Hon Speaker, Chairperson, hon Ministers, members of the NCOP, when reflecting on the budget speech of the national Minister of Arts and Culture, the hon Xingwana, it is obvious that her department wants to promote access to a rich and productive cultural life for all our people.
Enkosi ngethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika iphela inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
As they say, to determine your destiny, you need to know where you come from.
We need to safeguard our arts and cultural richness in order to make our youth understand where they come from, and to preserve it for generations to come. Song and dance, in many ways, help to improve our social and interpersonal skills. They help us to develop unity and often help in bridging the gap between the rural and urban divides.
I believe the improvement of our social fibre can be achieved or even drastically changed, through the initiatives and projects envisaged by the Minister, such as the Arts for All, Investing in Culture and the 2010 Fifa World Cup legacy projects.
I want to believe that through the Investing in Culture programme, as indicated by the Minister, much can be done to ensure that the moral fibre of our society is restored.
In this province, Minister, we are faced, on a daily basis, with crime, gangsterism and drug abuse, and the latter has become rampant. I salute the Minister and her mission for wanting to do the following:
Through all these initiatives and our work through arts, culture and heritage, we aim to create a country where opportunities exist for all our people to expand their imaginations and to use their creativity in order to ensure a better and brighter future.
We commit ourselves, as the Western Cape department, to supporting the Minister. We will co-operate in order to deepen our democracy and to revive our rich cultural heritage.
Na die bevryding van ons land was daar op alle vlakke pogings op versoening en herstel, maar die mees vergete gedeelte van hierdie versoening, is die skade wat apartheid met betrekking tot identiteit, taal en kultuur berokken het. Dit was minimaal aangespreek.
Hierdie bloedspoor het baie inheemse tale, kulture en tradisies laat verdwyn en dus verwelkom ons die Minister se hernieude herlewingspoging om die klem van kultuurherstel in ons gemeenskappe te vestig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[After the liberation of our country there were attempts at reconciliation and reparation at all levels, but the most neglected part of this process of reconciliation is the damage that apartheid caused to identity, language and culture. It was scantily addressed.
This trail of blood caused the disappearance of many indigenous languages, cultures and traditions, and therefore we welcome the Minister's renewed efforts to revive the emphasis on restoring culture in our communities.]
Enkosi nangethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
However, what stands out to me in the Minister's address is the notion shared by both myself and my department on the role of sport in society, and I quote:
It is capable of evoking national solidarity in mourning, but it is also capable of lifting the spirits of a nation to unprecedented heights. Indeed, an effective catalyst for social cohesion.
My department has adopted a phrase, "A child in sport is a child out of court", which signifies our efforts to ensure that sport can make a difference, not only as a catalyst for social cohesion, but also as an alternative to drug abuse, gangterism and crime.
Ek stem beslis saam met u, Minister, dat Suid-Afrikaanse sport lewendig en kompeterend is, maar dat ons steeds deur uitdagings gekonfronteer word. Ek moet ook u sentiment ondersteun dat die gaping tussen stedelike en plattelandse areas in sport nog steeds bestaan. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[I definitely agree with you, Minister, that South African sport is vibrant and competitive, but that we are still confronted with challenges. I have to support your sentiments that in sport the gap between urban and rural areas still exists.]
I have maintained, since taking up my position, that talent is everywhere to be found in this country, but the nurturing and growing of this talent, especially in rural areas, is of concern.
However, I would in the same breath like to say that in the run-up to the upcoming 2010 Fifa World Cup, through the soccer ambassadors programme, my department is busy identifying talent and nurturing it by giving training, coaching and mentoring to up-and-coming soccer stars and their coaches throughout the province.
Using sport has gone a long way towards attempting to bridge the divide between urban and rural areas.
It delights me that the national Minister stated:
We will not tire in our efforts to maximise access, development and excellence at all levels of participation in sport and recreation, in order to improve the social cohesion, nation-building and the quality of life for all South Africans.
With the emphasis on all South Africans, sport can help to heal the injustices of the past and the present by playing a further unifying role in our young democracy.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is obvious that South Africa is a sport-loving nation. Sport has in many ways helped us to overcome our dark past. To see children of all races and backgrounds excelling in the sport of their choice illustrates to me that as a collective in sport, we are doing something right.
Enkosi nangethemba olizisileyo. Iphondo, isizwe neAfrika iphela inemincili ngoku. [Thank you for the hope you have brought. The province, the nation and Africa at large are very excited now.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Mabhoko, Sihlalo waleNdlu, oNgqongqoshe abakhona, oWezemidlalo, Wezobuciko, Wezamaphoyisa namaSekela abo, amalunga ahloniphekile aleNdlu, uNgqongqoshe wase-Western Cape.
Ngithi kuNgqongqoshe Wezemidlalo angikuhalalisele mnewethu ngokuthi ubhekene nomthwalo wesizwe ngokuba lelizwe lethu libe nemidlalo emihle enokuhlonipheka njengesizwe. Ngithi-ke yikhona lokho amaqhawe omzabalazo ayekulwela ukuthi izwe lethu ligcine lihloniphekile futhi lenze izinto ezihloniphekile esizweni. Ngithi egameni leNkatha Yenkululeko ngikufisela inhlanhla nokuthi ngiyasesekela isabiwomali sakho salonyaka esibhekene nawo.
Ngibuye ngize kuNgqongqoshe Wezobuciko neSekela lakhe kanye Nabaphathi beMinyango ethile, ngithi izithembiso zakho Sekela zinhle ukuthi izilimi zethu njengamaAfrika nizozimela. Mina njengomunye kawendlu kaSolomoni kaDinizulu kufuneka ngikuqiniseke ukuthi izilimi njengamaNguni ziyamelwa, kungakho ngikhuluma lolu ngoba angizenyezi nakancane ngoba ngikhuluma entshonalanga yezwe laseAfrika esikulona lapha.
Ngithi ubabomkhulu uCetshwayo wahamba la ehlukunyezwa amaNgisi wama khona kuzo lezi zindawo. Ngithi ngaleyo ndlela angiziboni ngiseNgilandi ngizibona ngiseAfrika eyalelwa yiwo wonke amaqhawe omzabalazo nabantu bakithi bonke abampisholo ababecindezelwe babelwela khona ukuthi zikhululeke izilimi zethu. Ngithi uMnyango wenu boNgqongqoshe kufanele nenze lokho okushiwo uMongameli wezwe ukuthi kumele kube khona imihlangano, nihlangane ukuba nibone ukuthi uhulumeni wokubambisana usebenza ngendlela eyiyonayona yini. Ukuze kuzwakale ukuthi emaNyuvesi ethu izilimi zethu ziyakhulunywa. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Mabhoko, Chairperson of this House, Ministers of Sport, Arts, Police and their deputies, hon members of this House and also the Premier of the Western Cape, I greet you all.
To the Minister of Sport and Recreation I want to say congratulations, my brother, because our country has successfully and with dignity hosted many sporting events. Therefore, I confirm that that is what our heroes and heroines struggled for, to restore our dignity as a country by doing good things for the nation. On behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party I wish you good luck. We support your budget for this year.
And coming to the Minister of Arts and Culture and her deputy, as well as the heads of the department, I am saying that your promise, Deputy Minister, that you are committed to the development of our African languages is appreciated. As a member of the Royal household of King Solomon, who is the son of King Dinizulu, I must ensure that the Nguni languages are represented, which is why I am speaking this language now because I am not ashamed at all to speak it here in the western part of Africa.
I think it was around here where my great grandfather Cetshwayo was harassed by the English regime. He ended up in this area. I therefore do not see myself in England, but in Africa, which all our heroes, and all black people in particular who were oppressed, fought to defend. They fought for the freedom of our languages. I am saying that your department, Minister, and your deputy must do what the President says and that is that there must be intergovernmental meetings, to see if co-operative governance is working according to plan, so that we can have our languages spoken at the universities. Thank you. [Applause.]]