BY
Hon Mr Blessed Gwala MPL
Heritage Month should ideally serve as a rallying point for all South Africans to stand tall in acknowledging their heritage. It is this heritage that should be the cement that holds us as South Africans together with a spirit of unity and pride.
Unfortunately here in KwaZulu-Natal it seems as though the Department of Arts & Culture is not based in this country or even in KZN. It seems as though it is operating from the moon or another planet.
This department does not know what heritage is all about and seems to believe that it exists just to throw money at events without understanding the importance of certain events.
I recall that during the recent Reed Dance event busses were hired to transport people to this important cultural event. But in the early hours of Sunday morning many of these busses were on the road taking people away from the event even though the ceremony was not over. When His Majesty the King started to speak there was less than 3000 people present out of the over 30 000 that were there the day before to hear his message. This shows a clear lack of understanding of the essence of the event and the importance of the King’s message for the nation. There was a clear absence of control and organisation to ensure the success of the event.
I get the impression that this department aims to portray a picture that KZN is a failure when it comes to heritage and culture.
As we speak we are heading towards the celebration of 200 years of the Zulu Nation. This department will be hosting the King Shaka Day event at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and has placed expensive adverts informing citizens of it. In those adverts people are asked to contact their leaders for information about transport arrangements. We as leaders in our respective communities are not aware of these arrangements and people are calling us because they know that we are Members of the Legislature. But we have no information regarding how many busses have been hired, from where will these buses be coming, where are the pick-up points, what are the pick-up times and contact details for the co-ordinators in each area. I have tried contacting the MEC and officials of the Department of Arts & Culture but have not been successful in getting any information. This Department is being run like a spaza shop and this historic event is being treated like a Sunday school picnic. It is an insult to the Zulu Nation and to His Majesty the King.
His Majesty is expecting the Moses Mabhida Stadium to be packed to capacity but this department is operating like a secret service by withholding details of the event planning from us as Members of this Legislature.
People out there are angry and frustrated with the way our government departments operate because everytime there is a government event, details are withheld from our people. That is why most government events end up as total flops and a waste of tax payer’s money. The MEC must tell this House how many busses were hired for this event and what is the cost of this transport. We will be monitoring how many people will be transported to the stadium by these buses to see if it is money well-spent.
National pride was recently stirred by our Olympic athletes, both able-bodied and paralympians, who brought home many medals. The IFP congratulates all those who represented our country, especially those who come from KwaZulu-Natal.
The South African heritage is one whose ingredients are found in the many cultures that have contributed to it. As a nation we are unique and, at the same time, fortunate to be the custodians of such a diversity of cultures. This harmonious coming together of such diverse cultures is something that has amazed the international community. Now the challenge is upon us to protect and preserve our heritage so that generations to come will be able to enjoy what we have today.
As citizens we must make it a priority to learn about each other’s cultures in order to be tolerant and understanding thereby contributing to nation building in a positive way. Where ignorance prevails, intolerance and suspicion will find root.
We have to stand guard over our heritage which is under threat from forces that seek to drive a wedge between different race groups through misinformation and by creating suspicion. Negative forces in the form of people like Phumlani Mfeka who make inflammatory statements, need to be more responsible in their actions. If such people and organisations are left unchallenged, it will have the potential to destroy our heritage and our social fabric. We must stand untied against those who seek to be divisive and want to create social discord.
The question that arises is what sort of heritage are we creating to leave for generations to come? Are we building or are we destroying that which was bequeathed to us since hundreds of years ago?
I ask these questions against the backdrop of the recent university protests that saw valuable historic works, including library books and artefacts destroyed, factories at KwaSithebe torched and historic statues defaced or destroyed. Many buildings that housed irreplaceable collections of historic value have been burnt. Surely we cannot bequeath ashes and ruins to generations to come. If we are serious about celebrating our heritage, we must protect the heritage that we have inherited even though we might not be proud of certain aspects of our past. We cannot change history but in rectifying the evils of the past we should not destroy what we have inherited. We cannot re-write history in order to make it more palatable and more accepting. We must use the knowledge of the past to ensure that we and those who come after us will not walk the same path. Future generations must get to know what makes up our history and therefore we cannot remain silent when records of that history are being destroyed.
Celebrating our Heritage should not be something that happens only during this month. It must be something that is on our minds every time we rise to sing the National Anthem, national pride must prevail every time any of our national sports teams take to the field, and it must be displayed at public events. I cannot feel pride when I hear our National Anthem sung in different tunes by different singers or groups. How do we rise to sing the National Anthem and find that the choir is singing it in a strange tune? This is something that we must address here in KwaZulu-Natal in a very serious way. We must ensure that our anthem is sung in one tune only and this must be taught in schools.
Apart from the Royal Household we are fortunate here in KwaZulu-Natal that we have a person like Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi who is renowned for his efforts in preserving our heritage and culture. In February this year Prince Buthelezi was awarded the NatureLife International Environment Award for 2015. The award is in recognition of Prince Buthelezi’s exceptional work in the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage, particularly for his work towards protecting the UNESCO World Heritage Site at St. Lucia. Prince Buthelezi now ranks among such eminent persons like His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales and former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev who have also been honoured by NatureLife. This is the calibre of a true son of KwaZulu-Natal that you in the ANC refuse to acknowledge. Why is that it takes an international organisation to give recognition to the invaluable efforts of Prince Buthelezi but the government of this province and this country are too arrogant to acknowledge?
The natural heritage that we are blessed with here in KwaZulu-Natal is something that we must appreciate and protect for future generations. This heritage is a great source of tourism income via domestic and international tourists who see KwaZulu-Natal as an all-year round vacation destination. This is something that we must promote in the interests of our people as increased tourism will create more jobs and thereby help address the issues of poverty and unemployment.
I thank you,
Contact:
Mr Blessed Gwala
078 290 5842
