Programme Director;
Dignitaries present;
Delegates present;
Ladies and gentlemen;
All protocol observed.
On behalf of the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, we wish start by thanking all the delegates and speakers who have been part of this watershed gathering, which for the first time has deliberated on the important role that can be played by the arts and craft sector in the economy of our province.
Programme Director, this two days conference has been historic in many ways. Not only did it discuss the critical issues of how to elevate this sector to the top of our economic development. Arts and craft sector has shown in concrete and practical terms the role it can play to open up a confluence of opportunities for our people.
As we draw down the curtain today, we do so with more than a sense of contentment and achievement having made a collective history by bringing all the role players in the sector to work on how to propel this sector to greater heights. When history is written we have no doubt that these two days will remembered as the days in which all stakeholders from the province of KwaZulu-Natal and beyond came together to cross‐pollinate ideas towards developing the roadmap that will take this sector to another level. As stated yesterday we are in the process of developing the KwaZulu‐Natal Arts & Craft Strategy that we hope will be finalised in the new financial year.
Your contributions in the debate and inputs I got from crafters that I met at the exhibition at Gateway will go a long way in influencing the content of our strategy that we want to ensure it is results‐oriented.
Programme Director while we do not want to harp on the issues that were discussed at this conference since you were part of it what we want to stress, though, are few issues which came to the fore. One of the critical issues which the conference highlighted is that we have not done enough to put this sector at the centre of our efforts to grow the economy.
In another words, this sector, for a long time has been at the peripheral of our economic activities, in spite of its potential. Secondly it has become clear that our crafters from the province have not been given the necessary recognition and congruent treatment accorded to other sectors and the necessary platforms to compete with their fellow counterparts globally.
One of the important aspects that this conference brought to the fore is the abundance of untapped economic potential. With the country’s export sales of arts and craft standing at R150 million, this implies we have to double our efforts to widen our export market, especially in the less familiar territories such as China with a booming economy. As all of us heard that the 15% annual growth in retails could see the revenue jumping to R5 billion, with almost R1 billion being export oriented.
Also, we learned that currently in the province this sector contributes a mere R1 billion annual revenue. It goes without saying that this is not enough, given the rich and wealth natural resource that this province boasts.
Programme Director, we are the first one to admit that the issue of the integration of the arts and craft sector in the economy is a matter that should have been attended to long time ago. It is because of this reason that one of our main focus from today onwards should be to speedily finalise the arts and craft strategy reflected above in order to ensure that we give strategic direction to the role that can be played by this sector in boosting the economy of the country.
This critical especially that the majority of crafters come from ordinary communities that require special attention with respect to socio‐economic empowerment.
We have to fast track the development of the strategy in tandem with the national policy prescripts to ensure proper alignment which is essential for equitable development. During the deliberations of the conference it has become clear that the absence of clear policy position with regard to this sector has not only resulted in the exploitation of our arts and craft sector but it has allowed a situation where middle persons from other countries do flourish and in particular, have been making a fortune out of our sector. This lopsided relationship has created a situation where middle persons from other countries have been buying arts and craft from South Africa, only to sell it at triple the price.
This, without any doubt, needs to stop. But having heard Deputy Minister of Arts & Craft, Dr Joe Phaahla that the introduction of the national programme, Mzansi Golden Economy will highlight the importance of this sector and assist in the provision of comprehensive support services to grow our economy through arts and craft, we are confident there would be a step forward.
As we said last night, our province is not in short of the depth of vision to elevate this sector. Our long term vision is to create an emporium which will be the biggest on the African continent which will feature a repertoire of arts and crafts from all over the continent.
This conference therefore resolves that we should create a clear roadmap with concrete deliverables and timelines to elevate this sector to its rightful place in the economy of our province.
As we said earlier, this roadmap includes among others the:
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Establishment of the Provincial Integrated Craft Hub as prescribed by the national government to ensure central co‐ordination of the industry for future development, that would hinge on the provision of amongst other things, access to funding and market, skills training and transfer, research and development to ensure quality product designs for the highly competitive market.
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The positioning of the sector within the cluster system, through the establishment of the KwaZulu‐Natal Craft Cluster which will be complementary to the functions of the hub, but ensure that sub‐sectors within the industry are proper coordinated to be able to provide holistic support in terms of market access, enterprise development and facilitation of communication amongst all role players in this field.
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Supply of Raw Materials as the life blood of any commodity oriented industry to be competitive and sustainable. This programme will ensure that crafters do access materials at competitive rates through the promotion of bulk buying whilst advising on the best practices to comply with environmental protection provisions to maintain sustainable and eco‐friendly production of artefacts.
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Establishment of Raw Materials Supply Sector is related to the above programme though this stresses on the integrated linkages in the supply of raw materials and the quality control of finished products.
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Access to Market that features prominently in the strategic framework and thus it seems to feature in all the programmes of our draft strategy. For real growth, arts and craft has to be exposed to both domestic and world market which requires professional production, packaging, distribution and exhibition of arts and craft to ensure its competitiveness and profitability.
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Training and Development that is responsive to the growing market demand for quality artefacts, to ensure that integration of product design with commercial and marketing principles. Crafters would be encouraged to gain basic and advances skills in all facets of the industry to ensure they optimally benefit from the sector. Liaison with various institutions that provide different services, such as MPPP‐SETA, SABS, CSIR and National Productivity Institute is essential in making the sector viable and competitive will be a continuous process. Within this programme the province promotes the concept of One Village One Product which is critical in the identification and maximum utilisation of the local raw materials for production and massive production of finished products for steady and sustainable supply to the market.
- KwaZulu‐Natal Awards of Excellence for Handicrafts that will serve as recognition of contributions made by crafters to the industry whilst serving as a motivation for the production of quality artefacts that are able to capture the international market to be able to promote growth in the sector.
Programme Director, this conference cannot afford to go down in history as another expensive talk shop which did not yield any tangible result. Collectively, we have been given the canvas on which to meticulous and skillfully craft the future of this sector. We therefore need to walk the talk. By the time we meet here next year, we must be able to account that how far this roadmap has been implemented.
I want to assure this conference that we will be translating all the issues that emerged during the deliberations into a formal report which will be circulated to ensure everyone gets a glimpse of its content.
As we indicated earlier on, this information will contribute to the overall arts and craft strategy for the province.
In conclusion, Programme Director, allow me to thank all the speakers who have enriched us with their well thought out presentations. Let me also thank all the delegates who were part of this conference.
We wish you a safe journey home. But more importantly, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with blessings.
I thank you.
