25 May 2001
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FRIDAY, 25 MAY 2001
____
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 09:02.
The Chairperson of Committees took the Chair and requested
members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or
meditation.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr B NAIR: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the
next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the
ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the Sharks are playing against ACT
Brumbies in the final of the Super 12;
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(2) further notes that it is the first time a South
African side will be playing in the final of this
tournament; and
(3) wishes the team well and urges the Sharks to bring
the cup home.
[Applause.]
Adv H C SCHMIDT: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the DP:
That the House -
(1) notes the decision of the ANC majority to force a
debate on the allegations surrounding the position of
the Speaker of the National Assembly and her role in
relation to the investigation into the arms deal;
(2) believes that the matter raises issues related to
privilege, freedom of speech and the relationship
between the Executive and Parliament;
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(3) remains convinced that these are complicated and
fundamental issues that cannot be resolved in the
course of the debate; and
(4) therefore calls on the majority party and its allies,
the IFP, to reconsider their position on this matter
and to appoint an appropriate committee.
[Interjections.]
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that
on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf
of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the DA's imminent disintegration has been
compounded by -
(a) little Ryan Coetzee's letter to Tony Leon to
marginalise Marthinus van Schalkwyk;
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(b) the tyrannical leadership of Peter Marais who
wants to relocate informal traders without proper
consultation;
(c) Gerald Morkel's lack of consultation on his
proposed alliance with California;
(d) the inability to deal effectively with the
untenable escalation of crime in Cape Town;
(e) the revelation of a plot to oust the overambitious Hennie Bester; and
(f) the fact that the DA is not really a party
because the DP and the New NP still hold separate
congresses; and
(2) reminds the Disintegrating Alliance that the ANC
warned that their marriage of convenience would end
in tears.
[Interjections.] [Applause.]
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Mnr J DURAND: Mnr die Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat
ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem dat -
(a) drie regters van die Pretoriase Hooggeregshof se
salaristjeks deur die bank geweier is; en
(b) verskeie provinsiale regters se salaristjeks
verlede maand geweier is en dat regter Jimmy van
Rensburg, waarnemende regterpresident van die
Oos-Kaap, se salaristjek vir die tweede
agtereenvolgende maand geweier is;
(2) glo dit beklemtoon weer eens die ANC-regering se
gebrek aan dienslewering aan alle Suid-Afrikaners; en
(3) 'n dringende beroep doen op die ANC-regering om hulle
prioriteite reg te kry en hulle eerder daarop toe te
spits om dienslewering aan alle Suid-Afrikaners te
verbeter, deur onder andere oorwerkte regters se
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salarisse te betaal, as om miljarde rande aan wapens
en luukse vliegtuie vir die President te bestee.]
(Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Mr J DURAND: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a)
the salary cheques of three judges in the
Pretoria Supreme Court have been dishonoured by
the bank; and
(b)
the salary cheques of several provincial judges
were dishonoured last month and the salary
cheque of Judge Jimmy van Rensburg, acting
judge president of the Eastern Cape, was
dishonoured for the second month in succession;
(2) believes that this emphasises once more the ANC
Government's lack of service delivery to all South
Africans; and
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(3) urgently appeals to the ANC Government to get their
priorities right and rather to concentrate on
improving service delivery to all South Africans by,
inter alia, paying the salaries of overworked judges,
than to spend millions of rands on weapons and luxury
aeroplanes for the President.]
Dr G W KOORNHOF: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the UDM:
That the House -
(1) expresses its delight at the latest figures released
by Morgan Stanley Capital International, with South
Africa surfacing as the biggest gainer among emerging
markets;
(2) notes that Morgan Stanley Capital International is
the world's leading compiler of share indices for
investors, and that their positive rating will have a
marked effect on short-term foreign investment in
South Africa;
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(3) urges the Government to consolidate these gains,
ensuring longer-term foreign investment by firmly and
unambiguously addressing corruption, HIV/Aids and
regional foreign policy; and
(4) calls on the Government to make full use of current
downward inflationary pressures by reducing the price
of fuel as a matter of urgency, to ensure that
ordinary South Africans are the ultimate
beneficiaries.
Ms P K MOTHOAGAE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the ANC:
That the House -
(1) recognises that molestation of pupils by school
teachers is a gross violation of the rights of
pupils;
(2) welcomes the statement by the Director-General of
Education that principals who cover up such
activities will be disciplined;
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(3) urges members of the House to assist in exposing such
practices; and
(4) believes that such molestation is extremely
detrimental to the development of young people and
that more needs to be done to equip our school system
to protect, nurture and provide a safe environment
for our young people.
Dr S E M PHEKO: Mr Chairman, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the PAC:
That the House -
(1) notes that President Joseph Kabila has unbanned
political parties in the Democratic Republic of
Congo;
(2) further notes that the announcement to unban all
political parties was made at the ceremony held to
mark the anniversary of the fall of the late dictator
Mobutu Sese Seko on 17 May 1999; and
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(3) hails this move as a correct signal for creating a
conducive climate to bring democracy and political
stability in the DRC.
Dr C P MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis
dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal
voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem -
(a) van die sinlose moord op die 18-jarige Ashley
Kempen, 'n matriekleerling van die Hoër
Jongenskool Paarl, by sy ouers se vulstasie in
Klapmuts;
(b) dat hy op 'n kort afstand ses keer met 'n 9-mm
pistool geskiet is tydens 'n gewapende roof by sy
ouers se vulstasie; en
(c) dat hy vermoor is deur die 23-jarige Eric
Skefile, 'n swart man wat tot onlangs by die
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vulstasie van die Kempens werksaam was, en twee
trawante;
(2) sy opregte meegevoel uitspreek met Ashley se ouers,
mnr en mev Shane Kempen van Klapmuts; en
(3) 'n dringende beroep doen op die ANC-regering op
nasionale vlak, maar veral op die DA-regering op
provinsiale vlak om misdadigers soos Eric Skefile in
die Wes-Kaap sonder genade te hanteer en hom
permanent te verwyder uit die samelewing.
(Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that
on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) notes -
(a) the senseless murder of 18-year-old Ashley
Kempen, a matric pupil at Paarl Boys' High
School, at his parents' petrol station in
Klapmuts;
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(b) that he was shot six times at close range with a
9 mm pistol during an armed robbery at his
parents' petrol station; and
(c) that he was murdered by 23-year-old Eric Skefile,
a black man who was until recently employed at
the Kempens' petrol station, and two henchmen;
(2) expresses it sincere condolences to Ashley's parents,
Mr and Mrs Shane Kempen of Klapmuts; and
(3) makes an urgent appeal to the ANC Government at
national level, but particularly to the DA government
at
provincial level, to treat criminals like Eric
Skefile without mercy in the Western Cape and to
remove him permanently from society.]
Mr J H MOMBERG: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I will move on behalf of
the ANC:
That the House -
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(1) notes with shock and dismay the special International
Cricket Council Report on corruption in the game of
cricket;
(2) recognises that persistent reports on corruption in
cricket tarnish the image of the game as a
gentlemanly sport;
(3) condemns corruption in cricket;
(4) commends cricket authorities for their efforts in
eradicating the scourge of corruption in this game;
(5) urges all national cricket bodies to study and
implement the anticorruption recommendations of the
International Cricket Council Report; and
(6) calls on the United Cricket Board to ensure that
anticorruption measures are in place for the 2003
Cricket World Cup to be held in South Africa.
Ms J A SEMPLE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the DP:
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That the House -
(1) notes that the Ekurhuleni mayor has bowed to DA
pressure by back-tracking on the decision to spend
R500 000 on an armoured vehicle;
(2) recognises the valuable role played by a strong,
principled opposition and a free media;
(3) further notes -
(a) allegations that the ANC chief whip in the metro
is paid as a full-time councillor when she should
be paid as a part-time councillor and that she
has the use of council transport and drivers on
top of receiving a travelling allowance;
(b) that the mayor spent over R30 000 of council
money on tickets for the Lewis vs Rahman fight to
give to his mayoral committee and other ANC
hacks; and
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(c) that between R400 000 and R500 000 was spent on
radio advertisements promoting the fight and the
mayor himself; and
(4) therefore calls on the ANC to put the interests of
the residents of Ekurhuleni first by getting their
snouts out of the trough, and spending ratepayers'
money on the upliftment of the poor.
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, on a point of order.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Who is raising the
point of order?
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Here at the back, Chairperson.
The CHAIRPERSON: Point of order granted.
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, the hon member just said
``getting their snouts out of the trough''. A pig has a
snout, and I think that the member is implying that members
of the ANC are pigs, which I do not think is parliamentary.
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The CHAIRPERSON: Order! I will have to look at the motion
again, hon member, and then we will give a ruling on that.
[Interjections.] Order! If it is out of order, it will not
be printed in the motion. However, we will have to check on
that.
Mr M F CASSIM: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that rail usage in South Africa is
unfortunately limited to the poor and to daily
commuters using the Metro service;
(2) believes that all segments of our country should use
rail for it to grow and modernise;
(3) notes the introduction of the Premier Class facility
that offers unique opportunities for conferences,
parties, family get-togethers and that the uses to
which it could be put are limitless;
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(4) notes that the Blue Train is an experience that is
unique in our country and in the world;
(5) wishes to encourage banks, financial institutions and
all other enterprises offering prizes to consider a
journey for two on the Blue Train, for this would be
a win-win situation; and
(6) notes that the IFP calls on the House and on all
South Africans to put rail in their travel and
holiday plans because greater use of rail would be
environmentally friendly and economically important
for South Africa.
Ms S K MNUMZANA: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that 500 striking Engen workers marched to
Wentworth Police Station and damaged property as
scuffles between police and the workers broke out;
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(2) believes that workers have a right to strike but
within the parameters and regulations set out by the
labour relations laws of the country;
(3) condemns the destruction of property; and
(4) calls on all South Africans to respect the law
enforcement officers and agencies of our country and
to utilise the available instruments of recourse in
cases of misuse of power or violation of
constitutional rights.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that
on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf
of the New NP:
That the House -
(1) notes with appreciation that South Africa's High
Commissioner in Zimbabwe, Mr Jeremiah Ndou, for the
first time publicly expressed his concern over the
invasion of especially white-owned businesses in
Zimbabwe;
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(2) endorses his statement that South Africa cannot
accept a perceived signal that foreign investment
might not be protected in the region; and
(3) calls on the hon President of South Africa to be
equally vociferous in his condemnation of what is
currently happening in Zimbabwe.
Mr C T FROLICK: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on
the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of
the UDM:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) according to a study by the SA Roads Policy
Project, failure to upgrade South African's
ailing road system has already cost the country
between R100 billion and R150 billion in capital
assets and the figure is rising;
(b) failure by the Government to address this issue
has led to a backlog, which will cost R15,2
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billion a year for 10 years to correct the
accumulated deterioration in the existing
network;
(c) at present only 60% of this figure is being
spent; and
(d) the UDM urgently calls on the Government to
effectively and urgently deal with the state of
our national roads, without which efficient
delivery on housing, schools and clinic projects,
will be crippled.
Mnu M U KALAKO: Mhlali-ngaphambili, ndenza isaziso sokuba
xa ihlala iNdlu kwakhona ndiya kwenza isiphakamiso egameni
le-ANC:
Sokuba le Ndlu -
(1) iqaphele intsindabadala yodushe oluthe gqolo
ukuqhubeka kumazwe akuMbindi-Mpuma;
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(2) ivakalise udano lwayo kwiNkulumbuso yakwaSirayeli
nebithembise ngokumisa uhlaselo kodwa lube lusaqhuba;
nokuba
(3) ikhuthaze onke amaqela achaphazelekayo kule mbambano
ukuba abuyele kwitafile yeengxoxo zoxolo; nokuba
(4) imemelele kwihlabathi jikelele ukuba lincedisane noku
linike uncedo lobuntu kumaxhoba olu dushe
ngokukhawuleza okudibene nokungxama.
(Translation of Xhosa notice of motion follows.)
[Mr M U KALAKO: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that at
the next sitting day of the House, I will move on behalf of
the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes the continuing crisis in countries in the
Middle East;
(2) expresses its disappointment at the Prime Minister of
Israel, who had promised to stop attacks but they are
still continuing;
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(3) encourages all the parties involved in this crisis to
negotiate peace; and
(4) calls on the entire world to assist in this process
and give help to the victims as soon as possible.]
AFRICA UNITY DAY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr G Q M DOIDGE: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that today is Africa Unity Day;
(2) believes that the future well-being of our country is
interlinked with building a prosperous, peaceful
Africa where the democratic practices of all its
nations further the aspirations of and opportunities
for all African people, an Africa which plays a
leading role in international affairs; and
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(3) commits itself to serving our African continent in
pursuit of these goals.
Agreed to.
GOOD WISHES TO SHARKS RUGBY TEAM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr C H F GREYLING: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) wishes the Sharks success in their Super 12 final
clash against the ACT Brumbies in Australia tomorrow;
and
(2) notes that a victory would make them the first South
African team to achieve top honours in this
prestigious rugby tournament.
Agreed to.
APPROPRIATION BILL
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Debate on Vote No 13 - Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology:
The MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Chairperson, colleagues, comrades, ladies and gentlemen, I
find the budget speech preparation process to be a very
effective mechanism for Ministers to take stock of the
progress that they have made as far as their Ministry's
challenges are concerned. I believe that this year we have
begun to see something of a breakthrough in the work of the
Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
Allow me to explain. When I took up the position of
Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1994,
a great deal of my time and energy was spent on trying to
persuade South Africans and many of my colleagues in
Government of the importance of arts and culture in the
economy, in nation-building and in the imaging of South
Africa. I spent almost as much time making a case for
research and development, and technology transfer as key
levers of economic development.
Much of our time was spent on proving that the cultural
industries were an important economic sector with the
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potential to create jobs and to stimulate rural economies;
that science and technology were vital components of
ensuring global competitiveness and improving the quality
of life of all South Africans; and that our culture, our
heritage and our sciences were key to unleashing our
imaginations and our creative potential.
Much of our work over the past five years has been on
integrating culture and science into the core economic and
social development programmes of national Government. I
believe that there has been a breakthrough in the national
acceptance of the importance of arts, culture, science and
technology as central to achieving the economic and social
development imperatives of this Government.
In January this year the cultural industries were included
as one of the key growth sectors within Cabinet's economic
and employment cluster. Technology, along with
infrastructure and human resource development, was declared
as one of the three key crosscutting imperatives for
economic development.
By the end of June we will have developed a national
strategy on biotechnology as a result of a direct mandate
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from Cabinet. South African music, film, theatre and visual
arts are being used with great success to showcase and
promote our country in Britain this month, as part of the
Celebrate South Africa programme. In these and in a number
of other ways, technology, science, culture and arts have
finally been placed firmly on the national agenda as having
a central role to play in achieving our core national
objectives.
I will now dwell on some highlights, beginning with science
and technology. The role of science and technology in
contributing to national growth is now broadly accepted,
not just here at home but internationally. Science and
technology are now recognised as major contributors to
industrial productivity, economic growth, environmental
sustainability and international competitiveness. The role
of science and technology in South Africa has become
increasingly important over the past decade.
Globalisation is a reality that brings with it a number of
significant challenges for developing nations. The full
benefits of global scientific advances over 200 years of
scientific progress and industrial growth are enjoyed only
by no more than one fifth of the world's population. As
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markets are increasingly globalised, the barriers to
entering certain technological areas and becoming globally
competitive are growing; and the costs of licence
technology, that is, the technology trade deficit, are
growing.
As we have seen with the recent legal wranglings with
pharmaceutical companies, access to biotechnology, in
particular, is a major international issue that is
redefining power relationships between the South and the
North. It is widely accepted that successful nations will
increasingly be those with high levels of technological
innovations.
As members of Parliament will be aware, the National
Research and Technology Foresight Study launched in March
last year provided a structured opportunity to look ahead
and consider the role that may be required of science and
technology in the future of our economy. Since the launch
of the foresight study, we have been involved in the drive
to develop a technology foresight culture within the
country. The foresight study provided South Africa with
glimpses of what technological futures will exist, and what
can be expected in terms of emerging technologies over the
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next 10 to 20 year period in the 12 sectors covered by the
study.
These openings into the future now require a detailed
mapping out of the landscape through a structured and
planned exercise, the output of which will be a set of
technology road maps. Technology road maps will be
developed in the following three sectors which have been
identified by the foresight study as having the highest
potential for economic growth and development. These are
information and communication technologies, advanced
materials, and bio informatics and biotechnology.
In all three of these sectors, we will be looking at what
technological resources need to be developed in order to
maximise current and future market opportunities. The
underlying purpose of the exercise is strategically to
position South Africa in the technology driven global
economy. It is expected that all technology road maps will
have been finalised by the end of this year.
The application of biotechnology has enjoyed significant
influence in the transformation of the agricultural, health
and other sectors globally, as well as in South Africa.
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People around the world continue to benefit from the way in
which biotechnology has transformed and advanced all these
sectors.
As a Government we need to manage the development of
biotechnology to ensure that any risks are minimised, and
that positive socioeconomic impacts are maximised. To this
end, we are engaged in the development of a national
biotechnology strategy. The strategic study will outline
current biotechnology trends in South Africa and map the
way forward with respect to legislation, practices,
research and technology development and utilisation,
funding sources to promote biotechnology research and
development, private sector and state support to sector
growth and skills development.
In addition, the study will highlight areas of uncertainty,
knowledge gaps and varying perspectives about the impact,
effects of and benefits from biotechnology developments and
applications. On the basis of this information, a national
strategy on biotechnology will be developed.
The second key area of focus for us is information
technology. A number of Government departments are focusing
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on this important area, including the Department of Trade
and Industry, the Department of Communications, and the
Department of the Public Service and Administration.
Two things have become clear with regard to Government's
approach to information technology. Firstly, there is a
need for a vast increase in the amount of research and
development that is being conducted in this sector. A
recent study completed by my department shows that total
expenditure on research and development in South Africa is
only about 0,7% of gross domestic product, which is between
a half and a quarter of what it should be.
Of this, some studies estimate, less than 5% goes into
information and communication technology research. Clearly,
there is room for improvement. We will continue to engage
with the national Treasury to find ways of allocating more
Government funds for IT research and research in general.
In addition, information technology research is high on our
list of priorities for collaborative research with our
international partners.
The second issue is the need for increased co-ordination
between various Government departments dealing with
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information technology, so as to minimise duplication and
increase efficiency. We believe that it is part of our
responsibility to co-ordinate the various Government IT
initiatives and to maintain a national overview with regard
to progress being made in the development of the IT sector.
We will be attending to this in the months to come.
In the important area of technology diffusion, the
Technology Stations Pilot Programme was launched by the
department long-term vision of setting up technology
stations in technikons, which will function as selfsustainable entities that can provide technology solutions
to small and medium enterprises. It is hoped that the
development of these technology stations will encourage a
culture of innovation among small businesses that will, in
turn, improve product development and manufacturing
productivity and, of course, create more jobs. Technology
stations have already been set up at four technikons, and
there are plans to expand the programme.
Under the leadership of the National Research Foundation,
the construction of the SA Large Telescope, known as Salt,
at Sutherland is well under way, with funding from a range
of international partners now secured. We have identified
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astronomy and space science as key opportunities for South
African basic science. To this end, we have accepted the
donation of a R50 million Satellite Laser Ranging System
from Nasa, and we are consolidating the Magnetic
Observatory at Hermanus into our system of national
facilities. The High Energy Stereoscopic System, a gamma
ray observatory being constructed in Namibia with German,
South African and French expertise, demonstrates our
commitment to promoting leading-edge scientific development
across the SADC region.
Another key facility which has come on line since my last
budget speech is the National Laser Centre. The National
Laser Centre is a classic success story of transforming a
competence developed previously in the nuclear energy field
into one that now serves high tech industry. It really
proves that one can turn swords into ploughs. I would like
to take this opportunity to wish the new director of the
National Laser Centre, Dr Philemon Mjwara, the best of
luck.
Late last year, a hitherto unknown population of
coelacanths was discovered off Sowdana Bay in northern
KwaZulu-Natal. We are currently setting up a project under
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the National Research Foundation to investigate this
significant discovery further. New techniques of gene
sequencing make the study of this living fossil even more
fascinating. The key question here is how the genetic
makeup of the fish remained so stable over hundreds of
millions of years. I believe this also further proves that
South Africa and Africa are the birthplace of all life.
I would now like to move on to the Arts and Culture part of
my portfolio. The lekgotla of Cabinet's economic and
employment cluster took place in January this year. At this
lekgotla a number of priority areas were mapped out for the
maximisation of the capacity of cultural industries to
contribute to economic development and employment. This is
really the culmination of the recommendations made in the
cultural industry's growth strategy that was initiated by
my department in 1997. My colleague Mrs Mabandla will
provide the House with the specific details on this matter.
We are now giving serious attention to the major challenges
relating to the archives and records function. An efficient
archival service operating at both national and provincial
level is one of the most important systems available for
addressing issues of good governance and public
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accountability, and for identifying and preserving the
resources necessary for correcting the distortions and
imbalances in the way in which the history of our country
has been presented in the past. To this end, we have
successfully completed a pilot Oral History Project that
was linked with the development of the Women's Monument at
the Union Buildings. A full-scale national oral history
project is now being developed.
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to fulfil
the constitutional mandate to devolve certain archival
functions to the provinces. Progress has been made in this
area, but there are a number of challenges facing us. In a
number of the provinces, for instance, there are no
institutions to which one can devolve this function.
In order to keep up with the rapidly changing technological
environment, the National Archives has produced a set of
guidelines for the management of electronic records in
government agencies. The archives are working very closely
with the State Information Technology Agency - Sita. The
National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System
includes a new website through which academic researchers,
school children and interested persons from whatever
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background can obtain guidance on the availability of
archival information. This is a big step forward in our
policy of taking archives to people.
Language impacts profoundly on all aspects of national life
in South Africa and on the ability of Government to provide
equitable access to services and programmes. Language is
also an empowering tool for all our people to participate
in politics and the economy, and to converse about their
own lives in their own situation.
The Draft Language Policy and Plan for South Africa, which
is a product of a protracted consultative process with
Government departments, civil society and other roleplayers, is currently being finalised. The language policy
is intended as an enabling framework for promoting South
Africa's linguistic diversity. The purpose of this policy
is to set out a coherent language policy and implementation
plan for a multilingual dispensation within the parameters
of the Constitution and in concert with broad social
planning and transformation in South Africa. The language
plan will develop and promote the official African
languages.
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I have described the impact of our programmes in relevant
sectors in South Africa in some detail. Our external
programmes are, in many ways, complemented by our internal
focus on transforming the department. I believe we have
made great strides in this respect. Currently, 67% of the
department's top management is made up of black managers,
and 23% of top management are black women. Of our total
staff complement below the levels of top management, 59%
are black. We believe that this greater representivity in
the make-up of our department is a central factor in the
progress we have made in the past few years.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my statement that
we are seeing a breakthrough in the use of science,
technology, arts and culture as tools in achieving our
national objectives. I hope that my colleagues in other
Government departments will continue to work with us in
ensuring that we maximise the potential of these important
sectors. After all, science and technology is a transversal
and crosscutting entity. [Applause.]
Prof I J MOHAMED: Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy
Minister and hon members, it is a pleasure for me to
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support, on behalf of the ANC, the Vote of the Department
of Arts, Culture Science and Technology - Dacst.
In the 1999 Vote debate I reviewed the transformation of
the department over the five-year period from 1994 to 1999.
We need to examine what has happened since then and where
we are headed in the medium term.
Before the ANC came to power in 1994, there was no
dedicated department of arts, culture, science and
technology. We must congratulate Dacst on the excellent
work it has done in building this department.
I recall briefly my assessment in 1999 to set the context
of my presentation. Firstly, the Dacst Vote as a percentage
of the national budget increased steadily from 1994 to
1999. The share of science and technology of the Dacst Vote
increased significantly over this period. Secondly, the
allocation to the eight science councils and the four
national facilities, amongst which are the National
Accelerator Centre and the SA Astronomical Observatory,
also increased in real terms.
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Thirdly, the department put various programmes and
structures in place to promote science and technology.
Amongst these are the National Advisory Council on
Innovation - Naci, the Foresight Study, the Innovation Fund
and the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. It
also appointed review panels to assess the performance and
programmes of the science councils and of the national
facilities.
The Naci advises the Minister on cutting-edge technology to
help us to compete in the technology-driven global market.
The Innovation Fund supports, on a competitive basis,
innovative technologies to help drive our economic growth
and transformation. The Foresight Study aims to identify
major future technologies so that we can carve niche
markets in a fiercely competitive global economy.
The Public Understanding of Science and Technology
popularises this area and tries to bring the youth, and
particularly the marginalised groups, girls and women on
board, thus increasing the pool of future scientists. I may
mention in particular that camps for young girls have been
set up to introduce them or to stimulate their interest in
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science and technology, particularly as we know that girls
are sidelined in our school system.
My conclusion was that Dacst had admirably succeeded in
bringing about a major transformation in the science and
technology terrain. This work has continued and grown apace
during the past two years.
I now turn to the period 2001-02 and expenditure in the
medium term. The Dacst Vote increased by 13,7% this year,
and is estimated to increase by 8,7% next year and 7,7% in
2003. The share of the science and technology allocation as
a percentage of the Dacst Vote is 59,9% and stabilises near
this figure in the next two years. This confirms the
relative importance attached to science and technology, and
particularly as the Minister has said that he thinks he has
won the case in the Cabinet and the population at large
regarding understanding the importance of science and
technology. I hope that is so, and these figures do confirm
that.
The department, in accordance with recommendations by Naci
to the Minister, distributes a pool of money called the
science vote to the science councils, the national
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facilities, the National Research Foundation and other
science programmes and organisations. The science vote
increased from approximately R598 million in 1997 to R1,012
billion in 2001, which is an increase of 59,1%. The
estimated increase for 2002 is 8,6%, and for 2003, 6,2%.
There are several new programmes and institutions, but I
will mention only two - the Minister has also mentioned
these - the Laser Trust created from the laser collection
of the Atomic Energy Corporation when its Molecular Laser
Isotope Separation uranium enrichment plant was shut down
and the Indigenous Knowledge System. The first provides
lasers for technological industries, and the second
explores ways and means to preserve, build and protect the
rich indigenous knowledge and to bring it into the
mainstream of science and technology. The department
organised study tours to India and China, in which the
portfolio committee participated, to study their rich
experience in this area.
The department has also signed various international
agreements which will be of benefit to our country and that
of our partners. The SA Large Telescope, which the Minister
has also mentioned, and which is now under construction in
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Sutherland, is an example. It will be used to study
galaxies thousands of light years beyond our own galaxy the milky way.
I have mentioned two areas of concern. Firstly, the
investment by the private sector in research and
development as a percentage of gross domestic product is
falling. This will retard our scientific and technological
development. It is clear that to encourage funding in
research and development by the industry, Government must
increase investment even further in research and
development, so as to signal its confidence in our
scientific and technological system and economy.
Secondly, the Dacst review panel of the Atomic Energy
Corporation said that the Safari nuclear reactor was a
serious drain on state funds. It recommended that an
independent inquiry investigate the desirability of
continuing with the Safari reactor. We in minerals and
energy learned the other day in an answer to a question I
put to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa,
Necsa, that there was a subsequent review which declared
Safari a national facility, and this was accepted by
Cabinet.
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It is very disappointing that we should unearth this in
response from the Department of Minerals and Energy - DME to our questions to Necsa. Surely, Dacst and DME, since
they are serving in the same economic cluster, would have
discussed this and should have disclosed it to their
respective portfolio committees.
Finally, I put it to the National Nuclear Regulator - NNR that there is talk that radio active material was stolen
from Necsa. Because of time constraints, the question could
not be answered at the portfolio committee meeting. The NNR
official who was making the presentation confirmed to me
after the meeting that a truck or vehicle carrying
radioactive material was either hijacked or stolen. Neither
Dacst nor DME informed their respective portfolio
committees about this. I am mentioning Dacst simply because
it serves in the same economic cluster as DME.
Eskom has set up a feasibility and environmental impact
study of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. If we handle the
incident I mentioned in this way, we must not be surprised
at the public distrust of those propagating nuclear energy
as a source of energy and stiffer opposition to the Pebble
Bed Modular Reactor and nuclear energy in general.
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It is a pity that I must address these issues here, but
they warrant urgent consideration. I trust that this
incident will soon be put behind us and we will go forward
with the task at hand.
I congratulate the Minister and his department on their
budget. [Applause.]
Mr V C GORE: Chairperson, hon Minister and members of this
House, before I begin I would like to congratulate the
Minister on his appointment as the Chairperson of the
executive committee of the Commonwealth Science Council. We
wish him well in this very important position.
Today's debate, in my view, is about three things, firstly,
the importance of science and technology as an ultimate
tool in the delivery to the people of South Africa,
secondly, the ANC Government's track record, and their
shortcomings and failures in this regard, and, thirdly,
what the DA can and will do, in other words, the DA's plan
of action to get science and technology working for the
citizens of South Africa.
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The starting point of this debate must surely be the
importance of science and technology to deliver to South
Africa. I do not think that many members of this House
realise the importance of technology and what role it can
play in our lives. It is because of this short-sightedness
of members of the ruling party that many of our social ills
have yet to be solved.
A shocking example of this is the senseless deaths of
pensioners in Government's pension payout queues. I wish
the hon Minister of Social Development were listening,
because these deaths would clearly be avoidable, if only
the Department of Social Development effectively
implemented a successful technology strategy.
Corruption in the Public Service is another example. If the
ANC were as serious about stamping out corruption as they
claim to be, then the hon Minister for the Public Service
and Administration would have concentrated, from the start,
on implementing a successful technology strategy.
In terms of crime, instead of making arms deals which
benefit the privileged few, some of whom may well be hon
members of this House, the Minister of Safety and Security
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should be investing in technology that keeps the streets of
South Africa safe. Cape Town, which falls under the DA
provincial government, has successfully installed closedcircuit cameras which have proved effective in reducing
crime in the CBD. If the hon Minister had any commitment to
eradicate crime, then he would realise that he needs to
implement a successful technology strategy.
Each example could have been resolved had a successful
technology strategy been implemented, and that is where the
ANC Cabinet has failed, some may argue, to the extent of
criminal negligence, which is certainly the case in terms
of the pension payouts.
Science and technology must be viewed as a building block
for economic development, education and ultimately service
delivery. It is therefore crucial that any policy direction
should be a unified one which incorporates both the
educational and economic aspects.
Unfortunately, this is not the case at present. The ANC
Government has failed to achieve an acceptable level of coordination between the Departments of Education, of Trade
and Industry and of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology,
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in effectively implementing the priorities as set out in
the science and technology White Paper.
This inability to establish a technology power base will be
detrimental to our pursuit of a knowledge-based economy.
The concept of a one-stop shop is definitely required in
the drafting and implementation of any policy or
legislation affecting science and technology.
Regarding technology and its impact on the economy, the
bottom line is that if we can get the economy working, then
we will get South Africa working on a social level as well.
It is therefore necessary to remind ourselves that the
state does not and cannot create wealth. The state - I hope
the ANC is paying attention - must, because of this fact,
create an enabling environment. Moreover, this is one of
the major pitfalls of the ANC administration. Despite the
noteworthy attempts by hon Minister Ngubane, the required
enabling environment has not been created.
The ANC are to be applauded for creating a department of
science and technology. However, this step becomes nothing
more than another link in the bureaucratic chain if the
department is not utilised effectively. The National
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Advisory Council on Innovation was another good idea in
theory. In practice, however, the council has failed to
become a source of inspiration for innovation, mainly due
to its highly bureaucratic approach and insufficient
support mechanisms.
Another example of the hon Minister's good intentions
paving the road to poverty is the funding priorities of
organisations which his department supports, such as the
IDC. Successful international trends clearly show that
there needs to be a shift away from supporting big business
to a more aggressive focus on supporting small and mediumsized enterprises.
In this regard, we hope and pray that the CSIR's Brain and
Macs will deliver and stimulate SMME creation. Clearly,
these examples all boil down to one thing: The ANC has
failed to create a nurturing and enabling environment for
the development and promotion of science and technology.
The impact of this shortcoming is significant as technology
is required to assist privatisation, which ultimately would
lead to capital flowing into our economy. Foreign investors
need guarantees that their investment is sustainable. A
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state-owned company that is unable to compete in a
technology-based market is therefore at risk and has less
potential for sustainable business.
The results of this are that, firstly, it slows down the
much-needed privatisation process, secondly, we might not
attract the best possible investors, and finally, problems
which could otherwise be avoided could arise out of the
privatisation process. However, this is not the most
important problem facing us. In fact, a far more
challenging problem is that we are a low-skills, high-wagebased economy. For the benefit of hon members of the ruling
party who do not understand why this is a serious problem,
allow me to expand.
If a car-manufacturing company had two plants, one in South
Africa and one in Singapore, and has invested highly in a
skills-based economy, in a case in which this company needs
to adapt or retrench workers, it would certainly adapt its
operation in the Asian country as skilled workers are more
adaptable, and choose to retrench workers in South Africa,
as not only are we generally a less skills-based economy,
but also our labour is competitively overpriced. What this
means is that in order to improve our economy we need to
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build a knowledge-based economy, in which workers are
highly skilled and our cost of labour competitively priced.
The ANC has failed in this regard. Cosatu rules the roost
when it comes to wages, much to the detriment of workers
and South Africa at large, whilst the ANC has as yet been
unable to effectively implement a strategy which sees an
increase in our skills base, particularly in the area of
science and technology.
Having said that we need to turn our attention to science
and technology as it relates to education. The statistics
with regard to matric education reflect a very poor state
of affairs. The proportion of South African university
degrees in maths and science has also seen an overall
decline, despite improvements on the figures from the early
1990s. It is obvious that there are no short-term solutions
and that we need to be in this process for the long haul.
However, it is not acceptable to simply sit back with an
attitude of riding out the storm. We need to take positive,
bold and proactive steps to rectify the situation, and we
need to take these steps now.
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This is what we propose: We need to develop strategies to
retain the current skills base; we need to take the threat
of the current brain drain seriously; we need to ensure
that our immigration policies attract skilled people in the
areas where they are lacking; and we need to train more and
more doctors, engineers and scientists, and create an
environment in which they feel safe to wake up in the
morning and travel to work to do an honest day's work and
then go back home, confident in the knowledge that their
family members have not been hijacked, raped, assaulted or
murdered. [Interjections.]
This is how we create a better life for all, that is by
providing a helping hand, not a handout. We cannot and must
not underestimate the value of investing in technology. We
must take the lead from countries such as the UK whose
contribution to science and technology has increased by
about 20% over the past few years, and the Canadian
government which has pledged to double its contribution
over the next two years.
In conclusion, the only viable solution to poverty
alleviation in South Africa is through wealth generation.
[Time expired.] [Applause.]
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Muf T J TSHIVHASE: Mudzulatshidulo, musi ro lavhelesa
tshanduko kha sia ḽa zwa sialala na mvelele, miṅwaha minzhi
yo fheleho zwo lingedza u pwashekanya nyiledzo dza
tshiṱalula, zwa bveledza khagala vhukoni na mvelele zwe zwa
vha zwo tsikeledzwa na u dzumbiwa tsha kale na kale nga
dziṱhunḓu.
Ndivho ya Muvhuso wo rangwaho phanḓa nga ANC, ndi u bveledza
khagala muhumbulo wo dziaho, u khwinisa vhutshilo ha vhathu
vha ḽino shango, nga maanḓa vhe tshifhingani tsho fhiraho
vha tambula nga u khethululwa nga muvhuso wa tshiṱalula. Nga
u dzumbulula vhutsila ha sialala, vhukoni na vhutsila, zwi
no wanala fhano Afurika Tshipembe fhedzi, ngeno ri tshi ḓo
vha ri tshi khou khwaṱhisedza vhuvha hayo.
Musi hu tshi vulwa Buthano ḽa Lushaka, Phuresidennde VhoThabo Mbeki vho ri ri tea u vhona zwa uri dzinndwa,
malwadze na u sa bvela phanḓa a zwi tsha dzhiiwa sa tshithu
25 May 2001
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tshithihi kha riṋe maAfurika. Khaedu khulwane ndi u bvelela
kha u vhalwa ha vhathu kha ḽifhasi nga vhuthu, u ṱanganedzea
na u eḓana shangoni. (Translation of Venḓa paragraphs
follows.)
[Mrs T J TSHIVHASE: Chairperson, if we look at the changes,
inasfar as arts and culture are concerned, for many years
the department has tried to dismantle the apartheid
exclusions and bring forth the skills and cultural heritage
suppressed and hidden for centuries by the colonialists.
The vision of the ANC-led Government is to give expression
to positive thoughts, and to improve the quality of life of
the people of this country, in particular those who have
suffered the burden of apartheid exclusion. This could be
done by uncovering the traditional skills, creativity,
products and unique diversity of Africa, while maintaining
South Africa's diversity.
In this year's state of the nation address, President Thabo
Mbeki stated that we must, and will, ensure that wars,
disease and underdevelopment are no longer seen as being
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synonymous with Africans. The other important challenge is
the achievement of an international consensus on a humane,
just and equitable world order.]
The President further stated, and I quote:
... African child should ever again walk in fear of guns,
tyrants and abuse; that no African child should ever
again experience hunger, avoidable disease and ignorance;
that no African child should ever again feel ashamed to
be an African.
Hedzi khaedu dzoṱhe dzi vhukati ha adzhenda ya vhuthihi ha
Afurika. Vhuthihi ha Afurika ndi tshithu tsha vhuṱhogwa kha
mashango oṱhe a Afurika uri a ṱangane e ṅanda nthihi, a tshi
khou shumisana, a tshi khou lingedza u dzhiela nzhele
khaedu yo livhanaho nao. Riṋe sa ANC, ri khou pfesesa
Muvhuso washu kha u khwinisa vhuthihi ha Afurika vhu teaho
u dzhielwa nzhele.
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Tshiga tsha u thoma ndi tshauri Afurika Tshipembe ndi
shango ḽa Afurika. Phuresidennde Vho-Thabo Mbeki vho tumbula
zwauri muAfurika wa khwiṋe, na shango ḽa khwiṋe, ndi zwone
zwithu zwa vhuṱhogwa kha vhathu vha Afurika Tshipembe.
Mushumo washu kha u khwinifhadza vhuthihi ha Afurika wo
katelwa kha African Renaissance na zwiṅwe zwi elanaho nayo.
I amba nga ha poḽotiki, ikonomi, matshilisano na mvusuludzo
ya mvelele kha shango ḽa Afurika.
Ndi zwa vhuṱhogwa ngauri Afurika Tshipembe ḽi khou shela
mulenzhe kha u bveledza ḽino dzhango. Ri tea u ṱuṱuwedza
vhoramabindu vha fhano Afurika Tshipembe uri na vhone-vho,
vha vhulunge-vho kha maṅwe mashango a Afurika.
Ri tea u vha na ndivho nthihi ya vhumatshelo ha Afurika.
Miṅwahani ya sumbe yo fhiraho, muhasho wo lingedza u
kwashekanya nga zwiṱuku masia-nda-itwa a tshiṱalula. Ri tea u
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vhona zwauri huna u eḓana kha dzipfanelo na vhuthuhi ha
sialala.
Mugaganyagwama hoyu u khou sumbedza nyaluwo kha tshikwama
tsho vhetshelwaho vhutsila na mvelele kha ṅwaha wa 2000 u
swika 2004. Hezwi zwi khou sumbedza zwauri vhutsila na
mvelele, zwi khou dzhielwa nzhele nga vha ANC.
Mugaganyagwama uyu ri a u tikedza. (Translation of Venḓa
paragraphs follows.)
[All these challenges are central to the present agenda of
African unity. The essence of African unity is, therefore,
that it is incumbent upon all African countries to get
together as a unified force, to take action to try to
address challenges confronting us. We, as the ANC,
understand our Government is trying to develop African
unity, which must be taken into consideration.
The starting point in this regard is that South Africa is
an African country. President Thabo Mbeki correctly
observed that a better Africa and a better world are
genuinely in the interest of South Africa's people.
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Our role in enhancing African unity is located within the
African Renaissance and other processes related to it. It
is about the political, economic, social and cultural
rebirth of the African continent.
It is important that South Africa is playing an important
role in developing this continent. We must also encourage
South African businesspeople to go and invest in other
African countries.
We must have the same vision about the future. In the last
seven years, the department has tried to dismantle, slowly
but surely, the relics of apartheid, and has tried to
ensure that the delicate balance between privilege and
unique heritage is maintained.
This budget reflects a steady growth in the allocations to
arts and culture during the years 2000-2004. This reflects
the seriousness with which arts and culture are regarded by
the ANC. We support this budget.]
It is in this context that the establishment of the
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights
of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities becomes
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relevant. We must intensify our efforts to enhance African
unity. Africa's time has come! Africa must unite for
change!
Riṋe sa ANC, ri khou zwi vhona zwauri hoyu muhasho wo ita
zwihulwane nga maanḓa musi u tshi khou ḓisa-vho tshanduko
kha zwa sia ḽa vhutsila na mvelele, ngauri ri vho ḓipfa-vho
ri vhathu fhano Afurika Tshipembe. Ri vho pfa ri sa
nyadzei, ri vho ambara miambaro yashu, ri tshi amba nyambo
dzashu nga hune ra kona ngaho. Haya ndi maga mahulwane o
itwaho nga Muhasho wa Vhutsila na Mvelele.
Ri a ḓiṱongisa nga u vha maAfurika, ngauri u vha muAfurika a
si uri zwi dzhia muthu a vha tshiṅwe tshithu. A ri ngo sedza
muvhala kana zwiṅwe zwithu, ro sedza mvelaphanḓa ya shango
ḽashu, ḽine ḽa vho dzhielwa-vho nṱha, u bva ṋamusi u ya
phanḓa, ri khou ḓihudza na u tikedza Mugaganyagwama hoyu
washu. (Translation of Venḓa paragraphs follows.)
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[We, as the ANC, can see that this Government has played a
huge role in bringing about change inasfar as arts and
culture are concerned, because we feel that now we are true
South Africans. We no longer feel despised, we wear our own
clothes and speak our languages as we wish. These are
enormous steps taken by the Department of Arts, Culture,
Science and Technology.
We are proud to be Africans, because being an African is to
be someone different from others. We are not looking at
race, but the development of our country, which is now
being taken into consideration. We are proud and we support
our budget.]
Mr M F CASSIM: Mr Chairperson, colleagues, one day all too
soon, humankind's most cherished dream will be realised. At
that precise moment, humankind will simultaneously be
seized by its greatest terror. If contact with alien life
is to be made, then the time for that cannot be all that
far away. Therefore, even as we are seized by
considerations of globalisation, we must also start lifting
our eyes to cosmic challenges and opportunities.
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As we leave our cosmic childhood behind, we will need to
conquer new frontiers, and science and technology will
define those frontiers. We have so much catching up to do
and so many negative legacies to erase. We simply have to
go along a vertical trajectory. The policy tool for taking
us forward is the National System of Innovation.
Table 13.9 shows that in 1997-98, R22,299 million was spent
on science, technology and knowledge system development and
maintenance. In 2000-01 this figure had shot up to R188,277
million. This is nearly a quarter of the departmental
budget.
The outputs for this massive expenditure need to be
examined beyond principles of statements and strategies. We
need outputs in terms of figures and rands and cents. We
have been in discussion with the director-general in the
portfolio committee in developing quantifiable and
measurable outputs.
What we would therefore like to see under outputs would be,
firstly, measurable improvement in the competitiveness of
South African industries; secondly, a measurable and
quantifiable increase in the pool of skills in respect of
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new technology; thirdly, a percentage increase in patent
activities; fourthly, percentage growth in industrial
output, harnessing new technologies; fifthly, the extent of
multiplier and accelerator effects; and sixthly, the
measurable total economic impact arising from this
programme.
The portfolio committee lauds the many initiatives
undertaken by the department. We say to the Minister and to
his team: ``You have done very well indeed.'' In the years
in which the Minister has been at the helm of South
Africa's science and technology, he can be very proud of
his contribution to this country.
We are 100% behind the department in initiating 57 new
technological innovation projects in biotechnology, of
which the Minister spoke. Like shattered Japan after World
War II, the new South Africa needs to push rapidly to the
front of the technological field. We must strive to be at
the forefront in respect of biotechnology.
The question, therefore, arises: What more should we be
doing to become world leaders in this area? After all, let
us look at what South Africa has. We have an entire floral
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kingdom in one country, and there are only about six such
floral kingdoms. We also have an indigenous knowledge
system which is deeply rooted in the understanding of flora
and plants. Can we, with these local advantages, therefore
race ahead of this field? Also, are our universities and
research institutes keeping pace with the progress that is
being made?
The department, as I have said, must be lauded on its
initiatives. But as our challenges are too steep because of
historic reasons, we have to say that the reward for good
work and for good foresight is to do still more and more
till all the needs of this country are answered. Such
departmental initiatives may just, therefore, be the
catalyst that really sets off the African Renaissance. If
that happens, we will fulfil the solemn promise of a better
life for all.
The Ministry has the backing of Parliament - and by that I
mean not only the portfolio committee but, I hope, of every
single member who is here - because our Ministry will
depend on what happens in the hon members' constituencies
to go forward. [Interjections.] Thank you, I am glad that
someone is giving support. I wish it was more voluble from
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all of the hon members, and I encourage hon members.
[Applause.]
I am certain that there is a great pot of gold at the end
of the biodiversity rainbow. I am even glad that the FF is
acknowledging this. I say thank you to Dr Mulder.
[Applause.] This is our challenge in this financial year.
Now let me turn to the department's corporate goal of
achieving greater efficiency and exploiting the economic
potential of the arts. The Minister outlined this in great
detail. Once again, I say to the Minister and his team:
``Well done.'' This is the direction in which South Africa
has to head and we are very grateful for the visionary
leadership that the Minister and the team are giving to
Parliament and to the country.
The goal of greater efficiency and exploiting the economic
potential is also dealt with on page 244 of the Estimate of
Expenditure. Indeed, we fully subscribe to this goal. Once
again, we need to look at mathematical and measurable
outputs. In this respect, let us ask the following
questions. What was the number of newcomers to the economic
arena of the arts? How many new and sustainable jobs were
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created here? What was the value of our exports in this
matter? What percentage of GDP was realised from this
sector?
In the UK the arts have been conservatively estimated to
contribute £60 billion or 4% of their GDP. It is also the
fastest expanding segment of the British economy. Can we
make comparable claims, and do the figures here support
such an assertion? The pertinent question we need to ask
therefore is: Can we, through the department, pull the
necessary strings for 100 000 new jobs to be created in the
field of the arts? This is the pressing question of our
times. Our democracy, reconciliation and even our social
stability depend on our satisfactory answers to the cries
of the jobless and the unemployed.
Here are some of our suggestions regarding the things that
could be done: Firstly, let us declare the year 2000 the
year of music. Secondly, let us declare annually a cultural
city of the year. In 1990 the city of Glasgow was declared
the European city of culture. The regeneration that has
taken place and all the developments that have followed in
that city are things that we can witness and admire.
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Thirdly, let us pursue a three-language goal for all South
Africans, use rewards and incentives to drive this in a
given period of time so that within 18 to 24 months all
South Africans know, at least, three languages, one of
which should be a black language. Fourthly, let us identify
and promote language acquisition along a broad front Eastern and Western - which will directly support tourism and I am sure Ms Mahlangu will be happy about that - and
trade with those countries that are still new and
undeveloped markets.
Let us also create an optimal, if not universal, viewership
of South African-made films. What percentage of South
Africans, can we ask, saw Chicken Biznes? How many of my
colleagues here saw the film? I can tell members that it is
a film well worth seeing. What can we do to develop cinema
audiences, particularly in townships and particularly for
products that are made in South Africa?
Similarly, let us support travelling groups. In England
there is a group called Illyria which has enormous success
in this respect, and I think they could teach us a thing or
two which we should be happy to learn. Let us, with
provincial and municipal governments, create
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multidimensional craft and tourist centres to support
beadwork, wood carving and leather work. In this respect,
let us push harder for bead manufacturing in our country.
We know we are about to enter this, but let us do it sooner
and quicker and bigger.
Let us also get Cabinet to agree that South African
crafters and developers can obtain - and this is an
important point for which all of Parliament should give
support - locally mined gold, locally sourced diamonds,
locally mined platinum and steel at local domestic rates,
not at Zurich rates and not at London rates. [Applause.]
This is prohibitive, and I think Parliament can no longer
tolerate the situation. We mine it here, and therefore we
should give it domestic rates. I hope that Dr Davids will
take this up.
With regard to script writing, the more we develop it, the
more we will have local TV, theatre and films. Let us also
take another look at our galleries and museums this year.
Are we getting a 200% increase in the people going through
the turnstiles? Are our museums headed for growth? What can
we do to interact with them to ensure that we put our
museums where they should be? Colleagues should remember
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that these museums are the repositories of R6 billion worth
of assets, and that is a conservative estimate. That is the
treasure that we have, and we should exploit it further.
Next is design and branding, and I know this is the
Minister's hobbyhorse. I know that he will ride this
hobbyhorse and we will support him in making sure that we
brand properly, because part of South Africa's problem is
basically perception. And if we can correct perception
through better branding, this country is headed for great
times.
Finally, I want to give attention to a programme called
Linnux. We should offer at least 10 000 bursaries for South
African students to study Linnux. Linnux is a computer
programme that is free of charge, and its potential for
development is unlimited. In this respect we should also
think of a free code for our teachers so that they can
develop applications for schools. We believe that in this
respect there will come a time in which there will be fewer
and fewer politicians in Parliament and more and more
scientists. We hope that with these computer programmes
there will be greater encouragement, especially in our
black schools, in technology education. This is the era of
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IT, and if IT misses our schools, it is going to miss a
very important segment of our population.
I wish to support the programme of the department and the
budget on behalf of the IFP, and to say that it is a great
privilege to do so.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson, let me begin by saying that I feel
very privileged to be talking in this House in the midst of
an audience of esteemed future scientists and future arts
and culture experts. [Applause.] I can only say to the
young people that, indeed, the future is theirs.
In many ways the past few years have been devoted to
setting up the necessary policy frameworks and
institutional capacity needed to transform and develop our
science and technology, arts and culture. We are now at a
stage where we can begin to concentrate on focused
interventions in meeting the task set out in our mission
statement, which is to realise the full potential of arts,
culture, science and technology in social and economic
development, in nurturing creativity and innovation and
promoting the diverse heritage of our country.
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I would like, at this stage, in fact, to congratulate the
Department of Arts and Culture. We are a small department
of very dedicated people. I also want to congratulate those
who have the responsibility in our science council to
improve the quality of life of our people and make our
economy grow.
One of the agencies that the department supports from our
budget is the National Research Foundation - NRF. We have
mandated the NRF to develop research capacity from natural
sciences to social sciences. The continuing challenge of
change and the diverse priorities and expectations of the
country are reflected in the NRF's new portfolio focus
areas of research promotion and capacity-building.
In some focus areas investments are targeted at topics such
as information and communication technology, globalisation
and economic growth, while others promote research in areas
where South Africa has unique research opportunities or the
potential to be world leaders in a specific field. These
focus areas provide a framework for researchers to grapple
with important research issues and to provide an innovative
training environment for future South African research
leaders.
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The NRF acts as a catalyst within the research community to
strengthen our research capacity and enhance research
excellence, productivity and relevance. The Sociology of
Work Unit at Wits University, the Child Development
Research Unit at the University of Natal, the Health
Behaviour Research Unit at the University of the North and
other research centres are being enabled to conduct their
critical areas of work through the support of the NRF.
The newly-instituted Health Behaviour Research Unit at the
University of the North, for example, focuses on the
behavioural, mental and social circumstances of disease.
Its four main projects deal with understanding health
behaviour that leads to prevention, intervention and
rehabilitation with reference to chronic diseases, HIV/Aids
and sexually transmitted diseases or family or community
violence and substance abuse.
We are acutely aware of the fact that the arena of
scientific research is still dominated by white men.
However, great strides are being made in ensuring that
women scientists are taking up their rightful place as
research leaders. At Rhodes University, for example, Prof
Tebello Nyokong and her research group are involved in
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international collaboration in the emerging field treating
certain cancers with light which is called photodynamic
therapy. This novel therapy has enormous potential for the
affordable treatment of several kinds of cancer and for
developing advanced skills in the country. Health for a
quality of life is a strong research area at Technikon
Pretoria where Prof Elsa Albertse is heading a project to
combat malnutrition in South Africa.
In the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the
University of Natal, Prof Pat Berjak and her team make a
vital contribution to agriculture with their customdesigned conductivity meter for testing the quality of
seeds. These are only a few examples of women scientists
using their knowledge and talents to improve industry,
health and the general quality of life of all South
Africans. We are also involved, through the NRF, in a
concerted programme to develop, train and offer support to
black research academics, at both the historically black
and historically white tertiary institutions.
In countries all over the world, there is a growing
consciousness of the need to develop and protect indigenous
knowledge systems. South Africa has a rich and well-
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established indigenous knowledge system, as Mr Cassim has
indicated. We are working at addressing the intellectual
property and other related issues in policy on indigenous
knowledge systems. A significant mix of South African
society, policy makers, civil society, academia and the
scientific research community have been grappling with the
complex issue of indigenous knowledge, challenges and
responsibilities of the state and society in respect of
promoting and protecting the rights and status of the
holders of such knowledge who are, in most cases,
communities rather than individuals. However, the current
framework appears inadequate to support and nurture the
promotion of indigenous knowledge systems in our country.
The Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
recently commissioned a study to be conducted in India. The
aim of the research visit was to study the Indian
government's approaches and historical experiences relating
to the promotion, protection, legal framework, research
base, community participation and commercialisation of
indigenous knowledge systems. Lessons from this study will
inform the current evolving legislative process.
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In addition, Dacst earmarked R10 million in the year 2000
to be granted by NRF to selected researchers and projects
in order for them to develop our understanding, use and
protection of indigenous knowledge systems. So far, the NRF
has awarded 41 research grants in this area, which will
involve more than 300 team members and research partners,
as well as almost 250 postgraduate research students. This
nucleus of dedicated researchers will grow rapidly in the
current and forthcoming years as our understanding of the
importance of this field grows.
We believe that we have been successful in transforming the
science and technology system away from its focus on
supporting the defence objectives of the previous
government and towards serving the socioeconomic
development objectives of the newly elected democratic
Government. Science and technology is, indeed, playing a
key role in improving the quality of life of all South
Africans and ensuring that we remain competitive within the
rapidly globalising world economy.
We have also reached a point within the arts and culture
sectors where our investment in an enabling policy
framework and independent arm's-length institution is
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beginning to pay off. The National Arts Council - NAC - was
allocated R10 million, if hon members still remember, in
the 1997-98 financial year, R15 million in 1998-99 and R25
million in 1999-2000. Their allocation has increased partly
to try to keep pace with the unprecedented demands for
grants from a wide range of arts projects. The availability
of project funding from the NAC has served as a catalyst
for a range of arts initiatives in a wide variety of
previously neglected disciplines serving previously
neglected audiences around the country.
Now that the administrative systems have been properly set
up and provincial arts councils have been established, it
is hoped that the NAC will begin to expand its role beyond
that of a mere distributor of funds and focus more on its
own initiatives to develop the full range of arts and
culture in this country. Indeed a number of challengers lie
ahead. For example, a breakdown of the disbursement of
funds over the three years shows that a disproportionate
amount of funding requests are still being received from
theatre, music and opera sectors. Only 9% of allocations
have gone to craft initiatives and 5% to literature
projects.
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In addition, 49% of funding went to projects in Gauteng,
17% to KwaZulu-Natal and 17% to the Western Cape. The other
provinces still remain severely underdeveloped and
underrepresented in terms of arts and culture activities.
One of the key projects currently under way at the NAC is
designed to combat some of these discrepancies. The NAC has
designed the crafts development initiative in collaboration
with my department and a number of other departments and
organisations. The initiative is an integrated
interventionist strategy aimed at developing the crafts
industry in each province.
Working with provincial crafts development committees, the
NAC will be co-ordinating a range of training initiatives
designed to turn crafters into successful owners of
sustainable small businesses. Training in business skills,
quality control, product development, marketing and
strategic co-operation are only some of the areas that will
be covered in these training programmes.
In his state of the nation address in February this year,
our President spoke of the cultural industries as one of
the sectors of our economy that require special attention
because of their potential to contribute to the objectives
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of higher growth rates and job creation. We are taking this
directive forward in a number of initiatives aimed at
operationalising the recommendations made in the cultural
industries' growth strategy.
The National Film and Video Foundation of SA has now taken
over the allocation of national funding for the development
and promotion of the South African film industry. We
believe that our film industry has tremendous potential to
make its mark in South Africa and internationally. However,
this requires that we invest the relatively limited
resources available as strategically as possible. It is
absolutely vital that we begin to invest in our most
talented film producers so that the rights of their films
remain with them and within the country rather than in
other countries.
If South African films are to succeed, we need to find
innovative ways of investing in them. The National Film and
Video Foundation of SA is currently investigating
mechanisms to begin a loan financing scheme whereby some of
its funds are allocated as loans and are recovered and
reinvested in the fund once a film has proved to be
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financially successful. This money can then be used to
produce other films.
Just as human resource development is a key area of focus
for us in the area of science and technology, it is also a
challenge in the arts and culture sector. The Skills
Development Act requires the establishment of Sector
Education and Training Authorities, and arts, culture and
the cultural industries fall predominantly within the
media, advertising, print, packaging and publishing Seta.
We have been part of the process to set up the maps Seta
and the tourism, hospitality, sport and education training
authority. The sheer volume of employment opportunities has
surprised even us. We are currently working with Seta, as
well as the South African Qualifications Agency, to
accredit a range of skills, programmes, qualifications and
learnerships within the arts and culture sector. A large
percentage of South Africans working within the arts and
culture sector have nonformal training institutions such as
in community art centres. Others have not got into the
industry via apprenticeships, but do not have any formal
qualifications. We need to address this.
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I have just had a signal that I must conclude my speech. In
conclusion I would like to say to all those working with us
to keep up the good work. I also want to inform my
colleague the hon Minister that I am very happy about the
kind of relationship we have and I am confident that we
will deliver in the area of arts, culture, science and
technology.
Let me then congratulate those that have been appointed to
very strategic positions in our associate institutions,
such as Sahra. Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mrs
Pumla Madiba; Mr Dominee; Miss Lindiwe Gadu, CEO of Freedom
Park; Dr Tema, chief director, public liaison; Dr J
Matsila, technology development; Pakamani Mthembu, director
in the Ministry; Nobubele Ngele, human resource management;
Mandy Gilder, director, national archives; Sydney Selepe,
arts institutional governance; and Mrs Premi Abalraju, who
joins my office.
There are lots of challenges ahead, but I have confidence
that we are going to deliver the goals we have set
ourselves. [Applause.]
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Dr P W A MULDER: Chairperson, on Wednesday I said in
Question Time that the planned legislation for a Government
language policy got lost in the corridors of the Union
Buildings. I am still convinced of that. When a
Constitution or a law cannot be enforced, it is of no use.
At best, it becomes an interesting discussion document. As
a result of this, we have Chapter 9 in the South African
Constitution which creates different bodies to be watchdogs
over democracy and to give the Constitution teeth - powers
- to act. I can give hon members a lot of examples: the
Human Rights Commission, the Gender Commission, etc.
The Government also put relevant laws on the Statute Book
to fight discrimination against women, racism, etc. But
seven years later, the only watchdog and legislation that
is not in place is that on culture and language. The
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights
of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities is not in
place. Language policy and legislation is not in place. Can
anyone blame the FF for arguing, in this House and outside,
that this is just not a priority for this Government?
This Minister is not necessarily the guilty one. The ANC
Government does not know how to handle this issue. Today is
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Africa Unity Day. It is not only the ANC that does not know
how to handle this issue, most African countries are
struggling to handle this: How to promote African unity and
nation-building on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to
give recognition to Africa's diversity of languages and
cultures. That is the balance that we must get right in
Africa.
Of course poverty is a problem in Africa and in South
Africa. Of course HIV/Aids is a problem. If you acknowledge
my language, you acknowledge me as a person and you give me
dignity. Maybe that is more important than anything else all of these other problems.
On Wednesday I asked the Deputy President what the
Government planned to do to promote other official
languages, apart from English. I told this House about the
Xhosa-speaking woman in front of me in the queue at a
Government office and how she struggled to get her problem
solved because the woman on the other side could only speak
English.
Is the Government willing to take active steps to force
Government departments to use other official languages
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apart from English? To force them. That is the only way.
Promises and goodwill are not enough anymore. A first step
would be to give powers to the Pan South African Language
Board to enforce these findings. Let me give the House an
example. The Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB,
found the Department of Public Works and Telkom guilty of
using only English. That was more than a year ago; nothing
happened. The department and Telkom just ignored these
findings.
Sonder 'n taalbeleid bestaan daar tans groot verwarring by
die verskillende departemente. Elke departement doen sy eie
ding op sy eie manier en dit veroorsaak verwarring. Die
Suid-Afrikaanse statistiekdiens sê hulle het mense nodig om
te help met die opname van die sensus. Hulle soek
``previously disadvantaged persons'', maar hulle adverteer
dit in Engels in die Afrikaanse koerante. Is bruin
Afrikaanssprekendes nou `disadvantaged' aan daardie kant,
is hulle nie welkom nie, of waar pas hulle in?
Die Departement van Justisie praat oor 'n hofbeleid. Hier
het ek die syfers van die Noord-Kaap waar 72% van die
hofsake in Afrikaans was en 1% in Engels. Die Minister sê
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slegs Engels moet gebruik word. Ek verstaan dit nie. [Tyd
verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In the absence of a language policy great confusion
currently exists among the various departments. Each
department does it own thing in its own way and this is
causing confusion. The South African statistics service
says they need people to help with the recording of the
census. They are looking for previously disadvantaged
persons, but they advertise in English in the Afrikaans
newspapers. Are coloured Afrikaans speakers now
`disadvantaged' on that side, are they not welcome or where
do they fit in?
The Department of Justice talks about a court policy. I
have here the figures of the Northern Cape, where 72% of
the court cases were in Afrikaans and 1% in English. The
Minister says only English must be used. I do not
understand that. [Time expired.]]
Ms S D MOTUBATSE: Chairperson, today I am happy that I am
participating in this important debate on the budget of
arts and culture. I emphasise the word important, because I
acknowledge the role that could be played by this sector in
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the transformation of our society. We have been able to use
arts and culture as a mirror to see where we come from, our
present situation and also to predict the future. Through
arts and culture we were able to express our emotions,
especially during the apartheid era, when we were able to
express the emotional agonies that we were going through.
In our rural areas, we have men and women, both young and
old, who cannot read or write, but who are able to express
their intellectual ability through arts and cultural dances
that they perform. The most important aspect of arts and
culture is also to connect spiritually with our Creator and
with our ancestors. Some of the activities that are
currently being demonstrated here show just how important
this sector is for our society.
Like others, I would like to say to our Minister, Dr
Ngubane, the Deputy Minister, Sis Brigitte and the
director-general, that surely this department is on track.
We are happy that the Minister's team is here also to hear
our views.
The report that we have received from the department shows
the transformation plan clearly. I must say that through
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this transformation we have seen the increase of local and
international respect for this sector, South African arts
and culture. I would also like to echo the sentiments
expressed by Mr Cassim, that this sector has come a long
way and that it is taking the right direction.
The establishment of the community centres gives ordinary
men and women a chance to improve their work, and we think
that this is a step in the right direction. Training for
these talented people does improve the quality of their
lives and their work, and it has economic spin-offs for
most of our artists who were living like hoboes in the
past.
The empowerment programme, especially for the rural
communities, particularly rural women, is the key to the
whole transformation process. However, I want to bring
another aspect to this debate, because much as we want to
expose them or want them to gain momentum in what they are
doing, there is also a need to protect them.
There is a lot that is happening currently. We have so many
thieves, and we have seen some people just parachuting to
certain areas and studying the art or the dances of our
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people and replicating them somewhere else. Now, the
challenge is: How do we protect these people? For example,
currently there are designs on the BA, but we are not sure
about the contracts which were entered into with those
artists who did this work. So, it is important for us to
protect those people.
The other challenge is to ensure that our people who have
been working hard are protected. For example, we have, in
literature, writers such as O K Matsepe, who have written
important educational books for our society, but we have
not really done much to expose their work.
We want to support the training and education programme as
outlined by the departmental plan. We want to ensure that
it opens the way for the other cultural groups which were
also not in the mainstream.
The establishment of the National Arts Council, I must say,
was another milestone for our country. The changes in the
funding policies and procedures are surely targeting the
previously disadvantaged, and I hope that the panel
advisory groups will assist in expediting the establishment
of some of the Setas, because they can enter into
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negotiations with different groups. Anyway, we are aware of
certain challenges as well.
In my conclusion I must thank the department and also the
Minister for the progress that has been made thus far. I
also want us to be wary of some of the activities that we
cannot really support as Parliament. For instance, we think
that arts and culture should be there to promote good
values in our society and to build the younger generations.
We as parliamentarians therefore cannot support the dirty
dances, and those kind of artists need to be challenged and
educated, and should not expect funding if they do not
change their ways.
I support the Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, I
would like to request you to recognise the many young
people who are in the public gallery this morning, and I
would like to welcome them to Parliament. [Applause.]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Chairperson, all people in the world
develop and advance on the basis of their culture and
history. Wise nations absorb whatever they can from outside
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which improves what they have without abandoning their own.
This is what African nations must do if they are not to
completely lose their identity in the world.
We must make human resources the main structure of our
social and economic organisation. Modern science and
technology have a crucial role to play in the struggle for
our continent's economic prosperity and technological
advancement.
The acquisition of knowledge and advanced technology will
enable us to process our raw materials on this continent
and export them as finished products. This will ensure that
we get a good price for our products and eradicate poverty.
It is a tragedy that we in this country have exported our
uranium as raw material for peanuts to other countries,
such as the USA, in order for them to develop nuclear
weapons with which to endanger the world and acquire
nuclear technology, which we do not have.
This country must launch an Africanist cultural revolution
to rid itself of Western decadence, which is destroying the
moral fibre of African nations. We must reintroduce the
precolonial culture of hard work which prevailed in African
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societies. It is only through our own sweat and the
discarding of the colonial mentality of depending on the
leftovers from the tables of others, that we can prosper
and restore Africa to her dignity and her lost power.
The indigenous technology which has been destroyed by
colonialism must be researched and preserved. Our ancestors
dug gold and copper in Mapungubwe long before Jan van
Riebeeck arrived in 1652. They made iron tools and they
knew how to preserve food for years when the harvest was
bad.
The economic system indigenously called ``mafisa'' in
Sesotho and ``ukunqoma'' in isiXhosa, eliminated poverty.
Nobody was without employment. We must research this
destroyed indigenous knowledge. We must not look down on
African epistemology. African herbs with medicinal value
must be researched as well as naturally grown edible
vegetables. A nation without knowledge of its own is no
nation.
African languages must be developed, especially their
terminology of technology. African languages are lagging
far behind in the race to cope with modern technology.
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Secondly, we must not allow our cultural concepts to be
polluted by foreign languages. For instance, what is this
nonsense about the so-called ``bride price'' and ``bride
wealth'' for ``bohadi'' or ``lobola''? Why does the English
language not admit that it cannot translate some concepts
in the African culture which have no equivalent in their
culture instead of using misleading terms such as ``bride
price'' and ``bride wealth''?
We do not sell our women. This colonialisation and
misinterpretation of African concepts must be stopped. The
history of this country must be recorded correctly. It must
not be left to sectarian Eurocentric forces to write it for
their parochial self-interest and false political
propaganda. A falsified history is a mutilated history - it
is no history. It is a glorified myth. It will not stand
the test of time. Future generations would rewrite it when
they discover untruth in it.
Our children must know the role which the women of Africa
have played in our history, for instance, Mkabayi on the
night King Shaka was assassinated; Queen Mmanthatise, the
commander of men in the battle in the wars of national
resistance against colonialism; Mmantsopa the prophetess;
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Nahenda who was hanged for leading the 1905-06 war of
national resistance in Rhodesia against British
imperialism; Queen Nzinga of Angola who fought against
slavery; Queen Kandeka who commanded her own African army
in defence of Africa against the Romans, and who defeated
Julius Ceasar's powerful and most feared army of the times
- she lost an eye in that war; Queen Nefertiti and Queen
Nefertari, who were involved in the creation of ancient
African civilisations.
We need to remember that for most of our time in our
African existence on this earth, we fed ourselves. We
clothed and housed ourselves. We educated ourselves. We
governed ourselves. We built our own civilisations. If we
created a better world before, we can do so again. We are
the only people who can make universal promises and keep
them, because we have no designs on the land and resources
of others.
The PAC supports this Vote. [Applause.]
Nkskz N D MBOMBO: Mhlali-ngaphambili, mandibulise kuwo onke
amaqabane, ngakumbi kuMbovu, uMphathiswa wezobuGcisa,
iNkcubeko neNzululwazi netekholoji, kwinkosikazi
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yasemaBheleni uBrigitte Mabandla, nakusihlalo uNtate
Serote. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[Ms N D MBOMBO: Chairperson, I would like to greet all the
comrades, particularly Mbovu, the hon Minister of Arts,
Culture, Science and Technology, the woman who is married
to the Bhele clan, the hon Mrs Brigitte Mabandla, and the
hon Dr Serote.]
I am happy today because we have young politicians, young
scientists and young technologists up there, who in ten
years' time will be on this podium and saying something
that I am going to say now.
Today I am talking about community art centres. The overall
aim of the Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology on the countrywide availability of community
art centres for our rural communities especially, is based
around the concept that the advancement of African culture
is accomplished by creating a positive climate, thus
contributing to the quality of life, through involvement in
the social and economic upliftment of all African
communities, that is the total transformation of our
communities.
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The whole concept is in line with the ideals of the African
Renaissance. The community art centres are meant to
cultivate and nurture skills and creativity of the
disadvantaged communities, so that quality African products
in arts and culture will emerge, as well as to foster
active consciousness of African languages, science and
technology. Thus emphasis should be placed on the optimum
use of these centres by the communities.
That will instill and inspire community ownership thereof,
a situation likely to avert their being vandalised. In
certain towns one sees a situation in which youth take
turns in volunteering to guard their own community centres.
The portfolio committee adopted a business plan through
which the community art centres will be fully utilised to
restore the vibrancy of all art forms in order to
demonstrate the marriage between languages and Indigenous
Knowledge Systems - IKS - in bringing arts and culture and
science and technology together.
The plan also emphasises the creation of partnerships
between interested parties and stakeholders. Since one of
their aims is the full utilisation of these centres by our
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youth, we are eagerly looking towards and waiting for
institutions such as Telkom and Eskom to assist
considerably in helping our youth become computer literate
in these centres and training them in technology and
related activities.
In the spirit of building and creating partnerships with
stakeholders, as articulated in the business plan, the
Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology has
been requested, as a pilot project, to identify a handful
of community art centres, which it will assist with funding
and the necessary expertise and skills, in an endeavour to
create models out of them and also for hands-on experience
on perceived problems in the running and control of these
centres.
We are grateful that the vision of these centres of
eventually becoming schools of excellence is not farfetched, if one looks at the progress and achievements of
other centres, such as the Ntuzuma Arts Centre, which are
working within the spirit of the vision as outlined in the
business plan. The centres are also places of
entertainment, as games and the teaching of our culture and
art are simultaneously taking place.
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With the establishment of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Unit in the department, we are eagerly looking forward to
visible IKS activities in the centres, including story
telling to our youth on traditional knowledge and culture.
As our portfolio committee's other responsibility is to
improve the lot of those whose cultures, artistry,
creativity and scientific and technological innovations
were marginalised in the past ÿ.ÿ.ÿ.
[Time expired.]
[Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members,
the hon Mr Aucamp who normally speaks for only one minute,
has an unbelievable four minutes ... [Interjections] ...
and he has actually removed his cardigan in order to make
sure that he is equal to the task.
Mr C AUCAMP: Chairperson, people will leave this chamber if
they know it is going to be four minutes! [Laughter.]
'n Debat oor kuns en kultuur is nie baie gewild nie, dít
sien ons vanoggend. Geen party gaan daarmee 'n verkiesing
wen of verloor nie. Wie raak nou opgewonde oor kuns,
kultuur en wetenskap as jou lewe en eiendom deur misdaad
bedreig word, as die rand se waarde tuimel, as Minister
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Trevor Manuel die skroewe aandraai en as die massas
daagliks moet veg vir blote oorlewing?
Ons in Suid-Afrika moet daarteen waak dat die stryd om
oorlewing nie so oorheersend word nie dat ons die estetiese
van die lewe verwaarloos, of dat die gelykmakende effek van
globalisering ons laat verdof tot vaal, identiteitlose
gemeenskappe nie. Ons moet sorg dat ons vir ons kinders
meer nalaat as McDonald-agentskappe en Visabanktellermasjiene. Ons mag nie ``plastic'' word nie. Ons
moet daarvoor sorg dat wanneer die toeris deur die strate
van Pretoria of Kaapstad stap, dit anders moet lyk en klink
as in New York of in Parys, dit moet 'n ander ervaring
wees.
Deur die eeue heen word die gehalte van 'n beskawing gemeet
aan sy nalatenskap ten opsigte van kuns en kultuur, die
estetika van sy bouwerke, sy beeldhou en sy literatuur. Ons
mag nie toelaat dat kuns en kultuur die Aspoestertjie en
die stiefkind word en dat dié verhewe deel van ons menswees
in Suid-Afrika deur die ``rat race'' van elke dag se
bestaan oorheers en gemarginaliseer word nie. Daarom steun
die AEB die befondsing van kuns en kultuur in ons land.
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Suid-Afrika is uniek vanweë die rykdom en verskeidenheid
van sy kulture. Deur ons kultuurverskeidenheid bied ons 'n
wêreld binne een land. In watter ander land ter wêreld kan
jy van boeremusiek tot kwaito luister, van operasang tot
die klank van simfonie-orkeste, die trom en die marimba van
Afrika? Ons moet dié verskeidenheid voed en koester. Ons
moet leer om mekaar se kulture oor en weer te waardeer en
respekteer. Die een mag nooit vir die ander 'n bedreiging
wees nie, daarvoor is die vlaktes van Suid-Afrika te oop en
sy horisonne te wyd. Ons mag nie toelaat dat kulturele
imperialisme die unieke eiesoortigheid van ons verskillende
kultuurgemeenskappe verdring tot 'n vaal en eentonige
eendersheid nie.
Die AEB pleit dat ons dié verskeidenheid in groter mate
verdiskonteer in die wyse waarop die staat met kuns en
kultuur omgaan. Elke kultuurgemeenskap moet oor eie
strukture vir kuns en kultuur beskik wat sonder inmenging
deur die sentrale regering bedryf kan word. Staatsgeld moet
op billike wyse aan die onderskeie kulture en strukture
beskikbaar gestel word. (Translation of Afrikaans
paragraphs follows.)
25 May 2001
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[A debate on arts and culture is not a very popular one,
this we can see this morning. No party can win or lose an
election with arts and culture. Who becomes excited about
arts, culture and science when one's life and property are
threatened by crime, when the value of the rand is
tumbling, when Minister Trevor Manuel is putting the screws
on and when the masses have to fight on a daily basis for
mere survival?
We in South Africa should guard against the struggle for
survival becoming so overwhelming that we neglect the
aesthetics of life, or that the equalising effect of
globalisation causes us to fade into pale, identityless
communities. We should ensure that we leave behind more
than McDonald agencies and Visa bank teller machines for
our children. We must not become plastic. We have to ensure
that when a tourist walks through the streets of Pretoria
or Cape Town, they look and sound different to those in New
York or Paris; it should be a different experience.
Through the ages the quality of a civilisation has been
measured by its heritage with regard to arts and culture,
the aesthetics of its buildings, its sculpture and its
literature. We must not allow arts and culture to become
25 May 2001
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the Cinderella and the stepchild and allow this lofty part
of our humanity in South Africa to become dominated and
marginalised by the rat race of everyday existence.
Therefore, the AEB supports the financing of arts and
culture in our country.
South Africa is unique because of the wealth and diversity
of its cultures. Through our cultural diversity we present
a world in one country. In which other country in the world
can one listen to everything from boeremusiek to kwaito,
from opera to the sound of symphony orchestras, the drum
and the marimba of Africa? We must nurture and cherish this
diversity. We must learn to appreciate and respect one
another's cultures. The one must never be a threat to the
other, since the plains of South Africa are too open and
its horizons too wide for this to happen. We must not allow
cultural imperialism to suppress the unique distinctiveness
of our different cultural communities in a pale and
monotonous uniformity.
The AEB's plea is that we should take this diversity into
account to a greater extent in the manner in which the
state deals with arts and culture. Every cultural community
should possess its own structures for arts and culture
25 May 2001
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which can be managed without interference from the central
Government. State funds must be made available in a fair
manner to the different cultures and structures.]
The building blocks for real nation-building are the
recognition and advancement of the different cultures in
South Africa. One overall state department of arts and
culture is not the answer. I want to plead for the
devolution of powers of Government on issues intimately
interwoven with the culture of the community itself.
The mission of the Department of Arts and Culture should be
to decentralise as much as possible, not only
geographically, but also culturally. In this regard, the
long overdue Commission for the Promotion and Protection of
the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic
Communities, as set out in section 185 of the Constitution,
can play an important role. The establishment of different
cultural councils envisaged in the draft Bill is of the
utmost importance in the promotion of the heritage of our
diversity.
If the section 185 commission were to legally and
financially empower cultural communities which belong to
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civil society to take control of their own affairs, that
would be a positive step in the right direction.
As gekyk word na die begroting van die departement, moet
heelwat meer geld gedesentraliseer word. Daar moet nie
bloot lippediens aan die erkenning van die
multidimensionele samelewing bewys word nie. (Translation
of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[When one looks at the budget of this department, one sees
that much more money must be decentralised. Mere lip
service should not be paid to the acknowledgement of this
multidimensional society.]
The Department of Arts and Culture, in co-ordination with
the section 185 commission, is in a position to lead South
Africa towards the full realisation of the slogan that is
on our coat of arms, which says: ``Unity in diversity''. We
dare not fail in this challenge. [Applause.]
Ngaka M W SEROTE: Modulasetilo, ke ne ke rata gore ke bue
jaaka ke buile maabane. Ke simolola ka go re go itumedisa
thata fa go na le kutlwano ya dipuisano magareng ga Tona,
Motlatsa Tona le boeteledipele jwa lekala la dingwao mo
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Palamenteng. Dipuisano tse, ke tsa gore re dira jang gore
re tswelele pele. Ke ne ke rata gore ke ikamanye gape le
puo e, ke re go a itumedisa fa go ntse jalo.
Ke rata go itsise Tona le Motlatsa Tona gore maabane ke
letse ke sa robala, ke ne ke tlhobaela. Ke ne ke
tlhobaediwa ke go ipotsa gore-jaaka mo ngwageng o o
fetileng, mo ke neng ka lekola ditlhwatlhwa tse re buang ka
tsona tse - gompieno mo ntlheng tse tlhano tse di fa tlase
tse, ke tlile go reng. Jaanong ga ke itse gore ke bue jang,
gonne go na le bana ba sekolo fa. Le gale ke tla bua, gore
le bone ba itse gore Tona le Motlatsa Tona ba tsile go fiwa
maduo mo Palamenteng. Nna ka re go a itumedisa. E rile fa
ke setse ke otsela, ke robala, ka re nyaa, tswelelopele e
teng mo lefapheng le la rona. Ka re nka lekelela gore mo
godimo ga tse tlhano, ke fe tse nne. [Legofi.]
Re utlwile ba le bantsi ba ba buileng fa pele ga me. Ba
buile ka ditlhwatlhwa, le gore di dirisiwa jang, go
tsweletswe pele jang, jalojalo. Se ke neng ke rata go se
gatelela ke gore tiro ya lekala le la tsa ngwao, maleme,
saense le thekenoloji ke e nngwe e e gatelelang motlhala o
ke neng ke bua ka ona maabane wa motlotlegi Tautona, Rre
25 May 2001
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Thabo Mbeki, fa a bua ka tsa tsosoloso ya Aforika e bile a
bua ka Millennium Africa Recovery Programme.
Fa ke lebile tsotlhe tse re di dirang ka fa lefapheng la
tsa ngwao, bogolosegolo gape le tsa saense le thekenoloji,
nna ke bona re tshegeditse maikaelelo a a go aga Aforika
Borwa, gore e kgone go thusa Aforika mo tsosologong. Ke ka
moo ke reng fa ke lebeletse, ke bona e le tshwanelo gore re
itumele gompieno mme re begelele bana ba ba leng teng fa
gore tsotlhe tse re di dirang re di dira go aga, gore bona
fa ba fitlha, ba agelele, ba matlafatse mme ba ntlafatse.
[Legofi.]
Dilo di tlhano tse ke batlang go di neela Tona go buisana
ka tsona. Tsela e re e tsamaileng e telele. Dilo tse di
dirilweng di dintsi. Ke ne ke ithaya ke re nako ya imbizo e
fitlhile ya gore ba lekala la Tona le mothusi wa gagwe le
ba tlhogo ya tsa ngwao, go akaretsa rona re le mo
Palamenteng le morafe ka kwa ntle, re boe re kgatlhane gape
mme re re tsela ke e re e tsamaile, dilo ke tse tse re di
dirile. A re a kgona na?
Sa bobedi, go a itumedisa gore Palamente e be e nagana ka
gore re le lekala la Palamente jaana mo dikgannyeng tsa
25 May 2001
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tlhwatlhwa, rona re amana jang le yona mo tshimologong ya
teng, mme e seng kwa bofelelong. Ke ne ke ithaya ke re gape
selo se ke se sengwe se re tshwanetseng go se nneela fa
fatshe re bue ka sona.
Sa boraro, ke ithaya ke re tsela e re neng re e tsere ya go
tsosolosa setso, re e tsamile thata e bile go simolola go
bonala dilo tse re di dirang, ka gonne mo nakong e e sa
fediseng pelo re tlaabo re ntse mo Palamenteng re buisana
ka molao wa gore re di sireletsa jang, re di tsweletsa pele
jang, jalojalo.
Ke ne ke re gape fa re le fa, re nne re re nagana gore nako
e fitlhile ya gore diporojeke tse re ka di dirang ke dife.
Re le maloko a Palamente, re ne re re re beye diporojeke
tse pedi mo pele ga Tona, gore a sekaseke gore a di siame.
Ya ntlha ke gore a go a kgonega gore re simolole ka go
buisana le morafe ka go ba agela kwa dibaga di ka dirwang,
ka go sena lefelo leo mo Aforika Borwa. A go a kgonega gore
re akanye ka mafelobodirelo a dibaga?
Ya bobedi, malobanyana mo ba melemo ba ne ba re isitse kwa
kgotlatshekelong. Re boile kwa teng re itumetse ka gore re
25 May 2001
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ba fentse. Go ya kgotlatshekelong go, e ne e le go ya go
buisana ka melemo e e leng teng le e e seng teng mo
mafatsheng a rona. Melemo e re sa buisaneng ka yona ke ya
dingaka tsa setso. Nna ke ithaya ke re melemo e e leng teng
ya sekgoa bontsi ba yona bo tswa mo go ya setso. A ga go
kgonege gompieno gore Puso e simolole sekolo sa dingaka tse
tsa setso?
Ke ne ka buisana le ba bangwe le Tona, ka re go na le
lefelo le go tweng ke Vlakplaas. Bontsi ba rona re le batho
ba bantsho fa re nagana ka Vlakplaas, re a fufula ka gonne
dilo tse di neng di dirwa koo, ga se tsa botho. Nna ke
ithaya ke re fa re ka ya go aga sekolo se kwa Vlakplaas, re
tla be re tlhatswa leswe leo, bogolosegolo re netefatsa
gore re lebelele bongaka bo ba setso gore re ka fetela pele
jang. Ke porojeke e ke ratang re ka buisana le Tona ka
yona.
Go itumedisa thata gore molao o o bopileng Foundation for
Education, Science and Technology o bo o fetile ka mokgwa o
re utlwileng ka teng.
Ke dumela gore Tona o tla gopola gore go ne go na le rre
mongwe a bidiwa Ngaka Verwoerd, yo e rileng ka 1955 a re fa
25 May 2001
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motho o ka ruta bathobantsho tsa saense le thekenoloji, o
tla bo
o dira gore ba nagane gore ke makgowa. Jaanong FEST
e, fa ke e lebile, e fetola tlhaloganyo eo, gonne e bua ka
go itsise morafe tsa saense le thekenoloji. E bua ka gore
morafe o ka dirisana jang saense le thekenoloji. E ba ruta
gape gore saense le thekenoloji ke kitso e e agang, e e
dirang ditiro e bile e tsweletsa pele.
Ke bona gore ke babatse ntlha e, ka gonne e agelela mo
godimo ga se re se buileng gore 1998 ke Ngwaga wa Saense le
Thekenoloji. Re fetetse pele, mme jaanong re lebeletse
bophara ba morafe, re sa bue ka ngwaga o le mongwe, mme re
lebeletse dingwaga tse dintsi tse di tlang, ka gonne re
itse gore ga re itirele fela re le maAforika Borwa, mme re
lebeletse Aforika ka bophara. Re lebeletse gape gore re tla
dira jang gore re thuse morafe wa setho mo lefatsheng.
Go feleletsa, re itumela thata ka tswelelopele ya tsa
maleme. Re setse re utlwile gore re tswelela pele ka go
tsenya lekala la tsa maleme mo lekaleng le legolo le la
maleme. Fa re buisana le bomme Marivate, go a bonala gore
go na le tema e ntsi e e tswelelang pele mo nageng ya rona.
Ke bua jaana ke re re seke ra fela pelo, ka gonne re na le
25 May 2001
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dingwaga di le supa fela re dira jaana. Tiro e e setseng e
dirilwe e ntsi, mme maungo a yona a tla tloga a bonala.
Ke itumeletse gore Tona o tlisitse ba lekala la gagwe
botlhe, e leng ba lekala la dingwao, maleme, saense le
thekenoloji. Re ne re ka itumela thata gompieno fa Ntlo e,
e ka bo e tletse bomme le borre ba Palamente, gonne ke a
tshepa gore ba a itse gore lekala le ke ona motheo wa
morafe le setso. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana speech
follows.)
[Dr M W SEROTE: Chairperson, I would like to speak like I
did yesterday. I shall start off by saying that it is very
good when there is an understanding between the Minister,
the Deputy Minister and the leadership of the arts and
culture portfolio committee in Parliament. These talks are
about what we should do in order to go forward. I would
like to associate myself again with this statement, by
saying that it is good when things are like this.
I would like to inform the Minister and the Deputy Minister
that I did not sleep last night, but lay awake. I was
wakeful because I was asking myself about the past year. I
scrutinised the amounts that we are talking about today,
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and the five aspects below, and I was wondering what I was
going to say. Now I do not know how to say it, because the
school children are here. Anyway, I will talk. They should
also know that even the Minister and the Deputy Minister
are allocated marks in Parliament. At the time when I was
dropping off to sleep, when I was about to fall sleep, I
said, no, there is progress in our department. I said that,
out of five, I allocate four. [Applause.]
We have heard many speakers who spoke before me. They
talked about amounts, how they are used, and how we are
proceeding, etc. What I would like to stress is that the
duty of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology is one of those that stresses the hon Mr Thabo
Mbeki's vision that I was talking of yesterday, when he
talks of the African re-awakening as well as the Millennium
Africa Recovery Programme.
When I look at all that we are doing in this department,
especially in the field of science and technology, I
realise that we have upheld the aims of building South
Africa so that it would help Africa in its re-awakening. It
is for that reason that, in my opinion, it is proper that
we should be happy today and tell our children who are here
25 May 2001
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about all that we are doing to build so that when they
reach this stage, they should add on to and strengthen it.
[Applause.]
There are five aspects that I would like to present to the
Minister for discussion. The road that we have travelled is
a long one. Many things have happened. I thought that the
time for a meeting had arrived, so that the Minister's
department, his assistant and the head of the arts and
culture committee, including us as members of Parliament,
and the community at large, should meet again and say that
we have walked the walk, and that these are the things that
we have done. Do we have the ability?
Secondly, it is pleasing for Parliament to think that as a
committee, in respect of financial matters, how we are
associated with it at its beginning, and not at the end.
Again, I thought that this is one thing that we should sit
down and talk about.
Thirdly, I think that the route that we took in reawakening tradition has started to bear testimony to what
we are doing, because soon we will be sitting in Parliament
25 May 2001
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discussing a Bill on how to protect and take them forward,
etc.
I was saying that when we are here, we should think that
the time has arrived to think about the projects that we
can pursue. As members of Parliament, we are hereby putting
these two projects before the Minister for him to assess
whether they are acceptable.
The first one is to find out whether is it possible to
start discussions with the community about building places
where beads could be made, as such a place does not exist
in South Africa. Is it possible to think of a beadwork
firm?
Secondly, recently the pharmaceutical companies took us to
court. We came back smiling because we defeated them. We
went to court to talk about the existing medication and
medicines that are unavailable in our country. These are
the medicines of the traditional healers. I think that most
of the existing Western medicines are derived from the
traditional ones. Is it not possible today for the
Government to start building a school for traditional
healers?
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I was talking to the Minister and others, saying that there
is a place called Vlakplaas. When most of us as black
people here think of Vlakplaas, we get angry because of the
inhuman things that were done there. I think that if we
were to build such a school at Vlakplaas, we would be
cleansing it, especially when we will be ensuring that
training of traditional healers will be moved forward. This
is a project that I would like us to discuss with the
Minister.
We are extremely proud that the legislation which
established the Foundation for Education, Science and
Technology has been passed, as we expected it would be.
I believe that the Minister will remember that there was a
man known as Dr Verwoerd, who said in 1955 that if one were
to teach science and technology to the black people, one
would make them think that they were whites. When I look as
this FEST, it changes that perception because it talks of
informing the community about science and technology. It
talks about how a community can make use of science and
technology. It again teaches them that science and
technology is knowledge that builds, that does the work and
is progressing.
25 May 2001
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I should emphasise this point, because it adds to what we
said, namely that 1998 was the year of science and
technology. We have moved forward and now we are looking at
the community at large and not talking of one year but many
years to come, because we know that we are not doing this
only for ourselves as South Africans, but for Africa as a
whole. We are also looking at how to help the people in the
world.
In conclusion, we are very glad about the development of
the languages. We have already heard that we are continuing
with the inclusion of a languages section in the national
body. When we had discussions with Mrs Marivate and her
colleagues, there was evidence that there was a lot of
progress in our country. I am saying that we should not be
impatient, because we have only been doing this for seven
years. There is a lot of work that has been done and it
will soon bear fruit.
I am glad that the Minister has brought all the members
from his department, ie the sections on culture, languages,
science and technology. We would be extremely happy today
if this House were full of men and women of this
Parliament, because I presume that they know that this
25 May 2001
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department is the foundation of the community and
tradition. [Applause.]]
Mr S E OPPERMAN: Mr Chairperson, I agree with the mission
statement of the department that we need to realise the
full potential of arts and culture for our social and
economic development and to nurture creativity and
innovation in order to promote the diverse, but exciting,
heritage of our nation.
In this regard I want to congratulate the hon the Minister
and our High Commissioner to London, the honourable Cheryl
Carolus, and the members of her team, such as Lorna de
Smidt, for the excellent work they are doing, especially
now during the ``Celebrate South Africa'' campaign,
although we do not support everything we saw.
It is only when identity, values, ethics, customs, beliefs,
knowledge, ideas and concepts which reside in our hearts
are expressed in our daily walk. It is only when we live
it, and live it with a passion, that we can add value to
the mission statement.
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If we can instill this intangible culture in people, then,
and only then, will they also take care of our scenic
parks, wildlife, sites of historic importance, national
monuments, works of art, museum collections, etc, and
unfortunate incidents like the stealing of a bronze statue
in Pretoria, which commemorated the drowning of 607 black
soldiers in the English Channel in 1917, will no longer
occur.
So we need a coherent and practical vision without which we
will not have the ability and the willingness to apply the
required responsibility in creating real capacity to
recruit and develop human resources of quality.
We need to recognise and have mutual respect for our
cultural diversity. With this attitude, we will enhance
political stability and create many social and economic
opportunities.
Wêreldwyd is kultuurgegronde bedrywe soos musiek en sang,
video en televisie, drama en kunsuitstallings van die
grootste bydraers tot ekonomiese groei. Amerika het dit
reeds in die jare twintig besef en het byvoorbeeld hul
rolprentbedryf tot 'n formidabele bedryf ontwikkel.
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Ons het geen probleem dat byna 60% van die begroting aan
wetenskap en tegnologie toegewys is nie, dit is 'n
noodsaaklikheid. Die gedeelte van die koek vir die kunste
moet egter vergroot word. Die kunste is nie alleen
arbeidsintensief nie, maar kan ook werkskepping op baie
groot skaal bevorder. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs
follows.)
[Around the world culturally based activities like music
and singing, video and television, drama and art
exhibitions are among the biggest contributors to economic
growth.
America already realised this in the 1920s and
they have developed their film industry into a formidable
industry, for example.
We have no problem with the fact that nearly 60% of the
budget has been allocated to science and technology; this
is essential.
However, the portion of the cake for the
arts must be enlarged.
The arts are not only labour-
intensive, but can also promote job creation on a very
large scale.]
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It is no use making speeches year after year about poverty
alleviation if we do not create the environment in which to
make our dreams and policies real.
If arts and culture is such an important creator of wealth
in the world economies, why are we removing arts-related
subjects from our educational curricula, instead of
emphasising the importance of literature, art and music in
our schools? We need to discuss this with the Minister of
Education. If arts and culture were so important, why do we
remove and hide works of art here in our Parliament?
There must surely be a place somewhere for those artworks
if we believe in the promotion of our diversity. We cannot
run away from our past, however painful it may be. It is
only when we explore the past and apply its lessons as
honestly and as objectively as possible that we can make
sense of the present and exert a possible influence on our
future.
If arts and culture is one of the keys to the alleviation
of poverty in our country, why are we not using the
opportunities through the state-controlled media to
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educate, inform, inspire and transform the cultural
landscape of South Africa?
As die bevordering van kuns en kultuur ons erns is, moet
ons aandag gee aan byvoorbeeld ons vertaaldienste in die
Parlement, in ons komitee en ook in die openbare galery.
Die behoefte daaraan is vanoggend weer baie duidelik
geïllustreer. As deel van ons hoop lê in die bevordering
van kuns en kultuur, moet die vestiging van standhoudende
toneelgeselskappe onmiddellik aandag kry en daar moet
afgesien word van die georkestreerde pogings teen opera,
ballet en simfonie-orkeste. Dan moet die opgradering van
biblioteke weer hoog op die prioriteitslys geplaas word en
moet logistieke, morele en finansiële steun verleen word
aan al ons museums, ook ons oorlogmuseums binne en buite
ons land. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[If we are serious about promoting arts and culture, we
must, for example, give attention to our translation
services in Parliament, in our committees and also in the
public gallery.
The need for this was once again very
clearly illustrated this morning. If part of our hope lies
in the promotion of arts and culture, the establishment of
lasting theatre companies must receive immediate attention
25 May 2001
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and the orchestrated onslaught against opera, ballet and
symphony orchestras must cease. In addition the upgrading
of libraries must once again be placed high on the priority
list and logistical, moral and financial support must be
given to all our museums, including our war museums within
and outside our country.]
If we are really serious about the promotion of arts and
culture, we must stop the political interference in the
councils and in the boards. We cannot pretend that all is
well in the department, that we have all the answers, that
there is no corruption, that the performing arts are not
struggling and that everyone is happy in the arts and
cultural community.
The hon the Minister needs to deal with these problems
openly, without fear or favour. I know that unless we do
these things and openly deal with the problems confronting
us, we will miss out on all the opportunities before us,
opportunities that we can grab to benefit all our people.
[Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members,
the hon Mr S L Dithebe, who is now coming to the podium, is
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quite an authority on all the best and biggest bookshops in
London.
Mong S L DITHEBE: Modulasetulo le baeti ba bohlokwa ba teng
kalaneng kajeno, ke tla bua ka puo ya Sesotho, le hoja ke
tseba hore ha le na monyetla wa ho utlwa puo ena eo ke e
buang, hobane le sena bafetoledi ba tlosang puong eo ke e
buang, ho ya puong ya Senyesemane, kapa yona eo le ka e
utlwisisang. Empa bohlokwa ba ho kgetha ha ka ho bua ka puo
ena, ke hore hona ke sesupo sa hore jwalo ka ha re le
maleme a 11, re ikotla difuba ka maleme ano, mme botle ba
dipuo tsa rona re lokela hore re be motlotlo ka bona.
Ntate Cassim, ha a ne a bua mona, o buile ka hore 4% ya GDP
ya moruo mane United Kingdom, e tswa ho sena seo re se
bitsang hore ke ``creative arts'', mme hona ho ntlisa
ntlheng ya bohlokwa, e leng ya karolo ena ya ditshwantsho,
e leng difilimi. E leng ho bolelang hore, jwalo ka ha re le
Afrika Borwa, Lefapha lena la tsa Mahlale, Bonono le
Tegnoloji, re lokela hore re etse bonnete ba hore ho na le
batho ba bangata ba nang le thahasello ho ya boha
ditshwantsho tsa Afrika Borwa.
25 May 2001
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Re kwetlisa batho ba bangata ba ngolang di-script, ekasita
le dikahare, e leng di-content, tsa ditshwantsho tseo re di
etsang, e eba tseo e leng hore di ikgethile ka ho ba tse
bo-Afrika Borwa. Hona ke hobane re keke ra kgona hore re
etsise ditshwene, e re ha Hollywood e etsa sena, ebe le
rona re se re etsa seo, ebe re hopola hore Lefapheng lena
la creative arts, re tla kgona hore re be le kabelo, mme re
be re be le kabelo muruong.
Selemo le selemo re lefa ma-Amerika R1 billion bakeng sa ho
boha di-soapy tse tshwanang le bo-The Bold and the
Beautiful le bo-Days of our Lives. Potso ke hore, na re
lokela hore re nne re etse jwalo, empa re ena le bokgoni,
ebile re ena le talente ya ma-Afrika Borwa a ka hlahisang
ditshwantsho tsa Afrika Borwa? Ha ke batle hore batho ba
hloke ho utlwisisa sena seo ke se buang. Ha ke bolele hore
re tla phela jwalo ka setjhaba se itshehlileng thajana, seo
e leng hore ha se na kamano le lefatshe.
Re a tseba hore ditshwantsho tsa mane Brithani, ekasitana
le tsa mane Amerika, di tla dula di ntse di bohwa ke
maAfrika Borwa, empa le rona re lokela hore re phehisane le
bona, hore boemo bona boo re leng ho bona, dinaheng tse
hlahisang ditshwantsho lefatshe ka bophara, e leng boemo bo
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ka hodimonyana ho 40, re tlohe ho bona, re ye mane dinaheng
tsa pele tse 10 tse hlahisang ditshwantsho lefatsheng lena
ka bophara. Afrika Borwa e na le nalane e ntle, eo re leng
motlotlo ka yona, eo re ikotlang difuba ka yona.
(Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Mr S L DITHEBE: Chairperson and distinguished guests in
the gallery, I will address the House in Sesotho, even
though I know that you will not be able to understand the
language, and you do not have interpreters from Sesotho
into English or whichever other language you can
understand. However, the importance of choosing to speak in
this language is that, as we have 11 languages, we are
proud of these languages, and we must be proud of the
beauty of our languages.
Mr Cassim, when he spoke here, said that 4% of the GDP of
the economy in the United Kingdom comes from what we call
the ``creative arts'', and this brings me to an important
issue, the issue of films. This means that we, as South
Africans and the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology, must make sure that a lot of people take an
interest in viewing South African films.
25 May 2001
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We train a lot of people who write scripts and the content
of the films that we make is uniquely South African. That
is because we cannot be like monkeys, copying everything
that Hollywood does, and still think that we will be able
to contribute to the creative arts and the economy.
Every year we pay Americans R1 billion to view soapies like
The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of our Lives. The
question is, should we be doing that, even though we have
the ability and the South African talent to produce South
African films? I do not want people to misunderstand me. I
do not mean that we should live in isolation, without any
contact with the world.
We know that British films, as well as those from America,
will always be viewed by South Africans. However, we should
also give them some competition, so that we should move
from the position we are holding in the worldwide list of
film-making countries which is a little below position 40,
and go up to the top 10 countries in film-making, worldwide. South Africa has a beautiful heritage, which we are
proud of.]
25 May 2001
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That glorious history of the triumph of the human spirit, a
history of hope that transcended the power of the human
being, is what guided us in the most difficult years of
this country, when we fought apartheid. Film is one of
those vehicles that we used even though there was a special
directorate dedicated to censorship of films. We used films
in order to carry on with our mass mobilisation and the
final destruction and obliteration of apartheid.
When the portfolio committee delegation, of which I was
part, visited London some two weeks ago, I had an
opportunity to speak to somebody at the Tricycle Theatre at
Kilburn. This gentleman asked me whether he could have
access to video footage of the TRC hearings in which, in
particular, our Chief Whip was demonstrating how he was
tortured and suffocated by the notorious security cops at
that time. He said that they wanted to make a film of those
incidents or of those stories that people recounted at the
TRC hearings, and that he wanted to take an actual look at
the video footage.
The question that arose in my mind and which I asked myself
was: If this man in London, who is not a South African,
could think of this, why is it that South Africans have not
25 May 2001
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been the first ones on the ball and made a film out of this
in order to communicate to the world the pain and suffering
we went through?
I am not suggesting that people in other countries should
not take interest an, in the history of our country,
whichever way they would like to depict that to the rest of
the world in order for the world to gain a better
understanding. All I am saying is that this takes me back
to the issue of developing audience and scriptwriting, as
well as the content of the films. It means therefore that
we should take advantage of this and have more people who
are trained in scriptwriting so that they will have the
capacity to depict our own story and our own history to the
world in the manner that I have described earlier.
Some of the hon members here have spoken in very scathing
terms, criticising the Department of Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology for having failed to do this, that and so
forth. I would like to single out specifically what the hon
Gore said about a lack of technology here and there, as if
technology is a panacea for everything.
25 May 2001
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I would like to say that it was not by accident that this
department is called the Department of Arts, Culture,
Science and Technology. It is because we realised, for the
reasons our chairperson elucidated, that to study science
and technology, in as far as the black people of this
country are concerned, is something, we all know, they have
been deprived of.
However, I want to say that former President Nelson Mandela
spoke at length about the RDP of the soul. And arts and
culture can play a very critical role in ensuring that our
people develop that spirit of anticorruption and
antidishonesty, so that in our private and public lives we
can carry ourselves in such a way that there are no
incidents of dishonesty or corruption, or any other social
ills that are not of any benefit to our country.
I would also like to respond to those members who referred
to the question of languages. Unfortunately, each time some
of these members speak of the section 185 commission, they
speak of it in very parochial terms, so as to defend only a
particular language, notably Afrikaans. [Interjections.]
Why is it that they do not say that the Constitution says
that certain languages, the nine African languages for
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instance, have had diminished use and status historically,
and therefore that we should get involved in the crusade of
transformation, transformation as a means to
reconciliation? In other words, let us say that while
Afrikaans may not be at the level where we want it to be,
we nonetheless want to support the nine African languages
so that they can be on para with Afrikaans, English and
other languages. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Minister,
if you could just give me a moment first. Order!
Hon members we have in the gallery today two very eminent
persons whom I would like to recognise on behalf of
Parliament and the people of South Africa. These are Mr
Francesco Frangialli who is the Secretary-General of the
World Tourism Organisation and our own Dr Dawie de Villiers
who is the Deputy Secretary-General of the same body.
[Applause.] If both these honourable members would perhaps
stand, so that ...
An HON MEMBER: They did.
25 May 2001
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Did they?
Thank you. Members will recall that the honourable Dr Dawie
de Villiers was a very important member of this Chamber and
also a former Cabinet Minister. At present they are both
based in Madrid in Spain. They are on their way to Namibia
and they are paying a fleeting visit. On behalf of
everyone, I welcome them.
Mr Minister, you may now
proceed.
The MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Chairperson, I, too, welcome the presence of such eminent
people as Dawie de Villiers and the other honourable
gentleman. However, I am even more thrilled that so many
young people are here today when we discuss this Vote which
is very critical for their own future.
We have committed ourselves to developing and bringing arts
and cultural activities to communities. Therefore we
embarked on the programme of community art centres
primarily to give young people a chance to have the arts
brought to where they live in their communities. We need to
provide more funding for this, but above all, we need to
provide people who can train them in playing musical
instruments, putting up their dramas, plays and so on, and
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appreciating literature, and therefore developing
spiritually and creatively to become future leaders and
contributors to our economy.
I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio
Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr
Serote, for his contribution, and I am happy that he ranked
us at more that 80% - I do not think it was only 80%, I am
sure it is more than that. I also want to thank the
director-general and the top management of the department,
and other people who work with us, for a job well done. The
challenges are huge, but the commitment, the creativity,
the innovation and the determination is there, as has been
acknowledged by this House with the contributions that have
been made.
I would like to assure the hon Opperman that wherever Dacst
detects corruption, it acts very swiftly. There are two
prominent examples where disciplinary hearings have been
instituted against senior people in the department and
appropriate sentences passed. We do not condone any form of
corruption.
25 May 2001
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As far as transforming the arts and culture landscape is
concerned, we have to do this. This does not mean the
centralising of arts and culture administration, but it
simply means that we have detected the shortcomings in the
system and the way our institutions work, and are
rectifying this for the good of the people of South Africa.
As far as Vlakplaas is concerned, its demons must be
exorcised. Possibly, the Indigenous Knowledge Systems and
the healer school there could be a very useful ways of
doing that. But we must also remember that the horrors of
the past must be exhibited. For instance, Dachau in Germany
and other concentration camps are there today so as to
teach the future generations the tragedy and horror which
is created when political power goes very wrong. We will
consider the hon member's proposal, and we will take
appropriate steps to engage with the portfolio committee on
how Vlakplaas is going to be dealt with.
Similarly with the beads factory, we have commissioned a
study by the CSIR. There is a real prospect that we are
going to have a South African beads factory which will help
the crafts industry tremendously. [Applause.]
25 May 2001
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We support the idea of the imbizo. We have declared this
year the Year of the Crafter. Sometime in October we want
to have a huge exhibition and a national conference on
crafts, because, as has been appropriately identified by
many members here, it is a source of easy jobs and
accessible and affordable incomes for rural communities,
and is also a very important tool in urban regeneration. We
shall also call other imbizos in the course of this year,
something which we will discuss with the portfolio
committee.
The idea of spirituality having a central position in our
programme, I think, is a very good one. This issue is very
important when we refer to the values that we need to
generate and encourage in our society. That point was also
taken very well.
Prof Mohamed mentioned something about irregularities in
the nuclear regulator sector. We will deal with this with
the Minister of Minerals and Energy, but I can assure hon
members that I do not think that the regulatory framework
poses any threat to the South African society.
Nevertheless, we will take this issue up because we need
absolute certainty.
25 May 2001
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The Safari Nuclear Reactor is not a national facility as
yet. However, it is being used for educational purposes,
research development and methodology development for
students. It has therefore earned its keep, and it has been
very successful in selling Molybdenum-99 and doped silicon.
This has earned just as much revenue as Government gives to
them.
We have spent about R3 million of the Innovation Fund money
on technology support for crime prevention. We have
investigated improving a gun pistol or any other automatic
weapon in such a way that it is regulated through a chip.
It can identify a biometric identification so that only the
owner of the gun can fire it through these biometric tests.
In other words, one needs to put one's thumb print on a
special receptor which will be electronically conveyed to
the control mechanism before one can fire the gun. We think
that if we can develop this type of technology, which will
be a first in the world - and the work on it is continuing
- we could combat a lot of crime in this country.
[Applause.]
We look forward to a dedicated discussion with the
portfolio committee regarding the issues raised by Mr
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Cassim because there are lots of synergies that we will
gain out of joint management of the Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology expenditures. There should be levels of
accountability concerning these expenditures, not only in
terms of the Public Finance Management Act, but also in
terms of accountability to the people of this country. The
portfolio committee will become a very important partner in
monitoring that expenditure and in exacting that
accountability.
I would like to mention the Human Sciences Research
Council, which I feel we did not mention sufficiently.
There has been a new leadership at this council. They are
very involved in HIV/Aids research, and for this reason
they have appointed Prof Olive Shisana, the former
Director-General of the Department of Health, who went on
to become Professor of Public Health at Medunsa. She is now
with the Human Sciences Research Council, heading the
HIV/Aids research team. We realise that it is not just
about the immune system only. It is not only about vaccines
and drugs, but also about human behaviour. If we can
understand, through effective study and research, the human
determinants of behaviour and how those determinants can be
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modified through messages and education, we would have done
a great deal to combat this scourge.
As I have said, I would also like to point out the fact
that we are not yet ready with the Language Policy and Plan
for South Africa. We took the document to Cabinet and it
was quite clear that to establish language units in every
department would involve a mechanism whereby each and every
person who writes to a department is answered in his or her
own language. This is a critical part of our democratic
development. We need these language units in every
department, but the costing of setting them up was clearly
not done properly. Therefore the national Treasury is busy
with this process. We shall come back to Parliament,
probably around September, once Cabinet has adopted our
proposals and the costing by the national Treasury has been
done to finalise the language plan.
It is not as if it is in the doldrums, it is an active
process that is going on. Obviously it is protracted
because of the very nature of language in a multilingual
society such as ours. We need all types of provisions so
that it is equitable, fair, and complies with the mandates
given in the Constitution.
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On the whole, I think this has been a very good debate. I
am very happy that there has been so much interest.
Normally, in any budget debate there is a lot of heckling,
but in this one there was no heckling. This is a sign that
we are all paying attention to this very serious issue of
the application of science and technology to improve our
competitiveness in the world and export revenues, and
therefore should have enough money to provide social and
health services, grow our economy and create new jobs. But,
more importantly, we need to provide for community needs in
the area of arts, culture, science and technology.
I do hope that the funds from the lottery will soon be
coming our way. With those funds we can then reach out and
create new centres such as halls for the arts, schools for
drama and many other activities in the communities. This
will give expression to the huge talent and creative power
that we have which comes out of the very diverse nature of
our languages and cultures.
South Africa has received people from all over the globe.
It is a home for everyone because, after all, it is the
origin of humankind. I would like to thank hon members for
their support. [Applause.]
25 May 2001
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Debate concluded.
AFRICAN UNITY
(Subject for Discussion)
Mr M RAMGOBIN: Chairperson, colleagues and our children,
who are the future, the ANC is on record on the issue of
transformation, that our efforts to change people's
material conditions cannot take place in a vacuum. We go on
to say that this should happen in terms of spiritual
sustenance in the form of a defining and self-assertive
culture of an emerging democratic nation.
We are going to say that it is, it is in this context that
the call for an RDP of the soul should be seen, a cultural
revolution without which all the other efforts will lose
meaning and dissipate. This is in respect of our country.
Given that we are observing African Unity Day, that Africa
continues to be in urgent need of development and
reconstruction, the ANC's sensitivity on the RDP of the
soul is also applicable with humility to our continent as a
whole.
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It is in the spirit of this sentiment that President Thabo
Mbeki pronounced on 9 February here, in pursuance of the
ANC's 8 January statement:
Together, we must turn into reality a new
internationalism that does not permit of the coexistence, within human society, of opulence and grinding
poverty, of thriving modernity and dehumanising
underdevelopment.
... We march into the new era of the African Century as
Africans who have made the determination that this
century will be a hundred years in which we cease to be
victims of our circumstances but become victors.
The President went on to say:
As we strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity
with our fellow Africans, we have an obligation to help
ensure, in our country and everywhere else on our
continent, that no African child should ever again walk
in fear of guns ...
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I say, no African child should ever again walk in fear of
guns.
... tyrants and abuse; that no African child should ever
again experience hunger, avoidable disease and ignorance;
that no African child should ever again feel ashamed to
be an African.
In observing African Unity Day, what has to be done and how
do we make this century Africa's century? For the
revitalisation of our continent, we need the rest of the
world as our partners, not as donors. In deference to this
position, Millennium Africa Plan was put on the map of the
world, the World Economic Forum, held in Davos.
Presidents Mbeki, Obasanjo and Bouteflika were tasked with
the responsibility of presenting Map as a development
strategy for the continent. In broad terms, what is the
programme? At the top of this, among other things, is the
question of political governance.
The African Union has to be ceased with the responsibility
that governments are legitimate and enjoy the support of
the African masses, that they are strong enough to defend
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the sovereignty of the countries, that they are able to
address the developmental interests of these masses, and
that they must be able to engage with the global processes
that characterise a world economy.
The eradication of poverty, and the protection and
conservation of the physical environment are also of
critical importance. In pursuing the World Economic Forum's
theme at Davos of bridging the divide, our President was
unequivocal about what was envisaged in the Marp plan to
give unity to Africa.
According to the outlines, priority areas would cover,
among other things, creating peace, security, stability and
democratic governance, human resource development; the
harnessing and development of Africa's resources; the
development of infrastructure; investment in information
and communication technology; and the development of
financial management and mechanisms. To advance these
goals, participating countries will form a compact
committee, committing them to the programme and a forum of
leaders will make decisions about subprogrammes and also
review progress on their implementation.
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But can all this happen in a vacuum, as our President has
asked. The answer is, no. We need to address some of the
vital components that will help fill this vacuum.
In the current conditions prevailing on the continent, it
is unfortunate that belief systems, both organised and not
organised, are not likely to be of much help. Until now,
and, it is hoped, for not much longer, these systems
afforded careers for what is termed, "pendants and
priests." Their objectives, by and large, were limited and
did not allow for the masses of men and women to have life
in its abundance. All the institutions need to re-examine
their roles and reflect on how Africa is where it is today.
We need to be told why ubuntu, a concept which was born in
the crucible of Africa's consciousness, is no more than a
platitude. We in Africa need to contest conformity, without
which the individual will be or is denied the opportunity
to develop his or her own convictions.
Schools or learning have to give rise to a society of
thinkers, not conformers to preset ideas, dogmas and
rituals which divide us into unreal circles of our own
disunity. We have to consciously give rise to a community
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of cultural ideas and like-mindedness in fundamental aims
and ideals. In a universe of self-perpetuation in everchanging circumstances, the universal spirit of selfcriticism and open-mindedness, based on reason cannot take
place when more than 80% of Africa's intellectuals - her
brain power - are in Europe and America. We need to bring
them back.
In many ways our leadership in the ANC, with the power of
our Constitution, is saying that Africa's women have to be
liberated. We say that Africa cannot be free for as long as
one half of her keeps the other half in bondage. We are
emphasising that there is a direct link between democracy
and development.
The formation of the OAU was a declaration of faith which
demanded that our continent, governments, leaders, NGOs and
others have a responsibility to pursue policies that raise
the quality of life and basic services, and that we will
collectively stop violent conflicts, proxy wars and
mercenaries aimed at the exploitation of Africa's natural
resources and the constant assault on our environment.
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Today, as ever before, it is the duty of Africa's leaders
to institute transparent, legal and regulatory frameworks
for all, but especially for the financial market and
auditing of private companies, individuals and the public
sectors, thus providing a hedge against corruption and all
other tendencies which have the power to corrode the souls
of nations.
The challenge we are facing is to ensure that progress is
characterised by both originality and a sense of adventure.
The adventure that I as an African am arguing for in the
sphere of education and consciousness, is that education
should not only enrich the minds of our people with new
knowledge, but also help us to rise to our full spiritual
stature. It must excite in us the value of spiritual
realities of selflessness, and it must steer our minds from
the things which are merely temporal to the things that are
eternal.
We as Africans have to pursue ultimate values, as our
ancestors did, and should not be seized with mere
utilitarian ends. The ability to co-operate with others and
to coexist with mutual forbearance is not only the true
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test of education and consciousness, but also a fundamental
and foundational requirement for African unity.
I would like to give more credence to what I have been
saying in the words of the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah, when he
said, and I quote:
Thus may we take pride in the name of Africa, not out of
romanticism, but as an inspiration for the future. It is
right and proper that we should know about our past, for
just as the future moved from the present, so the present
has emerged from the past. Nor need we be ashamed of the
past. There was much in it of glory. What our ancestors
achieved in the context of the contemporary society gives
us confidence that we can create, out of the past, a
glorious future, not in terms of war and military pomp,
but in terms of social progress and peace, for we
repudiate war and violence.
Our battles shall be against the old ideas that keep men
trammelled in their own greed, against the crass
stupidities that breed hatred, fear, and inhumanity. The
heroes of our future will be those who can lead our
people out of the stifling fog of disintegration through
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serfdom, into the valley of light where purpose,
endeavour and determination will create a brotherhood.
[Time expired.]
Mr D K MALULEKE: Chairperson, hon members, fellow South
Africans, I find it fitting and proper to make Amilcar
Cabral my entry point to the subject under discussion
today. Cabral asserts that, and I quote:
Hope is true and well founded only when it grows out of
the unity between action that transforms the world and
critical reflections regarding the meaning of that
action.
Hope, action and reflection run through the very fabric of
Africa as a golden thread beckoning and challenging Africa.
Dreams and visions may and should be there, giving birth to
hope. But unless appropriate action and constant reflection
are in place, Africa is doomed to see elusive mirages and
thus be on a vicious circle journey to nowhere for ever.
Africa Unity Day compels us to look at our distant and
recent past, not out of nostalgia, but out of the critical
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reflective need to take stock of how we as Africans have
comported ourselves and conducted our affairs on this
journey to nationhood on a Pan-African scale. The turbulent
fifties and sixties could well be described as Africa's
``the best of times, the worst of times'', or ``the three
steps forward, and two steps backwards''. To use a cliché,
one may ``profoundly ponder and wonder''.
In the fifties a star was born, namely Ghana, giving the
entire African continent hope of a new dawn of freedom and
liberty. Ghana and many African states since then have seen
their rise and fall. Some are still reeling punch-drunk or
power-drunk to this day.
Amidst all this hope and despair a vehicle came into being
in the form of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU,
hopefully not the acronym ``IOU'', spelling out Africa's
perpetual indebtedness and with cap in hand in front of the
benevolent coffers of the world's nations that are up and
going. The date 25 May 1963 is indeed a symbol of a
historical beacon that rekindled the flames of hope since
the remarkable Pan-African yearning of the nineteenth
century and the earlier diaspora. In the words of Tom Boya,
the inception of the OAU can be likened to the discovery of
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Africa by the Africans, ie Africa's desire to be understood
and to be recognised for her viewpoint and the perspective
of her own people.
Thanks to Emperor Haile Selassie for his generosity in
providing the temporary secretariat and donating funds to
them to meet the first year's expenditure in order to kickstart the fledgling OAU. It is a great pity for Africa that
Kwame Nkrumah, Emperor Haile Selassie and others went down
as corrupt despots. The bane of Africa seems stubbornly to
be corruption, nepotism, despotism, the arrogance of the
abuse of power and tribalism or ethnicity. All these are
still the albatross around Africa's neck.
Coming to the sunny side of the African street, we reflect
on the objectives of the OAU. Overall, these intentions and
objections were undeniably noble, for most represented
unity and freedom in Africa. The other objectives randomly
sketched are: to promote the unity and solidarity of
African state; to co-ordinate and intensify the operation
and efforts to achieve a better life for the people of
Africa; to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa;
to promote international co-operation, having due regard to
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the Charter of the UN Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
Marked principles were espoused, such as the sovereign
equality of all member states; peaceful settlement of
disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation and
arbitration and unreserved condemnation of political
assassinations in all its forms and subversive activities
on the part of neighbouring states or any other states. The
aforementioned are worthy and noble ideas. How much has the
OAU achieved? How far away from the problems that
necessitated the formation of the OAU has Africa moved?
Doing things together with a common mind and purpose is
good and essential for unity and mutual respect, including
reciprocal mutual support.
Have we realised any sustainable solution to the problems
that afflict us? Sadly, it seems the answer is no. Conflict
after conflict obliterates our chances of sustainable
solutions, thus pushing the attainment of peace, stability
and prosperity out of Africa's immediate reach.
Ethnic cleansing and genocide plague this continent. The
catalogue of morbid conflict is long. The Democratic
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Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Burundi
et al are sad indictments staring us in the eye. Quo vadis,
Africa? Whither, South Africa? Waarheen, Zimbabwe? U ya
kwihi, Zimbabwe?
[Where to Zimbabwe?] [Interjections.] Is
it not time that each and every African state got its act
together before venturing on to lofty ideas? Charity begins
at home, before the big picture or grand visions.
Transformation within each member state's territory needs
to take place in earnest. Getting the skeletons out of the
cupboard, inculcating tolerance within each state and
relentlessly inculcating a culture of human rights and
democracy are what need to be done here and now. Poverty,
corruption, dictatorship, the flagrant abuse of power and
the violation of fundamental rights are not compatible with
any form of African unity, fraternity and renaissance. In
the words of Dr Salim Ahmed Salim:
Let this African Unity Day be truly our rededication to
the elimination of poverty, misery and bloodshed from the
continent.
Upholding the rule of law, the freedom of speech, belief
and association, and the unconditional respect for
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democratic constitutions, can ensure peace, stability and
prosperity to Africa. Let deeds speak louder than words
for Africa's sake and glory.]
I hope you understood exactly what I said. [Interjections.]
[Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Hon members, the
Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology was so
impressed with the members' interest in arts and science
that he wishes to enrol all of you and to invite you to a
luncheon in the Marks Building at 13:00. [Interjections.] I
am sure the hon Mr Modisenyane will say ``Vrystaat!'' to
that.
Ms I MUTSILA: Chairperson, allow me to dedicate my speech
to all women of the continent of Africa, and all South
African women in particular. I pay my tribute to Sophia
Pedro of Mozambique who gave birth on top of a tree and
many unsung heroines of her calibre who surrendered their
lives in order to save their children.
I salute women in Rwanda who stood firm during the genocide
to save their men, children and the nation at large during
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severe testing times. I salute all women in war in stricken
countries, because when two elephants fight, the grass is
trampled. Women and children are the most affected by those
wars.
Africa is one of the richest continents in minerals and
many natural resources, and yet it is rated among the
poorest of the poor continents. Why? Colonialism, apartheid
and many such forces caused Africa to be what it is today.
Malnutrition and diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and
HIV/Aids, bad sanitation, illiteracy and poverty are major
setbacks to Africa's development. This is cause for the
women of Africa and the nation at large to stand up and
work side by side to bring Africa back to its rightful
perspective.
Throughout Africa, poverty levels differ across different
race groups and between men and women. Approximately 60% of
all black South Africans live in poverty, compared to only
2% of whites. This difference is even larger in rural
areas. Out of all black people living in rural areas, 64%
have an income too low to enable them to afford the minimum
necessary for food, clothing and fuel.
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Given this background, it is common cause for Africa to
unite and fight for a better life for all. Our President
Thabo Mbeki, said, and I quote:
Our Government will have to intensify its work to make
its own contribution to the strengthening of the
continental movement for reconstruction and development.
As a movement, we will also work to strengthen our links
with other progressive forces on our continent. Together
with them, we will have to work on a programme of action
focused of the promotion of the objectives of the African
Renaissance.
Concern regarding gender justice and equality has existed
at many levels. At the political level, one of the ways in
which these concerns about injustice, violence,
discrimination and inequality are being addressed, is
advocating that women become actively involved in politics
and, indeed, at all levels of decision-making.
A Government by men for men cannot claim to be a government
for the people, by the people. Women are best placed to
articulate their own needs and concerns. Women bring
different styles and values to politics. One of the
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resolutions taken by SADC women was networking and
information-sharing in partnership with women MPs, the
national gender machinery, NGOs and other stakeholders.
Women of Africa shall unite in sensitising both men and
women from all walks of life about the fact that gender
equality is a matter of development, democracy and human
rights.
When loving hands become fists, when violence and sexual
crimes committed against children and women pervade our
societies, what would one do? What would one do if one were
abandoned because of circumstances surrounding them? If one
were sexually abused by an alcoholic father, raped by a
gang of sex-hungry men and forced to act in porn movies,
would one give up on life and think the worst of oneself or
would one be a survivor? Women in Africa chose to unite in
order to be survivors and speak out. They are fighting
these atrocities head-on.
We are all aware that over many years it has been the women
who struggled and sacrificed in the face of the most
vicious repression. Women have been at the forefront of
transforming conditions on this continent. That is why,
when men in Burundi could not negotiate peace, our former
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President, Comrade Mandela, called on women in Burundi to
take over the leadership.
In Africa, rural women became the victims of migrant
labour, a colonial policy designed to dehumanise and
demoralise the African society. The apartheid system for
migrant labour meant strict control of black people's
movement and of where they may live and work. Black South
Africans were broken into two parts: one labour unit
separated from the other, which was a man with a family and
with hopes and aspirations. Men and women could not perform
their godly given roles as husbands and wives, as mothers
and fathers and as members of the community.
In 1969, the hon Froneman, an NP MP, said, and I quote:
African labour forces must not be burdened with
superfluous appendages such as wives, children and
dependants who could not provide service.
In 1973, the congress of the Afrikaanse Studentebond
resolved that all Bantu women and children in white areas
should be shipped back to the homelands, and that only men
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should be left in the white areas, as long as they needed
them. They went on to say that, and I quote:
We do not want the Bantu women here simply as a adjunct
to the procreative capacity of the Bantu population. A
Bantu wife should be allowed into the town only if she
were needed in the labour market.
These are the terrible and horrible atrocities which
African unity seeks to redress and rectify. The African
Renaissance is yet another brick in the ANC reconstruction
and rebuilding campaign that will transform the African
continent. The ANC-led Government believes that there
should be a culture of nondiscrimination and diversity.
[Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Chairperson, I want to congratulate and I am sure hon members will agree with me - the hon Ms
Mutsila, who brought a very interesting dimension, namely
women, into the debate. As the seven most important people
in my life are all women, that is my mother, my wife, my
three daughters and my two granddaughters, I want to
promise the hon Ms Mutsila that we will all fight with her
for the rights of women. [Applause.]
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I intend to deliver my speech in Afrikaans.
President Mbeki het in 1996 sy bekende ``ek is 'n
Afrikaan'' toespraak gehou. Ek het die treffende aanhalings
daaruit male sonder tal gelees en elke keer het die Afrikatema dieper en dieper in my siel ingetrek.
Wat my, as Afrikaner, veral diep tref van die President se
woorde, is die gedeelte wat lui ``I am the grandchild who
lays fresh flowers on the Boer graves on St Helena and the
Bahamas ... I am an African''.
Ek, Koos van der Merwe, is ook 'n Afrikaan. Ek is 'n kind
van Afrika, sonder Afrika kan ek nie bestaan nie. Daarom
wil ek Afrika graag vandag besing en sy lof prys. Ek doen
dit in een van die 2 000 tale en dialekte wat in Afrika
gepraat word. Ek praat in 'n taal wat juis in Afrika
ontstaan, gevorm en gegiet is. My moedertaal is die enigste
Afrikataal wat in sy naam erkenning aan Afrika gee Afrikaans.
Wanneer ek soggens Parlement toe ry en saans terug, sing ek
soms ``ken jy die land waar die Boerevolk woon, land met sy
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berge terrasse gekroon, land met sy ruimtes so wyd en so
vry, ai, dis die land, dis die wêreld vir my''.
Ja, President Mbeki, ek is ook 'n Afrikaan, ek swem graag
in die vriendelike Zuluwaters van die Indiese Oseaan van
KwaZulu-Natal. Ek sit gereeld op Tafelberg en kan nie
genoeg staar na die mooiste kaap van alle kape nie. Ek ry
deur die eensame leegheid van die Vrystaat en doen my
diepste dinkwerk daar.
Ek bring soveel moontlik gehaltetyd deur in die Bosveld om
die kampvuur waar mens nooit genoeg kry van die reuk van
die hardekoolvuur en die dansende figure in die vlamme nie,
waar mens jou verbeel jy sien in die vlamme hoe Mabalel
dans met die klingelinge wat haar enkelringe vergesel. Ek
probeer nog steeds my Sesotho sa Borwa [Southern Sesotho]
verbeter sodat ek lekker met my Sotho-vriende kan kuier,
vernaam Gertrude Mzizi, Sotho-prinses.
Ek besing graag my land Afrika, veral ``by Rietfontein se
leidam waar die reier staan en droom en gepluimde
peerboomtakke bloeisels sprinkel in die stroom''. Ja, dan
besing ons almal Afrika, ``ek sing van die wind wat te keer
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gaan, ek sing van die reën wat daar val, ek sing van ons
vaal ou Karooland, van blomme wat bloei by die wal''.
Langs die snoesige kampvuur, met 'n ribbetjie op die
gloeiende kole, hoor ek in die verte iemand sing. Hy sing
so pragtig, hy sing van tevredenheid met Afrika. Hy sing
``op my ou ramkietjie met nog net een snaar, speel ek in
die maanskyn deurmekaar. Wat gee ek om as die mense sê ek
is mal, as die varings my aanhoor by die wal?''
Afrika is ons vader. Afrika is ons moeder. Sonder Afrika is
ons almal weeskinders. Ons is in Afrika geanker. Ons huise
is op die rots Afrika gebou, soos H A Fagan se uitdaging
``kom nag, kom weer en wind, kom oseaan; dit is 'n rots
waarop my huisie staan''.
Ek is al dikwels gevra wat my dan hier in Afrika hou as
soveel van ons mense reeds uit die land padgee. Dan
antwoord ek met 'n Duitse lied, met erkenning aan die
digter van die Suidwesterlied, ``en sou iemand ons vra, wat
hou ons dan hier vas; dan kan ons maar net sê, ons bemin
Afrika''.
25 May 2001
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Ons praat vandag oor eenheid in Afrika. Wanneer 'n mens na
dié uitdaging kyk, word jy egter yskoud, want dit lyk na 'n
totaal onbegonne taak. Daar woon meer as 800 miljoen mense
in Afrika. Teen die jaar 2020 sal daar sowat 1,7 miljard
mense in Afrika wees. Daar is 53 state, met meer as 2 000
tale en dialekte. Sedert 1952 was daar 85 gewelddadige of
ongrondwetlike regeringsveranderings, en 90 regeringsleiers
is afgesit.
Sedert die jare 60 het 25 presidente en eerste ministers
gesterf. Sedert 1970 is meer as 30 oorloë geveg, meestal
burgeroorloë. Agt miljoen mense is uit hul land verdryf.
Die lewensverwagting van sub-Sahara-Afrika is maar 48 jaar.
Sewentig persent van alle HIV-positiewes leef in Afrika, en
so kan ek voortgaan, op 'n baie tragiese noot.
Wat is dan die boodskap? Die boodskap is dat die pad van
Afrika-eenheid baie steil en vol dorings is, dat Afrika se
realiteit nie eenheid, vrede en voorspoed is nie; nee,
Afrika se realiteite is veel eerder wrede verdeling,
oorlog, bloedvergieting, armoede en siekte. Niks moet ons
egter stuit in ons strewe om Afrika op te hef nie.
25 May 2001
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Ook ons Afrikaners ken Afrika se realiteit van verdeeldheid
en sy pad van bloed. Ons is deel van die stryd tot die dood
toe van broer teen broer. In 1914 het ons mekaar in 'n
bloedig rebellie beveg en een van ons leiers, Jopie Fourie,
is deur 'n vuurpeloton tereggestel. Daardie tragiese
voorval het 'n digter laat skryf ``daar trek 'n koeël met
spoed, met spoed, hy's nat van Afrikanerbloed, hy kom uit
Afrikanerroer, hy trek deur Afrikanerhart, en smart die
boodskap wat hy voer''.
Ons Afrikaners het ook vrede in Afrika gesoek en ons
digters het gehelp om, soos volg, vrede te soek en te kry:
``daar sal ek vrede weer besef, waar Thebes in die stil
woestyn sy magtig rotskruin hoog verhef en Mara in die sand
verdwyn''.
Die IVP erken dat Afrika se pad na eenheid baie moeilik is,
maar ons glo dit is nie 'n onmoontlike taak nie. Ons glo
ons moet 'n meesterplan beraam om 'n einde aan alle
konflikte te maak en politieke stabiliteit te verseker. Ons
moet Afrika-oplossings nastreef, ons moet vrede maak met
ons geskiedenis, 'n geskiedenis van slawerny, kolonialisme,
rassisme, politieke onverdraagsaamheid, oorlog en
bloedvergieting.
25 May 2001
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Vassteek by die verlede, gaan ons sekerlik nie help nie.
Ons moet die toekoms aanpak met krag en entoesiasme en met
selfversekerheid, oortuiging en toewyding. Ons moet
President Mbeki se millenniumplan vir Afrika ondersteun.
Ons moet die Suid-Afrikaanse vredesresep na Afrika uitvoer,
ons wat wrede verdeeldheid, bloedige stryd, haat en wraak,
met ernstige onderhandelings, in sukses omgeskakel het.
Laat ons dan in ons strewe na Afrika-eenheid, soos volg,
almal saam met die volksdigter Langenhoven sing: ``op jou
roep sê ons nooit nee nie, sê ons altyd, altyd ja, met ons
land en met ons nasie sal dit wel wees, God regeer'' en
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika. [Applous.] (Translation of
Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In 1996 President Mbeki made his ``I am an African''
speech. I read the striking quotations in it many times and
each time the African theme crept deeper and deeper into my
soul.
What made a special impression on me as an Afrikaner was
the part of the President's words that went: ``I am the
grandchild who lays fresh flowers on the Boer graves on St
Helena and the Bahamasÿ.ÿ.ÿ. I am an African''.
25 May 2001
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I, Koos van der Merwe, am also an African. I am a child of
Africa, without Africa I cannot exist. That is why I want
to praise Africa today. I am doing so in one of the 2 000
languages and other dialects that are spoken in Africa. I
am speaking a language that originated, was moulded and
cast in Africa. My mother tongue is the only language of
Africa that recognises Africa in its name - Afrikaans.
When I drive to and from Parliament in the morning and
evening, I sometimes sing ``ken jy die land waar die
Boerevolk woon, land met sy berge terasse gekroon, land met
sy ruimtes so wyd en so vry, ai, dis die land, dis die
wêreld vir my''.
Yes, President Mbeki, I am also an African, I take pleasure
in swimming in the friendly Zulu waters of the Indian Ocean
off KwaZulu-Natal. I regularly sit on top of Table Mountain
and cannot get my fill of staring at the fairest cape of
all capes. I drive through the lonely desolation of the
Free State and there I do my deepest thinking.
I spend as much as possible quality time at the campfire in
the Bushveld, where one can never get enough of the
fragrance of the hardwood fire and the dancing figures in
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the flames, where one imagines seeing Mabalel dancing in
the flames, accompanied by the tinkling of her ankle rings.
I am still trying to improve my Sesotho sa Borwa [Southern
Sotho] so that I could have wonderful conversations with my
Sotho friends, especially Gertrude Mzizi, Sotho princess.
I take pleasure in singing about my country, Africa,
particularly: ``by Rietfontein se leidam waar die reier
staan en droom en gepluimde peerboomtakke bloeisels
sprinkel in die stroom''. Yes, then we all sing to Africa:
``ek sing van die wind wat te keer gaan, ek sing van die
reën wat daar val, ek sing van ons vaal ou Karooland, van
blomme wat bloei by die wal''.
Next to the cosy campfire, with a rack of ribs on the
glowing coals, I hear someone singing in the distance. He
is singing so beautifully. He is singing about his
satisfaction with Africa. He is singing: ``Op my ou
ramkietjie met nog net een snaar, speel ek in die maanskyn
deurmekaar. Wat gee ek om as die mense sê ek is mal, as die
varings my aanhoor by die wal?''
Africa is our father. Africa is our mother. Without Africa
we are all orphans. We are anchored in Africa. Our houses
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have been built on the rock, Africa, as H A Fagan
challenges: ``Kom nag, kom weer en wind, kom oseaan - dit
is 'n rots waarop my huisie staan''.
I have often been asked what keeps me here in Africa when
so many of our people have already left the country. Then I
reply with a German song, with acknowledgement to the poet
of the Südwesterlied: ``ÿ.ÿ.ÿ. en as iemand ons sou vra,
wat hou ons dan hier vas; dan kan ons maar net sê, ons
bemin Afrika''.
We are talking about unity in Africa today. When one looks
at this challenge, however, one's blood runs cold, because
it seems to be an impossible task. Over 800 million people
live in Africa. By the year 2020 there will be about 1,7
billion people in Africa. There are over 53 states, with
more than 2 000 languages and dialects. Since 1952 there
have been 85 violent or unconstitutional changes of
government, and 90 government leaders have been deposed.
Since the sixties 25 presidents and prime ministers have
died. Since 1970 more than 30 wars have been fought, mostly
civil wars. Eight million people have been driven from
their countries. The life expectancy of sub-Saharan Africa
25 May 2001
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is a mere 48 years. Seventy percent of all those who are
HIV positive live in Africa and I can continue in this very
tragic vein.
What is the message, then? The message is that the path to
African unity is very steep and strewn with thorns, that
the reality of Africa is not unity, peace and prosperity,
no, Africa's realities are much more probably division,
war, bloodshed, poverty and disease. Nothing should stop us
in our endeavour to uplift Africa.
We Afrikaners also know Africa's reality of division and
its path of blood. We are part of the struggle to the death
between brother and brother. In 1914 we fought one another
in a bloody rebellion and one of our leaders, Jopie Fourie,
was executed by a firing-squad. That tragic event inspired
a poet to write: ``daar trek 'n koeël met spoed, met spoed,
hy's nat van Afrikanerbloed, hy kom uit Afrikanerroer, hy
trek deur Afrikanerhart, en smart die boodskap wat hy
voer''.
We Afrikaners also pursued peace in Africa and our poets
helped to seek peace and to find it: ``daar sal ek vrede
25 May 2001
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weer besef, waar Thebes in die stil woestyn sy magtig
rotskruin hoog verhef en Mara in die sand verdwyn''.
The IFP admits that Africa's road to unity is very
difficult, but we do not believe that it is an impossible
task. We believe that we must devise a master plan to put
an end to all conflicts and ensure political stability. We
must pursue African solutions, we must make peace with our
history, a history of slavery, colonialism, racism,
political intolerance, war and bloodshed.
Getting stuck in the past will certainly not help us. We
must tackle the future with strength and enthusiasm and
with self-confidence, conviction and dedication. We must
support President Mbeki's millennium plan for Africa, we
must export the South African recipe for peace to Africa,
we, who transformed cruel division, bloody struggle, hatred
and revenge into success by means of serious negotiations.
Let us then pursue African unity as follows. Sing along
with the people's poet Langenhoven: ``op jou roep sê ons
nooit nee nie, sê ons altyd, altyd ja, met ons land en met
ons nasie sal dit wel wees, God regeer'' and Nkosi sikelel'
iAfrika. [Applause.]]
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Hon members will
agree that the hon Koos has it in him to become a more than
useful poet.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson ...
An HON MEMBER: Do not talk about Cuba.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, my geography is not that
bad. I know Cuba is not on the continent of Africa.
[Laughter.]
Die agb lid Koos van der Merwe is reg, Afrika se
verskeidenheid is sy grootste rykdom. Die probleem is net
dat hierdie verskeidenheid nie altyd erken word nie, en ek
sal daarna terugkom tydens my toespraak. (Translation of
Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The hon member Koos van der Merwe is right, Africa's
diversity is its greatest wealth. The problem is only that
this diversity is not always recognised, and I will return
to this issue during my speech.]
25 May 2001
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The Financial Times described Africa as a snakes-andladders board, with the snakes marked "famine or flood,
corruption and coup," and ladders marked "ceasefire, peace
pact, foreign investment and multiparty elections". Let us
hope for Africa's sake that the ladders will beat the
snakes, that the ups will beat the downs; if not, African
unity will be out of the question.
The ups will beat the downs when senseless conflicts that
plague the continent are brought to an end. During the last
decade Africa suffered from five major conflicts per year,
peaking at 11 major conflicts in 1998. The root causes of
these conflicts will have to be addressed. The question is:
Should Africa, at the dawn of a new century, not reconsider
its arbitrary colonial barriers which have triggered many
conflicts on the continent? The conflict between Ethiopia
and Eritrea is a case in point.
Ethnicity is a further major contributor to conflicts on
the continent. As a matter of fact, the root cause of
virtually every prevailing conflict on the continent is
violation of the rights of people belonging to ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities by majority
governments.
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The time has come for Africa to take the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National
or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities seriously.
Closer to home, a special effort should be made to end the
conflict in Angola, which impacts negatively on the
economic development of this region. Angola is a country
with enormous economic potential. If the war were to stop,
Angola could attract as much as R4 trillion in oil-related
investment, with important spin-offs for the entire region.
Instead of concentrating on peace efforts in the Middle
East, the Great Lakes area and Western Africa, no matter
how important peace in these regions may be, South Africa
should spend its time and energy on ending the war in
Angola.
I can think of nobody better than former President Nelson
Mandela to take the initiative. If he can pull off a peace
deal in Burundi, why not in Angola? Nobody will invest in a
conflict-torn region. No wonder Africa South of the Sahara
gets less than 1% of direct foreign investment. Unless the
conflict is brought to an end, African unity will remain a
pipe dream.
25 May 2001
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The ups will beat the downs when Africa changes the face of
its leadership. Authoritative opinion agrees that powerdrunk leaders who tolerate no opposition within or without
party ranks, and who use the power of the state to
interfere in party-political matters, damage investor
confidence. Hopefully the House will therefore understand
the concern of the opposition when the Minister of Safety
and Security named three prominent ANC leaders in respect
of a so-called plot against the hon President.
[Interjections.]
In Zambia a cabinet Minister's arm was broken when he
objected against a third term for Chiluba. Dapo Oyewole
pointed out that the recurrent blunder of African societies
is that they think that good revolutionaries will make good
leaders. According to him, these revolutionaries often lack
the pertinent knowledge and skills necessary to manage the
social economic affairs of the state. If leaders who govern
for the good of the people rather than for themselves come
to the fore, the bad experience of 40 years will be
something of the past and African unity will become a
reality. [Interjections.]
25 May 2001
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The ups will beat the downs in Africa if Africa can get
free access to world markets. Free access to the markets of
the industrialised countries would result in growth worth
billions of rands per year for Africa. European
restrictions on the import of food from Africa annually
block agricultural products worth $700 million from
entering their countries. Government-subsidised
agricultural products makes it extremely difficult for
Africa to compete on an equal footing. The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development spent more than R2
300 billion on agricultural subsidies. That is the
equivalent of the total gross national product of Africa
south of the Sahara.
A taxi driver in London told Kaizer Nyatsumba: ``I have
always said that Africa could feed the world if it was
properly managed, and that would be good for Africa itself
and for the rest of the world.'' That is indeed true, but
Africa must be given a fair chance to compete on world
markets. In this regard South Africa cannot preach to
others. We will also have to lower our tariffs, and import
more from Africa. South Africa's imports from the rest of
Africa decreased from R1,7 billion for the period 1997-98,
to R980 million for the period 1998-99.
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The ups will beat the downs when debt relief becomes a
reality. Africa's debt amounted to $310 billion in 1997,
and this exceeds the total value of goods and services
produced by the continent.
Daar is een voorwaarde aan verbonde. Die geld wat
beskikbaar kom as gevolg van die afskryf van skuld, moet
aangewend word vir armoedeverligting. Afrika moet verenig,
nie teen die Noorde of industriële lande nie, maar in hulle
strewe om konflikte uit te roei, armoede te bekamp en in
hulle strewe om deel van die wêreldhandel te word.
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[There is one condition attached to this. The money which
is made available as a result of the cancellation of debt
should be applied for poverty relief. Africa should unite,
not against the North or industrial countries, but in their
struggle to eradicate conflict, to fight poverty and in
their pursuit to become part of world trade.]
It is unacceptable that 16 states have yet to ratify the
treaty which established the African Union. Hopefully, they
will do so in the near future. [Applause.]
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Ms M M MAUNYE: Mr Chairperson, comrades, hon members, for
Africa to enjoy the full benefits of its resources, it must
be prepared to claim its place and rise above the raging
conflicts, poverty and underdevelopment.
The Organisation of African Unity is a reflection of the
vision of the African leaders. The continent was ruled by
colonial powers, and therefore Africans had to meet the
challenge of liberating themselves. The liberation of South
Africa in 1994 was the end of colonialism on the continent.
The defeat of the NP and the defeat of white supremacy in
the 1994 elections was a clear indication from our people
that they would not be led by foreign powers any more.
From 1963 to date, Africa and the world have undergone
tremendous changes. When the OAU was founded, African soil
was used by superpowers as a filter in order to test the
success of their policies. The continent was viewed as an
important sphere of success of the superpowers and their
objectives. As a result of the conflict, the development of
the continent and its people was sacrificed.
Parliaments passed protocols creating the African Union and
the African Parliament. This was possible because of the
25 May 2001
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unsung success of the OAU. The OAU succeeded in uniting the
African people to fight for their total liberation. Despite
this success, new challenges emerged, such as
globalisation, information technology, preventable diseases
and HIV/Aids. Because of underdevelopment, these challenges
found the continent unprepared.
The Marp programme must be supported by everyone because it
seeks to change the balance of forces in the continent.
Only collective action by the continent will ensure that
the world recognises its responsibility to the continent.
The African Union represents the continuation of the dreams
and aspirations of the founding fathers of the OAU. These
dreams were based on the understanding that African
countries and their people share a common destiny.
We will only be able to achieve sustainable growth,
development and social progress if we act together as a
continent. In March this year, South Africa signed the
Constitutive Act of the African Union in Sirte. The signing
was a demonstration of our commitment as South Africa to
the African Renaissance. Military juntas, like that in the
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Comoros, were barred from participating because of Africa's
resolve not to accept undemocratic governments.
This continent is the first to create a body for
parliamentarians to discuss common continental concerns.
This is a positive development. Our country has the honour
of hosting the last summit of the OAU, which will give
birth to the African Union. This is very significant in
that our country is recognised as a fully fledged member of
this great continent and is at the forefront of Africa's
intention to liberate herself.
The focus of this African Union will be, among other
things, to promote democratic principles, popular
participation and good governance; to promote sustainable
social and cultural development; to promote the integration
of African economics; to raise the living standards of
African people and to co-ordinate and harmonise the
policies between the existing and future regional economic
communities.
One fundamental principle of the union is the promotion of
gender equality. We are confident that women will be
represented in all organs of the union. This is critical to
25 May 2001
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our struggle for the all-round development of African
people. The Millennium Africa Recovery Programme will
provide the way and the route to realising what is
enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
We hope that through the African Union, African people will
take ownership of the continent and its development, and
work towards the implementation of Marp. On 8 January the
ANC said:
The achievement of all the goals of the African
Renaissance, the African Century, require that we
transform ours into a continent of democracy; respect for
human rights of all our people, of peace and stability.
In conclusion, we should not fail to recognise and affirm
the role and commitment of President Mbeki, in his
Government, to the cause of Africa. It is our fervent wish
and daily prayer that all the sweat and time our President
invests in this project will be based on the sweet fruits
of liberation. Equally, we must recognise and acknowledge
the leading role the ANC is taking in this regard.
25 May 2001
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We say, ``Well done. Do more.'' Now is the time for Africa
to unite and take its rightful place. [Applause.]
Mr M E MABETA: Mr Chairperson and hon members, in the
limited time at my disposal I will just make a few comments
without reading from my script.
Firstly, I want to explain what the OAU is not. Secondly, I
want to explain what African unity means and what role
South Africa can play. Thirdly, I would like to explain
what challenges there are for right-minded South Africans
in helping the vision of the OAU, African unity and South
Africa's role.
Ms N E HANGANA: Underline the words ``right-minded South
Africans''.
Mr M E MABETA: Despite it weaknesses, the OAU as an
offspring of Pan-Africanism has been spectacularly
successful in becoming, in theory and substance, the
institutionalisation of the ideal of African unity. It is
understandably weak in some key areas, not because it is a
government, but because of the objective conditions that
have shaped the sociopolitical structures of the countries
25 May 2001
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that came together to form the OAU. It is because of
actions and interests of states such as the old apartheid
South Africa that we have African states that are unable to
play their proper role in forging an African unity.
[Interjections.]
The strength of the OAU lies in the fact that it provided
both the moral and the political foundation for the
inception of the ideal of African unity. This has been
possible at this point in time because of the success of
the liberation movements in our continent to create a solid
base from which to challenge the eating habits of the
industrialised countries.
South Africa's role in all of this is to spearhead efforts
in the domestic transformation of the countries that are
member states of the OAU, and which will tomorrow be full
member states of the African Union and the African
Parliament. This is why, for example, all right-minded
South Africans appreciate the role played by our leaders
who have successfully initiated the basis for negotiations
amongst the contending political parties in the Great
Lakes, Burundi and all over our continent.
25 May 2001
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I am, in fact, saddened by the fact that instead of
praising or regretting the memories of Steve Biko, someone
spends time talking about, for example, a broken arm in
Zambia.
The important challenge for us as South Africans is simply
to nurture and support those institutions that are geared
towards advancing the development of an institutional
framework so that the different organs of an African
Parliament can effectively work against repeating the
weaknesses of the OAU. [Time expired.]
Adv Z L MADASA: Mr Chairperson, the challenges to African
unity and the continent are not new; they have just taken
different forms.
African unity is still threatened by wars, old and new.
African unity is still threatened by poverty and disease
caused by old and new origins. African unity is still
threatened by foreign domination and old enemies with new
tactics. African unity is still threatened by corrupt
leadership, some old and others new in the trade. African
unity is still threatened by dictators and despots who
simply refuse to leave office with impunity. The usual
25 May 2001
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excuse is that the people themselves are calling on these
leaders to remain in office.
But all is not doom and failure. The Millennium Africa
Recovery Plan, spearheaded by the leaders of South Africa,
Nigeria and Algeria has brought about a ray of hope,
despite the obvious challenges it faces. What is
significant with Map is that Africans themselves are the
authors and implementers of the plan. We must all unite
behind this plan and do what we can to support it in order
to ensure its success. We must unite against countries
which still regard the issue of slavery and reparations as
a legal issue, and not a human rights subject. We must
unite against religious intolerance; we must unite on
common issues and leave divisive issues for further debate.
Mayibuye iAfrika! [Come back, Africa!] [Interjections.]
[Applause.]
Dr C P MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, dis gepas dat ons vandag
op Afrika-eenheidsdag 'n debat oor Afrika-eenheid in
hierdie Huis hou. Die VF het reeds by herhaling ons
verbintenis teenoor die vasteland van Afrika betuig. Ons is
van Afrika en ons toekoms is hier.
25 May 2001
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Voor my huis is daar 'n vlagpaal waar daar elke dag 'n
ander vlag wapper. Vandag is dit die beurt van die OAEvlag. Die onderwerp van die debat vandag is Afrika-eenheid.
Die vraag is: wat presies beteken die begrip Afrikaeenheid? Praat ons van eenheid ter wille van eenheid of wat
wil ons maak met Afrika-eenheid nadat ons dit bereik het?
Feit is, wat ook al onder die begrip Afrika-eenheid
verstaan word, daardie eenheid gaan nie sommer maklik
bereik word nie. Die Koue Oorlog, die oorlog tussen Oos en
Wes is verby, maar daar is 'n nuwe, veel ernstiger oorlog,
naamlik 'n ekonomiese oorlog tussen groot ekonomiese
blokke: die EU, Nafta, die Asian Tigers en Japan in die
Verre Ooste.
Die tragedie is dat ons vasteland nie deel is hiervan nie.
Die vraag is: hoekom nie? Die antwoord: omdat Afrika nie 'n
ernstige rolspeler in die wêreldekonomie is wat ernstig
opgeneem moet word as 'n faktor nie. Die ideaal van Afrikaeenheid is goed en reg en ons steun dit, maar dit sal nie
bereik word as Afrika nie dramatiese veranderinge aanbring
en ondergaan nie, veranderinge op ekonomiese gebied,
maatskaplike en sosiale gebied, maar ook op politieke en
demokratiese gebied.
25 May 2001
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Dit sal kom deur die erkenning van verskeidenheid en die
akkommodering daarvan, want ``een mens, een stem'' binne
Afrika se bestaande arbitrêre koloniale grense bring nie
noodwendig demokrasie nie, maar loop in baie gevalle uit op
tirannie van meerderheidsgroepe en meerderhede wat dit
misbruik en minderhede onderdruk, wat lei tot konflik, wat
'n uitwerking het op ekonomiese groei, en Afrika is
derhalwe nie 'n rolspeler nie. (Translation of Afrikaans
speech follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Mr Chairman, it is fitting that today, on
Africa Unity Day, we are having a debate in this House
about African unity. The FF has already repeatedly
expressed our commitment to the continent of Africa. We are
from Africa and our future is here.
There is a flagpole in front of my house and I fly a
different flag every day. Today it is the turn of the OAU
flag. The subject of today's debate is African unity. The
question is: Exactly what does African unity mean? Are we
speaking about unity for the sake of unity, or what we want
to do with African unity after we have achieved it? The
fact is that whatever African unity is understood to mean,
that unity will not be achieved very easily. The Cold War,
25 May 2001
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the war between East and West, is over, but there is a new,
much more serious war, namely an economic war between big
economic blocs: the EU, Nafta, the Asian Tigers and Japan
in the Far East.
The tragedy is that our continent is not part of this. The
question is: Why not? The answer: Because Africa is not a
serious role-player in the world economy which has to be
taken seriously as a factor. The ideal of African unity is
good and right and we support it, but it will not be
achieved if Africa does not effect and undergo dramatic
changes, changes in the economic sphere, in the social
welfare sphere, but also in the political and democratic
sphere.
This will come about through the recognition of diversity
and its accommodation, because ``one person, one vote''
within the existing arbitrary colonial borders of Africa
does not necessarily bring democracy, but in many cases
leads to tyranny by majority groups and majorities abusing
it and oppressing minorities, which leads to conflict,
which impacts on economic growth, and for this reason
Africa is not a role-player.]
25 May 2001
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Dr S E M PHEKO: Chairperson, 21 May this year marks the
43rd observance of Africa Liberation Day. This day was set
aside by a Pan-Africanist, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, on the
occasion of the first conference of the then only 8
independent African states held in Accra on 15 April 1958.
May 25, in 1963, was proclaimed by the founding fathers of
the Organisation of African Unity as Africa Liberation Day
in Ethiopia.
Africa Liberation Day is a revolutionary institution. It
emphasises the primacy of Africa and emerges from the
relentless and long, but incomplete struggle of the African
people, to reverse the imperialist gains of the Berlin
Conference, which partitioned Africa like wedding cake for
colonial powers, making the African continent a British
Africa, French Africa, Portuguese Africa, Italian Africa,
German Africa and Belgian Africa. The colonialists looted
Africa's wealth, exploited Africa's workers, and
underdeveloped Africa.
On the 43rd Africa Liberation Day all martyrs of Africa's
freedom must be remembered. Many of them were executed by
colonialist forces or massacred. Some died in many battles
of liberation and were never properly buried. But it is
25 May 2001
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clear that no force on earth can defeat the Pan-African
idea, without which Africans cannot regain their lost
power. Pan-Africanism is an imperative response to the
imperialist forces and their agents who have tried hard to
kill this political African philosophy.
The PAC is heartened by the gains of the Pan-Africanist
movement which are now resulting in the establishment of
the Pan-African Parliament and the African Union. Africa
Liberation Day ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr R H DAVIES: Chairperson, regional economic integration
has long been central to the quest for African unity.
The first generation of independent African leaders
understood very clearly that colonialism had left them with
the heritage of fragmented small economies, tied into a
global division of labour as producers of cheap raw
materials. These leaders recognised that the promotion of
economic unity was fundamental to the realisation of the
objectives of growth and development. This objective
remains enshrined in the major policy documents of the OAU,
shortly to become the African Union.
25 May 2001
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The treaty of the African Union, which we ratified in this
Parliament a little while ago, calls for processes of
promoting economic integration in the subregions of our
continent as a step towards realising the goal of an
African economic community.
Much has changed since the goals of African economic
integration were first sketched out in the 1960s. But I
want to argue that the promotion of regional economic
integration has, if anything, become more rather than less
imperative in our current circumstances.
We live in an era known as globalisation. This is a process
of rapid integration of national capital, commodity, and,
perhaps, skilled labour markets into single global markets
operating under multilateral rules. This has been
associated with the transition from an international to a
multinational mode of operation of the world economy, and
also with what Manuel Castells has called a transition to
globally networked capitalism.
It has been a highly an uneven and unequal process. An
article in the recent edition of The Economist by Robert
Wade cited a number of recent studies, including one
25 May 2001
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conducted within the World Bank, to argue that, and I
quote:
... global inequality is worsening rapidly.
One interesting feature which we are witnessing is the
strengthening of regionalisation within globalisation.
While the theoretical literature has long argued that
weaker economies have much to gain from regional
integration within globalisation, the truth that we are
seeing in the world today in practice is that the stronger
economies are forming themselves into powerful regional
blocs.
The European Union is on the verge of enlarging itself by
incorporating a number of countries in Eastern Europe. We
have more recently seen the signature of the FTA of the
Americas. In these circumstances, I believe that we need to
underscore the fact that the promotion and strengthening of
regional integration in areas of Africa and in the south in
general, is not an optional extra but an absolute
imperative.
25 May 2001
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The ANC, as a liberation movement, has, of course, been
part of the processes of determining the African vision
long before we came into Government in this country. Our
involvement in these processes gave us a strong
appreciation of the continental imperatives and also of the
processes in progress on the continent. This enabled us to
take firm decisions when we finally we ended up in
Government.
One such decision was a decision taken within a few months
of the installation of our democratic Government in 1994 to
become part of the Southern African Development Community.
I think we need to appreciate that that decision was, in
fact, rather controversial. There was considerable
skepticism in the ranks of powerful economic forces of the
old order about whether, in fact, we were part of Africa at
all. There were advisors and experts associated with the
previous regime that were advising the new Government to
stand aloof from organisations like SADC and to impose
strong conditions on our becoming members.
I am glad to say that we did not accept that advice. The
fact that we did not do so enabled us to become part of
important processes in the Southern African region. The
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fact that we got into SADC at the time that we did enabled
us to play a very important part in the evolution of the
SADC Trade Protocol. We were able to exercise our influence
to ensure that that protocol moved in the direction of
providing for a process of negotiations within a trade
negotiating forum. We were also able to become a voice
arguing for the principle of asymmetry, in other words, a
greater opening up of the stronger economies should be a
feature of the SADC Trade Protocol. That trade protocol is
now in place, and I believe that it will make a significant
contribution to equalising the trade relations which we
have in the Southern African region.
SADC has long emphasised the concept of developmental
integration, and this means two important principles.
Firstly, it means recognising that we are dealing with
economies of different sizes and levels of development, and
therefore need to resist the temptation of polarisation
which is inherent in such a situation. I believe the
asymmetry in the trade protocol goes somewhere towards
addressing that concern.
Secondly, the concept of developmental integration means
recognising that the barriers to intraregional trade are
25 May 2001
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not necessarily only or even primarily tariff regulations
or other forms of regulatory barriers, but also arise from
the fact that what we have in our region is underdeveloped
infrastructure and inadequate production structures.
Almost all studies of regional integration in Southern
Africa have concluded that what we need is not trade
integration in isolation, but a programme incorporating
sectoral co-operation, policy co-ordination and trade
integration that is capable of promoting developmentoriented growth in our region. SADC has itself long
defended such a programme of sectoral co-operation and,
indeed, during its first decade this was a major focus of
its activities.
What has been clear is that this aspect of the programme
has not been as effective as we would have liked it to have
been. A report to an extraordinary summit of SADC which was
held in Windhoek last month said that only 20% of the
present portfolio of projects will meet the criteria of
being priority regional projects and that most of these
were dependent on diminishing donor support. This is not to
say that we do not have progress in implementing sectoral
co-operation. The cross-border Strategic Development
25 May 2001
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Initiatives have been important projects, but have operated
on a bilateral or trilateral basis.
I am pleased to see that at that summit SADC took some
important decisions on institutional reform in order to
strengthen its capacity to address these issues. The summit
agreed to initiate a regional indicative strategic
development planning process and to rationalise the 19
sector co-ordinating units into four directorates concerned
with economic co-operation and integration as well as the
restructuring of the organ on defence and security cooperation.
Our efforts in promoting regional economic co-operation are
not confined to our own region. There are important
initiatives such as the binational co-operation with
Nigeria and our active engagements in continental
processes; including our hon President's role in the
formulation and now the process of generating support for
the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme. We are also
involved in actively promoting the free trade agreement
with the Mercosur countries and are involved in exploratory
talks with a number of other regions in the south.
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I believe that African Unity Day is a very appropriate
occasion for us to take stock of our progress in promoting
economic integration. I would conclude that we have taken
some important steps, but that much remains to be done and
that many challenges still lie ahead.
I want to congratulate the Speaker for putting this debate
on the programme. I believe we need more opportunities in
this Parliament to focus on broad strategic questions like
this, and not as some of the speakers in this debate have
tended to do, rapidly reduce all discussions of issues of
Africa to problems in individual countries, important
though those may be. [Applause.]
Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Chairperson, I want to inform the
previous speaker that no matter how many communities one
tries to belong to, if one does not have unity in one's own
country, one will never succeed.
Alhoewel dit wyd en syd gepropageer word, sal Afrikaeenheid nie 'n werklikheid word indien Afrikane nie ontslae
raak van hul leiers wat weier om minderheidsgroepe te
aanvaar en hul regte te eerbiedig nie. [Although it is
propagated far and wide, unity in Africa will not become a
25 May 2001
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reality if Africans do not get rid of those leaders who
refuse to accept minority groups and respect their rights.]
Once there are leaders who believe that they must, at all
cost, remain in leadership positions for 15 years or
longer, so long will unity evade the nations, regions and
the African continent. While such people remain in powerful
positions in political parties, government, business or
administration, they will continue to discriminate against
those who threaten their point of view and the power base
and so prevent unity. [Interjections.]
May I also say that unity is not promoted in debates like
this one where the majority party does not allow the
minority party members equal debating time. If there is a
wish to promote unity in South Africa, it must be done
through the rules and the principles of democracy. In a
democracy every member of Parliament has an equal right to
put forward his party's point of view. How can there be
unity in this Parliament if this principle is ignored?
The ANC and the IFP will not allow minorities to speak in
this debate for longer than two minutes. [Interjections.]
If we seek unity, let us take the leaf out of the history
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book of Europe's oldest democracy, and build our democracy
on the foundation laid by the smallest, but one of the
world's wealthiest nations on that continent, the Swiss
nation.
Their unity has grown out of their desire to be one nation,
with roots that have grown out of French, German and
Italian originally. These are their official languages and
their strength lies in the fact that although these three
are dominant majority parties, they have entrenched in
their Constitution the rights of the small group, the
Romansch group. [Interjections.] They realise the lesson of
unity that we should follow if we want to unite the African
nations. [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Deputy Chair, namhlanje ngifuna
ukunibingelela egameni lobumbano lwe-Afrika. Simunye!
[today I will greet everyone in the name of African unity.
We are one!]
The MF, together with the African people, believe that
identity is not possible without unity. The Millennium
Africa Programme, Map, is an economic recovery programme
for the African continent, which has as its principal co-
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ordinators South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria. The idea of
African Unity Day stems from the background of PanAfricanism, in which visionaries interpreted African
reality through literature or political writing which
inspired African political thought.
After the attempt to create African unity in the mid 90's
was unsuccessful, more than 34 countries assembled in
Nigeria and signed a treaty pledging to create an African
economic community by 2005. The proposal was integral to
the establishment of a broader goal, a Pan-African caucus
for the development of the continent as a whole.
Although all this planning sounds very promising, I must
express that if the quality of leaders who form this union
is not able to provide real leadership in their nation,
there will be a problem in marketing such a forum.
The MF supports all initiative towards the African Union
programme and is confident that our people have the ability
to stand united and form a strong nation, irrespective of
race, sex, colour or creed. [Applause.]
25 May 2001
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Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, 'n dominee was op 'n keer
te besig met die skape en die beeste en so aan, en dié
Sondag het hy toe nie 'n preek nie. Hy vat toe 'n preek van
die vorige jaar. Toe hy in die konsistorie kom ná die
preek, sê die ouderling vir hom hy word lui, want hy het
dieselfde preek as die vorige jaar gelewer. Hy vra toe vir
hom: ``Broer, het jy al gedoen wat ek gesê het?''
So wil ek ook nou vra. Verlede jaar met hierdie selfde
debat het mense soos ek en Dr Boy Geldenhuys mooi vir die
OAE en vir Afrika gepreek, maar hulle het nog nie gedoen
wat ons gesê het nie. Afrika klou vas aan sy probleme. Die
OAE het vier doelstellinge gehad: om eenheid te
bewerkstellig, om die vasteland te bevry van kolonialisme
en apartheid, om vrede in Afrika te bevorder en ekonomiese
vooruitgang.
In die eerste twee het die OAE wel geslaag. Daar is 'n mate
van eenheid, daar is 'n organisasie, Afrika is bevry van
apartheid en kolonialisme, maar vrede het nog nie
neergedaal nie, en ekonomiese voorspoed nog minder. Ons
sien dit in Angola, Mozambiek, die DRK, Brazzaville,
Ruanda, Burundi, Soedan, Somalië, Ethiopië, Eritrië,
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Zimbabwe en ook in die moorde op blanke boere in SuidAfrika. Ons kan nog nie van vrede in Afrika praat nie.
Waarom? Daar is twee redes. Eerstens, Afrika het te behep
geword met totalitêre mag. Koloniale onderdrukking het plek
gemaak vir Uhuru-onderdrukking. Nkrumah het gesê dat 'n
mens eers die koninkryk van die politiek moet soek en dat
die res sal volg. Dit werk ongelukkig nie so nie.
Staatsgrepe, eenpartystate, staatshoofde wat vir vier
termyne aan bewind bly, komplotte en gerugte van komplotte
is aan die orde van die dag.
Die tweede rede is dat Afrika alles van die kolonialisme by
die venster uitgegooi het, behalwe die koloniale grense.
Hierdie grense is onnatuurlike grense. Dit plaas
verskillende volke in een land bymekaar. Die meetsnoere het
nie op mooi plekke geval nie.
Afrika sal slegs vrede en stabiliteit kry as hy 'n model
kan vind om hierdie verskillende gemeenskappe wat
onnatuurlik in dieselfde staatsgrense saamgevoeg is te kan
akkommodeer, deur die regte van minderhede te erken en dit
te verdiskonteer, anders gaan donker Afrika altyd 'n harde
realiteit bly. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
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[Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairperson, a minister was once so busy
tending his sheep and cattle, that on this particular
Sunday he did not have a sermon ready. He then took a
sermon from the previous year. When he went into the vestry
after the sermon the elder told him that he was getting
lazy because he delivered the same sermon the previous
year. His response was to ask: ``Brother, have you done
what I told you to yet?''
This is the same question I now want to ask. Last year
during the same debate people like Dr Boy Geldenhuys and I
preached to the OAU and Africa, but they still have not
done what we told them to. Africa is clinging to its
problems. The OAU had four goals: to effect unity, to free
the continent from colonialism and apartheid, to promote
peace in Africa and economic prosperity.
The OAU succeeded with the first two. There is a degree of
unity, there is an organisation, Africa has been freed from
apartheid and colonialism, but peace has still not
descended and neither has economic prosperity. We see this
in Angola, Mozambique, the DRC, Brazzaville, Rwanda,
Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and
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also in the murdering of white farmers in South Africa. We
still cannot talk about peace in Africa.
Why not? There are two reasons. Firstly, Africa is too
obsessed with totalitarian power. Colonial oppression has
made way for Uhuru oppression. Nkrumah said that one first
had to seek the kingdom of politics and the rest would
follow. Unfortunately it does not work this way. Coup
d'etats, one-party states, heads of state who remain in
office for four terms, plots and rumours of plots are the
order of the day.
The second reason is that Africa has jettisoned everything
to do with colonialism, except the colonial borders. These
borders are unnatural borders. They place different people
together in one country. The demarcation lines did not fall
in the right places.
Africa will only find peace and stability if it can find a
model to accommodating these different communities that
ware joined together within the same state boundaries, by
recognising the rights of minorities and taking them into
account, otherwise darkest Africa will always remain a hard
reality.
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The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Chairperson and members of this House, I would like us to
dedicate this particular Africa Day input to those Africans
who had the vision and the courage to ensure that we work
consistently and with resilience towards African unity.
I would also like us to dedicate this input to those
Africans who laid down their lives to ensure that this
continent will in future be united and prosperous, and that
we will ensure that there is freedom from all abuses that
we have experienced.
Hence, it is a challenge for us to deal with the level of
Afropessimism that exists, both in and outside the African
continent. It is with great and grave regret that we saw
this Afropessimism come through in this House today in
different guises. It is sad. So, for many, in view of the
Afropessimism, South Africa was that part of Africa. A
critical starting point in overcoming Afropessimism in our
country is to embrace South Africanness and to globally
embrace the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme.
We should guard against those who wished here today to
distort democracy and project misunderstanding of what they
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believe democracy is and should be. I wish that many would
take their cue, quite ironically from the hon Van der
Merwe, who reflected his Africanness, not by coming with
negative sentiments, but by saying: Let us look at the
positive side. We have seen that with many others. I
isolated the hon Van der Merwe because generally the
positive sentiments came from the right side of the House,
but it also came from other members.
But let me refer to Ngugi wa Thiong'o who said, and I
quote:
To decolonise our minds, we must not see our own
experiences as little islands that are not connected with
other processes.
Too many a time we assume that it is preaching, and not
practice, that will make the difference. I think we should
move towards the practice, because then we will preach,
using every year's sermon and there will be no change, for
someone else is not going to do it.
So, today we should accept and acknowledge that we are
inexplicably linked to the challenges that face Africa. We
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are connected in identity, time and space with Africa. We
are Africans. Let us contextualise that today Africa - the
hon Mabeta made this reference as well - is a product of
centuries of slavery which constituted a massive export of
cheap labour and loss of capital. Colonialism sought to
lower the cost of labour and raw materials through direct
political intervention and reduce the productive capacity
by forcing the production of cash crops and products for
the colonising countries.
There are a range of issues that need to be taken forward.
The stark realities were reflected on by various members,
starting with the hon Ramgobin. We also had hon Davies
reflecting on the importance of regional integration and so
forth. Our President most aptly summarised these realities
at the Third African Renaissance Festival, as follows:
... that the reality that has accumulated over many
centuries is that Africa is defined as ``of necessity,
the marginalised''. This determination leads to actions
that result in the further marginalisation of the
continent. The more this succeeds, the more difficult it
becomes to reverse this process of marginalisation. The
difficulty includes the generation of significant
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resources from the continent itself to reverse this
process. To bring this human tragedy to an end, it is
necessary that the peoples of Africa gain the conviction
that they are not and must not be wards of benevolent
guardians, but the instruments of their own sustained
upliftment.
We need to lead this process. We need to reflect that we
are not the wards of any benevolent guardians. As Africans,
we must embrace the new vision for Africa. This is an
Africa free of poverty and excessive inequality; an Africa
in which peace, stability, democracy and human rights
thrive; an Africa free from environmental degradation; and
an Africa thriving with innovative human excellence,
adequate infrastructure and sustainable economic activity.
This is the vision of the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan
announced by visionary leaders such as Presidents Mbeki,
Bouteflika and Obasanjo. Africa Day should be an occasion
on which we commit ourselves as African leaders and
Africans to eradicating poverty and placing our countries
on the path of sustainable growth and development.
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Marp is based on a partnership approach and outlines a
concrete programme. It does not preach, but outlines a
concrete programme that is multifaceted. The key areas of
the programme include creating peace, security, democratic
and good governance, with the capacity to deliver direct
and sustainable economic activity.
It reflects on investing in Africa's people through an
integrated and comprehensive human development programme.
It talks to the diversification of Africa's production and
exports through expanding industrialisation in sectors with
competitive advantage, beneficiation and promoting tourism
growth. It goes on to a range of issues. We need to ensure
that this programme that focuses on creating conditions for
increased investment, not on aid for Africa, is made a
reality. We need to take it forward. Therefore
Afropessimism cannot emanate from within this House.
The OAU's summit decision to usher in African unity on 26
May 2001 is a significant initiative, and hence our debate
today, as reflected by hon Davies, is an important debate.
It provides an excellent opportunity as an African Union
for socioeconomic regeneration and liberation from poverty
and human rights abuses. There are a range of initiatives,
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even in relation to revitalisation of the public service on
the continent, to take this forward.
In conclusion, let me reflect on three issues from this
debate today. The three important issues are that it was
essentially women in this House who today reflected in a
positive way on what is required to push back
Afropessimism, joined by progressive males and those who
are willing to contemplate progress. It was not the
pessimists, it was not the reactionaries, and it was not
those clinging to the negative who came forth. There was
also a reflection today on the need for diversification and
the need to consider diversity.
I now want to remind hon Aucamp by actually making a
Biblical reference on the need for diversity and how we can
bring things together in a real sense ...
... deur te gaan na die boek Rut waar Rut met haar skoonma,
Naomi, gepraat het:
Moenie by my aandring dat ek u moet verlaat om agter u om
te draai nie, want waar u gaan, sal ek gaan. Waar u
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vertoef, sal ek vertoef. U volk is my volk. U God is my
God. Waar u sterwe, sal ek sterwe en daar begrawe word.
Vir ons is dit belangrik vandag om wel in aanmerking te
neem dat ons een nasie wil bou. Ons is deel van een
vasteland en dit gaan ons nie help om negatief te wees nie.
Dit gaan ons nie help om pessimisties te wees. Ons sal moet
werk om daardie nasie een te maak. Gaan lees wat Rut gesê
het. Gaan lees en dink na oor hoe ons dit wel 'n realiteit
kan maak, want umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu. ['n Mens is 'n
mens oor ander mense.] Ons is deel van Afrika en sal dit 'n
realiteit maak. [Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs
follows.)
[... by looking at the book of Ruth, where Ruth spoke to
her mother-in-law, Naomi:
Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following
after thee: For whither thou goest, I will go; and where
thou lodgest, I will lodge: Thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die,
and there I will be buried.
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To us it is important today to take into consideration that
we want to build one nation. We are part of one continent
and it will not help us to be negative. It will not help us
to be pessimistic. We shall have to work to make that
nation one. Go and read what Ruth said. Go and read and
consider how we can actually make that a reality, because
umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [a person is a person because of
other people]. We are part of Africa and we shall make that
a reality.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 13:06.