heritage debate, Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
7 September 2006
Madam Speaker
Madam Premier
Honourable Members of the Legislature
âOur Music, our Heritageâ, is the theme for the heritage celebrations this
year. You may be aware that this is a continuation of the theme, âCelebrating
our living heritageâ, which was launched by President Thabo Mbeki in Galeshewe
in 2004 and will run until next year.
When he was in Galeshewe, the President said, and I quote, âWe need to
confront the reality that by our mannerisms, our accents, our preferred
cuisines, our style of dress, the music we play, the step of our dance and the
totality of our ways of living, many of us see ourselves as clones of other
cultures, and accidentally happen to be condemned by birthright to be
Africans.â
This year, Madam Speaker, the Northern Cape has taken up the challenge as
was presented by our national president, and we continue to live our heritage.
We have made concerted attempts to create awareness around the heritage and
cultural matters raised by the President in his address in Galeshewe. Last
year, we focused on indigenous foods, while for this year, as I have mentioned,
our focus is on celebrating our music.
In our effort to address the issue of music as an expression of our
heritage, we are looking forward to a true celebration of our diverse culture
in music. We therefore pay tribute to all musicians, performers and composers,
and artists generally in the music industry, who have contributed greatly to
the development of our rich musical heritage.
Music is one of the living heritage components that transcend all population
groups, cultural backgrounds and age groups. Allow me, Madam Speaker, to
outline the objectives for heritage celebrations this year. These are:
* the conservation, development and promotion of our musical heritage from
the late 19th to the beginning of the 21st centuries
* ensuring nation-building and reconciliation through our musical
heritage
* highlighting our musical heritage in the democratisation of the country
* furthermore, also as an objective, we want to highlight the significance of
music as a source of income generation and thus creating jobs and wealth. This
we do in line with our mandate of bettering the lives of our people, and
implementing the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA) in terms of heritage in the Northern Cape.
Madam Speaker,
In terms of the advancement of heritage, our vision is to see the department
and institutions of heritage and culture focus more on inclusive programmes,
particularly those of previously disadvantaged communities, which will provide
sound returns on investment. Paradigm shift in this regard, requires that
heritage and cultural institutions show clear socio-economic multiplier effects
such as social cohesion and equity, poverty alleviation, contribution to
positioning of the Northern Cape and attraction of resources to the Northern
Cape. Thus, as government, we need to see contribution to self-sufficiency of
individuals and communities. The development of quality musicians becomes
critical then.
In the address I alluded to earlier, the President pointed out that âliving
heritage represents the manner in which we deal with poverty and destitution;
how we build our economies, how we create stability, how we resolve conflicts;
how we cope with war and the ways in which we bring about peace; how we
co-exist with other communities and build a healthy relationship with our
natural environmentâ.
With this in mind, our heritage needs to be acknowledged for the role it
plays in the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, as well as the role it
plays in the implementation, at a provincial and local level, of the
AsgiSA.
When our department launched the heritage month programme on 1 September, I
commented on how the programme aims to reflect and highlight the role of music
by the people of this province, and we intend celebrating their talent, skill
and successes as a result.
A variety of activities will take place during this month in many forms of
arts and culture, and we look forward to the involvement of the communities of
the Northern Cape, be it business sector or socially, in this regard. Needless
to say, heritage must be celebrated, and heritage is about all of us, and
heritage is around all of us.
Tomorrow, we launch the Nababeep Heritage Vukani Concert, an activity that
arose from an Imbizo our department held in that area last year. The discovery
of the musical talent of the people in that area and the history they carry was
sufficient to investigate the possibility of such a concert. This event will
thus afford the musicians in that area a platform for artistic expression with
the objectives of celebrating arts and culture through music, dance, crafts and
poetry.
Taking a closer look at the heritage month programme, I bring your attention
to the Crafts Exhibition, which carries a strategic objective of creating
awareness for quality products that are marketable, exportable and create
employment and poverty alleviation. This initiative is geared towards
showcasing quality artefacts unique to the Northern Cape crafters from all
regions. The exhibition will be opened by the Premier of this province, Mme
Dipuo Peters, and we urge all Members of the Provincial Legislature to attend
this event. At this point, I want to encourage all of the business community
locally, to visit this exhibition, and become aware of the quality of arts and
crafts available in the Northern Cape, and support local crafters and
artists.
Furthermore, jointly co-ordinated with the Department of Tourism, is the
official launch of the Malay Camp Project. A memorial will be unveiled, and a
permanent exhibition will be displayed at our McGregor Museum, with the aim of
creating awareness, education, communication and interaction.
As an annual event, the African Rendezvous Musical Concert will be held on
Saturday, 23 September this year, although it usually takes place on 24
September which is National Heritage Day. This music concert is put together
annually to celebrate Africaâs achievements through music and encourage the
appreciation of artistic performances. This event profiles the Northern Cape as
a province with huge potential in the arts and culture sector. So, the concert
is not for free the income generated from this activity is ploughed back into
the arts development programmes.
On 24 September however, there will be a Gospel Festival in Kimberley. As we
all know, Honourable Members, the significance of this day rests in recognising
aspects of South African culture, which are both tangible and difficult to pin
down: that is, creative expression, our historical inheritance, language, the
food we eat as well as the land in which we live. As government, we believe
that National Heritage Day is a powerful agent for encouraging a South African
identity, fostering reconciliation and nation building.
On a rather interesting note, another activity for heritage month is a
project run by our museums, whereby communities throughout the province are
tasked to bring in unusual items inherited from grandparents and other family,
for instance heirlooms, to central points. These items will be identified by
experts as to possible provenance, age, use in the past, and how best they may
be preserved. The intention hereof is to inculcate a love for heritage in our
communities through museums and heritage sites.
Finally, we are preparing for the launch of the Richtersveld nomination as a
World Heritage Site on 6 October. The launch will take place in Richtersveld.
Richtersveld has been on the tentative list for the South African World
Heritage Sites for several years now, and in February this year, we submitted a
nomination dossier to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO).
For your information, World Heritage Sites recognise and protect areas of
outstanding natural, historical or cultural value. Inscription will mean much
for the economy of the Richtersveld and Namakwaland in general, as well as for
recognition of the significance of the heritage of our province. The
international impact will, of course, be enormous.
World Heritage Sites, Honourable Members, belong to all the people of the
world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. My appeal is
that we all support this initiative and in that way, the entire Northern Cape
benefits. We already have the support of the Executive Council of the Northern
Cape, National Heritage Council, and the South Ambassador to France, Her
Excellency, Ms. NM Sibanda-Thusi, who visited the area last month. The
community is responsible for the management of this project, which is unique in
terms of the criteria of identifying and recognizing World Heritage Sites.
In conclusion, Former State President Nelson Mandela said this of heritage
day in 1996, and I quote, âWhen our first democratically-elected government
decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we
knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help
build our new nationâ.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Northern Cape Provincial
Government
7 September 2006
