Hon Chairperson, Outcome 12(b) of the Department of Arts and Culture's strategic plan for 2012-13 states that the department wants to help bring about an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship. With the introduction of the Mzansi Golden Economy and its idealistic strategy of creating 5 million jobs within the next five years, it seems that the department is doing all it can to promote our country's cultural heritage.
Artists are the backbone of our society and are responsible for the creation, preservation and passing on of our heritage to a new generation of our people. Through their efforts many people, both local and international tourists, have had the opportunity to see different types of artistic expression, informed by the cultures in South Africa and also influenced by artists from other African countries who reside here.
As important as their role in society is, artists are the most neglected and exploited individuals in our nation. An amount of R7 billion in tax revenue is generated from artists, yet the majority of these artists live and die in poverty due to their unstable working conditions. This has resulted in royalties, pension funds and other benefits being denied them because the department does not seem to take their needs seriously.
In 2009, the President and some in his Cabinet met with artists in Johannesburg to hear their grievances. Commitments were made to address their issues but very little has been done. The complaints ranged from entertainment contracts being given to the same artists all the time by the department, to police not taking piracy seriously because pirated products are openly being sold on the streets and nothing is done about that.
The Eastern Cape holds a wealth of creativity, but it seems the Grahamstown National Arts Festival is the only event that the department bothers to attend and promote. The provincial offices have no presence, neither do they have programmes of any value for artists, despite the fact that money is available to assist their needs.
With regard to cultural tourism, very little is being done to make it a functional reality. The roads leading to many areas that are rich in cultural heritage are heavily neglected and the department should have made it a priority to get the Department of Transport to fix them. The result is that a major source of revenue for local residents is lost because those responsible for upgrading the roads do not seem to care. Those in the rural areas are the worst affected by this situation because they are mostly ignored.
Big city centres, especially Johannesburg, are seemingly the places to be when one wants to progress in one's craft because there are no resources available for rural artists to succeed while living in their own areas. As a result, local artists move to big cities to seek a better life and to be considered successful.
There is a complete lack of visionary leadership and political will to ensure that cultural practice in our country is preserved and promoted, not only among local communities but also across the country. It seems that cultural expression is fit only for Heritage Day, the once-a-year national holiday that is supposed to be a celebration of diverse cultures when in actual fact it is a celebration of specifically selected cultures.
The department needs to change the way it does business because it is responsible for preserving an essential part of who we are. People must be held accountable for the state of our country's art and cultural practice. We cannot continue to be approved budgets while it is still business as usual. If we do not take care in the provincial and municipal offices, we will lose the little that we have left of our heritage and we will no longer know who we are. That would be a terrible place to be.
Sengigcina, Sihlalo ohloniphekile, ngincoma uNgqongqoshe wezamaCiko namaSiko ngezinto azenzile nasazozenza zaphumelela, njenemitapoyolwazi, imifundaze, izinqolobane zamagugu esizwe nemiklamo yokufundisa intsha yethu ngamasiko esintu ngaphandle kokukhetha ibala lomuntu. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[To conclude, hon Chairperson, I wish to commend the Minister of Arts and Culture for all the successful projects that he has carried out successfully and also those that he is still planning to implement. Examples of these are libraries, bursaries, managing our national heritage resources and projects aimed at educating our youth about our heritage regardless of their skin colour.]
The IFP supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]