NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY
452. Prince M M M Zulu (IFP-KZN) to ask the Deputy President:
What achievements can the Government list as tangible successes in the
past two years in preserving South African culture and ensuring social
cohesion and nation building? CW555E
REPLY
Government has put considerable emphasis on ensuring social cohesion and
nation building through a number of initiatives that include:
⢠The promotion of a National Identity and the reconfiguration of
National Symbols.
⢠The celebration of National Days
⢠Establishment of museums, memorials and monuments
⢠The proliferation of legacy projects
⢠Support for Arts and Culture Festivals
The promotion of a National Identity and the reconfiguration of National
Symbols.
As part of this programme a Flying the Flag campaign has been launched with
flagpoles being erected on Robben Island amongst others and the
distribution of 21 050 flags as well as other promotional material.
The National Anthem has been promoted through media especially around the
Soccer World Cup build up and a partnership with the SABC promotes the
National Anthem on most radio stations.
Pamphlets and books on the National Symbols have been produced with these
being primarily distributed in schools.
Celebration of National Days
National Days are important components of Governmentâs attempts to preserve
South African culture and promote social cohesion. Political parties are
now invited to deliver messages at these national celebrations in an
attempt to bring all communities together and to develop a new
consciousness amongst all South Africans that despite political
differences, there are many things that unite us.
Establishment of museums, memorials and monuments
New museums, memorials and monuments that depict history and the heritage
of our diverse communities have been built and unveiled, for example the
Luthuli Museum, Nelson Mandela Museum and Constitution Hill. This is aimed
at redressing past imbalances in the heritage landscape of our country, and
to serve as a memorialisation of our history for current and future
generations, especially the youth in our country.
National Legacy Projects
There are also National Legacy Projects, such as the Freedom Park Museum,
which has been established to portray the 3 billion years of South African
history, including monumental elements which commemorate the unsung heroes
in our country. Sikhumbuto, a SiSwati word referencing a place of
remembrance, includes the Wall of Names and the Eternal Flame, that are
both dedicated to the unsung heroes and heroines of the South African
liberation struggle.
The Wall of Names details the names of persons who died in the conflicts
which have shaped the South African consciousness. These names have been
gathered from South African citizens, political and community organizations
and can accommodate 120 000 names. To date 75 000 names are inscribed on
the wall. The Eternal Flame, which is located close to the Sanctuary
comprises a circular wall within which is nestled a flame surrounded by
water. The flame symbolizes eternity, and therefore serves as a monument to
the eternal remembrance of the heroes and heroines, who perished without
their names being recorded.
Support for Arts and Culture Festivals
The Department of Arts and Culture as the lead department in this regard
has also been involved in other activities to preserve South African
culture and ensure social cohesion such as supporting Arts and Culture
Festivals, theatrical productions and exhibitions and running social
mobilisation and community engagement campaigns. A National Social
Cohesion Summit will be convened by the Department next year.
All these initiatives are testimony to governmentâs awareness of the need
to preserve South African culture and to ensure social cohesion and nation
building, and its proliferation is actively supported and encouraged by
government.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural,
Religious and Linguistic Communities and the National Heritage Council also
play an important role in preserving South African culture and ensuring
social cohesion and nation building.
454. Ms N D Ntwanambi (ANC-WC) to ask the Deputy President:
Whether, as part of its bilateral relations and engagements,
especially with African countries that served as a refuge for South
Africans who fought against apartheid, the Government has raised the
(a) issue of South Africans who might have died and laid to rest in
those countries and (b) need to reunite lost family members who were
displaced during the fight against apartheid with their families in
South Africa; if not, why not; if so, how many persons have been (i)
identified through such an initiative and (ii) repatriated back to
South Africa in the past five years? CW562E
REPLY
I am not aware of the issue being raised formally with other countries on
the continent.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the responsible
Department for the exhumation of remains of victims as part of the post
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Process. The Department has
facilitated the promulgation of the Regulations on Exhumation, Reburial or
Symbolic Burial of Deceased Victims in terms of the Promotion of National
Unity and Reconciliation Act, 1995 (Act 34 of 1995) by the President which
were published in the Gazette on 7 May 2010.
These Regulations apply to deceased persons who had been reported as
disappeared or gone missing to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and
who fell within the ambit of the Act. The main purpose of these Regulations
is (i) to assist family members of the deceased to attend exhumation
procedures in respect of the remains of the deceased; and (ii) to provide
them with a once-off amount of R17, 000.00 for the reburial of the remains
of the deceased or R8, 500.00 for a symbolic burial.
The Department has also instituted a policy relating to exhumations and
reburials, the purpose of which is (i) to identify the roles and
responsibilities of the different role-players and (ii) to ensure proper
coordination of Government functions. The Regulations and the Policy,
however, only cover exhumations and reburials within the borders of South
Africa.
An exhumation from foreign soil is a matter that must still be
investigated. In dealing with this matter, lessons learned from the
experiences with local exhumations and the application of the above
Regulations and Policy will inform this issue.