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.]]