Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament and distinguished guests ...
... molweni ndiyanibulisa. Le ntombi iphambi kwenu LiHlubikazi, uRholeni, uMazibuko, uMlambo, uMwelase, uXhakaza, ndicela nindiphe iindlebe zenu. [... greetings. The lady in front of you is a Hlubi of Rholeni, Mazibuko, Mlambo, Mwelase, Xhakaza, and can you please listen to me.]
Hon Chairperson, we meet during Workers' Month and I, therefore, would like to salute all workers who vigorously fought for their labour rights from the slavery period through to the apartheid era until the war was won. This victory culminated in labour rights as enshrined in the Constitution. What united these workers was music, slogans and dance.
Ndiyanikhahlela basebenzi. [I salute you workers.]
I will start by saying that the ANC supports this Budget Vote. Why? Because the ANC is doing the will of the people based on the Freedom Charter, which is the guiding document of the liberation movement. The Freedom Charter is a document that led to a united South Africa; a document that paved the way for our Constitution today. Recently, even opposition members have been quoting from it. I hereby affirm the Freedom Charter as a premise for discussing social transformation.
South Africa belongs to all who live in it. Government cannot justly reclaim authority unless it is based on the will of the people. The ANC is governing based on the will of the people. Today, I've got my stick and I'm going to beat somebody who disturbs us. [Laughter.]
We were robbed of our birthright as Africans. We suffered injustice and inequality and we will never be ashamed of it. The Department of Arts and Culture has a mandate to restore our dignity and pride, to unify all races and cultural groups and to promote our languages until we reach a stage where all languages are equal.
Further, the department has an obligation to promote our history through heritage promotion and the national liberation route. I want to salute and honour all heroes and heroines of the struggle who took part in the frontier wars against African kingdoms and who fought with spears against gunpowder. I talk of Cetywayo, Sikhukhune, Hintsa, Sandile, Bhambatha and others. [Interjections.]
I stand before this House just five days after we celebrated 18 years of freedom, freedom from more than 300 years of colonialism and more than four decades of apartheid rule. [Interjections.]
Luister hier! Dit is 'n feit dat toe die ANC as regering verkies is, het die meerderheid van die bevolking beperkte of geen toegang gehad tot nasionale erfenisterreine, nasionale argiewe of biblioteekdienste. Dit is waar dat die viering van nasionale dae en ander kulturele gebeurlikhede in silo's, al langs die kleurskeidslyn af, plaasgevind het.
Dit is ook absoluut waar dat slegs twee tale - uit die vele wat ons in die land het - gebruik was vir amptelike kommunikasie en regeringsdoeleindes, ten spyte van die feit dat dit die tale was wat die minste in die land gebesig is. Dit was die tipe kuns- en kultuursektor wat die ANC gerf het toe ons in 1994 die regering oorgeneem het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Listen! It is a fact that when the ANC was elected as the government the majority of the population had limited or no access to national heritage sites, national archives or library services. It is true that the celebration of national days and other cultural events took place in silos, along the colour line.
It is also absolutely true that only two languages - of the many that we have in the country - were used for official communication and government purposes, despite the fact that these were the languages used least in the country. This was the kind of arts and culture sector that the ANC inherited when we took over the government in 1994.] Nindive kakuhle? [Did you hear me correctly?] [Applause.]
Today all citizens have constitutionally guaranteed cultural rights. The arts and culture sector has undergone certain major transformational changes since 1994. As a matter of fact, the arts and culture sector has become an active contributor to the country's economic development drive. Job creation is indeed a central point of priority in the ANC government. Over the past five years the sector has managed to create about 150 000 jobs, thus making a significant contribution to the country's gross domestic product, GDP.
For the purpose of this debate, my focus will be on Programmes 3 and 5, National Language Service and Heritage Promotion. The purpose of the National Language Service programme is to promote the official languages of South Africa and enhance the linguistic diversity of our country. You will agree with me, hon chairperson, that despite the fact that we have 11 official languages, as per the Constitution, the fair and equitable use of these languages is still a challenge.
This is attested to by the ongoing process to finalise the promulgation of the South African Languages Bill. This is one of the key functions that the allocation of the National Language Service programme must cater for during this financial year.
It is important to note that the programme's expenditure grew from R92 million, and is still growing at an average of 2,7%. Over the medium term it is expected to grow to R137 million, at an increased average rate of 9,8%, largely because of the R41 million allocated to PanSALB to address its operational shortfalls.
Uyabona ke Mphathiswa, ndicela undive kakuhle kulo umba kwaye undimamelisise. [Hon Minister, please understand me clearly in this matter and listen carefully.]
PanSALB's mandate is derived from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa; but the people tasked with the management of PanSALB are failing the will of the people of South Africa. We have been vocal about this matter. PanSALB has been experiencing some worrying operational challenges for some time now. Instead of carrying out the constitutional mandate, the institution has become a tug-of-war camp.
Kuyaliwa yi ... [They are fighting,] ... it's a battlefield and the taxpayer's money is used to fight court cases left, right and centre.
Mamela ke, Mphathiswa, asijiki ke kule. [Hon Minister, listen, we are not turning back on this one.]
The portfolio committee took a unanimous decision that no money must be given to PanSALB except for overheads and salaries and the department must play an administrative role, until they respect the will of the people of South Africa; you know asijiki [we are not turning back].
PanSALB must put its house in order. As things stand, there will be no money transferred to PanSALB.
Usimamele ke Mphathiswa kuba siyikomiti ejongene nesebe, siyakuxelela kwaye mna nawe masingaxatyaniswa ngu-PanSALB. [Hon Minister, you must listen to us because as the portfolio committee we must inform you about these things, and you and I must not let PanSALB come between us.]
It is as simple as that.
We have noted the use of consultants by the Department of Arts and Culture. The sooner the department recruits, trains and develops its own skills base, the better for all of us because consultants are standing in the way of job creation. We understand that there are scarce skills in South Africa, but the use of consultants - hayi, makhe yehle kancinci [no, it must be minimised].
The purpose of heritage promotion is to preserve, protect and promote South Africa's cultural heritage through socioeconomic development, social cohesion and national identity; to improve the effective management of the heritage sector and to promote South Africa's cultural heritage and symbols.
Over the medium term, expenditure for the programme is expected to increase to R88,8 million at an annual rate of 4,9%, due to increased transfers to heritage institutions for operations and increased capital works spending.
Through the National Liberation Heritage Route, which is spearheaded by the National Heritage Council, significant historical accounts of events, places, epochs, individuals and communities will be recorded for posterity and for transformation of and transmission to future generations in our society.
In addition, in recognition of the contribution made by the heroes and heroines of the struggle for freedom, the ANC has embarked on a legacy project that seeks to upgrade and declare as national heritage sites some of the significant homes, houses, graves and memorial sites. This is what we call preserving our heritage for generations to come. We hereby support these programmes, as they speak about our heroes and our struggle and will teach generations to come.
Siyabulela mfo kaMangcotywa; uyibambe njalo. [We thank you, Mr Mangcotywa; keep it up.]
We speak about the history, not only of apartheid but also of the frontier wars, as I have spoken about with regard to the tribes.
We must not be held to ransom when we want to transform the names of towns and streets. Speaking of geographical names, we can't be living in Kaffirskop or Boesmansgat - when you drive around, you would pass through these places. So, the programme of national heritage to change geographical names, let it ... [Interjections.]
Nee! Maak jou mond toe! [Gelag.] Ek is nie seker of dit die gat is wat ... [Onhoorbaar.] [No! Close your mouth! [Laughter.] I am not sure whether that is the "gat" [hole] that ... [Inaudible.]]
So, I'm saying it's Boesmansgat.
Ek is nie seker of dit die gat is wat ... [Onhoorbaar.] [I am not sure whether this is the "gat" [hole] that ... [Inaudible.]]