Ndiyabulisa Sihlalo weNdlu yoWiso-mthetho yeSizwe, ndiyakhahlela kuwe Mphathiswa uNyambose nakuwe Sekela Mphathiswa Nonzaba, Xesibe. [Kwaqhawtywa.] Xa ndisima apha ndisithi thaca le ngxelo ndithi ndiyiphakamisela ongasekhoyo uMaDlomo, Sopitsho, uNgqolomsila, uVela bembhentsela ongasekhoyo uMaBree, uBrenda. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Ndibulisa kwakhona kubalawuli-ntloko bobabini nabantu abahamba nabo. Kwekhuu, likulu eli sebe sinabalawuli-ntloko ababini, ndiyabona ukuba sityebile, amalungu onke eNdlu yoWiso-mthetho yeSizwe nakwiindwendwe zethu ngale mini. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
English:
We rise to support this budget because of our historical understanding of what the vision was and for arts and culture under a democratic government. In order to understand where the National Development Plan, NDP Vision 2030, wants us to be by 2030 which is to have a transformed society that is unified, we must understand what has informed this. The National Development Plan, NDP Vision
2030 for Arts and Culture is informed, amongst other factors, by our past and needs to fully address past injustices in order to progress to the future.
Colonialism and apartheid took a lot from the majority of our people. It distorted and suppressed cultures, freedom of expression and the creativity of our people. They were denied access to resources and facilities to exercise.
IsiXhosa:
Mandulo sasidla ngokunxiba iinkciyo, sibhushuze kodwa namhlanje ungabanjwa zizikrelemnqa zikwenze yonke into emdaka. Sasibetha ngogaga, sibetha ngeenkciyo abe amabele engaphandle.
English:
An extremely level of poverty, literacy and a lack of effective education training system further compounded cultural deprivation. From the ANC perspective as set out in our Reconstruction and Development Programme, arts and culture are important components in developing our human resources. We see it as an enabler, which unlocks the creativity of our people, allowing for cultural diversity within the project of developing and unifying national
culture, rediscovering our historical heritage and assuring that adequate resources are allocated.
The ANC draft National Cultural Policy, noted amongst its objectives that arts and culture: must promote the development of a unifying national culture; represent the aspirations of all South Africa's people; must ensure that resources and facilities for both the production and appreciation of arts and culture must be made available and accessible to all.
It remains our assignment to learn from our past and build a more socially and economically inclusive society, one that embodies our proud cultural expressions; one that includes all of us working towards creating new ways of engagements towards greater unity. The above will be in the line with what the NDP Vision 2030 seeks from arts and culture.
That arts and culture opens powerful spaces for engagement about where a society finds itself and where it is going.
It envisions a South African society that embraces its diversity rather than emphasising observable differences of race, class, gender and other social constructs.
The ANC through this budget wants to ensure that interventions are up scaled to support the cultural and creative industries. Artists must be protected through interventions such as the development of a strategy to promote trade; fight piracy; and map the value chains of this sector. This sector provides jobs and drives economic growth. When we were given Annual Performance Plan, APP the hon Minister told us that amongst the countries, internally, we were supposed to have agriculture that is championing but this department is the one that is amongst those countries that their departments are doing development and creating jobs. This is in alignment with the economic transformation and job creation which was highlighted as an apex priority.
This is demonstrated in the budget through the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy, which has the responsibility of optimising the economic potential of the arts, culture and the heritage sector through the creation of jobs. This strategy also contributes to inclusive growth, artist development, social cohesion and urban renewal.
Over the medium term, R1,3 billion is budgeted in the Cultural and Creative Industries Development programme to implement the strategy. Thirty seven percent of this amount which amounts to R481 million is 54 flagship cultural events, large-scale projects that have
demonstrated a track record in contributing to economic activity, 60 cultural events smaller, often community based projects, 90 touring ventures and sixty 60 public art programmes.
Seventy eighth point six million Rand has been allocated for interventions such as incubators and academies initiatives. I will have to see this happening because I have seen other incubators outside. As this committee we wanted that kind of information and surely we will get that information in order for us to be able to track the records. We have seen through your bigger book that they are there but we want to add more. When we are doing oversight we will be going all over seeing that it is happening.
Promoting nation building and social cohesion, is at the core of the Social Cohesion and Safety Security apex priority of government. Social Cohesion and Nation Building is the most significant sub- programme with an allocation of R89,2 million or 59,3% of the total budget programme. The budget demonstrates that through its Young Patriots and National Youth Services programmes, the department plans to support 300 young people annually over the next three years. These young people will continue to be active promoters of national symbols, constitutional values and moral regeneration initiatives.
I wanted to tell this august House that the department does have some challenges. Over the medium term R30,1 million is included in the Social Cohesion and Nation Building sub programme in the Institutional Governance programme for youth development related activities. This department has huge numbers of entities and they are about 25. That number takes a chunk of the department's budget. In the 2019/20 financial year, the department plans to spend R26 million consultants, in 2020/21, an increase to R27,5 million and in 2021/22 to R29 million. This plan expenditure on consultants is worrisome Minister in light of national cost containment measures. The increase of budget to be spent on consultants should not happen.
The other we are saying to you hon Minister is that, we do welcome what you have done. We have seen that some of these entities are not accounting to the department. Most of the time, the department does not have a clean audit. The reasons are that you take the money and give these entities and to the provinces and there is no monitoring. The money does not reflect to your coffers and that takes all the good work that you have done. We are aware that a certain entity belonging to legends took money which was supposed to do everything for other legends. The money was deposited into a personal account of a single legend but the banks did not question as to why he took
the money because he was not the only signatory. As we are speaking Minister, that tendency will come to an end because the money for all the legends cannot be misused by a certain individual. Thank you so much that you have put the investigation to look at the people squandering the money which is supposed to be benefiting all the legends.
No one can just take and squander R10 million instead of using it and share with other legends. There are so many legends that were affected by this and I am talking about Mr Sekgoale and Mr Mkhatshwa who were waiting and expecting money from the government. Then somebody took that money and used it and that is why corruption is killing people and taking money belonging to the people.
IsiXhosa:
Ngalo mazwi sithi thina silapha siyile komiti siza kubanani kwaye songamele kwiingxaki eniza kuqubisana nazo. Ukuba sinibona niphazama siza kutsho ukuba kufuneka nilungisile endaweni ethile kodwa ukuba ...
English:
... you stop these entities you must guard against just chopping and not giving a chance. You need to wait and sit down with them and as
a committee we will look at the White Paper to fast-track the dissolution of some of those entities from 25. This will prevent them at utilising the loopholes and taking you to courts.
IsiXhosa:
Silapha thina singaba bantu bekomiti kwaye siza kuqhuba. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
English: