the celebration of the Heritage day at Qaukeni Great Place
24 September 2006
A nation without a past is lost
Programme Director
Members of the Executive Council
Members of the District Council
Members of Traditional Leadership
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
A nation without a past is lost
The celebration of Heritage Day marks a significant milestone in the
struggle for liberation in South Africa. It is a celebration of everything that
makes us who we are and the strides we have made in the struggle to claim back
our land and our pride. We should celebrate that which enriched the fabric of
our society. The Eastern Cape contains a huge heritage of cultural history from
our living heritage, our senior citizens, our songs, dance and museums. This is
captured in our traditional songs, poetry, customs, drawings and sketches.
This year's theme is: âCelebrating Living Heritage" with a sub theme,
âCelebrating our music, or heritageâ. On 20 September 2006 the Cabinet and I
paid a visit to the archives and the Art Gallery at the University of Fort
Hare. Artistic work by artists such as Dumile Feni Mhlaba, Gerald Sekoto, Pemba
and various artists from the Eastern Cape like Pauline Ingle who captured the
rural folks in their traditional regalia tell rich stories of our past. I also
observed the Indigenous Music Ensemble performed by the Music students, which I
understand is the first in any University.
Current programmes of the Eastern Cape Government are in place to ensure
that heritage resources are being explored, developed and managed in a
sustainable manner to inform dignity, social cohesion, poverty alleviation,
income generation, tourism development, heroism as translated by the Ngquza
Revolt and its remnants. Heritage plays a prominent role in conservation and
commemoration of heritage resources and national days such as today.
The Eastern Cape Government entered into a partnership with the House of
Traditional Leaders with an aim of ensuring traditional leaders as custodians
of the country's culture. There is a huge and critically important role of
Traditional Leadership in the development of moral and values, issues of
circumcision and how delivery of government services can be enhanced with
Traditional Leadership as a special purpose vehicle for the provincial
government.
There is a saying that âwisdom comes with ageâ. Therefore our senior
citizens are part of a rich repository of culture and knowledge as part of
Living Heritage. The International Day of Older Persons to be celebrated on 1
October 2006 has a theme, which is, âOlder people, a new power for
developmentâ. It is important that our nation begin to treat the senior
citizens with respect and protect them from all forms of abuse. We salute them
for being the backbone in the rural economy and for their wisdom in giving back
to their communities. Our former State President leads by example. Beside their
contribution to the strengthening of the family unit as a basis for building a
caring society, it is said that in Africa 14 million orphaned children are
looked after by their grandparents.
Much has been done since the establishment of the provincial structure of
the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). The SAHRA has as its aim,
âdeveloping an integrated and interactive system for the management of the
national heritage resourcesâ. In the Transkei area the status of the living
heritage within that context, in particular Traditional Leadership is one of
the aspects that need rigorous transformation. The recent restoration of the
Chieftaincy to the Mandela family is an attempt to reserve colonial legacy and
a symbol of bestowing heritage back to the local leaders. The government wants
to ensure that local people realise the rich cultural legacy they have and how
it makes them a better peoples of South Africa after 1994.
I plead with you to work closely with our government to preserve our
cultural heritage and not to allow any forces to taint our customs such as the
circumcision and other good customs. Let us teach our children where we come
from and be proud of what we have achieved.
I thank you
Issued by: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
24 September 2006
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za)
