengani uqobo kuba nilambisa iimvumi zethu zaseMzantsi Afrika kwaye niyazibulala ngokwenza oko. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[We plead with you people not to buy stolen goods and pirated material. Buy the original stuff because the former option condemns South African musicians to poverty and is killing them. [Applause.]]
We are praying for the revival of traditional mbaqanga music and choral music.
Minister, we don't have film and video schools at tertiary institutions. They are private institutions and are exploiting our African people. They are really exploiting them. Dr Blade Ndzimande and you, Minister, must meet ...
... khon'ukuze sikwazi ukuqinisekisa ukuba kusekwa ... [... so as to ensure that they set up ...]
... a film production curriculum in the universities of South Africa. That is why you are not finding many black people producing ...
... iifilimu ezithile kuba bayaqhathwa ngaba bamhlophe. [... certain films, because they are cheated by the white producers.]
The National Development Plan puts it very clearly that the wellbeing of every citizen is the concern of other citizens and that the development of South Africa means the development of each and every one of us who lives here. We must build on our solidarity, which, through history and heritage, has demonstrated our aspiration to create a caring society.
Major leading economies in the world have strategically positioned their creative industries, as in Asia. This has resulted in the growth of demand and participation in the creative industry to produce the required quantity. Their economic growth has been sustained through their creative industry, even during the period when the meltdown affected them.
The ANC, as a legitimate voice of the people of South Africa, is concerned about the structure of the global economy and youth unemployment. It is this consideration that moved the Department of Arts and Culture to introduce the Mzansi Golden Economy.
Ndicela nindimamele kuba aniyazi nale Mzansi kwaye niza kuphinda nisibuze izinto eningazaziyo apha. [Please listen to me because you know nothing about the Mzansi Golden Economy and later you are going to ask us funny questions.]
We further request that we support our African initiatives, such as clothing and hairdressing, because it creates employment for those who are in need. The Mzansi Golden Economy projects should include the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that piracy is criminalised.
Two years ago, the original copy of the Freedom Charter was brought back to South Africa. The Freedom Charter remains an important document in our history and it underpins the values of the South African Constitution. The Department of Arts and Culture and its agencies are making plans to host the 60-year commemoration of the Freedom Charter.
The department has supported a number of festivals, such as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Johannesburg Joy of Jazz. However, we plead with you, Minister: now is the time for rural development. These festivals must also be taken to the rural areas ...
... sibe nawo umnyhadala womjuxuzo phaya Pealton, kulo sisi Pam. [... so that we can have a music festival at Pealton, Ms Pam Tshwete's place.]
This will also contribute to job creation.
This year marks 100 years of the cruel and evil Natives Land Act of 1913. We all know what happened. Some members in this House are beneficiaries of the 1913 Natives Land Act. Some on the left here will soon go red. [Interjections.] That is why they are not supportive of the land reform and restitution processes. If you want to check whether a person had benefited during the segregation and apartheid period, ask them their views about the land claims now. They will sweat and become red.
Hon Mulder is the best example. How dare he say blacks don't have a claim to land? [Interjections.] Yes, he is in our Cabinet because that is social cohesion, nina aniyiqondi loo nto [and you don't understand that.] [Interjections.] The ANC will continue to spearhead the land reform process and ensure that its heritage is accurately recorded. During this year, many national museums will be hosting exhibitions to commemorate and educate South Africans about the effects of the Natives Land Act of 1913.
Yhu! Ibuhlungu ke into yakho Mama uKopane kuba ufana nam apha ebusweni akukho nto uyifumeneyo. Uhlawulwa umvuzo lo siwufumanayo apha. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[My goodness! Yours is a sad case, Mrs Kopane, because you look like me and you have nothing. You get a salary like the rest of us.]
The Khoi and San communities deserve special recognition in South Africa. They were crushed by the evils of white racism long before anyone else. They have been slaughtered, removed from their land and enslaved. A myth was even spread that they had all disappeared and those surviving Khoi and San communities were given new labels, such as Boesman and Kaffirboetie. [Interjections.] The ANC is the natural home of the Khoi and San communities for claiming land that was stolen from them before the 1913 Natives Land Act came into effect.
In addition, the Department of Arts and Culture is in the process of repatriating the remains of a Khoi freedom fighter and a Robben Island prisoner who is respected for escaping twice from the Island, Chief Dawid Stuurman. In 1823, after being recaptured, Stuurman was tortured and sent to serve his entire sentence in Australia. He later died in Australia and was buried as a pauper.
Ngoku isebe liyambuyisa, libuyisa namathambo akhe. Sicela i-Australia isebenzisane nathi ukubuyisa umntu wethu, ingamenzi udwayi lwabo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [Now the department is repatriating his remains. We appeal for Australia's co-operation on this matter so that he can be given a proper funeral instead of the pauper's funeral that he was given.]
I like history because it is the truth. Monuments play an important role in nation-building. We will continue to call for the transformation of public monuments. I challenged O R Tambo International Airport to mount a decent statue of Oliver Tambo at the entrance to the airport, which will serve as a tribute to the values that Tambo strived for. I am against the existing dummy sitting in the corner - it is an insult to Oliver Tambo, an internationalist and a South African. In my travels in Israel ...
... Ncumani kaloku nifumana imali phaya. [smile, because you get money from them.]
... heritage monuments are their tourist attractions. [Interjections.] Every time I go to the Holocaust Museum, Minister Pandor, there are Jews there, crying as they remember the Holocaust. But in South Africa they say we should forget about apartheid. How soon? Why should we forget? They must be thankful that we are extending a hand, considering what they did to us, you know?
Unotshe soze silibale, ingakumbi xa nisuka nigeze, nisichaphukisa okokuqala nokokugqibela. [Never! We will never forget, more so given that you provoke us at every turn.] The opposition is forever challenging the transformation of the national geographical places, mainly because it is proposed by the ANC. [Interjections.] Therefore, they like it when they see Boesmanskop and Kaffirfontein.
Ababoni nto ingalunganga. [They see nothing wrong with those names.]
They are very happy about it because it is their heritage. The ANC will not be confused by those who don't want to transform, those who are racist and those who want to block anything that represents African heritage. We call on the SA Geographical Names Council, the Minister and all to fast-track the renaming of Pretoria and other places to reflect the views of the majority of South Africans. [Interjections.] It might be stupid, but it is fine because you are a beneficiary; that is your problem. I wonder how you stay in your house when your maid is just sitting at the back of your house? How do you feel, especially those who come from the farms?
Nimane niba thuma nje. Aninazo neentloni, nize niphinde nibe nezibindi zokuya kwiindawo ezihlala abantu abamnyama niye kufuna ukuba banivotele. Nisile bonanje! [Kwahlekwa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[You just send them on errands. You have no shame! And then you have the guts to go to black residential areas to canvass for their votes. You are so silly, you know! [Laughter.]] This year marks 50 years since the OAU was formed. This calls on us to reflect on what it means to be an African. The Department of Arts and Culture [Interjections.] ... If you loved Africans you would share the farms that you inherited. [Interjections.] You know, hon Ms D Kohler- Barnard, every time you do that you remind me of the cop who arrested me during apartheid. Mandela was never rude. When you do that, you just remind me of him, so please stop doing that. [Interjections.]
We call on the SA Geographical Names Council to do it as soon as possible. The Department of Arts and Culture will be contributing towards Africanism and the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance.
The Department of Arts and Culture supports a number of museums, art galleries and bands. Minister, people who create graffiti are asking where they could get space to practise and see their art. They say graffiti is art, but they are told it is illegal. We will continue to promote our galleries because they play an important role.
Social cohesion is very important, but I think for all of us to be united, some people must change their mind-sets and just take them from pre-94 and move them to post 1994.
The moral decay in our society is the biggest challenge facing this country. The ANC calls upon the Department of Arts and Culture to restreamline the work of the Moral Regeneration Movement. It must either be properly aligned to the department or under the Presidency, so that it can be funded properly.
We call on the department to remember Lovedale Press, where all our black writers were published. All our history, the correct version, comes from that place, so we call on you to fund it. [Applause.] The author D D T Jabavu and all the writers whose work was published by Lovedale Press would be very glad.
The other challenge that I am concerned about is the co-ordination and monitoring of boards. Malfunctioning boards and councils are to be avoided. Therefore, I call for the strengthening of governance in a small part of the Department of Arts and Culture.
As I conclude, I was recently inspired by the Auditor-General when he mentioned to me that all entities of the Department of Arts and Culture are very close to achieving clean audits in the future. I want to congratulate the Robben Island Museum, under the leadership of Mr Sibongiseni Mkhize and his team, who have turned the institution around and achieved unqualified audit reports for two consecutive years. Those who thought Robben Island would come to the Western Cape were dreaming because already it has its savings. However, I need to mention to you, Minister, as well as the Minister of Environmental Affairs, that there is a problem at Robben Island with illegal poaching. They are poaching all the endangered species. I think it is time we had our police and marine police. That is our United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Unesco, World Heritage Site, which is very important to us.
The National Development Plan states that success will be measured by the degree to which the lives, as well as opportunities of the poorer South Africans are transformed in a sustainable manner. I call on the Department of Arts and Culture and its team to work together regarding this issue.
In conclusion, I know that when the truth is spoken, people become angry. The Department of Arts and Culture is doing well. People must just tick and say correct, correct and correct, and not say anything that is not there.
Ndicela ukubulela wena Mphathiswa kunye noSekela Mphathiswa. [I want to thank you, hon Minister and Deputy Minister.]
I would like to thank the House Chairperson, hon Frolick, who has been very supportive, the Chief Whip of the ANC, the staff ... [Interjections.] Your democracy is ill informed, and that is the problem. [Interjections.] Your, democracy is manipulative, you know.
Ndiyabulela kakhulu. Abanye abantu ningabahoyi bethuna. Inyani iyaluma! Ndiyabulela kakhulu ngokundimamela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [Thank you very much. Some people are not worth paying attention you know. The truth hurts! Thank you very much for listening to me. [Applause.]]