ADDRESS BY PREMIER THABANG MAKWETLA AT THE MacFEST GALA DINNER
Steve Tshwete Municipality, Friday 24 November 2006
Programme Director
MECs; MPLs and MPs
The Mayor of Nkangala District Municipality Honourable Councillor Speedy Mashilo
Mayor of Steve Tshwete Municipality Manthlakeng Mahlangu
Executive Mayors from Nkangala District and beyond
Our esteemed cultural workers from South Africa and abroad
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
It gives me profound pleasure and a deep sense of pride as a government of Mpumalanga to speak at the inauguration dinner of the Mpumalanga Arts and Culture Festival tonight. For the next seven days our province will play hosts to thousands of people from around the country, the continent and the world as we put on display some of the best local and international artists in such diverse music genres and art disciplines as Jazz, Gospel, Choral and Traditional music, Fine Arts & Craft, Theatre, Film and Video.
As a country that is beginning to discover itself after many many years of neglect and suppression of our rich and diverse culture and heritage, we owe it to all those who gathered in Kliptown in 1955 who declared that “the doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all”. Indeed we owe it to those who for many centuries kept our cultural heritage alive by passing it on from generation to generation.
This province, like many other provinces in South Africa, has been home to people from different cultures for a very long, long time. The many people who know Mpumalanga as their home can trace their ancestries from across the world. African and Indian, Muslim and Jew, Christian and Hindu, Coloured and White, all these and others have brought to this region of the country a part of their souls and cultures.
That diversity was a valuable asset to those who shared a common vision in striving to defeat apartheid, and replace it with a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.
Ask anyone of the older generation in this town in Nazareth or Overline, KwaGuqa or Mhluzi and they will recall their close familiarity with each other's lifestyles before apartheid divided us. When apartheid was finally defeated we set ourselves the task of building a new country, populated by a people who were aware of their possibilities of building a culture that is truly South African.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa has a preamble which among other things, says: "We, the people of South Africa, recognise the injustices of our past... (and) believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in their diversity." It goes on to say: "We therefore... adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to heal the divisions of the past.. (and) to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person."
That is why as patriotic South Africans we rallied to a new patriotism and promised to commit ourselves to a common national agenda which would include a common fight to eradicate the legacy of apartheid and to protect and advance the interests of all the different cultural, language and religious groups that make up the South African population of today.
We believed, as we still do, that our actions would enable us to confront the economic challenges facing our country in a manner that simultaneously addresses issues of high and sustained growth and raising the living standards of especially the black poor. This call was an all-embracing effort to build a sense of common nationhood and a shared destiny, as a result of which we can entrench into the minds of all our people the understanding that however varied their skin complexions, cultures and life conditions, South Africans belongs together .
It was that great African thinker Amilcar Cabral who said "...The liberation movement, as a representative and defender of the culture of the people, must be conscious of the fact that, whatever may be the material conditions of the society it represents, the society is the bearer and creator of culture. The liberation movement must furthermore embody the mass character, the popular character of the culture - which is not and never could be the privilege of one of some or the other sector of society”.
The fact that the ANC is today in government does not diminish our responsibility to weld our nation into one powerful force. As President Thabo Mbeki put it, “the arts belong to that phenomenon of human existence called culture. Together with crafts, religion, customs and norms, endowments of society, they create a situation in which the soul can sing, and sing louder to restore a social morality...". We believe that arts and culture can play a crucial role in nation-building, reconciliation and the development of a new national identity and ethos reflective of our new democracy. Arts and culture play a pivotal role in the moral renewal of our society. Arts and culture also has the potential to make a significant contribution to economic development and job creation.
That is why as government we will support and encourage all efforts to correct the distortions and imbalances in our heritage landscape through the creation of new monuments, museums, the naming of places, and generally affirming the neglected history and culture of the majority of South Africans. We will also, in partnership with all those willing to lend a hand, encourage, promote and support all cultural activities that celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of all South Africans.
We believe it is essential that we support all efforts to establish viable and sustainable cultural industries; the development of cultural tourism; especially for the benefit of the urban and rural poor. We call on the private sector to support the development of arts and culture and support it at all levels of government. The private sector must support Government efforts to advance this goal inorder to broaden our front in attacking poverty and realizing a better life for all.
The exhibits, performances and workshops of this Festival will provide a broad view of the heritage and remarkable accomplishments of our country. We expect the festival to grow in stature such that our province Mpumalanga becomes associated with South Africas world acclaimed cultural exploits.
May this festival grow from strength to strength.
I thank You.