There is a need to accommodate diversity in our national heritage, and there is also a need to have inclusive and democratic processes.
It is a pleasure to note that the South African Geographical Names Council will be a subprogramme, as a focus intervention, in this financial year.
We hope that the conference held two weeks back will culminate in this envisaged policy which will guide municipalities, communities and the provincial committees so that we lower the number of cases which result in municipalities' and the department's being challenged in court. We therefore envisage that it will be advisable for communities to be educated on the processes and procedures to follow when embarking on geographical name change processes. This will help the communities of Gugulethu with "Native Yards" terminology and Mdantsane with "Native Units", and us with "Western Cape", "Northern Cape" and "Eastern Cape", which remind us of the Cape colonies and colonisation.
Something must also be done about the statue in front of our Parliament. We cannot leave it to the Western Cape legislature or the Cape Metro.
The bulk of the department's budget is disbursed to the public entities or agencies. Some of them are getting public exposure for the wrong reasons, for example, the Robben Island Board and the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, because of a lack of clarity regarding accountability. There have to be close monitoring processes by the department in regard to all entities and agencies through regulation, over and above accounting to Parliament, in order to minimise risks.
The mandate of PanSALB is to promote the official languages of South Africa and enhance all official languages, including the Khoi, San, and sign languages. The founding provisions in the national Constitution provide that PanSALB shall:
promote and ensure respect for -
(i) all languages commonly used ... in South Africa,
However, little or no progress has been made in this regard. African languages to date have not been developed into languages of science. Instead, African languages in independent and former white, coloured and Indian schools and tertiary institutions are facing extinction. Worse, you find that 95% of learners and students are Africans but still the medium of instruction is English. This is because of the lack of a strategy for the promotion and development of African languages. Conditions are not changing.
The strategy has to be linked with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training, and - more importantly - also with the communities. Parents have to be educated and conscientised about the importance of their own languages. There have to be clear strategies and programmes, and progress has to be made by PanSALB nationally and in the provinces in delivering on its mandate, as the budget keeps increasing annually.
At its 52nd conference the ANC resolved that indigenous languages such as the Khoisan and Nama languages should be promoted at all schools, with the intention that the learner be taught in his or her mother tongue. Provincial boards of PanSALB could work with the Department of Basic Education to realise this. However, once again the stumbling block for schools which choose mother-tongue education is the nonavailability of textbooks in the various subjects.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to give an extreme example. In the committee rooms where we sit every day there is not a single interpretation gadget to enable members to express themselves the way they would like to, in their own languages. You only find them in the chambers. The Constitution expressly recognises 11 official languages.
Also, hon Minister, the old practice where English and Afrikaans are used exclusively in our courts undermines the spirit of the Constitution. Ordinary South Africans interacting with the legal system still experience difficulties in communicating in their language of choice.
The interpretation services are in many instances inadequate, even in police stations, where people have to write their statements. There are many examples where interpreters not only misinterpret the evidence given to the accused person, but at times openly harass accused persons. That speaks to skills development and enhancing the linguistic diversity of the country.
Working together with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Police, and other departments, we can do more. On the national heritage symbols, we commend the work and efforts of the department regarding the promotion of the national symbols during the Fifa Soccer World Cup in 2010. It gave meaning to the nation, as we were all flying the flag as the Rainbow Nation; and we flew it with pride and dignity. The strategy envisages having 6 000 national flags installed in the period 2011-12. We would love to have all government buildings flying the South African flag, not only the schools.
More work still has to be done in educating South Africans on how the National Anthem has to be sung. We need to have a campaign and educate our national teams from different sporting codes, as they have been found wanting when it is sung. This includes high-ranking officials. What is worse is that they appear on national television! We welcome the identity passport and wish that it could reach all South Africans and be translated into other languages.
We would like to have access to heritage sites, and that access has to be available to all the poorest of the poor. For instance, we have heritage sites such as Robben Island. It is very expensive for an ordinary person coming from Khayelitsha to take a boat from the Waterfront to Robben Island. If you ask them how much it costs and whether they have ever gone to Robben Island, they'll tell you that they have never been to Robben Island. They've never been there because of the high prices of the mode of transport that takes them to Robben Island. The creation of the database and policies in the arts, crafts and performing industries is essential and highly welcome. These sectors are not organised, and are highly vulnerable and open to abuse. Talent identification, nurturing, promotion and exposure are key, as part of sustainable, decent jobs. This will prevent people from becoming victims of unscrupulous and fly-by-night managers and institutions. We also welcome the establishment of the skills academy.
We would like to see the department promoting women and youth in the townships and rural areas who do crafts, arts and beadwork, by linking them with malls and tourist attractions such as God's Window and Freedom Square, and also exposing them abroad.
The ANC supports Budget Vote 14. Mina ntombi ka Mzilankatha, Malandela, Langa. Khombule, ngiyabonga, ndza khensa, ke a leboga. [I am Miss Mzilankatha, Malandela, Langa. [Clan names.] Thank you.]