Programme Director,
MEC for Sports, Arts and Culture and other MECs present Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Provincial Convener of the ANC,
Leaders of different political parties in the province,
Leaders of CONTRALESA and the Provincial House of traditional leaders Stalwarts and Veterans of our struggle,
Leaders of organised labour and Business leaders Comrades and compatriots.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the National Heritage Day which has become a public holiday since the advent of democracy in our country. We are celebrating this year’s National Heritage Month under the theme ‘Reclaiming, Restoring and Celebrating Our Living Heritage’.
We are also meeting at a time when as a country, we are commemorating the centenary of the notorious 1913 Native Land Act that was passed by the Union Parliament three years after its establishment.
The Union Parliament stated the objective of the Act as ‘to make further provision as to the purchase and leasing of land by natives and other persons in several parts of the Union and for other purposes in connection with the ownership and occupation of land by natives and other persons’.
This Act was used to legalise the land robbery that has been taking place over a long period during the wars of resistance where indigenous African people has been fighting with spear in hand against European settlers over land, cattle and freedom. The first Secretary of the African National Congress (ANC), Sol Plaatjie wrote at the time: “Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth”.
Program Director,
As a province we recall leaders like; Sekwati, Sekhukhune, Nghunghunyane, and Kgoshi Tshilwavhusikhutsha Ramabulana. The defeat of these warrior kings after fierce resistance in defense of our freedom and independence paved the way for the Union Parliament to legitimize what they robbed our people over centuries.
They gave 87% of the land to whites and leaving only 13% to the indigenous African people of this country.
This Act effectively took away basic socio-economic rights for the majority of South Africa’s inhabitants in that they could no longer survive on their land which forced the African men to become laborers in the mines and White men’s farms. The 1913 Native Land Act turned black people into wanderers, labourers and pariahs in their own land.
Delivering the political report to the ANC National Conference in 1919, former ANC president Sefako Makgatho said: "the Native land Act still operates as mercilessly in different parts of the Union, and as a result many native families are still working for white farmers only for their food".
This piece of legislation was the first segregation legislation that was passed by the Union Parliament and remained the cornerstone of Apartheid until the 1990s when it was replaced by the current policy on land restitution.100 years later, we still cannot celebrate our heritage on our land because of the effects of this Act.
Program Director,
The democratic state has however made serious progress in giving back land to its rightful owners through the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994.
As part of the government programme to give land back to our people, we
have adopted a ‘willing buyer willing seller principle’ which has proven to be very, slow since those that are in possession of land are not willing to sell and if sell , they do so at prices that are above the market value.
President Zuma when delivering his State of the Nation Address in February this year, outlined the following important interventions to deal with land redistribution and restitution:
“From 1994, we have been addressing the land reform problem through restitution, redistribution and tenure reform. As stated before, we will not be able to meet our redistribution targets. Government’s mid-term review last year reveals a number of shortcomings in our land reform implementation programme. We will use those lessons to improve implementation.
Firstly, we will shorten the time it takes to finalize a claim. In this regard, government will now pursue the ‘just and equitable’ principle for compensation, as set out in the Constitution instead of the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ principle, which forces government to pay more for land than the actual value.
Secondly there are proposed amendments to the Restitution of Land rights Act,1994 in order to provide for the re-opening of the lodgement of restitution claims, by people who missed the deadline of 31 December 1998”.
Program Director,
There is no better place to celebrate the National Heritage Month than in Limpopo. Mapungubwe Kingdom site, which has been declared a World Heritage Site, reflects the creativity and innovations of our forebears particularly in the use of technology. This important development places Limpopo as a province in a map as one area that has made immense contribution to early human civilization.
Program Director,
As a province during this National Heritage Month we celebrate the diverse culture and history of our people. This is one province that has great cultural diversity since it is the home of the Vatsonga, BaVenda, Bapedi, Ndebele, English, Afrikaans and people of Indian origin. Limpopo therefore becomes a microcosm of the rest of the country in that it represents a rainbow nation at peace with itself.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should celebrate this year’s National Heritage Month in a Proudly South African way. This means that we should be proud of our culture as South Africans and above all as Africans. This means upholding the spirit of ubuntu and showing respect for the senior citizens in our society. Actually we can learn a lot through oral history and other means from them. We should appreciate as this generation that we are because they are and they are because we are!
We must teach our youth to resist the temptation of allowing the Western cultures to take over our culture. Our young people should be taught about our roots as a people in order to preserve our cultural heritage going forward.
Program Director,
We should celebrate our Living Heritage as a people as an essential source of identity and continuity. Aspects of Living Heritage includes but not limited to cultural tradition, oral history, performance, ritual, popular memory, skills and techniques, indigenous knowledge system and the holistic approach to nature, society and social relationships. This will go a long way in promoting cultural diversity, social cohesion, reconciliation, peace and economic development in our province.
As we draw closer to 20th anniversary of our freedom and democracy, it is important to pay tribute and recognize the unsung heroines and heroes of our liberation struggle by creating a platform where communities will actively contribute to the documentation of untold stories concerning the unsung heroines and heroes in their communities.
Ours is a proud Heritage of musicians and sporting giants such as SelaeloSelota,Colbert Mukwebo, Caster Semenya, Mamabolo, Candy Mokwena,Mopedi, Philip Ndou and many others as you will see here today.
Program Director,
We also celebrate our living and past heroes and heroines.it was through immense sacrifice by many heroines and heroes who hails from this province such as SefakoMakgatho, Alpheus Malivha, Mark Shope, Charlotte Mannya (well known as Maxeke),Lawrence Phokanoka, and Peter Nchabeleng amongst others.
Celebrating the lives of these stalwarts as well as some living heroes such as Nelson Diale, John Nkadimeng, MothupiPharephare, Ike Maphotho, TT Cholo, Lydia Komape, Rashaka Ratshitanga and Samson Ndou. This will assist us to reclaim, restore and celebrate the South African Living Heritage!
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate the use of our indigenous languages in our rich province. Our Constitution protects the use of all languages on an equal basis. Therefore there is nobody here who should claim their language to be superior to the other. Government employees should serve all people equally using all languages available. The opportunity as a people is vast, in that we all could be multi-linguistic at will.
Let us go out there and preserve all our Heritages so that tomorrow people should be proud of us.
I thank you!
