13 May 2006
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa came under scrutiny during
group discussions at the Heritage Consultative Conference held at the Nelson
Mandela Gateway to Robben Island today.
The traditional representatives of the Khoi and San communities expressed
disappointment that the Constitution does not protect their identity and
heritage. This becomes even more evident in government and private
administrative documents where the Khoi-San people are classified as coloureds.
They have called for the revival of the project to identify Khoi and San
heritage sites initiated by National Department of Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology five years ago so that the indigenous people are afforded an
opportunity to take ownership of their own heritage.
Delegates appealed to government to increase budget allocation to the
heritage sector so that its true value and contribution to the economy can be
realised. The critical shortage of skilled young heritage practitioners,
especially from disadvantaged communities, was sharply raised as an impediment
to the transformation of the sector. In this regard, government was urged to
develop bursary schemes to encourage and financially assist prospective
students from designated groups.
The conference was organised by the Western Cape Department of Cultural
Affairs and Sport in conjunction with the National Heritage Council (NHC) to
allow heritage stakeholders and practitioners to make their inputs into a
provincial heritage plan.
In his keynote address to the conference earlier Premier of the Western Cape
Province, Ebrahim Rasool, warned the delegates that the plan for developing and
preserving heritage should be relevant to the current realities of society and
avoid âfreezing in the pastâ. The CEO of the NHC, Adv Sonwabile Mancotywa,
appealed to the delegates to "assist the province in searching for the
uniqueness of the Western Cape heritage that define its people and their
culture."
He also shared the heritage vision that will unite the nation if consensus
is found about "what is South African that makes us South African". The MEC for
Cultural Affairs and Sport, Whitey Jacobs, took the challenges as a mandate for
his Department and said, "The Department will ensure that all suggestions
raised by the practitioners and communities will be given high priority going
forward."
Enquiries:
Mandla Yeki
Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: (021) 483 9804
Cell: 082 5533 477
Danny Goulkan
Marketing and Communications Manager
The National Heritage Council
Tel: (012) 348 1663
Cell: 072 952 2260
Issued by: Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Provincial
Government
13 May 2006
