Sihlalo, Mphathiswa wesebe, malungu onke eNdlu yoWiso- mthetho nabo bonke abamenyiweyo abalapha kule Ndlu, mholweni. Iyinyaniso into yokuba uMphathiswa xa ebebeka yonke le ntetho ayenze apha ugxile kakhulu kwizinto ezizezona zibonise impumelelo. Abanye bethu, ukuba ayisithi sonke, sakuyingqina loo nto. Ndiyaqonda ukuba zikhona ezimbalwa, ukuba azininzanga, ezingahambanga kakuhle angabangasazitsho. Andizukugxininisa kakhulu kwezo zinto, kodwa ke intetho yam iza kugxininisa kumba wokuqala ekuthiwa yi-"Promotion of arts and culture for social cohesion", ukukhuthazwa kobugcisa nenkcubeko ngokubhekisele kumanyano ngokwezentlalo ukutsho oko. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Mr P NTSHIQELA: Greetings Chairperson, Minister of the department, members of the National Assembly and all the guests in the House. It is true that when the Minister delivered her speech she put more emphasis on things that have the greatest potential for success. Some, if not all of us, will attest to that. I am sure there are some things, if not many, she did not mention that did not go well. I will not put more emphasis on that, but my speech will emphasise the first issue, referred to as the promotion of arts and culture for social cohesion.]
South Africa is the world's most unequal society. The gap between the rich and the poor is really a gulf. On top of that, we are still very much divided because of our historical circumstances. In the past social exclusion was part of the state's policy. Today, social exclusion based on race, class, education, poverty, age, religion, gender and sexual orientation is not because of state policies, but social realities. Even so, this is a time bomb.
Social exclusion creates division, continuing mistrust and fear of fellow citizens with different cultural, social, racial and religious backgrounds. Our country needs to witness an aggressive implementation of our policies that seek to promote social cohesion through social inclusion. We, in the progressive Cope ... [Laughter.] ... do not fault the department on its intention, but there is no doubt that implementation is neither adequate nor sustained.
Hon Minister, we need decisive and sustained action in this regard. It is not our fault that over R57 billion goes towards servicing the state's debts. Futile and wasteful expenditure combined with corruption leaves the government short of money to implement policies. We suggest that the Minister goes through her budget once again to effect savings so that the department can promote art more vigorously in order to achieve social inclusion.
Kweli lizwe loMzantsi Afrika [Here in South Africa], we have proof that all of us, notwithstanding our different appearances, have an African ancestry. Every one of us has the genes of an African mother. We therefore have our genetic make-up and our citizenship as common factors with which to achieve our common humanity and a common nationhood. Unfortunately, too little is being done in this area of such great importance to this nation. With regard to the process of arts and culture, let us ask a very tough question. In 16 years, how much African cultural content has been developed and what level of investment opportunities has arisen out of that effort? Ngumbuzo ke lowo. [That is the question.]
Each year the department projects what it is still going to do rather than showing an accumulative record of what has been achieved over the preceding years to create the platform for new advances.
Amanye amagama esilungu aza kundibetha ke, ize ingabi yintlekisa ke loo nto. Ndavinjwa njengani ithuba lokuba ndiwafunde nyani lo magama esikolweni. [I will have a problem with some English terms; I should not be teased about that. Just like you, I was denied the opportunity to learn them at school.]
I am certain - noko ndiyazama madoda [at least I'm trying, gentlemen] [Interjections.] - that the Minister herself will appreciate having an investment trial to judge growth in investment.
If, as a nation, we could show that year after year, over the last 16 years, we have had a 5% or 10% growth in investment in the arts and culture field, and that labour absorption has grown by a similar margin, we would all be very gratified. We need to make a huge dent in unemployment and we need to see the contribution of each department in that regard. This is not a criticism, but an imperative. The progressive Cope also believes that it is very important for the department to measure the volume of products from across the various arts and culture groups.