National Assembly - 25 May 2001
FRIDAY, 25 MAY 2001 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 09:02.
The Chairperson of Committees took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr B NAIR: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the Sharks are playing against ACT Brumbies in the final of the Super 12;
(2) further notes that it is the first time a South African side will be playing in the final of this tournament; and
(3) wishes the team well and urges the Sharks to bring the cup home.
[Applause.]
Adv H C SCHMIDT: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DP:
That the House -
(1) notes the decision of the ANC majority to force a debate on the allegations surrounding the position of the Speaker of the National Assembly and her role in relation to the investigation into the arms deal;
(2) believes that the matter raises issues related to privilege, freedom of speech and the relationship between the Executive and Parliament;
(3) remains convinced that these are complicated and fundamental issues that cannot be resolved in the course of the debate; and
(4) therefore calls on the majority party and its allies, the IFP, to reconsider their position on this matter and to appoint an appropriate committee.
[Interjections.]
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the DA’s imminent disintegration has been compounded by -
(a) little Ryan Coetzee's letter to Tony Leon to marginalise
Marthinus van Schalkwyk;
(b) the tyrannical leadership of Peter Marais who wants to relocate
informal traders without proper consultation;
(c) Gerald Morkel's lack of consultation on his proposed alliance
with California;
(d) the inability to deal effectively with the untenable escalation
of crime in Cape Town;
(e) the revelation of a plot to oust the over-ambitious Hennie
Bester; and
(f) the fact that the DA is not really a party because the DP and
the New NP still hold separate congresses; and
(2) reminds the Disintegrating Alliance that the ANC warned that their marriage of convenience would end in tears.
[Interjections.] [Applause.]
Mnr J DURAND: Mnr die Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem dat -
(a) drie regters van die Pretoriase Hooggeregshof se salaristjeks
deur die bank geweier is; en
(b) verskeie provinsiale regters se salaristjeks verlede maand
geweier is en dat regter Jimmy van Rensburg, waarnemende
regterpresident van die Oos-Kaap, se salaristjek vir die tweede
agtereenvolgende maand geweier is;
(2) glo dit beklemtoon weer eens die ANC-regering se gebrek aan dienslewering aan alle Suid-Afrikaners; en
(3) ‘n dringende beroep doen op die ANC-regering om hulle prioriteite reg te kry en hulle eerder daarop toe te spits om dienslewering aan alle Suid-Afrikaners te verbeter, deur onder andere oorwerkte regters se salarisse te betaal, as om miljarde rande aan wapens en luukse vliegtuie vir die President te bestee.] (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Mr J DURAND: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the salary cheques of three judges in the Pretoria Supreme
Court have been dishonoured by the bank; and
(b) the salary cheques of several provincial judges were
dishonoured last month and the salary cheque of Judge Jimmy
van Rensburg, acting judge president of the Eastern Cape, was
dishonoured for the second month in succession;
(2) believes that this emphasises once more the ANC Government’s lack of service delivery to all South Africans; and (3) urgently appeals to the ANC Government to get their priorities right and rather to concentrate on improving service delivery to all South Africans by, inter alia, paying the salaries of overworked judges, than to spend millions of rands on weapons and luxury aeroplanes for the President.]
Dr G W KOORNHOF: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the UDM:
That the House -
(1) expresses its delight at the latest figures released by Morgan Stanley Capital International, with South Africa surfacing as the biggest gainer among emerging markets;
(2) notes that Morgan Stanley Capital International is the world’s leading compiler of share indices for investors, and that their positive rating will have a marked effect on short-term foreign investment in South Africa;
(3) urges the Government to consolidate these gains, ensuring longer-term foreign investment by firmly and unambiguously addressing corruption, HIV/Aids and regional foreign policy; and
(4) calls on the Government to make full use of current downward inflationary pressures by reducing the price of fuel as a matter of urgency, to ensure that ordinary South Africans are the ultimate beneficiaries.
Ms P K MOTHOAGAE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) recognises that molestation of pupils by school teachers is a gross violation of the rights of pupils;
(2) welcomes the statement by the Director-General of Education that principals who cover up such activities will be disciplined; (3) urges members of the House to assist in exposing such practices; and
(4) believes that such molestation is extremely detrimental to the development of young people and that more needs to be done to equip our school system to protect, nurture and provide a safe environment for our young people.
Dr S E M PHEKO: Mr Chairman, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the PAC:
That the House -
(1) notes that President Joseph Kabila has unbanned political parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
(2) further notes that the announcement to unban all political parties was made at the ceremony held to mark the anniversary of the fall of the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko on 17 May 1999; and
(3) hails this move as a correct signal for creating a conducive climate to bring democracy and political stability in the DRC.
Dr C P MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem -
(a) van die sinlose moord op die 18-jarige Ashley Kempen, 'n
matriekleerling van die Hoër Jongenskool Paarl, by sy ouers se
vulstasie in Klapmuts;
(b) dat hy op 'n kort afstand ses keer met 'n 9-mm pistool geskiet
is tydens 'n gewapende roof by sy ouers se vulstasie; en
(c) dat hy vermoor is deur die 23-jarige Eric Skefile, 'n swart man
wat tot onlangs by die vulstasie van die Kempens werksaam was,
en twee trawante;
(2) sy opregte meegevoel uitspreek met Ashley se ouers, mnr en mev Shane Kempen van Klapmuts; en
(3) ‘n dringende beroep doen op die ANC-regering op nasionale vlak, maar veral op die DA-regering op provinsiale vlak om misdadigers soos Eric Skefile in die Wes-Kaap sonder genade te hanteer en hom permanent te verwyder uit die samelewing. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) notes -
(a) the senseless murder of 18-year-old Ashley Kempen, a matric
pupil at Paarl Boys' High School, at his parents' petrol station
in Klapmuts;
(b) that he was shot six times at close range with a 9 mm pistol
during an armed robbery at his parents' petrol station; and
(c) that he was murdered by 23-year-old Eric Skefile, a black man
who was until recently employed at the Kempens' petrol station,
and two henchmen;
(2) expresses it sincere condolences to Ashley’s parents, Mr and Mrs Shane Kempen of Klapmuts; and
(3) makes an urgent appeal to the ANC Government at national level, but particularly to the DA government at provincial level, to treat criminals like Eric Skefile without mercy in the Western Cape and to remove him permanently from society.]
Mr J H MOMBERG: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I will move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes with shock and dismay the special International Cricket Council Report on corruption in the game of cricket;
(2) recognises that persistent reports on corruption in cricket tarnish the image of the game as a gentlemanly sport;
(3) condemns corruption in cricket;
(4) commends cricket authorities for their efforts in eradicating the scourge of corruption in this game;
(5) urges all national cricket bodies to study and implement the anticorruption recommendations of the International Cricket Council Report; and
(6) calls on the United Cricket Board to ensure that anticorruption measures are in place for the 2003 Cricket World Cup to be held in South Africa.
Ms J A SEMPLE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DP: That the House -
(1) notes that the Ekurhuleni mayor has bowed to DA pressure by back- tracking on the decision to spend R500 000 on an armoured vehicle;
(2) recognises the valuable role played by a strong, principled opposition and a free media;
(3) further notes -
(a) allegations that the ANC chief whip in the metro is paid as a
full-time councillor when she should be paid as a part-time
councillor and that she has the use of council transport and
drivers on top of receiving a travelling allowance;
(b) that the mayor spent over R30 000 of council money on tickets
for the Lewis vs Rahman fight to give to his mayoral committee
and other ANC hacks; and
(c) that between R400 000 and R500 000 was spent on radio
advertisements promoting the fight and the mayor himself; and
(4) therefore calls on the ANC to put the interests of the residents of Ekurhuleni first by getting their snouts out of the trough, and spending ratepayers’ money on the upliftment of the poor.
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, on a point of order.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Who is raising the point of order?
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Here at the back, Chairperson.
The CHAIRPERSON: Point of order granted.
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, the hon member just said ``getting their snouts out of the trough’’. A pig has a snout, and I think that the member is implying that members of the ANC are pigs, which I do not think is parliamentary.
The CHAIRPERSON: Order! I will have to look at the motion again, hon member, and then we will give a ruling on that. [Interjections.] Order! If it is out of order, it will not be printed in the motion. However, we will have to check on that.
Mr M F CASSIM: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that rail usage in South Africa is unfortunately limited to the poor and to daily commuters using the Metro service;
(2) believes that all segments of our country should use rail for it to grow and modernise;
(3) notes the introduction of the Premier Class facility that offers unique opportunities for conferences, parties, family get-togethers and that the uses to which it could be put are limitless;
(4) notes that the Blue Train is an experience that is unique in our country and in the world;
(5) wishes to encourage banks, financial institutions and all other enterprises offering prizes to consider a journey for two on the Blue Train, for this would be a win-win situation; and
(6) notes that the IFP calls on the House and on all South Africans to put rail in their travel and holiday plans because greater use of rail would be environmentally friendly and economically important for South Africa.
Ms S K MNUMZANA: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that 500 striking Engen workers marched to Wentworth Police Station and damaged property as scuffles between police and the workers broke out;
(2) believes that workers have a right to strike but within the parameters and regulations set out by the labour relations laws of the country;
(3) condemns the destruction of property; and
(4) calls on all South Africans to respect the law enforcement officers and agencies of our country and to utilise the available instruments of recourse in cases of misuse of power or violation of constitutional rights.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the New NP:
That the House -
(1) notes with appreciation that South Africa’s High Commissioner in Zimbabwe, Mr Jeremiah Ndou, for the first time publicly expressed his concern over the invasion of especially white-owned businesses in Zimbabwe;
(2) endorses his statement that South Africa cannot accept a perceived signal that foreign investment might not be protected in the region; and
(3) calls on the hon President of South Africa to be equally vociferous in his condemnation of what is currently happening in Zimbabwe.
Mr C T FROLICK: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the UDM:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) according to a study by the SA Roads Policy Project, failure to
upgrade South African's ailing road system has already cost the
country between R100 billion and R150 billion in capital assets
and the figure is rising;
(b) failure by the Government to address this issue has led to a
backlog, which will cost R15,2 billion a year for 10 years to
correct the accumulated deterioration in the existing network;
(c) at present only 60% of this figure is being spent; and
(d) the UDM urgently calls on the Government to effectively and
urgently deal with the state of our national roads, without
which efficient delivery on housing, schools and clinic
projects, will be crippled.
Mnu M U KALAKO: Mhlali-ngaphambili, ndenza isaziso sokuba xa ihlala iNdlu kwakhona ndiya kwenza isiphakamiso egameni le-ANC:
Sokuba le Ndlu -
(1) iqaphele intsindabadala yodushe oluthe gqolo ukuqhubeka kumazwe akuMbindi-Mpuma;
(2) ivakalise udano lwayo kwiNkulumbuso yakwaSirayeli nebithembise ngokumisa uhlaselo kodwa lube lusaqhuba; nokuba
(3) ikhuthaze onke amaqela achaphazelekayo kule mbambano ukuba abuyele kwitafile yeengxoxo zoxolo; nokuba
(4) imemelele kwihlabathi jikelele ukuba lincedisane noku linike uncedo lobuntu kumaxhoba olu dushe ngokukhawuleza okudibene nokungxama. (Translation of Xhosa notice of motion follows.)
[Mr M U KALAKO: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting day of the House, I will move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes the continuing crisis in countries in the Middle East;
(2) expresses its disappointment at the Prime Minister of Israel, who had promised to stop attacks but they are still continuing; (3) encourages all the parties involved in this crisis to negotiate peace; and
(4) calls on the entire world to assist in this process and give help to the victims as soon as possible.]
AFRICA UNITY DAY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr G Q M DOIDGE: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that today is Africa Unity Day;
(2) believes that the future well-being of our country is interlinked with building a prosperous, peaceful Africa where the democratic practices of all its nations further the aspirations of and opportunities for all African people, an Africa which plays a leading role in international affairs; and
(3) commits itself to serving our African continent in pursuit of these goals.
Agreed to.
GOOD WISHES TO SHARKS RUGBY TEAM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr C H F GREYLING: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) wishes the Sharks success in their Super 12 final clash against the ACT Brumbies in Australia tomorrow; and
(2) notes that a victory would make them the first South African team to achieve top honours in this prestigious rugby tournament.
Agreed to.
APPROPRIATION BILL Debate on Vote No 13 - Arts, Culture, Science and Technology:
The MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson, colleagues, comrades, ladies and gentlemen, I find the budget speech preparation process to be a very effective mechanism for Ministers to take stock of the progress that they have made as far as their Ministry’s challenges are concerned. I believe that this year we have begun to see something of a breakthrough in the work of the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
Allow me to explain. When I took up the position of Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1994, a great deal of my time and energy was spent on trying to persuade South Africans and many of my colleagues in Government of the importance of arts and culture in the economy, in nation- building and in the imaging of South Africa. I spent almost as much time making a case for research and development, and technology transfer as key levers of economic development.
Much of our time was spent on proving that the cultural industries were an important economic sector with the potential to create jobs and to stimulate rural economies; that science and technology were vital components of ensuring global competitiveness and improving the quality of life of all South Africans; and that our culture, our heritage and our sciences were key to unleashing our imaginations and our creative potential.
Much of our work over the past five years has been on integrating culture and science into the core economic and social development programmes of national Government. I believe that there has been a breakthrough in the national acceptance of the importance of arts, culture, science and technology as central to achieving the economic and social development imperatives of this Government.
In January this year the cultural industries were included as one of the key growth sectors within Cabinet’s economic and employment cluster. Technology, along with infrastructure and human resource development, was declared as one of the three key crosscutting imperatives for economic development.
By the end of June we will have developed a national strategy on biotechnology as a result of a direct mandate from Cabinet. South African music, film, theatre and visual arts are being used with great success to showcase and promote our country in Britain this month, as part of the Celebrate South Africa programme. In these and in a number of other ways, technology, science, culture and arts have finally been placed firmly on the national agenda as having a central role to play in achieving our core national objectives.
I will now dwell on some highlights, beginning with science and technology. The role of science and technology in contributing to national growth is now broadly accepted, not just here at home but internationally. Science and technology are now recognised as major contributors to industrial productivity, economic growth, environmental sustainability and international competitiveness. The role of science and technology in South Africa has become increasingly important over the past decade.
Globalisation is a reality that brings with it a number of significant challenges for developing nations. The full benefits of global scientific advances over 200 years of scientific progress and industrial growth are enjoyed only by no more than one fifth of the world’s population. As markets are increasingly globalised, the barriers to entering certain technological areas and becoming globally competitive are growing; and the costs of licence technology, that is, the technology trade deficit, are growing.
As we have seen with the recent legal wranglings with pharmaceutical companies, access to biotechnology, in particular, is a major international issue that is redefining power relationships between the South and the North. It is widely accepted that successful nations will increasingly be those with high levels of technological innovations.
As members of Parliament will be aware, the National Research and Technology Foresight Study launched in March last year provided a structured opportunity to look ahead and consider the role that may be required of science and technology in the future of our economy. Since the launch of the foresight study, we have been involved in the drive to develop a technology foresight culture within the country. The foresight study provided South Africa with glimpses of what technological futures will exist, and what can be expected in terms of emerging technologies over the next 10 to 20 year period in the 12 sectors covered by the study.
These openings into the future now require a detailed mapping out of the landscape through a structured and planned exercise, the output of which will be a set of technology road maps. Technology road maps will be developed in the following three sectors which have been identified by the foresight study as having the highest potential for economic growth and development. These are information and communication technologies, advanced materials, and bio informatics and biotechnology.
In all three of these sectors, we will be looking at what technological resources need to be developed in order to maximise current and future market opportunities. The underlying purpose of the exercise is strategically to position South Africa in the technology driven global economy. It is expected that all technology road maps will have been finalised by the end of this year.
The application of biotechnology has enjoyed significant influence in the transformation of the agricultural, health and other sectors globally, as well as in South Africa. People around the world continue to benefit from the way in which biotechnology has transformed and advanced all these sectors.
As a Government we need to manage the development of biotechnology to ensure that any risks are minimised, and that positive socioeconomic impacts are maximised. To this end, we are engaged in the development of a national biotechnology strategy. The strategic study will outline current biotechnology trends in South Africa and map the way forward with respect to legislation, practices, research and technology development and utilisation, funding sources to promote biotechnology research and development, private sector and state support to sector growth and skills development.
In addition, the study will highlight areas of uncertainty, knowledge gaps and varying perspectives about the impact, effects of and benefits from biotechnology developments and applications. On the basis of this information, a national strategy on biotechnology will be developed.
The second key area of focus for us is information technology. A number of Government departments are focusing on this important area, including the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Communications, and the Department of the Public Service and Administration.
Two things have become clear with regard to Government’s approach to information technology. Firstly, there is a need for a vast increase in the amount of research and development that is being conducted in this sector. A recent study completed by my department shows that total expenditure on research and development in South Africa is only about 0,7% of gross domestic product, which is between a half and a quarter of what it should be.
Of this, some studies estimate, less than 5% goes into information and communication technology research. Clearly, there is room for improvement. We will continue to engage with the national Treasury to find ways of allocating more Government funds for IT research and research in general. In addition, information technology research is high on our list of priorities for collaborative research with our international partners.
The second issue is the need for increased co-ordination between various Government departments dealing with information technology, so as to minimise duplication and increase efficiency. We believe that it is part of our responsibility to co-ordinate the various Government IT initiatives and to maintain a national overview with regard to progress being made in the development of the IT sector. We will be attending to this in the months to come.
In the important area of technology diffusion, the Technology Stations Pilot Programme was launched by the department long-term vision of setting up technology stations in technikons, which will function as self- sustainable entities that can provide technology solutions to small and medium enterprises. It is hoped that the development of these technology stations will encourage a culture of innovation among small businesses that will, in turn, improve product development and manufacturing productivity and, of course, create more jobs. Technology stations have already been set up at four technikons, and there are plans to expand the programme.
Under the leadership of the National Research Foundation, the construction of the SA Large Telescope, known as Salt, at Sutherland is well under way, with funding from a range of international partners now secured. We have identified astronomy and space science as key opportunities for South African basic science. To this end, we have accepted the donation of a R50 million Satellite Laser Ranging System from Nasa, and we are consolidating the Magnetic Observatory at Hermanus into our system of national facilities. The High Energy Stereoscopic System, a gamma ray observatory being constructed in Namibia with German, South African and French expertise, demonstrates our commitment to promoting leading-edge scientific development across the SADC region.
Another key facility which has come on line since my last budget speech is the National Laser Centre. The National Laser Centre is a classic success story of transforming a competence developed previously in the nuclear energy field into one that now serves high tech industry. It really proves that one can turn swords into ploughs. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the new director of the National Laser Centre, Dr Philemon Mjwara, the best of luck.
Late last year, a hitherto unknown population of coelacanths was discovered off Sowdana Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal. We are currently setting up a project under the National Research Foundation to investigate this significant discovery further. New techniques of gene sequencing make the study of this living fossil even more fascinating. The key question here is how the genetic makeup of the fish remained so stable over hundreds of millions of years. I believe this also further proves that South Africa and Africa are the birthplace of all life.
I would now like to move on to the Arts and Culture part of my portfolio. The lekgotla of Cabinet’s economic and employment cluster took place in January this year. At this lekgotla a number of priority areas were mapped out for the maximisation of the capacity of cultural industries to contribute to economic development and employment. This is really the culmination of the recommendations made in the cultural industry’s growth strategy that was initiated by my department in 1997. My colleague Mrs Mabandla will provide the House with the specific details on this matter.
We are now giving serious attention to the major challenges relating to the archives and records function. An efficient archival service operating at both national and provincial level is one of the most important systems available for addressing issues of good governance and public accountability, and for identifying and preserving the resources necessary for correcting the distortions and imbalances in the way in which the history of our country has been presented in the past. To this end, we have successfully completed a pilot Oral History Project that was linked with the development of the Women’s Monument at the Union Buildings. A full- scale national oral history project is now being developed.
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to fulfil the constitutional mandate to devolve certain archival functions to the provinces. Progress has been made in this area, but there are a number of challenges facing us. In a number of the provinces, for instance, there are no institutions to which one can devolve this function.
In order to keep up with the rapidly changing technological environment, the National Archives has produced a set of guidelines for the management of electronic records in government agencies. The archives are working very closely with the State Information Technology Agency - Sita. The National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System includes a new website through which academic researchers, school children and interested persons from whatever background can obtain guidance on the availability of archival information. This is a big step forward in our policy of taking archives to people.
Language impacts profoundly on all aspects of national life in South Africa and on the ability of Government to provide equitable access to services and programmes. Language is also an empowering tool for all our people to participate in politics and the economy, and to converse about their own lives in their own situation.
The Draft Language Policy and Plan for South Africa, which is a product of a protracted consultative process with Government departments, civil society and other role-players, is currently being finalised. The language policy is intended as an enabling framework for promoting South Africa’s linguistic diversity. The purpose of this policy is to set out a coherent language policy and implementation plan for a multilingual dispensation within the parameters of the Constitution and in concert with broad social planning and transformation in South Africa. The language plan will develop and promote the official African languages.
I have described the impact of our programmes in relevant sectors in South Africa in some detail. Our external programmes are, in many ways, complemented by our internal focus on transforming the department. I believe we have made great strides in this respect. Currently, 67% of the department’s top management is made up of black managers, and 23% of top management are black women. Of our total staff complement below the levels of top management, 59% are black. We believe that this greater representivity in the make-up of our department is a central factor in the progress we have made in the past few years.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my statement that we are seeing a breakthrough in the use of science, technology, arts and culture as tools in achieving our national objectives. I hope that my colleagues in other Government departments will continue to work with us in ensuring that we maximise the potential of these important sectors. After all, science and technology is a transversal and crosscutting entity. [Applause.]
Prof I J MOHAMED: Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members, it is a pleasure for me to support, on behalf of the ANC, the Vote of the Department of Arts, Culture Science and Technology - Dacst.
In the 1999 Vote debate I reviewed the transformation of the department over the five-year period from 1994 to 1999. We need to examine what has happened since then and where we are headed in the medium term.
Before the ANC came to power in 1994, there was no dedicated department of arts, culture, science and technology. We must congratulate Dacst on the excellent work it has done in building this department.
I recall briefly my assessment in 1999 to set the context of my presentation. Firstly, the Dacst Vote as a percentage of the national budget increased steadily from 1994 to 1999. The share of science and technology of the Dacst Vote increased significantly over this period. Secondly, the allocation to the eight science councils and the four national facilities, amongst which are the National Accelerator Centre and the SA Astronomical Observatory, also increased in real terms.
Thirdly, the department put various programmes and structures in place to promote science and technology. Amongst these are the National Advisory Council on Innovation - Naci, the Foresight Study, the Innovation Fund and the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. It also appointed review panels to assess the performance and programmes of the science councils and of the national facilities.
The Naci advises the Minister on cutting-edge technology to help us to compete in the technology-driven global market. The Innovation Fund supports, on a competitive basis, innovative technologies to help drive our economic growth and transformation. The Foresight Study aims to identify major future technologies so that we can carve niche markets in a fiercely competitive global economy.
The Public Understanding of Science and Technology popularises this area and tries to bring the youth, and particularly the marginalised groups, girls and women on board, thus increasing the pool of future scientists. I may mention in particular that camps for young girls have been set up to introduce them or to stimulate their interest in science and technology, particularly as we know that girls are sidelined in our school system.
My conclusion was that Dacst had admirably succeeded in bringing about a major transformation in the science and technology terrain. This work has continued and grown apace during the past two years.
I now turn to the period 2001-02 and expenditure in the medium term. The Dacst Vote increased by 13,7% this year, and is estimated to increase by 8,7% next year and 7,7% in 2003. The share of the science and technology allocation as a percentage of the Dacst Vote is 59,9% and stabilises near this figure in the next two years. This confirms the relative importance attached to science and technology, and particularly as the Minister has said that he thinks he has won the case in the Cabinet and the population at large regarding understanding the importance of science and technology. I hope that is so, and these figures do confirm that.
The department, in accordance with recommendations by Naci to the Minister, distributes a pool of money called the science vote to the science councils, the national facilities, the National Research Foundation and other science programmes and organisations. The science vote increased from approximately R598 million in 1997 to R1,012 billion in 2001, which is an increase of 59,1%. The estimated increase for 2002 is 8,6%, and for 2003, 6,2%.
There are several new programmes and institutions, but I will mention only two - the Minister has also mentioned these - the Laser Trust created from the laser collection of the Atomic Energy Corporation when its Molecular Laser Isotope Separation uranium enrichment plant was shut down and the Indigenous Knowledge System. The first provides lasers for technological industries, and the second explores ways and means to preserve, build and protect the rich indigenous knowledge and to bring it into the mainstream of science and technology. The department organised study tours to India and China, in which the portfolio committee participated, to study their rich experience in this area.
The department has also signed various international agreements which will be of benefit to our country and that of our partners. The SA Large Telescope, which the Minister has also mentioned, and which is now under construction in Sutherland, is an example. It will be used to study galaxies thousands of light years beyond our own galaxy - the milky way.
I have mentioned two areas of concern. Firstly, the investment by the private sector in research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product is falling. This will retard our scientific and technological development. It is clear that to encourage funding in research and development by the industry, Government must increase investment even further in research and development, so as to signal its confidence in our scientific and technological system and economy.
Secondly, the Dacst review panel of the Atomic Energy Corporation said that the Safari nuclear reactor was a serious drain on state funds. It recommended that an independent inquiry investigate the desirability of continuing with the Safari reactor. We in minerals and energy learned the other day in an answer to a question I put to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa, Necsa, that there was a subsequent review which declared Safari a national facility, and this was accepted by Cabinet. It is very disappointing that we should unearth this in response from the Department of Minerals and Energy - DME - to our questions to Necsa. Surely, Dacst and DME, since they are serving in the same economic cluster, would have discussed this and should have disclosed it to their respective portfolio committees.
Finally, I put it to the National Nuclear Regulator - NNR - that there is talk that radio active material was stolen from Necsa. Because of time constraints, the question could not be answered at the portfolio committee meeting. The NNR official who was making the presentation confirmed to me after the meeting that a truck or vehicle carrying radioactive material was either hijacked or stolen. Neither Dacst nor DME informed their respective portfolio committees about this. I am mentioning Dacst simply because it serves in the same economic cluster as DME.
Eskom has set up a feasibility and environmental impact study of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. If we handle the incident I mentioned in this way, we must not be surprised at the public distrust of those propagating nuclear energy as a source of energy and stiffer opposition to the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and nuclear energy in general. It is a pity that I must address these issues here, but they warrant urgent consideration. I trust that this incident will soon be put behind us and we will go forward with the task at hand.
I congratulate the Minister and his department on their budget. [Applause.]
Mr V C GORE: Chairperson, hon Minister and members of this House, before I begin I would like to congratulate the Minister on his appointment as the Chairperson of the executive committee of the Commonwealth Science Council. We wish him well in this very important position.
Today’s debate, in my view, is about three things, firstly, the importance of science and technology as an ultimate tool in the delivery to the people of South Africa, secondly, the ANC Government’s track record, and their shortcomings and failures in this regard, and, thirdly, what the DA can and will do, in other words, the DA’s plan of action to get science and technology working for the citizens of South Africa.
The starting point of this debate must surely be the importance of science and technology to deliver to South Africa. I do not think that many members of this House realise the importance of technology and what role it can play in our lives. It is because of this short-sightedness of members of the ruling party that many of our social ills have yet to be solved.
A shocking example of this is the senseless deaths of pensioners in Government’s pension payout queues. I wish the hon Minister of Social Development were listening, because these deaths would clearly be avoidable, if only the Department of Social Development effectively implemented a successful technology strategy.
Corruption in the Public Service is another example. If the ANC were as serious about stamping out corruption as they claim to be, then the hon Minister for the Public Service and Administration would have concentrated, from the start, on implementing a successful technology strategy.
In terms of crime, instead of making arms deals which benefit the privileged few, some of whom may well be hon members of this House, the Minister of Safety and Security should be investing in technology that keeps the streets of South Africa safe. Cape Town, which falls under the DA provincial government, has successfully installed closed-circuit cameras which have proved effective in reducing crime in the CBD. If the hon Minister had any commitment to eradicate crime, then he would realise that he needs to implement a successful technology strategy.
Each example could have been resolved had a successful technology strategy been implemented, and that is where the ANC Cabinet has failed, some may argue, to the extent of criminal negligence, which is certainly the case in terms of the pension payouts.
Science and technology must be viewed as a building block for economic development, education and ultimately service delivery. It is therefore crucial that any policy direction should be a unified one which incorporates both the educational and economic aspects.
Unfortunately, this is not the case at present. The ANC Government has failed to achieve an acceptable level of co-ordination between the Departments of Education, of Trade and Industry and of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, in effectively implementing the priorities as set out in the science and technology White Paper.
This inability to establish a technology power base will be detrimental to our pursuit of a knowledge-based economy. The concept of a one-stop shop is definitely required in the drafting and implementation of any policy or legislation affecting science and technology.
Regarding technology and its impact on the economy, the bottom line is that if we can get the economy working, then we will get South Africa working on a social level as well. It is therefore necessary to remind ourselves that the state does not and cannot create wealth. The state - I hope the ANC is paying attention - must, because of this fact, create an enabling environment. Moreover, this is one of the major pitfalls of the ANC administration. Despite the noteworthy attempts by hon Minister Ngubane, the required enabling environment has not been created.
The ANC are to be applauded for creating a department of science and technology. However, this step becomes nothing more than another link in the bureaucratic chain if the department is not utilised effectively. The National Advisory Council on Innovation was another good idea in theory. In practice, however, the council has failed to become a source of inspiration for innovation, mainly due to its highly bureaucratic approach and insufficient support mechanisms.
Another example of the hon Minister’s good intentions paving the road to poverty is the funding priorities of organisations which his department supports, such as the IDC. Successful international trends clearly show that there needs to be a shift away from supporting big business to a more aggressive focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
In this regard, we hope and pray that the CSIR’s Brain and Macs will deliver and stimulate SMME creation. Clearly, these examples all boil down to one thing: The ANC has failed to create a nurturing and enabling environment for the development and promotion of science and technology.
The impact of this shortcoming is significant as technology is required to assist privatisation, which ultimately would lead to capital flowing into our economy. Foreign investors need guarantees that their investment is sustainable. A state-owned company that is unable to compete in a technology-based market is therefore at risk and has less potential for sustainable business.
The results of this are that, firstly, it slows down the much-needed privatisation process, secondly, we might not attract the best possible investors, and finally, problems which could otherwise be avoided could arise out of the privatisation process. However, this is not the most important problem facing us. In fact, a far more challenging problem is that we are a low-skills, high-wage-based economy. For the benefit of hon members of the ruling party who do not understand why this is a serious problem, allow me to expand.
If a car-manufacturing company had two plants, one in South Africa and one in Singapore, and has invested highly in a skills-based economy, in a case in which this company needs to adapt or retrench workers, it would certainly adapt its operation in the Asian country as skilled workers are more adaptable, and choose to retrench workers in South Africa, as not only are we generally a less skills-based economy, but also our labour is competitively overpriced. What this means is that in order to improve our economy we need to build a knowledge-based economy, in which workers are highly skilled and our cost of labour competitively priced.
The ANC has failed in this regard. Cosatu rules the roost when it comes to wages, much to the detriment of workers and South Africa at large, whilst the ANC has as yet been unable to effectively implement a strategy which sees an increase in our skills base, particularly in the area of science and technology.
Having said that we need to turn our attention to science and technology as it relates to education. The statistics with regard to matric education reflect a very poor state of affairs. The proportion of South African university degrees in maths and science has also seen an overall decline, despite improvements on the figures from the early 1990s. It is obvious that there are no short-term solutions and that we need to be in this process for the long haul. However, it is not acceptable to simply sit back with an attitude of riding out the storm. We need to take positive, bold and proactive steps to rectify the situation, and we need to take these steps now.
This is what we propose: We need to develop strategies to retain the current skills base; we need to take the threat of the current brain drain seriously; we need to ensure that our immigration policies attract skilled people in the areas where they are lacking; and we need to train more and more doctors, engineers and scientists, and create an environment in which they feel safe to wake up in the morning and travel to work to do an honest day’s work and then go back home, confident in the knowledge that their family members have not been hijacked, raped, assaulted or murdered. [Interjections.]
This is how we create a better life for all, that is by providing a helping hand, not a handout. We cannot and must not underestimate the value of investing in technology. We must take the lead from countries such as the UK whose contribution to science and technology has increased by about 20% over the past few years, and the Canadian government which has pledged to double its contribution over the next two years.
In conclusion, the only viable solution to poverty alleviation in South Africa is through wealth generation. [Time expired.] [Applause.] Muf T J TSHIVHASE: Mudzulatshidulo, musi ro lavhelesa tshanduko kha sia ḽa zwa sialala na mvelele, miṅwaha minzhi yo fheleho zwo lingedza u pwashekanya nyiledzo dza tshiṱalula, zwa bveledza khagala vhukoni na mvelele zwe zwa vha zwo tsikeledzwa na u dzumbiwa tsha kale na kale nga dziṱhunḓu.
Ndivho ya Muvhuso wo rangwaho phanḓa nga ANC, ndi u bveledza khagala muhumbulo wo dziaho, u khwinisa vhutshilo ha vhathu vha ḽino shango, nga maanḓa vhe tshifhingani tsho fhiraho vha tambula nga u khethululwa nga muvhuso wa tshiṱalula. Nga u dzumbulula vhutsila ha sialala, vhukoni na vhutsila, zwi no wanala fhano Afurika Tshipembe fhedzi, ngeno ri tshi ḓo vha ri tshi khou khwaṱhisedza vhuvha hayo.
Musi hu tshi vulwa Buthano ḽa Lushaka, Phuresidennde Vho-Thabo Mbeki vho ri ri tea u vhona zwa uri dzinndwa, malwadze na u sa bvela phanḓa a zwi tsha dzhiiwa sa tshithu tshithihi kha riṋe maAfurika. Khaedu khulwane ndi u bvelela kha u vhalwa ha vhathu kha ḽifhasi nga vhuthu, u ṱanganedzea na u eḓana shangoni. (Translation of Venḓa paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs T J TSHIVHASE: Chairperson, if we look at the changes, inasfar as arts and culture are concerned, for many years the department has tried to dismantle the apartheid exclusions and bring forth the skills and cultural heritage suppressed and hidden for centuries by the colonialists.
The vision of the ANC-led Government is to give expression to positive thoughts, and to improve the quality of life of the people of this country, in particular those who have suffered the burden of apartheid exclusion. This could be done by uncovering the traditional skills, creativity, products and unique diversity of Africa, while maintaining South Africa’s diversity.
In this year’s state of the nation address, President Thabo Mbeki stated that we must, and will, ensure that wars, disease and underdevelopment are no longer seen as being synonymous with Africans. The other important challenge is the achievement of an international consensus on a humane, just and equitable world order.]
The President further stated, and I quote:
… African child should ever again walk in fear of guns, tyrants and abuse; that no African child should ever again experience hunger, avoidable disease and ignorance; that no African child should ever again feel ashamed to be an African.
Hedzi khaedu dzoṱhe dzi vhukati ha adzhenda ya vhuthihi ha Afurika. Vhuthihi ha Afurika ndi tshithu tsha vhuṱhogwa kha mashango oṱhe a Afurika uri a ṱangane e ṅanda nthihi, a tshi khou shumisana, a tshi khou lingedza u dzhiela nzhele khaedu yo livhanaho nao. Riṋe sa ANC, ri khou pfesesa Muvhuso washu kha u khwinisa vhuthihi ha Afurika vhu teaho u dzhielwa nzhele.
Tshiga tsha u thoma ndi tshauri Afurika Tshipembe ndi shango ḽa Afurika. Phuresidennde Vho-Thabo Mbeki vho tumbula zwauri muAfurika wa khwiṋe, na shango ḽa khwiṋe, ndi zwone zwithu zwa vhuṱhogwa kha vhathu vha Afurika Tshipembe.
Mushumo washu kha u khwinifhadza vhuthihi ha Afurika wo katelwa kha African Renaissance na zwiṅwe zwi elanaho nayo. I amba nga ha poḽotiki, ikonomi, matshilisano na mvusuludzo ya mvelele kha shango ḽa Afurika.
Ndi zwa vhuṱhogwa ngauri Afurika Tshipembe ḽi khou shela mulenzhe kha u bveledza ḽino dzhango. Ri tea u ṱuṱuwedza vhoramabindu vha fhano Afurika Tshipembe uri na vhone-vho, vha vhulunge-vho kha maṅwe mashango a Afurika.
Ri tea u vha na ndivho nthihi ya vhumatshelo ha Afurika. Miṅwahani ya sumbe yo fhiraho, muhasho wo lingedza u kwashekanya nga zwiṱuku masia-nda-itwa a tshiṱalula. Ri tea u vhona zwauri huna u eḓana kha dzipfanelo na vhuthuhi ha sialala.
Mugaganyagwama hoyu u khou sumbedza nyaluwo kha tshikwama tsho vhetshelwaho vhutsila na mvelele kha ṅwaha wa 2000 u swika 2004. Hezwi zwi khou sumbedza zwauri vhutsila na mvelele, zwi khou dzhielwa nzhele nga vha ANC. Mugaganyagwama uyu ri a u tikedza. (Translation of Venḓa paragraphs follows.)
[All these challenges are central to the present agenda of African unity. The essence of African unity is, therefore, that it is incumbent upon all African countries to get together as a unified force, to take action to try to address challenges confronting us. We, as the ANC, understand our Government is trying to develop African unity, which must be taken into consideration.
The starting point in this regard is that South Africa is an African country. President Thabo Mbeki correctly observed that a better Africa and a better world are genuinely in the interest of South Africa’s people. Our role in enhancing African unity is located within the African Renaissance and other processes related to it. It is about the political, economic, social and cultural rebirth of the African continent.
It is important that South Africa is playing an important role in developing this continent. We must also encourage South African businesspeople to go and invest in other African countries.
We must have the same vision about the future. In the last seven years, the department has tried to dismantle, slowly but surely, the relics of apartheid, and has tried to ensure that the delicate balance between privilege and unique heritage is maintained.
This budget reflects a steady growth in the allocations to arts and culture during the years 2000-2004. This reflects the seriousness with which arts and culture are regarded by the ANC. We support this budget.]
It is in this context that the establishment of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities becomes relevant. We must intensify our efforts to enhance African unity. Africa’s time has come! Africa must unite for change!
Riṋe sa ANC, ri khou zwi vhona zwauri hoyu muhasho wo ita zwihulwane nga maanḓa musi u tshi khou ḓisa-vho tshanduko kha zwa sia ḽa vhutsila na mvelele, ngauri ri vho ḓipfa-vho ri vhathu fhano Afurika Tshipembe. Ri vho pfa ri sa nyadzei, ri vho ambara miambaro yashu, ri tshi amba nyambo dzashu nga hune ra kona ngaho. Haya ndi maga mahulwane o itwaho nga Muhasho wa Vhutsila na Mvelele.
Ri a ḓiṱongisa nga u vha maAfurika, ngauri u vha muAfurika a si uri zwi dzhia muthu a vha tshiṅwe tshithu. A ri ngo sedza muvhala kana zwiṅwe zwithu, ro sedza mvelaphanḓa ya shango ḽashu, ḽine ḽa vho dzhielwa-vho nṱha, u bva ṋamusi u ya phanḓa, ri khou ḓihudza na u tikedza Mugaganyagwama hoyu washu. (Translation of Venḓa paragraphs follows.)
[We, as the ANC, can see that this Government has played a huge role in bringing about change inasfar as arts and culture are concerned, because we feel that now we are true South Africans. We no longer feel despised, we wear our own clothes and speak our languages as we wish. These are enormous steps taken by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.
We are proud to be Africans, because being an African is to be someone different from others. We are not looking at race, but the development of our country, which is now being taken into consideration. We are proud and we support our budget.]
Mr M F CASSIM: Mr Chairperson, colleagues, one day all too soon, humankind’s most cherished dream will be realised. At that precise moment, humankind will simultaneously be seized by its greatest terror. If contact with alien life is to be made, then the time for that cannot be all that far away. Therefore, even as we are seized by considerations of globalisation, we must also start lifting our eyes to cosmic challenges and opportunities.
As we leave our cosmic childhood behind, we will need to conquer new frontiers, and science and technology will define those frontiers. We have so much catching up to do and so many negative legacies to erase. We simply have to go along a vertical trajectory. The policy tool for taking us forward is the National System of Innovation.
Table 13.9 shows that in 1997-98, R22,299 million was spent on science, technology and knowledge system development and maintenance. In 2000-01 this figure had shot up to R188,277 million. This is nearly a quarter of the departmental budget.
The outputs for this massive expenditure need to be examined beyond principles of statements and strategies. We need outputs in terms of figures and rands and cents. We have been in discussion with the director- general in the portfolio committee in developing quantifiable and measurable outputs.
What we would therefore like to see under outputs would be, firstly, measurable improvement in the competitiveness of South African industries; secondly, a measurable and quantifiable increase in the pool of skills in respect of new technology; thirdly, a percentage increase in patent activities; fourthly, percentage growth in industrial output, harnessing new technologies; fifthly, the extent of multiplier and accelerator effects; and sixthly, the measurable total economic impact arising from this programme.
The portfolio committee lauds the many initiatives undertaken by the department. We say to the Minister and to his team: ``You have done very well indeed.’’ In the years in which the Minister has been at the helm of South Africa’s science and technology, he can be very proud of his contribution to this country.
We are 100% behind the department in initiating 57 new technological innovation projects in biotechnology, of which the Minister spoke. Like shattered Japan after World War II, the new South Africa needs to push rapidly to the front of the technological field. We must strive to be at the forefront in respect of biotechnology.
The question, therefore, arises: What more should we be doing to become world leaders in this area? After all, let us look at what South Africa has. We have an entire floral kingdom in one country, and there are only about six such floral kingdoms. We also have an indigenous knowledge system which is deeply rooted in the understanding of flora and plants. Can we, with these local advantages, therefore race ahead of this field? Also, are our universities and research institutes keeping pace with the progress that is being made?
The department, as I have said, must be lauded on its initiatives. But as our challenges are too steep because of historic reasons, we have to say that the reward for good work and for good foresight is to do still more and more till all the needs of this country are answered. Such departmental initiatives may just, therefore, be the catalyst that really sets off the African Renaissance. If that happens, we will fulfil the solemn promise of a better life for all.
The Ministry has the backing of Parliament - and by that I mean not only the portfolio committee but, I hope, of every single member who is here - because our Ministry will depend on what happens in the hon members’ constituencies to go forward. [Interjections.] Thank you, I am glad that someone is giving support. I wish it was more voluble from all of the hon members, and I encourage hon members. [Applause.]
I am certain that there is a great pot of gold at the end of the biodiversity rainbow. I am even glad that the FF is acknowledging this. I say thank you to Dr Mulder. [Applause.] This is our challenge in this financial year.
Now let me turn to the department’s corporate goal of achieving greater efficiency and exploiting the economic potential of the arts. The Minister outlined this in great detail. Once again, I say to the Minister and his team: ``Well done.’’ This is the direction in which South Africa has to head and we are very grateful for the visionary leadership that the Minister and the team are giving to Parliament and to the country.
The goal of greater efficiency and exploiting the economic potential is also dealt with on page 244 of the Estimate of Expenditure. Indeed, we fully subscribe to this goal. Once again, we need to look at mathematical and measurable outputs. In this respect, let us ask the following questions. What was the number of newcomers to the economic arena of the arts? How many new and sustainable jobs were created here? What was the value of our exports in this matter? What percentage of GDP was realised from this sector?
In the UK the arts have been conservatively estimated to contribute £60 billion or 4% of their GDP. It is also the fastest expanding segment of the British economy. Can we make comparable claims, and do the figures here support such an assertion? The pertinent question we need to ask therefore is: Can we, through the department, pull the necessary strings for 100 000 new jobs to be created in the field of the arts? This is the pressing question of our times. Our democracy, reconciliation and even our social stability depend on our satisfactory answers to the cries of the jobless and the unemployed.
Here are some of our suggestions regarding the things that could be done: Firstly, let us declare the year 2000 the year of music. Secondly, let us declare annually a cultural city of the year. In 1990 the city of Glasgow was declared the European city of culture. The regeneration that has taken place and all the developments that have followed in that city are things that we can witness and admire.
Thirdly, let us pursue a three-language goal for all South Africans, use rewards and incentives to drive this in a given period of time so that within 18 to 24 months all South Africans know, at least, three languages, one of which should be a black language. Fourthly, let us identify and promote language acquisition along a broad front - Eastern and Western - which will directly support tourism - and I am sure Ms Mahlangu will be happy about that - and trade with those countries that are still new and undeveloped markets.
Let us also create an optimal, if not universal, viewership of South African-made films. What percentage of South Africans, can we ask, saw Chicken Biznes? How many of my colleagues here saw the film? I can tell members that it is a film well worth seeing. What can we do to develop cinema audiences, particularly in townships and particularly for products that are made in South Africa?
Similarly, let us support travelling groups. In England there is a group called Illyria which has enormous success in this respect, and I think they could teach us a thing or two which we should be happy to learn. Let us, with provincial and municipal governments, create multidimensional craft and tourist centres to support beadwork, wood carving and leather work. In this respect, let us push harder for bead manufacturing in our country. We know we are about to enter this, but let us do it sooner and quicker and bigger.
Let us also get Cabinet to agree that South African crafters and developers can obtain - and this is an important point for which all of Parliament should give support - locally mined gold, locally sourced diamonds, locally mined platinum and steel at local domestic rates, not at Zurich rates and not at London rates. [Applause.] This is prohibitive, and I think Parliament can no longer tolerate the situation. We mine it here, and therefore we should give it domestic rates. I hope that Dr Davids will take this up.
With regard to script writing, the more we develop it, the more we will have local TV, theatre and films. Let us also take another look at our galleries and museums this year. Are we getting a 200% increase in the people going through the turnstiles? Are our museums headed for growth? What can we do to interact with them to ensure that we put our museums where they should be? Colleagues should remember that these museums are the repositories of R6 billion worth of assets, and that is a conservative estimate. That is the treasure that we have, and we should exploit it further.
Next is design and branding, and I know this is the Minister’s hobbyhorse. I know that he will ride this hobbyhorse and we will support him in making sure that we brand properly, because part of South Africa’s problem is basically perception. And if we can correct perception through better branding, this country is headed for great times.
Finally, I want to give attention to a programme called Linnux. We should offer at least 10 000 bursaries for South African students to study Linnux. Linnux is a computer programme that is free of charge, and its potential for development is unlimited. In this respect we should also think of a free code for our teachers so that they can develop applications for schools. We believe that in this respect there will come a time in which there will be fewer and fewer politicians in Parliament and more and more scientists. We hope that with these computer programmes there will be greater encouragement, especially in our black schools, in technology education. This is the era of IT, and if IT misses our schools, it is going to miss a very important segment of our population.
I wish to support the programme of the department and the budget on behalf of the IFP, and to say that it is a great privilege to do so.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson, let me begin by saying that I feel very privileged to be talking in this House in the midst of an audience of esteemed future scientists and future arts and culture experts. [Applause.] I can only say to the young people that, indeed, the future is theirs.
In many ways the past few years have been devoted to setting up the necessary policy frameworks and institutional capacity needed to transform and develop our science and technology, arts and culture. We are now at a stage where we can begin to concentrate on focused interventions in meeting the task set out in our mission statement, which is to realise the full potential of arts, culture, science and technology in social and economic development, in nurturing creativity and innovation and promoting the diverse heritage of our country. I would like, at this stage, in fact, to congratulate the Department of Arts and Culture. We are a small department of very dedicated people. I also want to congratulate those who have the responsibility in our science council to improve the quality of life of our people and make our economy grow.
One of the agencies that the department supports from our budget is the National Research Foundation - NRF. We have mandated the NRF to develop research capacity from natural sciences to social sciences. The continuing challenge of change and the diverse priorities and expectations of the country are reflected in the NRF’s new portfolio focus areas of research promotion and capacity-building.
In some focus areas investments are targeted at topics such as information and communication technology, globalisation and economic growth, while others promote research in areas where South Africa has unique research opportunities or the potential to be world leaders in a specific field. These focus areas provide a framework for researchers to grapple with important research issues and to provide an innovative training environment for future South African research leaders. The NRF acts as a catalyst within the research community to strengthen our research capacity and enhance research excellence, productivity and relevance. The Sociology of Work Unit at Wits University, the Child Development Research Unit at the University of Natal, the Health Behaviour Research Unit at the University of the North and other research centres are being enabled to conduct their critical areas of work through the support of the NRF.
The newly-instituted Health Behaviour Research Unit at the University of the North, for example, focuses on the behavioural, mental and social circumstances of disease. Its four main projects deal with understanding health behaviour that leads to prevention, intervention and rehabilitation with reference to chronic diseases, HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted diseases or family or community violence and substance abuse.
We are acutely aware of the fact that the arena of scientific research is still dominated by white men. However, great strides are being made in ensuring that women scientists are taking up their rightful place as research leaders. At Rhodes University, for example, Prof Tebello Nyokong and her research group are involved in international collaboration in the emerging field treating certain cancers with light which is called photodynamic therapy. This novel therapy has enormous potential for the affordable treatment of several kinds of cancer and for developing advanced skills in the country. Health for a quality of life is a strong research area at Technikon Pretoria where Prof Elsa Albertse is heading a project to combat malnutrition in South Africa.
In the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Natal, Prof Pat Berjak and her team make a vital contribution to agriculture with their custom-designed conductivity meter for testing the quality of seeds. These are only a few examples of women scientists using their knowledge and talents to improve industry, health and the general quality of life of all South Africans. We are also involved, through the NRF, in a concerted programme to develop, train and offer support to black research academics, at both the historically black and historically white tertiary institutions.
In countries all over the world, there is a growing consciousness of the need to develop and protect indigenous knowledge systems. South Africa has a rich and well-established indigenous knowledge system, as Mr Cassim has indicated. We are working at addressing the intellectual property and other related issues in policy on indigenous knowledge systems. A significant mix of South African society, policy makers, civil society, academia and the scientific research community have been grappling with the complex issue of indigenous knowledge, challenges and responsibilities of the state and society in respect of promoting and protecting the rights and status of the holders of such knowledge who are, in most cases, communities rather than individuals. However, the current framework appears inadequate to support and nurture the promotion of indigenous knowledge systems in our country.
The Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology recently commissioned a study to be conducted in India. The aim of the research visit was to study the Indian government’s approaches and historical experiences relating to the promotion, protection, legal framework, research base, community participation and commercialisation of indigenous knowledge systems. Lessons from this study will inform the current evolving legislative process.
In addition, Dacst earmarked R10 million in the year 2000 to be granted by NRF to selected researchers and projects in order for them to develop our understanding, use and protection of indigenous knowledge systems. So far, the NRF has awarded 41 research grants in this area, which will involve more than 300 team members and research partners, as well as almost 250 postgraduate research students. This nucleus of dedicated researchers will grow rapidly in the current and forthcoming years as our understanding of the importance of this field grows.
We believe that we have been successful in transforming the science and technology system away from its focus on supporting the defence objectives of the previous government and towards serving the socioeconomic development objectives of the newly elected democratic Government. Science and technology is, indeed, playing a key role in improving the quality of life of all South Africans and ensuring that we remain competitive within the rapidly globalising world economy.
We have also reached a point within the arts and culture sectors where our investment in an enabling policy framework and independent arm’s-length institution is beginning to pay off. The National Arts Council - NAC - was allocated R10 million, if hon members still remember, in the 1997-98 financial year, R15 million in 1998-99 and R25 million in 1999-2000. Their allocation has increased partly to try to keep pace with the unprecedented demands for grants from a wide range of arts projects. The availability of project funding from the NAC has served as a catalyst for a range of arts initiatives in a wide variety of previously neglected disciplines serving previously neglected audiences around the country.
Now that the administrative systems have been properly set up and provincial arts councils have been established, it is hoped that the NAC will begin to expand its role beyond that of a mere distributor of funds and focus more on its own initiatives to develop the full range of arts and culture in this country. Indeed a number of challengers lie ahead. For example, a breakdown of the disbursement of funds over the three years shows that a disproportionate amount of funding requests are still being received from theatre, music and opera sectors. Only 9% of allocations have gone to craft initiatives and 5% to literature projects.
In addition, 49% of funding went to projects in Gauteng, 17% to KwaZulu- Natal and 17% to the Western Cape. The other provinces still remain severely underdeveloped and underrepresented in terms of arts and culture activities. One of the key projects currently under way at the NAC is designed to combat some of these discrepancies. The NAC has designed the crafts development initiative in collaboration with my department and a number of other departments and organisations. The initiative is an integrated interventionist strategy aimed at developing the crafts industry in each province.
Working with provincial crafts development committees, the NAC will be co- ordinating a range of training initiatives designed to turn crafters into successful owners of sustainable small businesses. Training in business skills, quality control, product development, marketing and strategic co- operation are only some of the areas that will be covered in these training programmes.
In his state of the nation address in February this year, our President spoke of the cultural industries as one of the sectors of our economy that require special attention because of their potential to contribute to the objectives of higher growth rates and job creation. We are taking this directive forward in a number of initiatives aimed at operationalising the recommendations made in the cultural industries’ growth strategy.
The National Film and Video Foundation of SA has now taken over the allocation of national funding for the development and promotion of the South African film industry. We believe that our film industry has tremendous potential to make its mark in South Africa and internationally. However, this requires that we invest the relatively limited resources available as strategically as possible. It is absolutely vital that we begin to invest in our most talented film producers so that the rights of their films remain with them and within the country rather than in other countries.
If South African films are to succeed, we need to find innovative ways of investing in them. The National Film and Video Foundation of SA is currently investigating mechanisms to begin a loan financing scheme whereby some of its funds are allocated as loans and are recovered and reinvested in the fund once a film has proved to be financially successful. This money can then be used to produce other films.
Just as human resource development is a key area of focus for us in the area of science and technology, it is also a challenge in the arts and culture sector. The Skills Development Act requires the establishment of Sector Education and Training Authorities, and arts, culture and the cultural industries fall predominantly within the media, advertising, print, packaging and publishing Seta.
We have been part of the process to set up the maps Seta and the tourism, hospitality, sport and education training authority. The sheer volume of employment opportunities has surprised even us. We are currently working with Seta, as well as the South African Qualifications Agency, to accredit a range of skills, programmes, qualifications and learnerships within the arts and culture sector. A large percentage of South Africans working within the arts and culture sector have nonformal training institutions such as in community art centres. Others have not got into the industry via apprenticeships, but do not have any formal qualifications. We need to address this.
I have just had a signal that I must conclude my speech. In conclusion I would like to say to all those working with us to keep up the good work. I also want to inform my colleague the hon Minister that I am very happy about the kind of relationship we have and I am confident that we will deliver in the area of arts, culture, science and technology.
Let me then congratulate those that have been appointed to very strategic positions in our associate institutions, such as Sahra. Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mrs Pumla Madiba; Mr Dominee; Miss Lindiwe Gadu, CEO of Freedom Park; Dr Tema, chief director, public liaison; Dr J Matsila, technology development; Pakamani Mthembu, director in the Ministry; Nobubele Ngele, human resource management; Mandy Gilder, director, national archives; Sydney Selepe, arts institutional governance; and Mrs Premi Abalraju, who joins my office.
There are lots of challenges ahead, but I have confidence that we are going to deliver the goals we have set ourselves. [Applause.]
Dr P W A MULDER: Chairperson, on Wednesday I said in Question Time that the planned legislation for a Government language policy got lost in the corridors of the Union Buildings. I am still convinced of that. When a Constitution or a law cannot be enforced, it is of no use. At best, it becomes an interesting discussion document. As a result of this, we have Chapter 9 in the South African Constitution which creates different bodies to be watchdogs over democracy and to give the Constitution teeth - powers
- to act. I can give hon members a lot of examples: the Human Rights Commission, the Gender Commission, etc.
The Government also put relevant laws on the Statute Book to fight discrimination against women, racism, etc. But seven years later, the only watchdog and legislation that is not in place is that on culture and language. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities is not in place. Language policy and legislation is not in place. Can anyone blame the FF for arguing, in this House and outside, that this is just not a priority for this Government?
This Minister is not necessarily the guilty one. The ANC Government does not know how to handle this issue. Today is Africa Unity Day. It is not only the ANC that does not know how to handle this issue, most African countries are struggling to handle this: How to promote African unity and nation-building on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to give recognition to Africa’s diversity of languages and cultures. That is the balance that we must get right in Africa.
Of course poverty is a problem in Africa and in South Africa. Of course HIV/Aids is a problem. If you acknowledge my language, you acknowledge me as a person and you give me dignity. Maybe that is more important than anything else - all of these other problems.
On Wednesday I asked the Deputy President what the Government planned to do to promote other official languages, apart from English. I told this House about the Xhosa-speaking woman in front of me in the queue at a Government office and how she struggled to get her problem solved because the woman on the other side could only speak English.
Is the Government willing to take active steps to force Government departments to use other official languages apart from English? To force them. That is the only way. Promises and goodwill are not enough anymore. A first step would be to give powers to the Pan South African Language Board to enforce these findings. Let me give the House an example. The Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, found the Department of Public Works and Telkom guilty of using only English. That was more than a year ago; nothing happened. The department and Telkom just ignored these findings.
Sonder ‘n taalbeleid bestaan daar tans groot verwarring by die verskillende departemente. Elke departement doen sy eie ding op sy eie manier en dit veroorsaak verwarring. Die Suid-Afrikaanse statistiekdiens sê hulle het mense nodig om te help met die opname van die sensus. Hulle soek ``previously disadvantaged persons’’, maar hulle adverteer dit in Engels in die Afrikaanse koerante. Is bruin Afrikaanssprekendes nou `disadvantaged’ aan daardie kant, is hulle nie welkom nie, of waar pas hulle in?
Die Departement van Justisie praat oor ‘n hofbeleid. Hier het ek die syfers van die Noord-Kaap waar 72% van die hofsake in Afrikaans was en 1% in Engels. Die Minister sê slegs Engels moet gebruik word. Ek verstaan dit nie. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In the absence of a language policy great confusion currently exists among the various departments. Each department does it own thing in its own way and this is causing confusion. The South African statistics service says they need people to help with the recording of the census. They are looking for previously disadvantaged persons, but they advertise in English in the Afrikaans newspapers. Are coloured Afrikaans speakers now `disadvantaged’ on that side, are they not welcome or where do they fit in?
The Department of Justice talks about a court policy. I have here the figures of the Northern Cape, where 72% of the court cases were in Afrikaans and 1% in English. The Minister says only English must be used. I do not understand that. [Time expired.]]
Ms S D MOTUBATSE: Chairperson, today I am happy that I am participating in this important debate on the budget of arts and culture. I emphasise the word important, because I acknowledge the role that could be played by this sector in the transformation of our society. We have been able to use arts and culture as a mirror to see where we come from, our present situation and also to predict the future. Through arts and culture we were able to express our emotions, especially during the apartheid era, when we were able to express the emotional agonies that we were going through.
In our rural areas, we have men and women, both young and old, who cannot read or write, but who are able to express their intellectual ability through arts and cultural dances that they perform. The most important aspect of arts and culture is also to connect spiritually with our Creator and with our ancestors. Some of the activities that are currently being demonstrated here show just how important this sector is for our society.
Like others, I would like to say to our Minister, Dr Ngubane, the Deputy Minister, Sis Brigitte and the director-general, that surely this department is on track. We are happy that the Minister’s team is here also to hear our views.
The report that we have received from the department shows the transformation plan clearly. I must say that through this transformation we have seen the increase of local and international respect for this sector, South African arts and culture. I would also like to echo the sentiments expressed by Mr Cassim, that this sector has come a long way and that it is taking the right direction.
The establishment of the community centres gives ordinary men and women a chance to improve their work, and we think that this is a step in the right direction. Training for these talented people does improve the quality of their lives and their work, and it has economic spin-offs for most of our artists who were living like hoboes in the past.
The empowerment programme, especially for the rural communities, particularly rural women, is the key to the whole transformation process. However, I want to bring another aspect to this debate, because much as we want to expose them or want them to gain momentum in what they are doing, there is also a need to protect them.
There is a lot that is happening currently. We have so many thieves, and we have seen some people just parachuting to certain areas and studying the art or the dances of our people and replicating them somewhere else. Now, the challenge is: How do we protect these people? For example, currently there are designs on the BA, but we are not sure about the contracts which were entered into with those artists who did this work. So, it is important for us to protect those people.
The other challenge is to ensure that our people who have been working hard are protected. For example, we have, in literature, writers such as O K Matsepe, who have written important educational books for our society, but we have not really done much to expose their work.
We want to support the training and education programme as outlined by the departmental plan. We want to ensure that it opens the way for the other cultural groups which were also not in the mainstream.
The establishment of the National Arts Council, I must say, was another milestone for our country. The changes in the funding policies and procedures are surely targeting the previously disadvantaged, and I hope that the panel advisory groups will assist in expediting the establishment of some of the Setas, because they can enter into negotiations with different groups. Anyway, we are aware of certain challenges as well.
In my conclusion I must thank the department and also the Minister for the progress that has been made thus far. I also want us to be wary of some of the activities that we cannot really support as Parliament. For instance, we think that arts and culture should be there to promote good values in our society and to build the younger generations. We as parliamentarians therefore cannot support the dirty dances, and those kind of artists need to be challenged and educated, and should not expect funding if they do not change their ways.
I support the Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, I would like to request you to recognise the many young people who are in the public gallery this morning, and I would like to welcome them to Parliament. [Applause.]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Chairperson, all people in the world develop and advance on the basis of their culture and history. Wise nations absorb whatever they can from outside which improves what they have without abandoning their own. This is what African nations must do if they are not to completely lose their identity in the world.
We must make human resources the main structure of our social and economic organisation. Modern science and technology have a crucial role to play in the struggle for our continent’s economic prosperity and technological advancement.
The acquisition of knowledge and advanced technology will enable us to process our raw materials on this continent and export them as finished products. This will ensure that we get a good price for our products and eradicate poverty. It is a tragedy that we in this country have exported our uranium as raw material for peanuts to other countries, such as the USA, in order for them to develop nuclear weapons with which to endanger the world and acquire nuclear technology, which we do not have.
This country must launch an Africanist cultural revolution to rid itself of Western decadence, which is destroying the moral fibre of African nations. We must reintroduce the precolonial culture of hard work which prevailed in African societies. It is only through our own sweat and the discarding of the colonial mentality of depending on the leftovers from the tables of others, that we can prosper and restore Africa to her dignity and her lost power.
The indigenous technology which has been destroyed by colonialism must be researched and preserved. Our ancestors dug gold and copper in Mapungubwe long before Jan van Riebeeck arrived in 1652. They made iron tools and they knew how to preserve food for years when the harvest was bad.
The economic system indigenously called mafisa'' in Sesotho and
ukunqoma’’ in isiXhosa, eliminated poverty. Nobody was without
employment. We must research this destroyed indigenous knowledge. We must
not look down on African epistemology. African herbs with medicinal value
must be researched as well as naturally grown edible vegetables. A nation
without knowledge of its own is no nation.
African languages must be developed, especially their terminology of
technology. African languages are lagging far behind in the race to cope
with modern technology. Secondly, we must not allow our cultural concepts
to be polluted by foreign languages. For instance, what is this nonsense
about the so-called bride price'' andbride wealth’’ for bohadi'' or
lobola’’? Why does the English language not admit that it cannot
translate some concepts in the African culture which have no equivalent in
their culture instead of using misleading terms such as bride price'' and
bride wealth’’?
We do not sell our women. This colonialisation and misinterpretation of African concepts must be stopped. The history of this country must be recorded correctly. It must not be left to sectarian Eurocentric forces to write it for their parochial self-interest and false political propaganda. A falsified history is a mutilated history - it is no history. It is a glorified myth. It will not stand the test of time. Future generations would rewrite it when they discover untruth in it.
Our children must know the role which the women of Africa have played in our history, for instance, Mkabayi on the night King Shaka was assassinated; Queen Mmanthatise, the commander of men in the battle in the wars of national resistance against colonialism; Mmantsopa the prophetess; Nahenda who was hanged for leading the 1905-06 war of national resistance in Rhodesia against British imperialism; Queen Nzinga of Angola who fought against slavery; Queen Kandeka who commanded her own African army in defence of Africa against the Romans, and who defeated Julius Ceasar’s powerful and most feared army of the times - she lost an eye in that war; Queen Nefertiti and Queen Nefertari, who were involved in the creation of ancient African civilisations.
We need to remember that for most of our time in our African existence on this earth, we fed ourselves. We clothed and housed ourselves. We educated ourselves. We governed ourselves. We built our own civilisations. If we created a better world before, we can do so again. We are the only people who can make universal promises and keep them, because we have no designs on the land and resources of others.
The PAC supports this Vote. [Applause.]
Nkskz N D MBOMBO: Mhlali-ngaphambili, mandibulise kuwo onke amaqabane, ngakumbi kuMbovu, uMphathiswa wezobuGcisa, iNkcubeko neNzululwazi netekholoji, kwinkosikazi yasemaBheleni uBrigitte Mabandla, nakusihlalo uNtate Serote. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[Ms N D MBOMBO: Chairperson, I would like to greet all the comrades, particularly Mbovu, the hon Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, the woman who is married to the Bhele clan, the hon Mrs Brigitte Mabandla, and the hon Dr Serote.]
I am happy today because we have young politicians, young scientists and young technologists up there, who in ten years’ time will be on this podium and saying something that I am going to say now.
Today I am talking about community art centres. The overall aim of the Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology on the countrywide availability of community art centres for our rural communities especially, is based around the concept that the advancement of African culture is accomplished by creating a positive climate, thus contributing to the quality of life, through involvement in the social and economic upliftment of all African communities, that is the total transformation of our communities. The whole concept is in line with the ideals of the African Renaissance. The community art centres are meant to cultivate and nurture skills and creativity of the disadvantaged communities, so that quality African products in arts and culture will emerge, as well as to foster active consciousness of African languages, science and technology. Thus emphasis should be placed on the optimum use of these centres by the communities.
That will instill and inspire community ownership thereof, a situation likely to avert their being vandalised. In certain towns one sees a situation in which youth take turns in volunteering to guard their own community centres.
The portfolio committee adopted a business plan through which the community art centres will be fully utilised to restore the vibrancy of all art forms in order to demonstrate the marriage between languages and Indigenous Knowledge Systems - IKS - in bringing arts and culture and science and technology together.
The plan also emphasises the creation of partnerships between interested parties and stakeholders. Since one of their aims is the full utilisation of these centres by our youth, we are eagerly looking towards and waiting for institutions such as Telkom and Eskom to assist considerably in helping our youth become computer literate in these centres and training them in technology and related activities.
In the spirit of building and creating partnerships with stakeholders, as articulated in the business plan, the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology has been requested, as a pilot project, to identify a handful of community art centres, which it will assist with funding and the necessary expertise and skills, in an endeavour to create models out of them and also for hands-on experience on perceived problems in the running and control of these centres.
We are grateful that the vision of these centres of eventually becoming schools of excellence is not far-fetched, if one looks at the progress and achievements of other centres, such as the Ntuzuma Arts Centre, which are working within the spirit of the vision as outlined in the business plan. The centres are also places of entertainment, as games and the teaching of our culture and art are simultaneously taking place. With the establishment of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Unit in the department, we are eagerly looking forward to visible IKS activities in the centres, including story telling to our youth on traditional knowledge and culture. As our portfolio committee’s other responsibility is to improve the lot of those whose cultures, artistry, creativity and scientific and technological innovations were marginalised in the past ÿ.ÿ.ÿ. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, the hon Mr Aucamp who normally speaks for only one minute, has an unbelievable four minutes … [Interjections] … and he has actually removed his cardigan in order to make sure that he is equal to the task.
Mr C AUCAMP: Chairperson, people will leave this chamber if they know it is going to be four minutes! [Laughter.]
‘n Debat oor kuns en kultuur is nie baie gewild nie, dít sien ons vanoggend. Geen party gaan daarmee ‘n verkiesing wen of verloor nie. Wie raak nou opgewonde oor kuns, kultuur en wetenskap as jou lewe en eiendom deur misdaad bedreig word, as die rand se waarde tuimel, as Minister Trevor Manuel die skroewe aandraai en as die massas daagliks moet veg vir blote oorlewing?
Ons in Suid-Afrika moet daarteen waak dat die stryd om oorlewing nie so oorheersend word nie dat ons die estetiese van die lewe verwaarloos, of dat die gelykmakende effek van globalisering ons laat verdof tot vaal, identiteitlose gemeenskappe nie. Ons moet sorg dat ons vir ons kinders meer nalaat as McDonald-agentskappe en Visa-banktellermasjiene. Ons mag nie ``plastic’’ word nie. Ons moet daarvoor sorg dat wanneer die toeris deur die strate van Pretoria of Kaapstad stap, dit anders moet lyk en klink as in New York of in Parys, dit moet ‘n ander ervaring wees.
Deur die eeue heen word die gehalte van ‘n beskawing gemeet aan sy nalatenskap ten opsigte van kuns en kultuur, die estetika van sy bouwerke, sy beeldhou en sy literatuur. Ons mag nie toelaat dat kuns en kultuur die Aspoestertjie en die stiefkind word en dat dié verhewe deel van ons menswees in Suid-Afrika deur die ``rat race’’ van elke dag se bestaan oorheers en gemarginaliseer word nie. Daarom steun die AEB die befondsing van kuns en kultuur in ons land.
Suid-Afrika is uniek vanweë die rykdom en verskeidenheid van sy kulture. Deur ons kultuurverskeidenheid bied ons ‘n wêreld binne een land. In watter ander land ter wêreld kan jy van boeremusiek tot kwaito luister, van operasang tot die klank van simfonie-orkeste, die trom en die marimba van Afrika? Ons moet dié verskeidenheid voed en koester. Ons moet leer om mekaar se kulture oor en weer te waardeer en respekteer. Die een mag nooit vir die ander ‘n bedreiging wees nie, daarvoor is die vlaktes van Suid- Afrika te oop en sy horisonne te wyd. Ons mag nie toelaat dat kulturele imperialisme die unieke eiesoortigheid van ons verskillende kultuurgemeenskappe verdring tot ‘n vaal en eentonige eendersheid nie.
Die AEB pleit dat ons dié verskeidenheid in groter mate verdiskonteer in die wyse waarop die staat met kuns en kultuur omgaan. Elke kultuurgemeenskap moet oor eie strukture vir kuns en kultuur beskik wat sonder inmenging deur die sentrale regering bedryf kan word. Staatsgeld moet op billike wyse aan die onderskeie kulture en strukture beskikbaar gestel word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[A debate on arts and culture is not a very popular one, this we can see this morning. No party can win or lose an election with arts and culture. Who becomes excited about arts, culture and science when one’s life and property are threatened by crime, when the value of the rand is tumbling, when Minister Trevor Manuel is putting the screws on and when the masses have to fight on a daily basis for mere survival?
We in South Africa should guard against the struggle for survival becoming so overwhelming that we neglect the aesthetics of life, or that the equalising effect of globalisation causes us to fade into pale, identityless communities. We should ensure that we leave behind more than McDonald agencies and Visa bank teller machines for our children. We must not become plastic. We have to ensure that when a tourist walks through the streets of Pretoria or Cape Town, they look and sound different to those in New York or Paris; it should be a different experience.
Through the ages the quality of a civilisation has been measured by its heritage with regard to arts and culture, the aesthetics of its buildings, its sculpture and its literature. We must not allow arts and culture to become the Cinderella and the stepchild and allow this lofty part of our humanity in South Africa to become dominated and marginalised by the rat race of everyday existence. Therefore, the AEB supports the financing of arts and culture in our country.
South Africa is unique because of the wealth and diversity of its cultures. Through our cultural diversity we present a world in one country. In which other country in the world can one listen to everything from boeremusiek to kwaito, from opera to the sound of symphony orchestras, the drum and the marimba of Africa? We must nurture and cherish this diversity. We must learn to appreciate and respect one another’s cultures. The one must never be a threat to the other, since the plains of South Africa are too open and its horizons too wide for this to happen. We must not allow cultural imperialism to suppress the unique distinctiveness of our different cultural communities in a pale and monotonous uniformity.
The AEB’s plea is that we should take this diversity into account to a greater extent in the manner in which the state deals with arts and culture. Every cultural community should possess its own structures for arts and culture which can be managed without interference from the central Government. State funds must be made available in a fair manner to the different cultures and structures.]
The building blocks for real nation-building are the recognition and advancement of the different cultures in South Africa. One overall state department of arts and culture is not the answer. I want to plead for the devolution of powers of Government on issues intimately interwoven with the culture of the community itself.
The mission of the Department of Arts and Culture should be to decentralise as much as possible, not only geographically, but also culturally. In this regard, the long overdue Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, as set out in section 185 of the Constitution, can play an important role. The establishment of different cultural councils envisaged in the draft Bill is of the utmost importance in the promotion of the heritage of our diversity.
If the section 185 commission were to legally and financially empower cultural communities which belong to civil society to take control of their own affairs, that would be a positive step in the right direction.
As gekyk word na die begroting van die departement, moet heelwat meer geld gedesentraliseer word. Daar moet nie bloot lippediens aan die erkenning van die multidimensionele samelewing bewys word nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[When one looks at the budget of this department, one sees that much more money must be decentralised. Mere lip service should not be paid to the acknowledgement of this multidimensional society.]
The Department of Arts and Culture, in co-ordination with the section 185 commission, is in a position to lead South Africa towards the full realisation of the slogan that is on our coat of arms, which says: ``Unity in diversity’’. We dare not fail in this challenge. [Applause.]
Ngaka M W SEROTE: Modulasetilo, ke ne ke rata gore ke bue jaaka ke buile maabane. Ke simolola ka go re go itumedisa thata fa go na le kutlwano ya dipuisano magareng ga Tona, Motlatsa Tona le boeteledipele jwa lekala la dingwao mo Palamenteng. Dipuisano tse, ke tsa gore re dira jang gore re tswelele pele. Ke ne ke rata gore ke ikamanye gape le puo e, ke re go a itumedisa fa go ntse jalo.
Ke rata go itsise Tona le Motlatsa Tona gore maabane ke letse ke sa robala, ke ne ke tlhobaela. Ke ne ke tlhobaediwa ke go ipotsa gore-jaaka mo ngwageng o o fetileng, mo ke neng ka lekola ditlhwatlhwa tse re buang ka tsona tse - gompieno mo ntlheng tse tlhano tse di fa tlase tse, ke tlile go reng. Jaanong ga ke itse gore ke bue jang, gonne go na le bana ba sekolo fa. Le gale ke tla bua, gore le bone ba itse gore Tona le Motlatsa Tona ba tsile go fiwa maduo mo Palamenteng. Nna ka re go a itumedisa. E rile fa ke setse ke otsela, ke robala, ka re nyaa, tswelelopele e teng mo lefapheng le la rona. Ka re nka lekelela gore mo godimo ga tse tlhano, ke fe tse nne. [Legofi.]
Re utlwile ba le bantsi ba ba buileng fa pele ga me. Ba buile ka ditlhwatlhwa, le gore di dirisiwa jang, go tsweletswe pele jang, jalojalo. Se ke neng ke rata go se gatelela ke gore tiro ya lekala le la tsa ngwao, maleme, saense le thekenoloji ke e nngwe e e gatelelang motlhala o ke neng ke bua ka ona maabane wa motlotlegi Tautona, Rre Thabo Mbeki, fa a bua ka tsa tsosoloso ya Aforika e bile a bua ka Millennium Africa Recovery Programme.
Fa ke lebile tsotlhe tse re di dirang ka fa lefapheng la tsa ngwao, bogolosegolo gape le tsa saense le thekenoloji, nna ke bona re tshegeditse maikaelelo a a go aga Aforika Borwa, gore e kgone go thusa Aforika mo tsosologong. Ke ka moo ke reng fa ke lebeletse, ke bona e le tshwanelo gore re itumele gompieno mme re begelele bana ba ba leng teng fa gore tsotlhe tse re di dirang re di dira go aga, gore bona fa ba fitlha, ba agelele, ba matlafatse mme ba ntlafatse. [Legofi.]
Dilo di tlhano tse ke batlang go di neela Tona go buisana ka tsona. Tsela e re e tsamaileng e telele. Dilo tse di dirilweng di dintsi. Ke ne ke ithaya ke re nako ya imbizo e fitlhile ya gore ba lekala la Tona le mothusi wa gagwe le ba tlhogo ya tsa ngwao, go akaretsa rona re le mo Palamenteng le morafe ka kwa ntle, re boe re kgatlhane gape mme re re tsela ke e re e tsamaile, dilo ke tse tse re di dirile. A re a kgona na?
Sa bobedi, go a itumedisa gore Palamente e be e nagana ka gore re le lekala la Palamente jaana mo dikgannyeng tsa tlhwatlhwa, rona re amana jang le yona mo tshimologong ya teng, mme e seng kwa bofelelong. Ke ne ke ithaya ke re gape selo se ke se sengwe se re tshwanetseng go se nneela fa fatshe re bue ka sona.
Sa boraro, ke ithaya ke re tsela e re neng re e tsere ya go tsosolosa setso, re e tsamile thata e bile go simolola go bonala dilo tse re di dirang, ka gonne mo nakong e e sa fediseng pelo re tlaabo re ntse mo Palamenteng re buisana ka molao wa gore re di sireletsa jang, re di tsweletsa pele jang, jalojalo.
Ke ne ke re gape fa re le fa, re nne re re nagana gore nako e fitlhile ya gore diporojeke tse re ka di dirang ke dife. Re le maloko a Palamente, re ne re re re beye diporojeke tse pedi mo pele ga Tona, gore a sekaseke gore a di siame.
Ya ntlha ke gore a go a kgonega gore re simolole ka go buisana le morafe ka go ba agela kwa dibaga di ka dirwang, ka go sena lefelo leo mo Aforika Borwa. A go a kgonega gore re akanye ka mafelobodirelo a dibaga?
Ya bobedi, malobanyana mo ba melemo ba ne ba re isitse kwa kgotlatshekelong. Re boile kwa teng re itumetse ka gore re ba fentse. Go ya kgotlatshekelong go, e ne e le go ya go buisana ka melemo e e leng teng le e e seng teng mo mafatsheng a rona. Melemo e re sa buisaneng ka yona ke ya dingaka tsa setso. Nna ke ithaya ke re melemo e e leng teng ya sekgoa bontsi ba yona bo tswa mo go ya setso. A ga go kgonege gompieno gore Puso e simolole sekolo sa dingaka tse tsa setso?
Ke ne ka buisana le ba bangwe le Tona, ka re go na le lefelo le go tweng ke Vlakplaas. Bontsi ba rona re le batho ba bantsho fa re nagana ka Vlakplaas, re a fufula ka gonne dilo tse di neng di dirwa koo, ga se tsa botho. Nna ke ithaya ke re fa re ka ya go aga sekolo se kwa Vlakplaas, re tla be re tlhatswa leswe leo, bogolosegolo re netefatsa gore re lebelele bongaka bo ba setso gore re ka fetela pele jang. Ke porojeke e ke ratang re ka buisana le Tona ka yona.
Go itumedisa thata gore molao o o bopileng Foundation for Education, Science and Technology o bo o fetile ka mokgwa o re utlwileng ka teng.
Ke dumela gore Tona o tla gopola gore go ne go na le rre mongwe a bidiwa Ngaka Verwoerd, yo e rileng ka 1955 a re fa motho o ka ruta bathobantsho tsa saense le thekenoloji, o tla bo o dira gore ba nagane gore ke makgowa. Jaanong FEST e, fa ke e lebile, e fetola tlhaloganyo eo, gonne e bua ka go itsise morafe tsa saense le thekenoloji. E bua ka gore morafe o ka dirisana jang saense le thekenoloji. E ba ruta gape gore saense le thekenoloji ke kitso e e agang, e e dirang ditiro e bile e tsweletsa pele.
Ke bona gore ke babatse ntlha e, ka gonne e agelela mo godimo ga se re se buileng gore 1998 ke Ngwaga wa Saense le Thekenoloji. Re fetetse pele, mme jaanong re lebeletse bophara ba morafe, re sa bue ka ngwaga o le mongwe, mme re lebeletse dingwaga tse dintsi tse di tlang, ka gonne re itse gore ga re itirele fela re le maAforika Borwa, mme re lebeletse Aforika ka bophara. Re lebeletse gape gore re tla dira jang gore re thuse morafe wa setho mo lefatsheng.
Go feleletsa, re itumela thata ka tswelelopele ya tsa maleme. Re setse re utlwile gore re tswelela pele ka go tsenya lekala la tsa maleme mo lekaleng le legolo le la maleme. Fa re buisana le bomme Marivate, go a bonala gore go na le tema e ntsi e e tswelelang pele mo nageng ya rona. Ke bua jaana ke re re seke ra fela pelo, ka gonne re na le dingwaga di le supa fela re dira jaana. Tiro e e setseng e dirilwe e ntsi, mme maungo a yona a tla tloga a bonala.
Ke itumeletse gore Tona o tlisitse ba lekala la gagwe botlhe, e leng ba lekala la dingwao, maleme, saense le thekenoloji. Re ne re ka itumela thata gompieno fa Ntlo e, e ka bo e tletse bomme le borre ba Palamente, gonne ke a tshepa gore ba a itse gore lekala le ke ona motheo wa morafe le setso. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana speech follows.)
[Dr M W SEROTE: Chairperson, I would like to speak like I did yesterday. I shall start off by saying that it is very good when there is an understanding between the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the leadership of the arts and culture portfolio committee in Parliament. These talks are about what we should do in order to go forward. I would like to associate myself again with this statement, by saying that it is good when things are like this.
I would like to inform the Minister and the Deputy Minister that I did not sleep last night, but lay awake. I was wakeful because I was asking myself about the past year. I scrutinised the amounts that we are talking about today, and the five aspects below, and I was wondering what I was going to say. Now I do not know how to say it, because the school children are here. Anyway, I will talk. They should also know that even the Minister and the Deputy Minister are allocated marks in Parliament. At the time when I was dropping off to sleep, when I was about to fall sleep, I said, no, there is progress in our department. I said that, out of five, I allocate four. [Applause.]
We have heard many speakers who spoke before me. They talked about amounts, how they are used, and how we are proceeding, etc. What I would like to stress is that the duty of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology is one of those that stresses the hon Mr Thabo Mbeki’s vision that I was talking of yesterday, when he talks of the African re-awakening as well as the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme.
When I look at all that we are doing in this department, especially in the field of science and technology, I realise that we have upheld the aims of building South Africa so that it would help Africa in its re-awakening. It is for that reason that, in my opinion, it is proper that we should be happy today and tell our children who are here about all that we are doing to build so that when they reach this stage, they should add on to and strengthen it. [Applause.]
There are five aspects that I would like to present to the Minister for discussion. The road that we have travelled is a long one. Many things have happened. I thought that the time for a meeting had arrived, so that the Minister’s department, his assistant and the head of the arts and culture committee, including us as members of Parliament, and the community at large, should meet again and say that we have walked the walk, and that these are the things that we have done. Do we have the ability?
Secondly, it is pleasing for Parliament to think that as a committee, in respect of financial matters, how we are associated with it at its beginning, and not at the end. Again, I thought that this is one thing that we should sit down and talk about.
Thirdly, I think that the route that we took in re-awakening tradition has started to bear testimony to what we are doing, because soon we will be sitting in Parliament discussing a Bill on how to protect and take them forward, etc.
I was saying that when we are here, we should think that the time has arrived to think about the projects that we can pursue. As members of Parliament, we are hereby putting these two projects before the Minister for him to assess whether they are acceptable.
The first one is to find out whether is it possible to start discussions with the community about building places where beads could be made, as such a place does not exist in South Africa. Is it possible to think of a beadwork firm?
Secondly, recently the pharmaceutical companies took us to court. We came back smiling because we defeated them. We went to court to talk about the existing medication and medicines that are unavailable in our country. These are the medicines of the traditional healers. I think that most of the existing Western medicines are derived from the traditional ones. Is it not possible today for the Government to start building a school for traditional healers? I was talking to the Minister and others, saying that there is a place called Vlakplaas. When most of us as black people here think of Vlakplaas, we get angry because of the inhuman things that were done there. I think that if we were to build such a school at Vlakplaas, we would be cleansing it, especially when we will be ensuring that training of traditional healers will be moved forward. This is a project that I would like us to discuss with the Minister.
We are extremely proud that the legislation which established the Foundation for Education, Science and Technology has been passed, as we expected it would be.
I believe that the Minister will remember that there was a man known as Dr Verwoerd, who said in 1955 that if one were to teach science and technology to the black people, one would make them think that they were whites. When I look as this FEST, it changes that perception because it talks of informing the community about science and technology. It talks about how a community can make use of science and technology. It again teaches them that science and technology is knowledge that builds, that does the work and is progressing. I should emphasise this point, because it adds to what we said, namely that 1998 was the year of science and technology. We have moved forward and now we are looking at the community at large and not talking of one year but many years to come, because we know that we are not doing this only for ourselves as South Africans, but for Africa as a whole. We are also looking at how to help the people in the world.
In conclusion, we are very glad about the development of the languages. We have already heard that we are continuing with the inclusion of a languages section in the national body. When we had discussions with Mrs Marivate and her colleagues, there was evidence that there was a lot of progress in our country. I am saying that we should not be impatient, because we have only been doing this for seven years. There is a lot of work that has been done and it will soon bear fruit.
I am glad that the Minister has brought all the members from his department, ie the sections on culture, languages, science and technology. We would be extremely happy today if this House were full of men and women of this Parliament, because I presume that they know that this department is the foundation of the community and tradition. [Applause.]]
Mr S E OPPERMAN: Mr Chairperson, I agree with the mission statement of the department that we need to realise the full potential of arts and culture for our social and economic development and to nurture creativity and innovation in order to promote the diverse, but exciting, heritage of our nation.
In this regard I want to congratulate the hon the Minister and our High Commissioner to London, the honourable Cheryl Carolus, and the members of her team, such as Lorna de Smidt, for the excellent work they are doing, especially now during the ``Celebrate South Africa’’ campaign, although we do not support everything we saw.
It is only when identity, values, ethics, customs, beliefs, knowledge, ideas and concepts which reside in our hearts are expressed in our daily walk. It is only when we live it, and live it with a passion, that we can add value to the mission statement.
If we can instill this intangible culture in people, then, and only then, will they also take care of our scenic parks, wildlife, sites of historic importance, national monuments, works of art, museum collections, etc, and unfortunate incidents like the stealing of a bronze statue in Pretoria, which commemorated the drowning of 607 black soldiers in the English Channel in 1917, will no longer occur.
So we need a coherent and practical vision without which we will not have the ability and the willingness to apply the required responsibility in creating real capacity to recruit and develop human resources of quality.
We need to recognise and have mutual respect for our cultural diversity. With this attitude, we will enhance political stability and create many social and economic opportunities.
Wêreldwyd is kultuurgegronde bedrywe soos musiek en sang, video en televisie, drama en kunsuitstallings van die grootste bydraers tot ekonomiese groei. Amerika het dit reeds in die jare twintig besef en het byvoorbeeld hul rolprentbedryf tot ‘n formidabele bedryf ontwikkel. Ons het geen probleem dat byna 60% van die begroting aan wetenskap en tegnologie toegewys is nie, dit is ‘n noodsaaklikheid. Die gedeelte van die koek vir die kunste moet egter vergroot word. Die kunste is nie alleen arbeidsintensief nie, maar kan ook werkskepping op baie groot skaal bevorder. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Around the world culturally based activities like music and singing, video and television, drama and art exhibitions are among the biggest contributors to economic growth. America already realised this in the 1920s and they have developed their film industry into a formidable industry, for example.
We have no problem with the fact that nearly 60% of the budget has been allocated to science and technology; this is essential. However, the portion of the cake for the arts must be enlarged. The arts are not only labour-intensive, but can also promote job creation on a very large scale.]
It is no use making speeches year after year about poverty alleviation if we do not create the environment in which to make our dreams and policies real.
If arts and culture is such an important creator of wealth in the world economies, why are we removing arts-related subjects from our educational curricula, instead of emphasising the importance of literature, art and music in our schools? We need to discuss this with the Minister of Education. If arts and culture were so important, why do we remove and hide works of art here in our Parliament?
There must surely be a place somewhere for those artworks if we believe in the promotion of our diversity. We cannot run away from our past, however painful it may be. It is only when we explore the past and apply its lessons as honestly and as objectively as possible that we can make sense of the present and exert a possible influence on our future.
If arts and culture is one of the keys to the alleviation of poverty in our country, why are we not using the opportunities through the state- controlled media to educate, inform, inspire and transform the cultural landscape of South Africa?
As die bevordering van kuns en kultuur ons erns is, moet ons aandag gee aan byvoorbeeld ons vertaaldienste in die Parlement, in ons komitee en ook in die openbare galery. Die behoefte daaraan is vanoggend weer baie duidelik geïllustreer. As deel van ons hoop lê in die bevordering van kuns en kultuur, moet die vestiging van standhoudende toneelgeselskappe onmiddellik aandag kry en daar moet afgesien word van die georkestreerde pogings teen opera, ballet en simfonie-orkeste. Dan moet die opgradering van biblioteke weer hoog op die prioriteitslys geplaas word en moet logistieke, morele en finansiële steun verleen word aan al ons museums, ook ons oorlogmuseums binne en buite ons land. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[If we are serious about promoting arts and culture, we must, for example, give attention to our translation services in Parliament, in our committees and also in the public gallery. The need for this was once again very clearly illustrated this morning. If part of our hope lies in the promotion of arts and culture, the establishment of lasting theatre companies must receive immediate attention and the orchestrated onslaught against opera, ballet and symphony orchestras must cease. In addition the upgrading of libraries must once again be placed high on the priority list and logistical, moral and financial support must be given to all our museums, including our war museums within and outside our country.]
If we are really serious about the promotion of arts and culture, we must stop the political interference in the councils and in the boards. We cannot pretend that all is well in the department, that we have all the answers, that there is no corruption, that the performing arts are not struggling and that everyone is happy in the arts and cultural community.
The hon the Minister needs to deal with these problems openly, without fear or favour. I know that unless we do these things and openly deal with the problems confronting us, we will miss out on all the opportunities before us, opportunities that we can grab to benefit all our people. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, the hon Mr S L Dithebe, who is now coming to the podium, is quite an authority on all the best and biggest bookshops in London.
Mong S L DITHEBE: Modulasetulo le baeti ba bohlokwa ba teng kalaneng kajeno, ke tla bua ka puo ya Sesotho, le hoja ke tseba hore ha le na monyetla wa ho utlwa puo ena eo ke e buang, hobane le sena bafetoledi ba tlosang puong eo ke e buang, ho ya puong ya Senyesemane, kapa yona eo le ka e utlwisisang. Empa bohlokwa ba ho kgetha ha ka ho bua ka puo ena, ke hore hona ke sesupo sa hore jwalo ka ha re le maleme a 11, re ikotla difuba ka maleme ano, mme botle ba dipuo tsa rona re lokela hore re be motlotlo ka bona.
Ntate Cassim, ha a ne a bua mona, o buile ka hore 4% ya GDP ya moruo mane United Kingdom, e tswa ho sena seo re se bitsang hore ke ``creative arts’’, mme hona ho ntlisa ntlheng ya bohlokwa, e leng ya karolo ena ya ditshwantsho, e leng difilimi. E leng ho bolelang hore, jwalo ka ha re le Afrika Borwa, Lefapha lena la tsa Mahlale, Bonono le Tegnoloji, re lokela hore re etse bonnete ba hore ho na le batho ba bangata ba nang le thahasello ho ya boha ditshwantsho tsa Afrika Borwa.
Re kwetlisa batho ba bangata ba ngolang di-script, ekasita le dikahare, e leng di-content, tsa ditshwantsho tseo re di etsang, e eba tseo e leng hore di ikgethile ka ho ba tse bo-Afrika Borwa. Hona ke hobane re keke ra kgona hore re etsise ditshwene, e re ha Hollywood e etsa sena, ebe le rona re se re etsa seo, ebe re hopola hore Lefapheng lena la creative arts, re tla kgona hore re be le kabelo, mme re be re be le kabelo muruong.
Selemo le selemo re lefa ma-Amerika R1 billion bakeng sa ho boha di-soapy tse tshwanang le bo-The Bold and the Beautiful le bo-Days of our Lives. Potso ke hore, na re lokela hore re nne re etse jwalo, empa re ena le bokgoni, ebile re ena le talente ya ma-Afrika Borwa a ka hlahisang ditshwantsho tsa Afrika Borwa? Ha ke batle hore batho ba hloke ho utlwisisa sena seo ke se buang. Ha ke bolele hore re tla phela jwalo ka setjhaba se itshehlileng thajana, seo e leng hore ha se na kamano le lefatshe.
Re a tseba hore ditshwantsho tsa mane Brithani, ekasitana le tsa mane Amerika, di tla dula di ntse di bohwa ke maAfrika Borwa, empa le rona re lokela hore re phehisane le bona, hore boemo bona boo re leng ho bona, dinaheng tse hlahisang ditshwantsho lefatshe ka bophara, e leng boemo bo ka hodimonyana ho 40, re tlohe ho bona, re ye mane dinaheng tsa pele tse 10 tse hlahisang ditshwantsho lefatsheng lena ka bophara. Afrika Borwa e na le nalane e ntle, eo re leng motlotlo ka yona, eo re ikotlang difuba ka yona. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Mr S L DITHEBE: Chairperson and distinguished guests in the gallery, I will address the House in Sesotho, even though I know that you will not be able to understand the language, and you do not have interpreters from Sesotho into English or whichever other language you can understand. However, the importance of choosing to speak in this language is that, as we have 11 languages, we are proud of these languages, and we must be proud of the beauty of our languages.
Mr Cassim, when he spoke here, said that 4% of the GDP of the economy in the United Kingdom comes from what we call the ``creative arts’’, and this brings me to an important issue, the issue of films. This means that we, as South Africans and the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, must make sure that a lot of people take an interest in viewing South African films.
We train a lot of people who write scripts and the content of the films that we make is uniquely South African. That is because we cannot be like monkeys, copying everything that Hollywood does, and still think that we will be able to contribute to the creative arts and the economy.
Every year we pay Americans R1 billion to view soapies like The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of our Lives. The question is, should we be doing that, even though we have the ability and the South African talent to produce South African films? I do not want people to misunderstand me. I do not mean that we should live in isolation, without any contact with the world.
We know that British films, as well as those from America, will always be viewed by South Africans. However, we should also give them some competition, so that we should move from the position we are holding in the worldwide list of film-making countries which is a little below position 40, and go up to the top 10 countries in film-making, world-wide. South Africa has a beautiful heritage, which we are proud of.]
That glorious history of the triumph of the human spirit, a history of hope that transcended the power of the human being, is what guided us in the most difficult years of this country, when we fought apartheid. Film is one of those vehicles that we used even though there was a special directorate dedicated to censorship of films. We used films in order to carry on with our mass mobilisation and the final destruction and obliteration of apartheid.
When the portfolio committee delegation, of which I was part, visited London some two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to speak to somebody at the Tricycle Theatre at Kilburn. This gentleman asked me whether he could have access to video footage of the TRC hearings in which, in particular, our Chief Whip was demonstrating how he was tortured and suffocated by the notorious security cops at that time. He said that they wanted to make a film of those incidents or of those stories that people recounted at the TRC hearings, and that he wanted to take an actual look at the video footage.
The question that arose in my mind and which I asked myself was: If this man in London, who is not a South African, could think of this, why is it that South Africans have not been the first ones on the ball and made a film out of this in order to communicate to the world the pain and suffering we went through?
I am not suggesting that people in other countries should not take interest an, in the history of our country, whichever way they would like to depict that to the rest of the world in order for the world to gain a better understanding. All I am saying is that this takes me back to the issue of developing audience and scriptwriting, as well as the content of the films. It means therefore that we should take advantage of this and have more people who are trained in scriptwriting so that they will have the capacity to depict our own story and our own history to the world in the manner that I have described earlier.
Some of the hon members here have spoken in very scathing terms, criticising the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for having failed to do this, that and so forth. I would like to single out specifically what the hon Gore said about a lack of technology here and there, as if technology is a panacea for everything.
I would like to say that it was not by accident that this department is called the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. It is because we realised, for the reasons our chairperson elucidated, that to study science and technology, in as far as the black people of this country are concerned, is something, we all know, they have been deprived of.
However, I want to say that former President Nelson Mandela spoke at length about the RDP of the soul. And arts and culture can play a very critical role in ensuring that our people develop that spirit of anticorruption and antidishonesty, so that in our private and public lives we can carry ourselves in such a way that there are no incidents of dishonesty or corruption, or any other social ills that are not of any benefit to our country.
I would also like to respond to those members who referred to the question of languages. Unfortunately, each time some of these members speak of the section 185 commission, they speak of it in very parochial terms, so as to defend only a particular language, notably Afrikaans. [Interjections.] Why is it that they do not say that the Constitution says that certain languages, the nine African languages for instance, have had diminished use and status historically, and therefore that we should get involved in the crusade of transformation, transformation as a means to reconciliation? In other words, let us say that while Afrikaans may not be at the level where we want it to be, we nonetheless want to support the nine African languages so that they can be on para with Afrikaans, English and other languages. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Minister, if you could just give me a moment first. Order!
Hon members we have in the gallery today two very eminent persons whom I would like to recognise on behalf of Parliament and the people of South Africa. These are Mr Francesco Frangialli who is the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation and our own Dr Dawie de Villiers who is the Deputy Secretary-General of the same body. [Applause.] If both these honourable members would perhaps stand, so that …
An HON MEMBER: They did.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Did they? Thank you. Members will recall that the honourable Dr Dawie de Villiers was a very important member of this Chamber and also a former Cabinet Minister. At present they are both based in Madrid in Spain. They are on their way to Namibia and they are paying a fleeting visit. On behalf of everyone, I welcome them. Mr Minister, you may now proceed.
The MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson, I, too, welcome the presence of such eminent people as Dawie de Villiers and the other honourable gentleman. However, I am even more thrilled that so many young people are here today when we discuss this Vote which is very critical for their own future.
We have committed ourselves to developing and bringing arts and cultural activities to communities. Therefore we embarked on the programme of community art centres primarily to give young people a chance to have the arts brought to where they live in their communities. We need to provide more funding for this, but above all, we need to provide people who can train them in playing musical instruments, putting up their dramas, plays and so on, and appreciating literature, and therefore developing spiritually and creatively to become future leaders and contributors to our economy.
I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr Serote, for his contribution, and I am happy that he ranked us at more that 80% - I do not think it was only 80%, I am sure it is more than that. I also want to thank the director-general and the top management of the department, and other people who work with us, for a job well done. The challenges are huge, but the commitment, the creativity, the innovation and the determination is there, as has been acknowledged by this House with the contributions that have been made.
I would like to assure the hon Opperman that wherever Dacst detects corruption, it acts very swiftly. There are two prominent examples where disciplinary hearings have been instituted against senior people in the department and appropriate sentences passed. We do not condone any form of corruption.
As far as transforming the arts and culture landscape is concerned, we have to do this. This does not mean the centralising of arts and culture administration, but it simply means that we have detected the shortcomings in the system and the way our institutions work, and are rectifying this for the good of the people of South Africa.
As far as Vlakplaas is concerned, its demons must be exorcised. Possibly, the Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the healer school there could be a very useful ways of doing that. But we must also remember that the horrors of the past must be exhibited. For instance, Dachau in Germany and other concentration camps are there today so as to teach the future generations the tragedy and horror which is created when political power goes very wrong. We will consider the hon member’s proposal, and we will take appropriate steps to engage with the portfolio committee on how Vlakplaas is going to be dealt with.
Similarly with the beads factory, we have commissioned a study by the CSIR. There is a real prospect that we are going to have a South African beads factory which will help the crafts industry tremendously. [Applause.]
We support the idea of the imbizo. We have declared this year the Year of the Crafter. Sometime in October we want to have a huge exhibition and a national conference on crafts, because, as has been appropriately identified by many members here, it is a source of easy jobs and accessible and affordable incomes for rural communities, and is also a very important tool in urban regeneration. We shall also call other imbizos in the course of this year, something which we will discuss with the portfolio committee.
The idea of spirituality having a central position in our programme, I think, is a very good one. This issue is very important when we refer to the values that we need to generate and encourage in our society. That point was also taken very well.
Prof Mohamed mentioned something about irregularities in the nuclear regulator sector. We will deal with this with the Minister of Minerals and Energy, but I can assure hon members that I do not think that the regulatory framework poses any threat to the South African society. Nevertheless, we will take this issue up because we need absolute certainty. The Safari Nuclear Reactor is not a national facility as yet. However, it is being used for educational purposes, research development and methodology development for students. It has therefore earned its keep, and it has been very successful in selling Molybdenum-99 and doped silicon. This has earned just as much revenue as Government gives to them.
We have spent about R3 million of the Innovation Fund money on technology support for crime prevention. We have investigated improving a gun pistol or any other automatic weapon in such a way that it is regulated through a chip. It can identify a biometric identification so that only the owner of the gun can fire it through these biometric tests. In other words, one needs to put one’s thumb print on a special receptor which will be electronically conveyed to the control mechanism before one can fire the gun. We think that if we can develop this type of technology, which will be a first in the world - and the work on it is continuing - we could combat a lot of crime in this country. [Applause.]
We look forward to a dedicated discussion with the portfolio committee regarding the issues raised by Mr Cassim because there are lots of synergies that we will gain out of joint management of the Arts, Culture, Science and Technology expenditures. There should be levels of accountability concerning these expenditures, not only in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, but also in terms of accountability to the people of this country. The portfolio committee will become a very important partner in monitoring that expenditure and in exacting that accountability.
I would like to mention the Human Sciences Research Council, which I feel we did not mention sufficiently. There has been a new leadership at this council. They are very involved in HIV/Aids research, and for this reason they have appointed Prof Olive Shisana, the former Director-General of the Department of Health, who went on to become Professor of Public Health at Medunsa. She is now with the Human Sciences Research Council, heading the HIV/Aids research team. We realise that it is not just about the immune system only. It is not only about vaccines and drugs, but also about human behaviour. If we can understand, through effective study and research, the human determinants of behaviour and how those determinants can be modified through messages and education, we would have done a great deal to combat this scourge.
As I have said, I would also like to point out the fact that we are not yet ready with the Language Policy and Plan for South Africa. We took the document to Cabinet and it was quite clear that to establish language units in every department would involve a mechanism whereby each and every person who writes to a department is answered in his or her own language. This is a critical part of our democratic development. We need these language units in every department, but the costing of setting them up was clearly not done properly. Therefore the national Treasury is busy with this process. We shall come back to Parliament, probably around September, once Cabinet has adopted our proposals and the costing by the national Treasury has been done to finalise the language plan.
It is not as if it is in the doldrums, it is an active process that is going on. Obviously it is protracted because of the very nature of language in a multilingual society such as ours. We need all types of provisions so that it is equitable, fair, and complies with the mandates given in the Constitution. On the whole, I think this has been a very good debate. I am very happy that there has been so much interest. Normally, in any budget debate there is a lot of heckling, but in this one there was no heckling. This is a sign that we are all paying attention to this very serious issue of the application of science and technology to improve our competitiveness in the world and export revenues, and therefore should have enough money to provide social and health services, grow our economy and create new jobs. But, more importantly, we need to provide for community needs in the area of arts, culture, science and technology.
I do hope that the funds from the lottery will soon be coming our way. With those funds we can then reach out and create new centres such as halls for the arts, schools for drama and many other activities in the communities. This will give expression to the huge talent and creative power that we have which comes out of the very diverse nature of our languages and cultures.
South Africa has received people from all over the globe. It is a home for everyone because, after all, it is the origin of humankind. I would like to thank hon members for their support. [Applause.] Debate concluded.
AFRICAN UNITY
(Subject for Discussion)
Mr M RAMGOBIN: Chairperson, colleagues and our children, who are the future, the ANC is on record on the issue of transformation, that our efforts to change people’s material conditions cannot take place in a vacuum. We go on to say that this should happen in terms of spiritual sustenance in the form of a defining and self-assertive culture of an emerging democratic nation.
We are going to say that it is, it is in this context that the call for an RDP of the soul should be seen, a cultural revolution without which all the other efforts will lose meaning and dissipate. This is in respect of our country. Given that we are observing African Unity Day, that Africa continues to be in urgent need of development and reconstruction, the ANC’s sensitivity on the RDP of the soul is also applicable with humility to our continent as a whole.
It is in the spirit of this sentiment that President Thabo Mbeki pronounced on 9 February here, in pursuance of the ANC’s 8 January statement:
Together, we must turn into reality a new internationalism that does not permit of the co-existence, within human society, of opulence and grinding poverty, of thriving modernity and dehumanising underdevelopment.
… We march into the new era of the African Century as Africans who have made the determination that this century will be a hundred years in which we cease to be victims of our circumstances but become victors.
The President went on to say:
As we strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity with our fellow Africans, we have an obligation to help ensure, in our country and everywhere else on our continent, that no African child should ever again walk in fear of guns …
I say, no African child should ever again walk in fear of guns.
… tyrants and abuse; that no African child should ever again experience hunger, avoidable disease and ignorance; that no African child should ever again feel ashamed to be an African.
In observing African Unity Day, what has to be done and how do we make this century Africa’s century? For the revitalisation of our continent, we need the rest of the world as our partners, not as donors. In deference to this position, Millennium Africa Plan was put on the map of the world, the World Economic Forum, held in Davos.
Presidents Mbeki, Obasanjo and Bouteflika were tasked with the responsibility of presenting Map as a development strategy for the continent. In broad terms, what is the programme? At the top of this, among other things, is the question of political governance.
The African Union has to be ceased with the responsibility that governments are legitimate and enjoy the support of the African masses, that they are strong enough to defend the sovereignty of the countries, that they are able to address the developmental interests of these masses, and that they must be able to engage with the global processes that characterise a world economy.
The eradication of poverty, and the protection and conservation of the physical environment are also of critical importance. In pursuing the World Economic Forum’s theme at Davos of bridging the divide, our President was unequivocal about what was envisaged in the Marp plan to give unity to Africa.
According to the outlines, priority areas would cover, among other things, creating peace, security, stability and democratic governance, human resource development; the harnessing and development of Africa’s resources; the development of infrastructure; investment in information and communication technology; and the development of financial management and mechanisms. To advance these goals, participating countries will form a compact committee, committing them to the programme and a forum of leaders will make decisions about subprogrammes and also review progress on their implementation.
But can all this happen in a vacuum, as our President has asked. The answer is, no. We need to address some of the vital components that will help fill this vacuum.
In the current conditions prevailing on the continent, it is unfortunate that belief systems, both organised and not organised, are not likely to be of much help. Until now, and, it is hoped, for not much longer, these systems afforded careers for what is termed, “pendants and priests.” Their objectives, by and large, were limited and did not allow for the masses of men and women to have life in its abundance. All the institutions need to re-examine their roles and reflect on how Africa is where it is today.
We need to be told why ubuntu, a concept which was born in the crucible of Africa’s consciousness, is no more than a platitude. We in Africa need to contest conformity, without which the individual will be or is denied the opportunity to develop his or her own convictions.
Schools or learning have to give rise to a society of thinkers, not conformers to preset ideas, dogmas and rituals which divide us into unreal circles of our own disunity. We have to consciously give rise to a community of cultural ideas and like-mindedness in fundamental aims and ideals. In a universe of self-perpetuation in ever-changing circumstances, the universal spirit of self-criticism and open-mindedness, based on reason cannot take place when more than 80% of Africa’s intellectuals - her brain power - are in Europe and America. We need to bring them back.
In many ways our leadership in the ANC, with the power of our Constitution, is saying that Africa’s women have to be liberated. We say that Africa cannot be free for as long as one half of her keeps the other half in bondage. We are emphasising that there is a direct link between democracy and development.
The formation of the OAU was a declaration of faith which demanded that our continent, governments, leaders, NGOs and others have a responsibility to pursue policies that raise the quality of life and basic services, and that we will collectively stop violent conflicts, proxy wars and mercenaries aimed at the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the constant assault on our environment.
Today, as ever before, it is the duty of Africa’s leaders to institute transparent, legal and regulatory frameworks for all, but especially for the financial market and auditing of private companies, individuals and the public sectors, thus providing a hedge against corruption and all other tendencies which have the power to corrode the souls of nations.
The challenge we are facing is to ensure that progress is characterised by both originality and a sense of adventure. The adventure that I as an African am arguing for in the sphere of education and consciousness, is that education should not only enrich the minds of our people with new knowledge, but also help us to rise to our full spiritual stature. It must excite in us the value of spiritual realities of selflessness, and it must steer our minds from the things which are merely temporal to the things that are eternal.
We as Africans have to pursue ultimate values, as our ancestors did, and should not be seized with mere utilitarian ends. The ability to co-operate with others and to coexist with mutual forbearance is not only the true test of education and consciousness, but also a fundamental and foundational requirement for African unity.
I would like to give more credence to what I have been saying in the words of the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah, when he said, and I quote:
Thus may we take pride in the name of Africa, not out of romanticism, but as an inspiration for the future. It is right and proper that we should know about our past, for just as the future moved from the present, so the present has emerged from the past. Nor need we be ashamed of the past. There was much in it of glory. What our ancestors achieved in the context of the contemporary society gives us confidence that we can create, out of the past, a glorious future, not in terms of war and military pomp, but in terms of social progress and peace, for we repudiate war and violence.
Our battles shall be against the old ideas that keep men trammelled in their own greed, against the crass stupidities that breed hatred, fear, and inhumanity. The heroes of our future will be those who can lead our people out of the stifling fog of disintegration through serfdom, into the valley of light where purpose, endeavour and determination will create a brotherhood.
[Time expired.]
Mr D K MALULEKE: Chairperson, hon members, fellow South Africans, I find it fitting and proper to make Amilcar Cabral my entry point to the subject under discussion today. Cabral asserts that, and I quote:
Hope is true and well founded only when it grows out of the unity between action that transforms the world and critical reflections regarding the meaning of that action.
Hope, action and reflection run through the very fabric of Africa as a golden thread beckoning and challenging Africa. Dreams and visions may and should be there, giving birth to hope. But unless appropriate action and constant reflection are in place, Africa is doomed to see elusive mirages and thus be on a vicious circle journey to nowhere for ever.
Africa Unity Day compels us to look at our distant and recent past, not out
of nostalgia, but out of the critical reflective need to take stock of how
we as Africans have comported ourselves and conducted our affairs on this
journey to nationhood on a Pan-African scale. The turbulent fifties and
sixties could well be described as Africa’s the best of times, the worst
of times'', orthe three steps forward, and two steps backwards’’. To use
a cliché, one may ``profoundly ponder and wonder’’.
In the fifties a star was born, namely Ghana, giving the entire African continent hope of a new dawn of freedom and liberty. Ghana and many African states since then have seen their rise and fall. Some are still reeling punch-drunk or power-drunk to this day.
Amidst all this hope and despair a vehicle came into being in the form of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, hopefully not the acronym ``IOU’’, spelling out Africa’s perpetual indebtedness and with cap in hand in front of the benevolent coffers of the world’s nations that are up and going. The date 25 May 1963 is indeed a symbol of a historical beacon that rekindled the flames of hope since the remarkable Pan-African yearning of the nineteenth century and the earlier diaspora. In the words of Tom Boya, the inception of the OAU can be likened to the discovery of Africa by the Africans, ie Africa’s desire to be understood and to be recognised for her viewpoint and the perspective of her own people.
Thanks to Emperor Haile Selassie for his generosity in providing the temporary secretariat and donating funds to them to meet the first year’s expenditure in order to kick-start the fledgling OAU. It is a great pity for Africa that Kwame Nkrumah, Emperor Haile Selassie and others went down as corrupt despots. The bane of Africa seems stubbornly to be corruption, nepotism, despotism, the arrogance of the abuse of power and tribalism or ethnicity. All these are still the albatross around Africa’s neck.
Coming to the sunny side of the African street, we reflect on the objectives of the OAU. Overall, these intentions and objections were undeniably noble, for most represented unity and freedom in Africa. The other objectives randomly sketched are: to promote the unity and solidarity of African state; to co-ordinate and intensify the operation and efforts to achieve a better life for the people of Africa; to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; to promote international co-operation, having due regard to the Charter of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Marked principles were espoused, such as the sovereign equality of all member states; peaceful settlement of disputes by negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration and unreserved condemnation of political assassinations in all its forms and subversive activities on the part of neighbouring states or any other states. The aforementioned are worthy and noble ideas. How much has the OAU achieved? How far away from the problems that necessitated the formation of the OAU has Africa moved? Doing things together with a common mind and purpose is good and essential for unity and mutual respect, including reciprocal mutual support.
Have we realised any sustainable solution to the problems that afflict us? Sadly, it seems the answer is no. Conflict after conflict obliterates our chances of sustainable solutions, thus pushing the attainment of peace, stability and prosperity out of Africa’s immediate reach.
Ethnic cleansing and genocide plague this continent. The catalogue of morbid conflict is long. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Burundi et al are sad indictments staring us in the eye. Quo vadis, Africa? Whither, South Africa? Waarheen, Zimbabwe? U ya kwihi, Zimbabwe? [Where to Zimbabwe?] [Interjections.] Is it not time that each and every African state got its act together before venturing on to lofty ideas? Charity begins at home, before the big picture or grand visions.
Transformation within each member state’s territory needs to take place in earnest. Getting the skeletons out of the cupboard, inculcating tolerance within each state and relentlessly inculcating a culture of human rights and democracy are what need to be done here and now. Poverty, corruption, dictatorship, the flagrant abuse of power and the violation of fundamental rights are not compatible with any form of African unity, fraternity and renaissance. In the words of Dr Salim Ahmed Salim:
Let this African Unity Day be truly our rededication to the elimination of poverty, misery and bloodshed from the continent.
Upholding the rule of law, the freedom of speech, belief and association, and the unconditional respect for democratic constitutions, can ensure peace, stability and prosperity to Africa. Let deeds speak louder than words for Africa’s sake and glory.]
I hope you understood exactly what I said. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Hon members, the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology was so impressed with the members’ interest in arts and science that he wishes to enrol all of you and to invite you to a luncheon in the Marks Building at 13:00. [Interjections.] I am sure the hon Mr Modisenyane will say ``Vrystaat!’’ to that.
Ms I MUTSILA: Chairperson, allow me to dedicate my speech to all women of the continent of Africa, and all South African women in particular. I pay my tribute to Sophia Pedro of Mozambique who gave birth on top of a tree and many unsung heroines of her calibre who surrendered their lives in order to save their children.
I salute women in Rwanda who stood firm during the genocide to save their men, children and the nation at large during severe testing times. I salute all women in war in stricken countries, because when two elephants fight, the grass is trampled. Women and children are the most affected by those wars.
Africa is one of the richest continents in minerals and many natural resources, and yet it is rated among the poorest of the poor continents. Why? Colonialism, apartheid and many such forces caused Africa to be what it is today. Malnutrition and diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids, bad sanitation, illiteracy and poverty are major setbacks to Africa’s development. This is cause for the women of Africa and the nation at large to stand up and work side by side to bring Africa back to its rightful perspective.
Throughout Africa, poverty levels differ across different race groups and between men and women. Approximately 60% of all black South Africans live in poverty, compared to only 2% of whites. This difference is even larger in rural areas. Out of all black people living in rural areas, 64% have an income too low to enable them to afford the minimum necessary for food, clothing and fuel.
Given this background, it is common cause for Africa to unite and fight for a better life for all. Our President Thabo Mbeki, said, and I quote:
Our Government will have to intensify its work to make its own contribution to the strengthening of the continental movement for reconstruction and development. As a movement, we will also work to strengthen our links with other progressive forces on our continent. Together with them, we will have to work on a programme of action focused of the promotion of the objectives of the African Renaissance.
Concern regarding gender justice and equality has existed at many levels. At the political level, one of the ways in which these concerns about injustice, violence, discrimination and inequality are being addressed, is advocating that women become actively involved in politics and, indeed, at all levels of decision-making.
A Government by men for men cannot claim to be a government for the people, by the people. Women are best placed to articulate their own needs and concerns. Women bring different styles and values to politics. One of the resolutions taken by SADC women was networking and information-sharing in partnership with women MPs, the national gender machinery, NGOs and other stakeholders. Women of Africa shall unite in sensitising both men and women from all walks of life about the fact that gender equality is a matter of development, democracy and human rights.
When loving hands become fists, when violence and sexual crimes committed against children and women pervade our societies, what would one do? What would one do if one were abandoned because of circumstances surrounding them? If one were sexually abused by an alcoholic father, raped by a gang of sex-hungry men and forced to act in porn movies, would one give up on life and think the worst of oneself or would one be a survivor? Women in Africa chose to unite in order to be survivors and speak out. They are fighting these atrocities head-on.
We are all aware that over many years it has been the women who struggled and sacrificed in the face of the most vicious repression. Women have been at the forefront of transforming conditions on this continent. That is why, when men in Burundi could not negotiate peace, our former President, Comrade Mandela, called on women in Burundi to take over the leadership.
In Africa, rural women became the victims of migrant labour, a colonial policy designed to dehumanise and demoralise the African society. The apartheid system for migrant labour meant strict control of black people’s movement and of where they may live and work. Black South Africans were broken into two parts: one labour unit separated from the other, which was a man with a family and with hopes and aspirations. Men and women could not perform their godly given roles as husbands and wives, as mothers and fathers and as members of the community.
In 1969, the hon Froneman, an NP MP, said, and I quote:
African labour forces must not be burdened with superfluous appendages such as wives, children and dependants who could not provide service.
In 1973, the congress of the Afrikaanse Studentebond resolved that all Bantu women and children in white areas should be shipped back to the homelands, and that only men should be left in the white areas, as long as they needed them. They went on to say that, and I quote:
We do not want the Bantu women here simply as a adjunct to the procreative capacity of the Bantu population. A Bantu wife should be allowed into the town only if she were needed in the labour market.
These are the terrible and horrible atrocities which African unity seeks to redress and rectify. The African Renaissance is yet another brick in the ANC reconstruction and rebuilding campaign that will transform the African continent. The ANC-led Government believes that there should be a culture of nondiscrimination and diversity. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Chairperson, I want to congratulate - and I am sure hon members will agree with me - the hon Ms Mutsila, who brought a very interesting dimension, namely women, into the debate. As the seven most important people in my life are all women, that is my mother, my wife, my three daughters and my two granddaughters, I want to promise the hon Ms Mutsila that we will all fight with her for the rights of women. [Applause.] I intend to deliver my speech in Afrikaans.
President Mbeki het in 1996 sy bekende ``ek is ‘n Afrikaan’’ toespraak gehou. Ek het die treffende aanhalings daaruit male sonder tal gelees en elke keer het die Afrika-tema dieper en dieper in my siel ingetrek.
Wat my, as Afrikaner, veral diep tref van die President se woorde, is die gedeelte wat lui ``I am the grandchild who lays fresh flowers on the Boer graves on St Helena and the Bahamas … I am an African’’.
Ek, Koos van der Merwe, is ook ‘n Afrikaan. Ek is ‘n kind van Afrika, sonder Afrika kan ek nie bestaan nie. Daarom wil ek Afrika graag vandag besing en sy lof prys. Ek doen dit in een van die 2 000 tale en dialekte wat in Afrika gepraat word. Ek praat in ‘n taal wat juis in Afrika ontstaan, gevorm en gegiet is. My moedertaal is die enigste Afrikataal wat in sy naam erkenning aan Afrika gee - Afrikaans.
Wanneer ek soggens Parlement toe ry en saans terug, sing ek soms ``ken jy die land waar die Boerevolk woon, land met sy berge terrasse gekroon, land met sy ruimtes so wyd en so vry, ai, dis die land, dis die wêreld vir my’’.
Ja, President Mbeki, ek is ook ‘n Afrikaan, ek swem graag in die vriendelike Zuluwaters van die Indiese Oseaan van KwaZulu-Natal. Ek sit gereeld op Tafelberg en kan nie genoeg staar na die mooiste kaap van alle kape nie. Ek ry deur die eensame leegheid van die Vrystaat en doen my diepste dinkwerk daar.
Ek bring soveel moontlik gehaltetyd deur in die Bosveld om die kampvuur waar mens nooit genoeg kry van die reuk van die hardekoolvuur en die dansende figure in die vlamme nie, waar mens jou verbeel jy sien in die vlamme hoe Mabalel dans met die klingelinge wat haar enkelringe vergesel. Ek probeer nog steeds my Sesotho sa Borwa [Southern Sesotho] verbeter sodat ek lekker met my Sotho-vriende kan kuier, vernaam Gertrude Mzizi, Sotho- prinses.
Ek besing graag my land Afrika, veral by Rietfontein se leidam waar die
reier staan en droom en gepluimde peerboomtakke bloeisels sprinkel in die
stroom''. Ja, dan besing ons almal Afrika,ek sing van die wind wat te
keer gaan, ek sing van die reën wat daar val, ek sing van ons vaal ou
Karooland, van blomme wat bloei by die wal’’.
Langs die snoesige kampvuur, met ‘n ribbetjie op die gloeiende kole, hoor ek in die verte iemand sing. Hy sing so pragtig, hy sing van tevredenheid met Afrika. Hy sing ``op my ou ramkietjie met nog net een snaar, speel ek in die maanskyn deurmekaar. Wat gee ek om as die mense sê ek is mal, as die varings my aanhoor by die wal?’’
Afrika is ons vader. Afrika is ons moeder. Sonder Afrika is ons almal weeskinders. Ons is in Afrika geanker. Ons huise is op die rots Afrika gebou, soos H A Fagan se uitdaging ``kom nag, kom weer en wind, kom oseaan; dit is ‘n rots waarop my huisie staan’’.
Ek is al dikwels gevra wat my dan hier in Afrika hou as soveel van ons mense reeds uit die land padgee. Dan antwoord ek met ‘n Duitse lied, met erkenning aan die digter van die Suidwesterlied, ``en sou iemand ons vra, wat hou ons dan hier vas; dan kan ons maar net sê, ons bemin Afrika’’.
Ons praat vandag oor eenheid in Afrika. Wanneer ‘n mens na dié uitdaging kyk, word jy egter yskoud, want dit lyk na ‘n totaal onbegonne taak. Daar woon meer as 800 miljoen mense in Afrika. Teen die jaar 2020 sal daar sowat 1,7 miljard mense in Afrika wees. Daar is 53 state, met meer as 2 000 tale en dialekte. Sedert 1952 was daar 85 gewelddadige of ongrondwetlike regeringsveranderings, en 90 regeringsleiers is afgesit.
Sedert die jare 60 het 25 presidente en eerste ministers gesterf. Sedert 1970 is meer as 30 oorloë geveg, meestal burgeroorloë. Agt miljoen mense is uit hul land verdryf. Die lewensverwagting van sub-Sahara-Afrika is maar 48 jaar. Sewentig persent van alle HIV-positiewes leef in Afrika, en so kan ek voortgaan, op ‘n baie tragiese noot.
Wat is dan die boodskap? Die boodskap is dat die pad van Afrika-eenheid baie steil en vol dorings is, dat Afrika se realiteit nie eenheid, vrede en voorspoed is nie; nee, Afrika se realiteite is veel eerder wrede verdeling, oorlog, bloedvergieting, armoede en siekte. Niks moet ons egter stuit in ons strewe om Afrika op te hef nie.
Ook ons Afrikaners ken Afrika se realiteit van verdeeldheid en sy pad van bloed. Ons is deel van die stryd tot die dood toe van broer teen broer. In 1914 het ons mekaar in ‘n bloedig rebellie beveg en een van ons leiers, Jopie Fourie, is deur ‘n vuurpeloton tereggestel. Daardie tragiese voorval het ‘n digter laat skryf ``daar trek ‘n koeël met spoed, met spoed, hy’s nat van Afrikanerbloed, hy kom uit Afrikanerroer, hy trek deur Afrikanerhart, en smart die boodskap wat hy voer’’.
Ons Afrikaners het ook vrede in Afrika gesoek en ons digters het gehelp om, soos volg, vrede te soek en te kry: ``daar sal ek vrede weer besef, waar Thebes in die stil woestyn sy magtig rotskruin hoog verhef en Mara in die sand verdwyn’’.
Die IVP erken dat Afrika se pad na eenheid baie moeilik is, maar ons glo dit is nie ‘n onmoontlike taak nie. Ons glo ons moet ‘n meesterplan beraam om ‘n einde aan alle konflikte te maak en politieke stabiliteit te verseker. Ons moet Afrika-oplossings nastreef, ons moet vrede maak met ons geskiedenis, ‘n geskiedenis van slawerny, kolonialisme, rassisme, politieke onverdraagsaamheid, oorlog en bloedvergieting. Vassteek by die verlede, gaan ons sekerlik nie help nie. Ons moet die toekoms aanpak met krag en entoesiasme en met selfversekerheid, oortuiging en toewyding. Ons moet President Mbeki se millenniumplan vir Afrika ondersteun. Ons moet die Suid-Afrikaanse vredesresep na Afrika uitvoer, ons wat wrede verdeeldheid, bloedige stryd, haat en wraak, met ernstige onderhandelings, in sukses omgeskakel het.
Laat ons dan in ons strewe na Afrika-eenheid, soos volg, almal saam met die volksdigter Langenhoven sing: ``op jou roep sê ons nooit nee nie, sê ons altyd, altyd ja, met ons land en met ons nasie sal dit wel wees, God regeer’’ en Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In 1996 President Mbeki made his ``I am an African’’ speech. I read the striking quotations in it many times and each time the African theme crept deeper and deeper into my soul.
What made a special impression on me as an Afrikaner was the part of the President’s words that went: ``I am the grandchild who lays fresh flowers on the Boer graves on St Helena and the Bahamasÿ.ÿ.ÿ. I am an African’’. I, Koos van der Merwe, am also an African. I am a child of Africa, without Africa I cannot exist. That is why I want to praise Africa today. I am doing so in one of the 2 000 languages and other dialects that are spoken in Africa. I am speaking a language that originated, was moulded and cast in Africa. My mother tongue is the only language of Africa that recognises Africa in its name - Afrikaans.
When I drive to and from Parliament in the morning and evening, I sometimes sing ``ken jy die land waar die Boerevolk woon, land met sy berge terasse gekroon, land met sy ruimtes so wyd en so vry, ai, dis die land, dis die wêreld vir my’’.
Yes, President Mbeki, I am also an African, I take pleasure in swimming in the friendly Zulu waters of the Indian Ocean off KwaZulu-Natal. I regularly sit on top of Table Mountain and cannot get my fill of staring at the fairest cape of all capes. I drive through the lonely desolation of the Free State and there I do my deepest thinking.
I spend as much as possible quality time at the campfire in the Bushveld, where one can never get enough of the fragrance of the hardwood fire and the dancing figures in the flames, where one imagines seeing Mabalel dancing in the flames, accompanied by the tinkling of her ankle rings. I am still trying to improve my Sesotho sa Borwa [Southern Sotho] so that I could have wonderful conversations with my Sotho friends, especially Gertrude Mzizi, Sotho princess.
I take pleasure in singing about my country, Africa, particularly: by
Rietfontein se leidam waar die reier staan en droom en gepluimde
peerboomtakke bloeisels sprinkel in die stroom''. Yes, then we all sing to
Africa:ek sing van die wind wat te keer gaan, ek sing van die reën wat
daar val, ek sing van ons vaal ou Karooland, van blomme wat bloei by die
wal’’.
Next to the cosy campfire, with a rack of ribs on the glowing coals, I hear someone singing in the distance. He is singing so beautifully. He is singing about his satisfaction with Africa. He is singing: ``Op my ou ramkietjie met nog net een snaar, speel ek in die maanskyn deurmekaar. Wat gee ek om as die mense sê ek is mal, as die varings my aanhoor by die wal?’’
Africa is our father. Africa is our mother. Without Africa we are all orphans. We are anchored in Africa. Our houses have been built on the rock, Africa, as H A Fagan challenges: ``Kom nag, kom weer en wind, kom oseaan - dit is ‘n rots waarop my huisie staan’’.
I have often been asked what keeps me here in Africa when so many of our people have already left the country. Then I reply with a German song, with acknowledgement to the poet of the Südwesterlied: ``ÿ.ÿ.ÿ. en as iemand ons sou vra, wat hou ons dan hier vas; dan kan ons maar net sê, ons bemin Afrika’’.
We are talking about unity in Africa today. When one looks at this challenge, however, one’s blood runs cold, because it seems to be an impossible task. Over 800 million people live in Africa. By the year 2020 there will be about 1,7 billion people in Africa. There are over 53 states, with more than 2 000 languages and dialects. Since 1952 there have been 85 violent or unconstitutional changes of government, and 90 government leaders have been deposed.
Since the sixties 25 presidents and prime ministers have died. Since 1970 more than 30 wars have been fought, mostly civil wars. Eight million people have been driven from their countries. The life expectancy of sub-Saharan Africa is a mere 48 years. Seventy percent of all those who are HIV positive live in Africa and I can continue in this very tragic vein.
What is the message, then? The message is that the path to African unity is very steep and strewn with thorns, that the reality of Africa is not unity, peace and prosperity, no, Africa’s realities are much more probably division, war, bloodshed, poverty and disease. Nothing should stop us in our endeavour to uplift Africa.
We Afrikaners also know Africa’s reality of division and its path of blood. We are part of the struggle to the death between brother and brother. In 1914 we fought one another in a bloody rebellion and one of our leaders, Jopie Fourie, was executed by a firing-squad. That tragic event inspired a poet to write: ``daar trek ‘n koeël met spoed, met spoed, hy’s nat van Afrikanerbloed, hy kom uit Afrikanerroer, hy trek deur Afrikanerhart, en smart die boodskap wat hy voer’’.
We Afrikaners also pursued peace in Africa and our poets helped to seek peace and to find it: ``daar sal ek vrede weer besef, waar Thebes in die stil woestyn sy magtig rotskruin hoog verhef en Mara in die sand verdwyn’’.
The IFP admits that Africa’s road to unity is very difficult, but we do not believe that it is an impossible task. We believe that we must devise a master plan to put an end to all conflicts and ensure political stability. We must pursue African solutions, we must make peace with our history, a history of slavery, colonialism, racism, political intolerance, war and bloodshed.
Getting stuck in the past will certainly not help us. We must tackle the future with strength and enthusiasm and with self-confidence, conviction and dedication. We must support President Mbeki’s millennium plan for Africa, we must export the South African recipe for peace to Africa, we, who transformed cruel division, bloody struggle, hatred and revenge into success by means of serious negotiations.
Let us then pursue African unity as follows. Sing along with the people’s poet Langenhoven: ``op jou roep sê ons nooit nee nie, sê ons altyd, altyd ja, met ons land en met ons nasie sal dit wel wees, God regeer’’ and Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika. [Applause.]] The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Hon members will agree that the hon Koos has it in him to become a more than useful poet.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson …
An HON MEMBER: Do not talk about Cuba.
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, my geography is not that bad. I know Cuba is not on the continent of Africa. [Laughter.]
Die agb lid Koos van der Merwe is reg, Afrika se verskeidenheid is sy grootste rykdom. Die probleem is net dat hierdie verskeidenheid nie altyd erken word nie, en ek sal daarna terugkom tydens my toespraak. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The hon member Koos van der Merwe is right, Africa’s diversity is its greatest wealth. The problem is only that this diversity is not always recognised, and I will return to this issue during my speech.]
The Financial Times described Africa as a snakes-and-ladders board, with the snakes marked “famine or flood, corruption and coup,” and ladders marked “ceasefire, peace pact, foreign investment and multiparty elections”. Let us hope for Africa’s sake that the ladders will beat the snakes, that the ups will beat the downs; if not, African unity will be out of the question.
The ups will beat the downs when senseless conflicts that plague the continent are brought to an end. During the last decade Africa suffered from five major conflicts per year, peaking at 11 major conflicts in 1998. The root causes of these conflicts will have to be addressed. The question is: Should Africa, at the dawn of a new century, not reconsider its arbitrary colonial barriers which have triggered many conflicts on the continent? The conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea is a case in point.
Ethnicity is a further major contributor to conflicts on the continent. As a matter of fact, the root cause of virtually every prevailing conflict on the continent is violation of the rights of people belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities by majority governments. The time has come for Africa to take the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities seriously. Closer to home, a special effort should be made to end the conflict in Angola, which impacts negatively on the economic development of this region. Angola is a country with enormous economic potential. If the war were to stop, Angola could attract as much as R4 trillion in oil-related investment, with important spin-offs for the entire region. Instead of concentrating on peace efforts in the Middle East, the Great Lakes area and Western Africa, no matter how important peace in these regions may be, South Africa should spend its time and energy on ending the war in Angola.
I can think of nobody better than former President Nelson Mandela to take the initiative. If he can pull off a peace deal in Burundi, why not in Angola? Nobody will invest in a conflict-torn region. No wonder Africa South of the Sahara gets less than 1% of direct foreign investment. Unless the conflict is brought to an end, African unity will remain a pipe dream.
The ups will beat the downs when Africa changes the face of its leadership. Authoritative opinion agrees that power-drunk leaders who tolerate no opposition within or without party ranks, and who use the power of the state to interfere in party-political matters, damage investor confidence. Hopefully the House will therefore understand the concern of the opposition when the Minister of Safety and Security named three prominent ANC leaders in respect of a so-called plot against the hon President. [Interjections.]
In Zambia a cabinet Minister’s arm was broken when he objected against a third term for Chiluba. Dapo Oyewole pointed out that the recurrent blunder of African societies is that they think that good revolutionaries will make good leaders. According to him, these revolutionaries often lack the pertinent knowledge and skills necessary to manage the social economic affairs of the state. If leaders who govern for the good of the people rather than for themselves come to the fore, the bad experience of 40 years will be something of the past and African unity will become a reality. [Interjections.]
The ups will beat the downs in Africa if Africa can get free access to world markets. Free access to the markets of the industrialised countries would result in growth worth billions of rands per year for Africa. European restrictions on the import of food from Africa annually block agricultural products worth $700 million from entering their countries. Government-subsidised agricultural products makes it extremely difficult for Africa to compete on an equal footing. The Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development spent more than R2 300 billion on agricultural subsidies. That is the equivalent of the total gross national product of Africa south of the Sahara.
A taxi driver in London told Kaizer Nyatsumba: ``I have always said that Africa could feed the world if it was properly managed, and that would be good for Africa itself and for the rest of the world.’’ That is indeed true, but Africa must be given a fair chance to compete on world markets. In this regard South Africa cannot preach to others. We will also have to lower our tariffs, and import more from Africa. South Africa’s imports from the rest of Africa decreased from R1,7 billion for the period 1997-98, to R980 million for the period 1998-99. The ups will beat the downs when debt relief becomes a reality. Africa’s debt amounted to $310 billion in 1997, and this exceeds the total value of goods and services produced by the continent.
Daar is een voorwaarde aan verbonde. Die geld wat beskikbaar kom as gevolg van die afskryf van skuld, moet aangewend word vir armoedeverligting. Afrika moet verenig, nie teen die Noorde of industriële lande nie, maar in hulle strewe om konflikte uit te roei, armoede te bekamp en in hulle strewe om deel van die wêreldhandel te word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[There is one condition attached to this. The money which is made available as a result of the cancellation of debt should be applied for poverty relief. Africa should unite, not against the North or industrial countries, but in their struggle to eradicate conflict, to fight poverty and in their pursuit to become part of world trade.]
It is unacceptable that 16 states have yet to ratify the treaty which established the African Union. Hopefully, they will do so in the near future. [Applause.]
Ms M M MAUNYE: Mr Chairperson, comrades, hon members, for Africa to enjoy the full benefits of its resources, it must be prepared to claim its place and rise above the raging conflicts, poverty and underdevelopment.
The Organisation of African Unity is a reflection of the vision of the African leaders. The continent was ruled by colonial powers, and therefore Africans had to meet the challenge of liberating themselves. The liberation of South Africa in 1994 was the end of colonialism on the continent. The defeat of the NP and the defeat of white supremacy in the 1994 elections was a clear indication from our people that they would not be led by foreign powers any more.
From 1963 to date, Africa and the world have undergone tremendous changes. When the OAU was founded, African soil was used by superpowers as a filter in order to test the success of their policies. The continent was viewed as an important sphere of success of the superpowers and their objectives. As a result of the conflict, the development of the continent and its people was sacrificed.
Parliaments passed protocols creating the African Union and the African Parliament. This was possible because of the unsung success of the OAU. The OAU succeeded in uniting the African people to fight for their total liberation. Despite this success, new challenges emerged, such as globalisation, information technology, preventable diseases and HIV/Aids. Because of underdevelopment, these challenges found the continent unprepared.
The Marp programme must be supported by everyone because it seeks to change the balance of forces in the continent. Only collective action by the continent will ensure that the world recognises its responsibility to the continent.
The African Union represents the continuation of the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the OAU. These dreams were based on the understanding that African countries and their people share a common destiny.
We will only be able to achieve sustainable growth, development and social progress if we act together as a continent. In March this year, South Africa signed the Constitutive Act of the African Union in Sirte. The signing was a demonstration of our commitment as South Africa to the African Renaissance. Military juntas, like that in the Comoros, were barred from participating because of Africa’s resolve not to accept undemocratic governments.
This continent is the first to create a body for parliamentarians to discuss common continental concerns. This is a positive development. Our country has the honour of hosting the last summit of the OAU, which will give birth to the African Union. This is very significant in that our country is recognised as a fully fledged member of this great continent and is at the forefront of Africa’s intention to liberate herself.
The focus of this African Union will be, among other things, to promote democratic principles, popular participation and good governance; to promote sustainable social and cultural development; to promote the integration of African economics; to raise the living standards of African people and to co-ordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future regional economic communities.
One fundamental principle of the union is the promotion of gender equality. We are confident that women will be represented in all organs of the union. This is critical to our struggle for the all-round development of African people. The Millennium Africa Recovery Programme will provide the way and the route to realising what is enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
We hope that through the African Union, African people will take ownership of the continent and its development, and work towards the implementation of Marp. On 8 January the ANC said:
The achievement of all the goals of the African Renaissance, the African Century, require that we transform ours into a continent of democracy; respect for human rights of all our people, of peace and stability.
In conclusion, we should not fail to recognise and affirm the role and commitment of President Mbeki, in his Government, to the cause of Africa. It is our fervent wish and daily prayer that all the sweat and time our President invests in this project will be based on the sweet fruits of liberation. Equally, we must recognise and acknowledge the leading role the ANC is taking in this regard.
We say, ``Well done. Do more.’’ Now is the time for Africa to unite and take its rightful place. [Applause.]
Mr M E MABETA: Mr Chairperson and hon members, in the limited time at my disposal I will just make a few comments without reading from my script.
Firstly, I want to explain what the OAU is not. Secondly, I want to explain what African unity means and what role South Africa can play. Thirdly, I would like to explain what challenges there are for right-minded South Africans in helping the vision of the OAU, African unity and South Africa’s role.
Ms N E HANGANA: Underline the words ``right-minded South Africans’’.
Mr M E MABETA: Despite it weaknesses, the OAU as an offspring of Pan- Africanism has been spectacularly successful in becoming, in theory and substance, the institutionalisation of the ideal of African unity. It is understandably weak in some key areas, not because it is a government, but because of the objective conditions that have shaped the sociopolitical structures of the countries that came together to form the OAU. It is because of actions and interests of states such as the old apartheid South Africa that we have African states that are unable to play their proper role in forging an African unity. [Interjections.]
The strength of the OAU lies in the fact that it provided both the moral and the political foundation for the inception of the ideal of African unity. This has been possible at this point in time because of the success of the liberation movements in our continent to create a solid base from which to challenge the eating habits of the industrialised countries.
South Africa’s role in all of this is to spearhead efforts in the domestic transformation of the countries that are member states of the OAU, and which will tomorrow be full member states of the African Union and the African Parliament. This is why, for example, all right-minded South Africans appreciate the role played by our leaders who have successfully initiated the basis for negotiations amongst the contending political parties in the Great Lakes, Burundi and all over our continent.
I am, in fact, saddened by the fact that instead of praising or regretting the memories of Steve Biko, someone spends time talking about, for example, a broken arm in Zambia.
The important challenge for us as South Africans is simply to nurture and support those institutions that are geared towards advancing the development of an institutional framework so that the different organs of an African Parliament can effectively work against repeating the weaknesses of the OAU. [Time expired.]
Adv Z L MADASA: Mr Chairperson, the challenges to African unity and the continent are not new; they have just taken different forms.
African unity is still threatened by wars, old and new. African unity is still threatened by poverty and disease caused by old and new origins. African unity is still threatened by foreign domination and old enemies with new tactics. African unity is still threatened by corrupt leadership, some old and others new in the trade. African unity is still threatened by dictators and despots who simply refuse to leave office with impunity. The usual excuse is that the people themselves are calling on these leaders to remain in office.
But all is not doom and failure. The Millennium Africa Recovery Plan, spearheaded by the leaders of South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria has brought about a ray of hope, despite the obvious challenges it faces. What is significant with Map is that Africans themselves are the authors and implementers of the plan. We must all unite behind this plan and do what we can to support it in order to ensure its success. We must unite against countries which still regard the issue of slavery and reparations as a legal issue, and not a human rights subject. We must unite against religious intolerance; we must unite on common issues and leave divisive issues for further debate. Mayibuye iAfrika! [Come back, Africa!] [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Dr C P MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, dis gepas dat ons vandag op Afrika- eenheidsdag ‘n debat oor Afrika-eenheid in hierdie Huis hou. Die VF het reeds by herhaling ons verbintenis teenoor die vasteland van Afrika betuig. Ons is van Afrika en ons toekoms is hier.
Voor my huis is daar ‘n vlagpaal waar daar elke dag ‘n ander vlag wapper. Vandag is dit die beurt van die OAE-vlag. Die onderwerp van die debat vandag is Afrika-eenheid. Die vraag is: wat presies beteken die begrip Afrika-eenheid? Praat ons van eenheid ter wille van eenheid of wat wil ons maak met Afrika-eenheid nadat ons dit bereik het? Feit is, wat ook al onder die begrip Afrika-eenheid verstaan word, daardie eenheid gaan nie sommer maklik bereik word nie. Die Koue Oorlog, die oorlog tussen Oos en Wes is verby, maar daar is ‘n nuwe, veel ernstiger oorlog, naamlik ‘n ekonomiese oorlog tussen groot ekonomiese blokke: die EU, Nafta, die Asian Tigers en Japan in die Verre Ooste.
Die tragedie is dat ons vasteland nie deel is hiervan nie. Die vraag is: hoekom nie? Die antwoord: omdat Afrika nie ‘n ernstige rolspeler in die wêreldekonomie is wat ernstig opgeneem moet word as ‘n faktor nie. Die ideaal van Afrika-eenheid is goed en reg en ons steun dit, maar dit sal nie bereik word as Afrika nie dramatiese veranderinge aanbring en ondergaan nie, veranderinge op ekonomiese gebied, maatskaplike en sosiale gebied, maar ook op politieke en demokratiese gebied.
Dit sal kom deur die erkenning van verskeidenheid en die akkommodering daarvan, want ``een mens, een stem’’ binne Afrika se bestaande arbitrêre koloniale grense bring nie noodwendig demokrasie nie, maar loop in baie gevalle uit op tirannie van meerderheidsgroepe en meerderhede wat dit misbruik en minderhede onderdruk, wat lei tot konflik, wat ‘n uitwerking het op ekonomiese groei, en Afrika is derhalwe nie ‘n rolspeler nie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Mr Chairman, it is fitting that today, on Africa Unity Day, we are having a debate in this House about African unity. The FF has already repeatedly expressed our commitment to the continent of Africa. We are from Africa and our future is here.
There is a flagpole in front of my house and I fly a different flag every day. Today it is the turn of the OAU flag. The subject of today’s debate is African unity. The question is: Exactly what does African unity mean? Are we speaking about unity for the sake of unity, or what we want to do with African unity after we have achieved it? The fact is that whatever African unity is understood to mean, that unity will not be achieved very easily. The Cold War, the war between East and West, is over, but there is a new, much more serious war, namely an economic war between big economic blocs: the EU, Nafta, the Asian Tigers and Japan in the Far East.
The tragedy is that our continent is not part of this. The question is: Why not? The answer: Because Africa is not a serious role-player in the world economy which has to be taken seriously as a factor. The ideal of African unity is good and right and we support it, but it will not be achieved if Africa does not effect and undergo dramatic changes, changes in the economic sphere, in the social welfare sphere, but also in the political and democratic sphere.
This will come about through the recognition of diversity and its accommodation, because ``one person, one vote’’ within the existing arbitrary colonial borders of Africa does not necessarily bring democracy, but in many cases leads to tyranny by majority groups and majorities abusing it and oppressing minorities, which leads to conflict, which impacts on economic growth, and for this reason Africa is not a role- player.]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Chairperson, 21 May this year marks the 43rd observance of Africa Liberation Day. This day was set aside by a Pan-Africanist, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, on the occasion of the first conference of the then only 8 independent African states held in Accra on 15 April 1958. May 25, in 1963, was proclaimed by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity as Africa Liberation Day in Ethiopia.
Africa Liberation Day is a revolutionary institution. It emphasises the primacy of Africa and emerges from the relentless and long, but incomplete struggle of the African people, to reverse the imperialist gains of the Berlin Conference, which partitioned Africa like wedding cake for colonial powers, making the African continent a British Africa, French Africa, Portuguese Africa, Italian Africa, German Africa and Belgian Africa. The colonialists looted Africa’s wealth, exploited Africa’s workers, and underdeveloped Africa.
On the 43rd Africa Liberation Day all martyrs of Africa’s freedom must be remembered. Many of them were executed by colonialist forces or massacred. Some died in many battles of liberation and were never properly buried. But it is clear that no force on earth can defeat the Pan-African idea, without which Africans cannot regain their lost power. Pan-Africanism is an imperative response to the imperialist forces and their agents who have tried hard to kill this political African philosophy.
The PAC is heartened by the gains of the Pan-Africanist movement which are now resulting in the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament and the African Union. Africa Liberation Day … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr R H DAVIES: Chairperson, regional economic integration has long been central to the quest for African unity.
The first generation of independent African leaders understood very clearly that colonialism had left them with the heritage of fragmented small economies, tied into a global division of labour as producers of cheap raw materials. These leaders recognised that the promotion of economic unity was fundamental to the realisation of the objectives of growth and development. This objective remains enshrined in the major policy documents of the OAU, shortly to become the African Union.
The treaty of the African Union, which we ratified in this Parliament a little while ago, calls for processes of promoting economic integration in the subregions of our continent as a step towards realising the goal of an African economic community.
Much has changed since the goals of African economic integration were first sketched out in the 1960s. But I want to argue that the promotion of regional economic integration has, if anything, become more rather than less imperative in our current circumstances.
We live in an era known as globalisation. This is a process of rapid integration of national capital, commodity, and, perhaps, skilled labour markets into single global markets operating under multilateral rules. This has been associated with the transition from an international to a multinational mode of operation of the world economy, and also with what Manuel Castells has called a transition to globally networked capitalism.
It has been a highly an uneven and unequal process. An article in the recent edition of The Economist by Robert Wade cited a number of recent studies, including one conducted within the World Bank, to argue that, and I quote:
… global inequality is worsening rapidly.
One interesting feature which we are witnessing is the strengthening of regionalisation within globalisation. While the theoretical literature has long argued that weaker economies have much to gain from regional integration within globalisation, the truth that we are seeing in the world today in practice is that the stronger economies are forming themselves into powerful regional blocs.
The European Union is on the verge of enlarging itself by incorporating a number of countries in Eastern Europe. We have more recently seen the signature of the FTA of the Americas. In these circumstances, I believe that we need to underscore the fact that the promotion and strengthening of regional integration in areas of Africa and in the south in general, is not an optional extra but an absolute imperative.
The ANC, as a liberation movement, has, of course, been part of the processes of determining the African vision long before we came into Government in this country. Our involvement in these processes gave us a strong appreciation of the continental imperatives and also of the processes in progress on the continent. This enabled us to take firm decisions when we finally we ended up in Government.
One such decision was a decision taken within a few months of the installation of our democratic Government in 1994 to become part of the Southern African Development Community. I think we need to appreciate that that decision was, in fact, rather controversial. There was considerable skepticism in the ranks of powerful economic forces of the old order about whether, in fact, we were part of Africa at all. There were advisors and experts associated with the previous regime that were advising the new Government to stand aloof from organisations like SADC and to impose strong conditions on our becoming members.
I am glad to say that we did not accept that advice. The fact that we did not do so enabled us to become part of important processes in the Southern African region. The fact that we got into SADC at the time that we did enabled us to play a very important part in the evolution of the SADC Trade Protocol. We were able to exercise our influence to ensure that that protocol moved in the direction of providing for a process of negotiations within a trade negotiating forum. We were also able to become a voice arguing for the principle of asymmetry, in other words, a greater opening up of the stronger economies should be a feature of the SADC Trade Protocol. That trade protocol is now in place, and I believe that it will make a significant contribution to equalising the trade relations which we have in the Southern African region.
SADC has long emphasised the concept of developmental integration, and this means two important principles. Firstly, it means recognising that we are dealing with economies of different sizes and levels of development, and therefore need to resist the temptation of polarisation which is inherent in such a situation. I believe the asymmetry in the trade protocol goes somewhere towards addressing that concern.
Secondly, the concept of developmental integration means recognising that the barriers to intraregional trade are not necessarily only or even primarily tariff regulations or other forms of regulatory barriers, but also arise from the fact that what we have in our region is underdeveloped infrastructure and inadequate production structures.
Almost all studies of regional integration in Southern Africa have concluded that what we need is not trade integration in isolation, but a programme incorporating sectoral co-operation, policy co-ordination and trade integration that is capable of promoting development-oriented growth in our region. SADC has itself long defended such a programme of sectoral co-operation and, indeed, during its first decade this was a major focus of its activities.
What has been clear is that this aspect of the programme has not been as effective as we would have liked it to have been. A report to an extraordinary summit of SADC which was held in Windhoek last month said that only 20% of the present portfolio of projects will meet the criteria of being priority regional projects and that most of these were dependent on diminishing donor support. This is not to say that we do not have progress in implementing sectoral co-operation. The cross-border Strategic Development Initiatives have been important projects, but have operated on a bilateral or trilateral basis.
I am pleased to see that at that summit SADC took some important decisions on institutional reform in order to strengthen its capacity to address these issues. The summit agreed to initiate a regional indicative strategic development planning process and to rationalise the 19 sector co-ordinating units into four directorates concerned with economic co-operation and integration as well as the restructuring of the organ on defence and security co-operation.
Our efforts in promoting regional economic co-operation are not confined to our own region. There are important initiatives such as the binational co- operation with Nigeria and our active engagements in continental processes; including our hon President’s role in the formulation and now the process of generating support for the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme. We are also involved in actively promoting the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries and are involved in exploratory talks with a number of other regions in the south.
I believe that African Unity Day is a very appropriate occasion for us to take stock of our progress in promoting economic integration. I would conclude that we have taken some important steps, but that much remains to be done and that many challenges still lie ahead.
I want to congratulate the Speaker for putting this debate on the programme. I believe we need more opportunities in this Parliament to focus on broad strategic questions like this, and not as some of the speakers in this debate have tended to do, rapidly reduce all discussions of issues of Africa to problems in individual countries, important though those may be. [Applause.]
Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Chairperson, I want to inform the previous speaker that no matter how many communities one tries to belong to, if one does not have unity in one’s own country, one will never succeed.
Alhoewel dit wyd en syd gepropageer word, sal Afrika-eenheid nie ‘n werklikheid word indien Afrikane nie ontslae raak van hul leiers wat weier om minderheidsgroepe te aanvaar en hul regte te eerbiedig nie. [Although it is propagated far and wide, unity in Africa will not become a reality if Africans do not get rid of those leaders who refuse to accept minority groups and respect their rights.]
Once there are leaders who believe that they must, at all cost, remain in leadership positions for 15 years or longer, so long will unity evade the nations, regions and the African continent. While such people remain in powerful positions in political parties, government, business or administration, they will continue to discriminate against those who threaten their point of view and the power base and so prevent unity. [Interjections.]
May I also say that unity is not promoted in debates like this one where the majority party does not allow the minority party members equal debating time. If there is a wish to promote unity in South Africa, it must be done through the rules and the principles of democracy. In a democracy every member of Parliament has an equal right to put forward his party’s point of view. How can there be unity in this Parliament if this principle is ignored?
The ANC and the IFP will not allow minorities to speak in this debate for longer than two minutes. [Interjections.] If we seek unity, let us take the leaf out of the history book of Europe’s oldest democracy, and build our democracy on the foundation laid by the smallest, but one of the world’s wealthiest nations on that continent, the Swiss nation.
Their unity has grown out of their desire to be one nation, with roots that have grown out of French, German and Italian originally. These are their official languages and their strength lies in the fact that although these three are dominant majority parties, they have entrenched in their Constitution the rights of the small group, the Romansch group. [Interjections.] They realise the lesson of unity that we should follow if we want to unite the African nations. [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Deputy Chair, namhlanje ngifuna ukunibingelela egameni lobumbano lwe-Afrika. Simunye! [today I will greet everyone in the name of African unity. We are one!]
The MF, together with the African people, believe that identity is not possible without unity. The Millennium Africa Programme, Map, is an economic recovery programme for the African continent, which has as its principal co-ordinators South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria. The idea of African Unity Day stems from the background of Pan-Africanism, in which visionaries interpreted African reality through literature or political writing which inspired African political thought.
After the attempt to create African unity in the mid 90’s was unsuccessful, more than 34 countries assembled in Nigeria and signed a treaty pledging to create an African economic community by 2005. The proposal was integral to the establishment of a broader goal, a Pan-African caucus for the development of the continent as a whole.
Although all this planning sounds very promising, I must express that if the quality of leaders who form this union is not able to provide real leadership in their nation, there will be a problem in marketing such a forum.
The MF supports all initiative towards the African Union programme and is confident that our people have the ability to stand united and form a strong nation, irrespective of race, sex, colour or creed. [Applause.]
Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, ‘n dominee was op ‘n keer te besig met die skape en die beeste en so aan, en dié Sondag het hy toe nie ‘n preek nie. Hy vat toe ‘n preek van die vorige jaar. Toe hy in die konsistorie kom ná die preek, sê die ouderling vir hom hy word lui, want hy het dieselfde preek as die vorige jaar gelewer. Hy vra toe vir hom: ``Broer, het jy al gedoen wat ek gesê het?’’
So wil ek ook nou vra. Verlede jaar met hierdie selfde debat het mense soos ek en Dr Boy Geldenhuys mooi vir die OAE en vir Afrika gepreek, maar hulle het nog nie gedoen wat ons gesê het nie. Afrika klou vas aan sy probleme. Die OAE het vier doelstellinge gehad: om eenheid te bewerkstellig, om die vasteland te bevry van kolonialisme en apartheid, om vrede in Afrika te bevorder en ekonomiese vooruitgang.
In die eerste twee het die OAE wel geslaag. Daar is ‘n mate van eenheid, daar is ‘n organisasie, Afrika is bevry van apartheid en kolonialisme, maar vrede het nog nie neergedaal nie, en ekonomiese voorspoed nog minder. Ons sien dit in Angola, Mozambiek, die DRK, Brazzaville, Ruanda, Burundi, Soedan, Somalië, Ethiopië, Eritrië, Zimbabwe en ook in die moorde op blanke boere in Suid-Afrika. Ons kan nog nie van vrede in Afrika praat nie.
Waarom? Daar is twee redes. Eerstens, Afrika het te behep geword met totalitêre mag. Koloniale onderdrukking het plek gemaak vir Uhuru- onderdrukking. Nkrumah het gesê dat ‘n mens eers die koninkryk van die politiek moet soek en dat die res sal volg. Dit werk ongelukkig nie so nie. Staatsgrepe, eenpartystate, staatshoofde wat vir vier termyne aan bewind bly, komplotte en gerugte van komplotte is aan die orde van die dag.
Die tweede rede is dat Afrika alles van die kolonialisme by die venster uitgegooi het, behalwe die koloniale grense. Hierdie grense is onnatuurlike grense. Dit plaas verskillende volke in een land bymekaar. Die meetsnoere het nie op mooi plekke geval nie.
Afrika sal slegs vrede en stabiliteit kry as hy ‘n model kan vind om hierdie verskillende gemeenskappe wat onnatuurlik in dieselfde staatsgrense saamgevoeg is te kan akkommodeer, deur die regte van minderhede te erken en dit te verdiskonteer, anders gaan donker Afrika altyd ‘n harde realiteit bly. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.) [Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairperson, a minister was once so busy tending his sheep and cattle, that on this particular Sunday he did not have a sermon ready. He then took a sermon from the previous year. When he went into the vestry after the sermon the elder told him that he was getting lazy because he delivered the same sermon the previous year. His response was to ask: ``Brother, have you done what I told you to yet?’’
This is the same question I now want to ask. Last year during the same debate people like Dr Boy Geldenhuys and I preached to the OAU and Africa, but they still have not done what we told them to. Africa is clinging to its problems. The OAU had four goals: to effect unity, to free the continent from colonialism and apartheid, to promote peace in Africa and economic prosperity.
The OAU succeeded with the first two. There is a degree of unity, there is an organisation, Africa has been freed from apartheid and colonialism, but peace has still not descended and neither has economic prosperity. We see this in Angola, Mozambique, the DRC, Brazzaville, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and also in the murdering of white farmers in South Africa. We still cannot talk about peace in Africa.
Why not? There are two reasons. Firstly, Africa is too obsessed with totalitarian power. Colonial oppression has made way for Uhuru oppression. Nkrumah said that one first had to seek the kingdom of politics and the rest would follow. Unfortunately it does not work this way. Coup d’etats, one-party states, heads of state who remain in office for four terms, plots and rumours of plots are the order of the day.
The second reason is that Africa has jettisoned everything to do with colonialism, except the colonial borders. These borders are unnatural borders. They place different people together in one country. The demarcation lines did not fall in the right places.
Africa will only find peace and stability if it can find a model to accommodating these different communities that ware joined together within the same state boundaries, by recognising the rights of minorities and taking them into account, otherwise darkest Africa will always remain a hard reality. The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Chairperson and members of this House, I would like us to dedicate this particular Africa Day input to those Africans who had the vision and the courage to ensure that we work consistently and with resilience towards African unity.
I would also like us to dedicate this input to those Africans who laid down their lives to ensure that this continent will in future be united and prosperous, and that we will ensure that there is freedom from all abuses that we have experienced.
Hence, it is a challenge for us to deal with the level of Afropessimism that exists, both in and outside the African continent. It is with great and grave regret that we saw this Afropessimism come through in this House today in different guises. It is sad. So, for many, in view of the Afropessimism, South Africa was that part of Africa. A critical starting point in overcoming Afropessimism in our country is to embrace South Africanness and to globally embrace the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme.
We should guard against those who wished here today to distort democracy and project misunderstanding of what they believe democracy is and should be. I wish that many would take their cue, quite ironically from the hon Van der Merwe, who reflected his Africanness, not by coming with negative sentiments, but by saying: Let us look at the positive side. We have seen that with many others. I isolated the hon Van der Merwe because generally the positive sentiments came from the right side of the House, but it also came from other members.
But let me refer to Ngugi wa Thiong’o who said, and I quote:
To decolonise our minds, we must not see our own experiences as little islands that are not connected with other processes.
Too many a time we assume that it is preaching, and not practice, that will make the difference. I think we should move towards the practice, because then we will preach, using every year’s sermon and there will be no change, for someone else is not going to do it.
So, today we should accept and acknowledge that we are inexplicably linked to the challenges that face Africa. We are connected in identity, time and space with Africa. We are Africans. Let us contextualise that today Africa
- the hon Mabeta made this reference as well - is a product of centuries of slavery which constituted a massive export of cheap labour and loss of capital. Colonialism sought to lower the cost of labour and raw materials through direct political intervention and reduce the productive capacity by forcing the production of cash crops and products for the colonising countries.
There are a range of issues that need to be taken forward. The stark realities were reflected on by various members, starting with the hon Ramgobin. We also had hon Davies reflecting on the importance of regional integration and so forth. Our President most aptly summarised these realities at the Third African Renaissance Festival, as follows:
… that the reality that has accumulated over many centuries is that Africa is defined as ``of necessity, the marginalised’’. This determination leads to actions that result in the further marginalisation of the continent. The more this succeeds, the more difficult it becomes to reverse this process of marginalisation. The difficulty includes the generation of significant resources from the continent itself to reverse this process. To bring this human tragedy to an end, it is necessary that the peoples of Africa gain the conviction that they are not and must not be wards of benevolent guardians, but the instruments of their own sustained upliftment.
We need to lead this process. We need to reflect that we are not the wards of any benevolent guardians. As Africans, we must embrace the new vision for Africa. This is an Africa free of poverty and excessive inequality; an Africa in which peace, stability, democracy and human rights thrive; an Africa free from environmental degradation; and an Africa thriving with innovative human excellence, adequate infrastructure and sustainable economic activity.
This is the vision of the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan announced by visionary leaders such as Presidents Mbeki, Bouteflika and Obasanjo. Africa Day should be an occasion on which we commit ourselves as African leaders and Africans to eradicating poverty and placing our countries on the path of sustainable growth and development.
Marp is based on a partnership approach and outlines a concrete programme. It does not preach, but outlines a concrete programme that is multifaceted. The key areas of the programme include creating peace, security, democratic and good governance, with the capacity to deliver direct and sustainable economic activity.
It reflects on investing in Africa’s people through an integrated and comprehensive human development programme. It talks to the diversification of Africa’s production and exports through expanding industrialisation in sectors with competitive advantage, beneficiation and promoting tourism growth. It goes on to a range of issues. We need to ensure that this programme that focuses on creating conditions for increased investment, not on aid for Africa, is made a reality. We need to take it forward. Therefore Afropessimism cannot emanate from within this House.
The OAU’s summit decision to usher in African unity on 26 May 2001 is a significant initiative, and hence our debate today, as reflected by hon Davies, is an important debate. It provides an excellent opportunity as an African Union for socioeconomic regeneration and liberation from poverty and human rights abuses. There are a range of initiatives, even in relation to revitalisation of the public service on the continent, to take this forward.
In conclusion, let me reflect on three issues from this debate today. The three important issues are that it was essentially women in this House who today reflected in a positive way on what is required to push back Afropessimism, joined by progressive males and those who are willing to contemplate progress. It was not the pessimists, it was not the reactionaries, and it was not those clinging to the negative who came forth. There was also a reflection today on the need for diversification and the need to consider diversity.
I now want to remind hon Aucamp by actually making a Biblical reference on the need for diversity and how we can bring things together in a real sense …
… deur te gaan na die boek Rut waar Rut met haar skoonma, Naomi, gepraat het:
Moenie by my aandring dat ek u moet verlaat om agter u om te draai nie, want waar u gaan, sal ek gaan. Waar u vertoef, sal ek vertoef. U volk is my volk. U God is my God. Waar u sterwe, sal ek sterwe en daar begrawe word.
Vir ons is dit belangrik vandag om wel in aanmerking te neem dat ons een nasie wil bou. Ons is deel van een vasteland en dit gaan ons nie help om negatief te wees nie. Dit gaan ons nie help om pessimisties te wees. Ons sal moet werk om daardie nasie een te maak. Gaan lees wat Rut gesê het. Gaan lees en dink na oor hoe ons dit wel ‘n realiteit kan maak, want umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu. [‘n Mens is ‘n mens oor ander mense.] Ons is deel van Afrika en sal dit ‘n realiteit maak. [Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[… by looking at the book of Ruth, where Ruth spoke to her mother-in-law, Naomi:
Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there I will be buried.
To us it is important today to take into consideration that we want to build one nation. We are part of one continent and it will not help us to be negative. It will not help us to be pessimistic. We shall have to work to make that nation one. Go and read what Ruth said. Go and read and consider how we can actually make that a reality, because umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [a person is a person because of other people]. We are part of Africa and we shall make that a reality.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 13:06.