Hon Chair, as we reflect on the importance of South Africa's Heritage Day, we need to ponder on whether our collective national effort enhances or detracts from the very foundational provision of our supreme law, the Constitution, which stipulates that we need to -
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
It is my contention that as we truly embrace the essence and spirit of this provision, without negating the other constitutional injunctions, we can be firmly rooted on the path towards a more fundamental and sustainable social cohesion agenda.
Furthermore, a true observance of this injunction will have drastically positive implications for both the tangible, i.e the institutions put in place for our democratic agenda, and the intangible heritage, which includes the collective national mindset in which a democratic culture of tolerance not only thrives, but can also be bequeathed to future generations.
A cursory look at our national political discourse suggests that we have yet to fully embrace a culture in which we "Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights". The sad consequence of this is that we, perhaps inadvertently, are on a sure path towards social disintegration.
It is simply an exercise against the entrenchment of democratic values when a leading figure of the ruling party, Mr Gwede Mantashe, finds it easy to call members of our Constitutional Court - which is a critical institution for the advancement of our democracy - "counter-revolutionaries".
What is more worrisome is the conspicuous silence of many in the ruling party in rejecting Mr Mantashe's rather unfortunate assertion. What does this say about the maturity of our democracy and, by implication, the building of our democratic project?
In order for judges to exercise their duties without fear or favour, in defence of our democratic values, they must be immune from politically inflammatory statements such as the one from Mr Mantashe and his miniature carbon copy, Malema. If time was permitting, I could have mentioned many other examples. Mature democratic values - which we must leave for our children - require an acceptance that opposition parties are there to enhance our democracy. We must respect all institutions which are created to safeguard our democracy and not denigrate them for the momentary pleasure of scoring political points.
The narrative that the building of democracy is the monopoly of the ruling party must be rejected. Firstly, freedom was not won by the ANC alone; it was the collective effort of all South Africans. We must ensure that this mindset permeates all our political exercises and, by extension, our heritage. Secondly, elevating the ANC to the role of a divine ruler is bad for our democracy.
We must attend urgently to the troubles faced by our cultural institutions such as the Robben Island Museum, the National Library and many of the other museums we have. But, on the eve of Heritage Day, I must mention that the very portfolio committee in this Parliament responsible for this task is currently not holding any committee meetings. It only held meetings to discuss the budget and its strategic plan; no other meeting took place after that.
Tangible and intangible cultural heritages are symbiotic and we cannot have one without the other if we wish to have successful, sustainable social cohesion.
The DA believes that the heritage that we should indeed let the future generation of South Africans inherit, is a country with an open-opportunity society in which every person is free, secure and equal, in which everyone has the opportunity to improve the quality of his or her life and pursue his or her dreams, and in which every language and culture enjoys equal respect and recognition.
This heritage is grounded on the defence, promotion and extension of the following principles: the fundamental rights and freedoms of every person, including the right to freedom of conscience, speech, association and movement; the rejection of unfair discrimination on any grounds; the supremacy of the South African Constitution and the rule of law; the language, cultural and religious rights of individuals and the communities they create through free association; equality before the law; the separation of legislative, executive and judicial power; a judiciary that is independent; elections that are regular, free and fair; a representative and accountable government elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage; the devolution of power to locate government as close as possible to the people; a clear division between the ruling party and the state; respect for the right of a vibrant civil society and a free media to function independently; the rejection of violence and intimidation as a political instrument; the right of all people to private ownership and to participate freely in the market economy; the progressive realisation of access to housing, health services and social security for all people who are unable to help themselves; the protection and conservation of the environment; the right of all people to protection by the state from crime and violence; and the right of all people of access to education and training.
Allow me to close with the 1946 Afrikaans translation by H A Fagan of Enoch Sontonga's Nkosi Sikelel, which he wrote and composed in 1897:
Uit duisende monde word die lied gedra. Ek sluit my o; soos 'n serafskoor val daar stemme strelend op my oor: Nkosi Sikelel i'Afrika - Ons vra U sen, O Heer, vir Afrika. Ek kyk, en sien die skare voor my staan: Zoeloe en Xhosa, Sotho en Sjangaan, en ek, 'n Blanke - vele volkre, ja - almal verenigd. Uit duisende monde word die lied gedra, om God's sen te vra op net een tuiste, net een vaderland, want die Alwyse het ons saam geplant en saam laat wortel in Suid-Afrika: Nkosi sikelel I'Afrika - sen, Heer, die land wat vele volkre dra.
Ek dank u. [Applous.] [I thank you.] [Applause.]]