Hansard: Appropriation Bill: Debate on Vote No 34 – Science and Technology

House: National Assembly

Date of Meeting: 16 May 2013

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Minutes

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 352

THURSDAY, 16 MAY 2013

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

_____________________________

The House met at 14:02.

House Chairperson Mr C T Frolick took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

FIRST ORDER

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 352

Start of day

APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 34 – Science and Technology:

The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Hon Chairperson, hon members and ladies and gentlemen, science and technology are rarely the first things one thinks of when one talks about our major challenges as a nation, and few people fully appreciate the toil and investment that goes into the generation of knowledge, discovery and invention.

The National Development Plan, however, identifies the important role of science, technology and innovation in achieving our country's longer-term objectives. As many of you will recall, Minister Pandor appointed a high-level committee to conduct a comprehensive review of South Africa's National System of Innovation, Sansi. The committee's report, which was released last year, makes a number of useful recommendations, including that the Department of Science and Technology should strengthen its links with the private sector. I am pleased to report that we are making good progress in implementing a number of these recommendations.

Firstly, the department has secured R500 million over the next three years from the Economic Competitiveness Fund to strengthen innovation and research partnerships with industry. Secondly, an international expert committee has been appointed to develop a framework for a national integrated cyber infrastructure system. Thirdly, we are convening the first multistakeholder science, technology and innovation summit in July this year to strengthen co-ordination between government and the private sector. [Applause.]

Finally, also arising out of the committee's recommendations, all under Minister Pandor's leadership, I appointed a panel to conduct a review of the Technology Innovation Agency, TIA, earlier this year. The panel has completed its work and their report was presented to the newly appointed TIA board yesterday.

The total appropriation to the Department of Science and Technology for 2013-14 is R6,2 billion. About 92% goes to our science councils and agencies, as well as to other research institutions, including universities, which the department supports in various ways. The reason for this is simple: Our main mandate is to fund and direct research and human capital development in a strategic and co-ordinated manner.

The Department of Science and Technology has four main programmes. These programmes represent distinct but complementary ways of promoting Sansi and harnessing science and technology to benefit all South Africans. The Research, Development and Innovation programme is at the heart of our efforts to drive innovation in strategic areas. This programme focuses on space science, biotechnology, health innovation and energy.

The announcement made a year ago, that our country, together with eight other African partner countries, is to host the greatest portion of the Square Kilometre Array, SKA, radio telescope, was a massive acknowledgement of the capabilities of our scientists and engineers, and of the advances our country has made in science and technology. The SKA will be one of the biggest scientific projects the world has ever undertaken. [Applause.]

This year marks the start of the detailed design and preconstruction phase of the SKA project. The construction of the 64-dish MeerKAT has commenced and will be completed by 2016. On its own, the MeerKAT will be the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere. When it is completed, the SKA, with its 3 000 dishes, will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world by far. [Applause.] We have been given almost R2 billion for the SKA project over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period and, since this is a global project, this investment will leverage significant international resources.

World-class science is already emanating from our KAT-7 precursor instrument. Local and international astronomers have used the instrument to observe repeating radio outbursts from a neutron star system known as Circinus X-1. Their results have just been accepted this week for publication in a prestigious journal of the Royal Astronomy Society. A global media release on this ground-breaking science coming out of South Africa has just been issued.

Maybe there is life out there, somewhere on another planet. We just don't know. However, what we do know is that the SKA will be able to pick up even the faintest of extraterrestrial signals and cast light on some of the mysteries of the universe. It therefore came as no surprise to us when the Director of SA's SKA Project, Dr Bernie Fanaroff, was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe for his excellent contributions to astronomy and for putting South Africa on the map with the SKA project. He is here with us today in the gallery. [Applause.]

Through the SA National Space Agency, we are further developing the country's capacity to design, build, maintain and possibly even launch satellites. As part of the four-country African Resource Management Constellation, South Africa has begun work on the first satellite. An amount of R272 million has been budgeted this year for this important project. This satellite will greatly enhance Africa's ability to monitor and manage its precious natural resources. A business rescue plan for the company Sunspace has been put in place, and the process of transferring the very rich capabilities and intellectual property into our satellite programme is continuing.

Turning to the work we are doing in energy, there are some exciting developments to report on. Hydrogen SA, HySA, Centres of Competence include the Centre for Catalysis Research at the University of Cape Town, the Infrastructure Centre at the University of North West and the Systems Centre of Competence at the University of the Western Cape, UWC. In February this year, the UWC centre, together with a local company, Melex Electrovehicles, unveiled the first hydrogen fuel cell battery-operated golf cart developed on South African soil. The range of the golf cart is almost doubled by the use of a hydrogen fuel cell. It is pollution free, virtually silent and can reach a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. [Applause.] Golfers out there should be very happy about this.

I am also very happy to report that a memorandum of understanding on the joint development of hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle platforms and technologies has been signed between the UWC, Coventry University and Microcab Industries Limited. The memorandum of understanding will see Microcab using HySA technologies, with the prospect of HySA becoming a major supplier to Microcab.

It is worth noting that even a modest increase in the global penetration of fuel cell-powered vehicles will result in a significant increase in the demand for platinum and will contribute to our target of meeting 25% of global catalyst demand by 2020. Our nation holds almost three-quarters of the world's known resources of platinum, so this will be a very significant development.

There are also huge opportunities in solar energy within our country. The Department of Science and Technology, working closely with the Department of Energy and the International Energy Agency, will finalise the Solar Energy Technology Road Map this year. The value of both solar and wind energy still needs to be unlocked, though, through more efficient and affordable energy-storage technologies. Our main focus at this stage is on lithium-ion battery technologies. Some of the novel battery systems we are developing are based on manganese and, given that South Africa has 80% of the world's manganese reserves, this also represents a significant beneficiation opportunity. [Applause.]

By 2015, more than 2,5 million HIV-infected South Africans will need antiretroviral treatment, and it is therefore essential that we have a secure and affordable supply of antiretrovirals, ARVs. Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the Ketlaphela consortium, which was established as a joint venture between the Industrial Development Corporation and Pelchem. This consortium will now proceed with an open process to secure a technical and investment partner for the construction and operation of a facility for the local manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients for ARVs, as well as formulated tablets for government's ARV treatment programme. We will soon issue a request for information to start the process of finding such a partner. With pharmaceutical imports currently contributing substantially to our trade deficit, this mainly state-owned pharmaceutical company will be immensely important to the objectives of government's New Growth Path.

Local researchers and scientists in the area of health innovation are increasingly receiving recognition for their contributions, especially in respect of tuberculosis, TB, and HIV/Aids-related research. Two outstanding scientists received the Order of Mapungubwe at the National Orders ceremony last month: In the gallery is Prof Glenda Gray, who is going to stand up for you now, for her life-saving research in mother-to-child transmission of HIV. [Applause.] Prof Quarraisha Karim also received the award for her work in the field of HIV/Aids and TB research. Unfortunately, Prof Karim is not here but her husband, Dr Slim Karim, is here with us today. [Applause.] He walks in his wife's shadow. [Laughter.] However, let me tell you, they are a formidable partnership.

Last month the University of Cape Town's Prof Valerie Mizrahi won the Grand Prix Christophe Mérieux prize for her TB research. We will hear more about Prof Mizrahi's research this evening when she makes a presentation during dinner.

I am pleased to report that our Bio-economy Strategy has been finalised and will soon be presented to Cabinet for approval. We have built capacity, which Minister Pandor is very happy about because she knows how we agonised about this one. We have built capacity and infrastructure, and we have developed value chains in the application of biotechnology to a range of areas: new diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, improved crops and livestock, and cleaner and more efficient industries. The strategy will assist us in creating a world-class biotechnology-based system of innovation. Over the MTEF period, more than R400 million has been budgeted for the implementation of the strategy.

Towards the end of last year, the Technology Innovation Agency, TIA, in partnership with the Agricultural Research Council, the National Research Foundation, NRF, the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort Biological Products and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, launched the Tshwane Animal Health Cluster. This initiative will enable the local animal health industry to develop and commercialise safe, effective and affordable animal health products and services for the benefit of our local livestock industry. The Tshwane Animal Health Cluster is currently funding a portfolio of no less than 29 investments in various animal diseases.

Our International Co-operation and Resources programme has been allocated R148 million for the year ahead. The primary purpose of this programme is to promote the exchange of knowledge, capacity and resources with foreign partners. The Department of Science and Technology has formal bilateral and multilateral arrangements with 62 different partners, encompassing country-to-country agreements, as well as science and technology agreements with international multilateral bodies.

To mention just a few highlights, last year, in partnership with the European Union, we cohosted a planning conference for the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership. The conference set the tone for a new, larger phase of clinical trials to begin in 2014. This, we believe, will also help channel resources from partners to build human capacity and health research infrastructure in Africa.

Early last year, the German-South African Year of Science was launched to celebrate 16 years of successful co-operation between our two countries. Forty-one new collaborative initiatives were funded during the Year of Science, including a schools essay competition. With us today are three of the winners announced at the closing ceremony in Berlin last month. They are - and I hope they will stand up so that we can all see them - Thandeka Nzimande – no relationship to Blade – from Letsibogo Girls High in Gauteng; Zandile Mashabane from Mahhushe Agricultural High School in Mpumalanga and Mukundi Mushiana from Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo. [Applause.]

Our successful partnership with the government of Finland continues to strengthen our innovation capacity. One of the partnership's success stories is RLabs, a community project established in 2008 by Marlon Parker, whose dream was to find a way of using information and communications technology, ICT, to bring hope to young people. Through the Department of Science and Technology's initial investment, RLabs established an academy and outreach programmes that have now reached thousands of youngsters in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, providing free training in web literacy, social innovation and entrepreneurship. More than 1 500 community members will receive training at the RLabs Academy this year. Marlon is with us today. I am sure he will be available to tell you more about this great success story. Marlon, we are very proud of you. Thank you. [Applause.]

Of course, there are a lot of other young people here today. We have some Grade 10 learners from the Garlandale High School, and we have some Grade 12 learners from the Hector Pieterson Secondary School. [Applause.] There they are, and you can see the young Einsteins sitting among them over there. [Applause.]

This same international programme also provides support to the Africa Institute of South Africa, Aisa. Aisa has generated valuable information and knowledge about Africa on key areas of development, such as governance and security, sustainable development and science, technology and innovation.

Draft legislation providing for the incorporation of Aisa into the Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, is currently with the portfolio committee. Members of the committee will be pleased to know that I met with the council members last week to discuss some of the key considerations that need to be applied in the process of incorporating Aisa into the HSRC. The council has done sterling work in reviving the institution and their hard work is well appreciated.

Science and technology is advanced by people – by our scientists, our technicians, our engineers and our computer programmers. Yet, do we have enough scientists and do they have resources to do their jobs to the best of their ability? That is what the Human Capital and Knowledge Systems programme is about, and it is by far the largest of our programmes, accounting for about R2,5 billion of our budget.

The success of our efforts to develop science, engineering and technology human resources depends largely on having sufficient numbers of school leavers with passes in mathematics and science. This means that we have to encourage more learners to choose mathematics and science when they enter Grade 10 and then attract the best performers to science-based careers.

Our 34 science centres play a critical role in popularising maths and science. Although they get support from our Youth into Science programme, they do depend on support from the private sector. In the past two months, we have launched two science centres: the Cape Town Science Centre, which was supported by a number of organisations; and the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre, which was sponsored by Volkswagen SA. We are pleased to announce today that BMW SA is generously donating educational cars to five science centres across the country. [Applause.] Tomorrow, the Cape Town Science Centre will be the first to receive one of these cars. Allow me to express my appreciation to Mr Guy Kilfoil from BMW SA, who is also with us today. [Applause.] Can you please stand up, sir? Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The SA Young Academy of Science, Sayas, was established in 2011 with the aim of encouraging learners to take science as a subject. Sayas hosted the Global Young Academy General Assembly in May last year, which brought young scientists from more than 50 countries together to deliberate on sustainability. Sayas represents the best of our new generation of highly talented young scientists.

We have a number of instruments that are designed to strengthen research capacity at our universities, including the research chairs and centres of excellence programmes, both managed by the NRF. The SA Research Chairs Initiative is steadily gaining traction, with an additional 35 chairs to be filled this year, bringing the total to 152 research chairs, covering a wide spectrum of disciplines.

Last month, we launched our ninth centre of excellence, the Palaeosciences Centre of Excellence at the University of the Witwatersrand. It will build on the remarkable work done by Wits palaeoscientists over many decades and will showcase South Africa's wealth of fossil evidence of the earliest life on earth and, in particular, the extraordinary discoveries of our early human ancestry at the Cradle of Humankind. The centre will collaborate with a number of institutions across the country, including the Iziko Museum, where the Department of Science and Technology is holding its exhibition today and tomorrow. The NRF has made a call for proposals for four additional centres of excellence and the selection process will take place during the course of the year.

We continue to look for different ways of supporting the research community, especially in trying to make research a more attractive career choice. The Department of Science and Technology has increased its investments over the 2013 MTEF in programmes such as once-off research development grants for qualifying young, black and women researchers to assist them to become established researchers; research career advancement fellowships offered to senior postdoctoral fellows; and sabbatical grants awarded to fast-track the completion of doctoral degrees by academic staff at universities. Don't say it, but I will: Cheers! Thank you. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]

Hon Mnyami Booi, one of our key partners in human capital development is the Department of Higher Education and Training. An agreement has been reached that higher education will be responsible for ensuring the provision of basic research training equipment in universities, while the Department of Science and Technology will fund specialised research equipment.

Competitive high-quality research is simply not possible today without adequate research infrastructure. A total of 139 research and educational sites have now been connected with high-speed networks through the SA National Research Network, SANReN. This has virtually eliminated the digital divide between urban and remotely located institutions. Through SANReN, rural universities are just as able to participate in global experiments as urban universities.

Furthermore, SANReN opens up new possibilities in the way teaching and research is conducted, with the high-speed transport of large datasets, participation in global experiments regardless of physical location, and collaborative online teaching. The investment in SANReN has reduced Internet costs for participating institutions by a factor of more than 10. The Department of Science and Technology will invest about R600 million in the next five years to more than double the international bandwidth of SANReN.

In the area of information dissemination, the Academy of Science of South Africa, ASSAf, has established a high-quality and prestigious open-access journal collection, aimed at serving the South African research community. Scientific Electronic Library Online, or SciELO, as it is known, will promote South African research by enhancing its visibility and making it easier to access. ASSAf's budget has been increased by 40% to allow it to play a stronger role in support of research in South Africa.

Next week we will be launching the National Indigenous Knowledge Recordal System, the NRS, and the Indigenous Knowledge, IK, Bioprospecting and Product Development Consortium the following month. I did not discover or invent these long names, hon members! Together, these interventions will considerably strengthen our ability to utilise - very important - indigenous knowledge as an input into the development of useful products and services. The NRS is the first ever Internet-based national digital system to document indigenous knowledge. You see, when we start talking about indigenous knowledge, hon members start falling asleep. [Laughter.] We must really showcase ... [Interjections.] ... indigenous knowledge. Thank you, Lance. [Interjections.] We have invested R22 million in the further development of this system.

Let me turn to our socioeconomic-partnerships programme, which has been allocated R1,7 billion, 60% of which goes to our main implementation partners, the HSRC and the CSIR. This programme has two distinct purposes. The first is to apply science and technology to improve the circumstances of the most deprived and vulnerable in our society. The second is to develop research and development partnerships that target opportunities for establishing niche industries and, in so doing, increase the competitiveness of our economy.

One of the key growth sectors is ICT. I am pleased to report that just two weeks ago, Cabinet approved a 10-year ICT research, development and innovation road map, which will assist South Africa to take maximum advantage of the digital revolution.

The Titanium Industry Development Initiative is making impressive progress. More than R75 million will be invested over the next two years through the Titanium Centre of Competence, hosted by the CSIR. A key activity is the development of a novel, low-cost process for the production of titanium metal powder, which will provide South Africa with a global competitive advantage. A pilot plant, with the capacity to produce 2 kg of titanium powder per hour, using this novel process, is currently under construction at the CSIR campus in Pretoria. It will be officially launched next month.

Through donor funding of €30 million from the European Union, the department has been implementing a number of initiatives that use science and technology to make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, such as in essential oils and aquaculture, and improved human settlement models. Our main objective is to capture the lessons from these initiatives for consideration and implementation by other government departments.

An excellent example of a Department of Science and Technology initiative involving successful intergovernmental collaboration is our pilot education project in the Cofimvaba District of the Eastern Cape. Through this initiative, we are exploring innovative ways to improve the quality of learning and teaching in rural schools. The initiative involves 26 schools in the Nciba District and is being conducted in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and the Eastern Cape department of education. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has contributed R22 million to the pilot project.

The pilot project will examine how the use of tablet computers can best improve educational outcomes in a rural context and will help us determine which tablets work best, how to deal with important operational challenges such as the recharging of tablets at schools without electricity, and how best to support learners, teachers and parents in the use of new technologies. As a start, over the next three months, 3 000 tablets will be distributed to learners and teachers in 12 schools. [Applause.] It is just a start, as our ultimate objective is that every learner in the country will make use of tablets. Our ultimate objective is to go in that direction. [Applause.] The support has come from the CSIR's Meraka Institute. All 26 schools in the district will be connected to the Internet via satellite and wireless mesh-network technology.

The pilot project is of course not limited to ICT, but it will also test different sanitation options, alternative forms of energy and models for improving the school nutrition programme. The HSRC has been contracted to monitor and evaluate aspects of the project and to assist in extracting the policy lessons for the possible scaling up of some aspects to other districts and provinces.

At this point I should say that both the CSIR and the HSRC are doing impressive research in a wide range of specialised areas. For example, the CSIR's capabilities in the field of defence technology have grown to be of a world-class standard. Working with the SA National Defence Force, the CSIR has contributed a number of interventions to optimise technologies used by our patrol teams, both on land and at sea. Readily available tools such as smartphones, geographic information system, GIS, applications, and radio and camera surveillance are integrated into these systems.

The HSRC has been appointed as the South African think-tank incubator for the Brazil, Russia India, China and South Africa, Brics, grouping, with Dr Olive Shisana as its leader, in order to co-ordinate Brics work undertaken by researchers at the HSRC and other institutions around the country. The HSRC also conducts invaluable research on attitudes and behaviour regarding HIV and Aids, maintains the long-standing SA Social Attitudes Survey and the SA National Survey of Research and Experimental Development, and performs vital work in trying to bring social scientists and policy-makers together.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the many researchers – many of whom are with us today – scientists and business innovators who are the backbone of our national system of innovation, and I acknowledge our many partners in government, the private sector, the science councils and agencies, with particular thanks to those who serve on the boards of our public entities.

My sincere thanks also go to our director-general, Dr Mjwara. He is the good-looking man sitting over in that little gallery. I saw all the women wake up when I said there was a good-looking man sitting over there. [Laughter.] [Applause.] Thanks to the absolutely fine staff of the Department of Science and Technology - a fact Minister Pandor will attest to - for their dedicated efforts to get science and technology to make a real, lasting difference in people's lives.

I would like to express my appreciation to the portfolio committee for their support, but also for holding us to account. We certainly welcome the oversight work they are doing. It is all in the interest of science and technology making a positive contribution to South Africa and taking our country forward towards the realisation of our dreams and aspirations.

Finally, the people with the most difficult task of all are the people who work in my office. They have a huge management task – that of managing me and, believe me, that is no easy task. Thank you, staff members, for your outstanding work. [Applause.]

Mr E N N NGCOBO

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 353

The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Mr E N N NGCOBO: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Science and Technology, Comrade Derek Hanekom; our former Minister of Science and Technology, Comrade Naledi Pandor; hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here, hon members and guests of Parliament in the gallery, the Director–General and his team, sons of the soil, flowers of the nation, people of integrity, I greet you all. [Applause.]

On 13 March 2013, the Director–General of the Department of Science and Technology, Dr Phil Mjwara, briefed the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology on the annual performance plans and budget of Department of Science and Technology. Subsequently, seven entities that receive their budget allocations directly from department, namely the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Human Sciences Research Council, African Institute of South Africa, Technology Innovation Agency, Academy of Science of South Africa, National Research Foundation, and SA National Space Agency also followed suit to present their annual performance plans to the portfolio committee.

The Department of Science and Technology's presentation provided an overview of the strategic context within which it operates, detailing its strategic goals, key priorities and recent outputs. In addition, the Department of Science and Technology highlighted a selection of performance indicators and their concomitant targets and summarised the budget allocation for each of its entities for the current financial year.

At this juncture, it is important to highlight that the work of the Department of Science and Technology is mainly guided by the White Paper on Science and Technology, which actually introduced the concept known as the National System of Innovation, NSI. This concept signifies an enabling framework for the development of science, technology and innovation at national level.

In seeking to transform the South African economy into a knowledge-based economy, the department has engaged two key strategies, namely the National Research and Development Strategy, adopted by the Cabinet in 2002, and the Ten-Year Innovation Plan, launched by the Department of Science and Technology in 2009 as Vision 2018. The department's policy framework is further informed by and aligned to broader government priorities such as the National Development Plan, NDP.

The NDP considers science, technology and innovation to be key aspects of the South African developmental agenda. According to the NDP, science and technology are crucial for equitable growth because advances in these fields underpin advances in the economy. The NDP has its vision focused for our country to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 through a variety of measures that would unleash the energies of its citizens and grow an inclusive economy, moving away from being unsustainably resource-intensive to becoming knowledge-based.

This signifies a clear alignment with the department's Vision 2018 and the resolution of the 53rd ANC Conference in Mangaung on science and technology. This means that five years from now the march towards 2030 will be led by the ANC-led Department of Science and Technology. [Applause.]

In the era of offensive and dominant global market forces, where biotechnology is being adapted by many countries in the world to biosolutions such as biomanufacturing, biomining, biofuel processing, bio-entrepreneurship, bio-informatics, biomanagement, etc, the Department of Science and Technology has also decided to review its National Biotechnology Strategy. This was first launched in 2001 and has been redefined in terms of a bio-economy strategy. The concept of "bio-economy" refers to activities that make use of bio-innovations based on biological sources, materials and processes to generate sustainable economic, social and environmental development. In the bio-economy, the entire innovation system or network, ranging from ideas, research, development, production and manufacturing to commercialisation, should be used to its full potential in a well-coordinated manner.

The new bio-economy strategy is expected to provide an economic engine for the new knowledge-based economy, which in turn will provide a basis for future growth in the economy. Such science-based biosolutions can be used, for instance, to manufacture high-value protein products such as biopharmaceuticals and vaccines; produce biofuels; produce biomining products, improve and adapt crops; reduce production costs, reduce environmental impacts; improve quality of products, etc.

The bioeconomy strategy is well-aligned to the National Development Plan's Vision of 2030. It is expected that by 2030 the bioeconomy will be a significant contributor to the South African economy in terms of gross domestic product, GDP, through the creation of biobased services, products and innovations, including bio-entrepreneurs and intellectual property management.

A major comparative advantage for the bioeconomy is the fact that South Africa is the third most biologically diverse country in the world, with almost 10% of the world's known plant species and 15% of all known coastal marine species. Furthermore, South Africa comprises nine unique vegetation types, of which three have been declared global biodiversity hotspots. It is also the only country to contain an entire floral kingdom, the so-called Cape Floristic Region.

South Africa's natural capital of biological diversity, combined with its wealth of indigenous knowledge, forms one of the country's greatest assets. In a nutshell, the bioeconomy strategy aims to build on the achievement of the National Biotechnology Strategy, to incorporate lessons learnt and to move forward with initiatives that can address the challenges and opportunities of the future.

In the global context, it is envisaged that the global population will increase by 28%, from 6,5 billion in 2005 to 8,3 billion by 2030. Ninety-seven percent of this population growth will occur in developing countries. Such population growth has a direct bearing on resources such as health services, essential natural resources, food, animal feed, clean water and energy. It is for this very reason that there is a notable and growing interest in the concept of the bio-economy in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, countries and in non-OECD countries alike. This interest is due to the bio-economy's potential for significant global economic, social and environmental benefits in an integrated framework. While the bio-economy contributes less than 1% of GDP today, it is expected that by 2030 this would have risen to 2,7% of GDP in OEDC countries and probably considerably more in non-OEDC countries.

The expected outcomes of the development of the bio-economy by 2018 are: a globally competitive pharmaceutical industry; functional technology platforms to facilitate preclinical drug development; funded centres of competence in the top-five national health priorities, namely HIV and Aids, TB, malaria, diabetes and cancer; increased foreign direct investment in health-related research and development; functional technology platforms for agricultural biotechnology; strengthened animal vaccine research and development, as well as production; functional biosafety platforms to provide regulatory guidance and support; and functional bioprospecting platforms for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, IKS, as the hon Minister mentioned.

Judging from the above-mentioned outcomes, it is clear that a well-developed bio-economy strategy is very much interlinked with the development of the IKS. The IKS is a subprogramme of the Department of Science and Technology and is administered by the National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office, Nikso. The Nikso mandate is to interface IKS with other knowledge systems for sustainable development and improved quality of life. The subprogramme comprises three directorates, namely advocacy and policy development, knowledge development and knowledge management.

The IKS policy advocates that Centres of Excellence in IKS be established in order to interface with other knowledge systems, while generating knowledge and developing human capital. In line with the bio-economy strategy, the strategic focus of IKS Centres of Excellence would be public health and traditional medicines, food security, learning and teaching.

The IKS Centres of Excellence are currently hosted by the Universities of North West, Limpopo and Venda. Of late, Unisa and University of KwaZulu-Natal have also been added. The participating universities have succeeded in registering a Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge Systems through the SA Qualifications Authority, Saqa. Subsequently, Saqa also accepted the development of the Bachelor of IKS to honours, Master's and PhD levels. [Applause.]

There are three flagship programmes in IKS bioprospecting and product development platforms aimed at developing products, processes and services based on interfacing and mainstreaming IKS with other knowledge systems, namely the African traditional medicines flagship programme, the cosmeceuticals flagship programme and the nutraceutical flagship programme.

The first flagship programme, which is the African traditional medicine, is focused on innovation in herbal medicines against diabetes, HIV/Aids and TB. The second flagship programme of cosmeceuticals has conducted human trials on two skin-care products with anti-ageing qualities. Some of you whose faces are ageing will be helped by this technology. [Laughter.]

HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr E N NGCOBO: The third flagship programme has developed nutraceutical products from indigenous vegetables, namely cold and hot teas, pestos and dried vegetables.

In the 2012-13 financial year, nine leads were identified and researched for medical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical potential.

From the above it is clear that the successful development of a bio-economy strategy is indivisible from the development of a viable IKS strategy. If well coordinated and implemented, all these strategies, including the Ten-Year Innovation Plan, as guided by the National Development Plan Vision 2030, are surely going to take South Africa where it wants to be in 2030.

It would indeed only be then when the National Planning Commission could proudly proclaim:

We, the people of South Africa, have journeyed far since the long lines of our first democratic election on 27 April 1994, when we elected a government for us all. Now, in 2030, we live in a country which we have remade.

In conclusion, please allow me to thank the Minister of Science and Technology for the unreserved support and co-operation that our Portfolio Committee has enjoyed from his Director-General and his departmental team, leading up to the hosting of this debate. The same goes to my fellow members of the portfolio committee and our committee staff. The ANC supports Budget Vote 34: Science and Technology.

Dr J C KLOPPERS-LOURENS

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 354

Mr E N N NGCOBO

Dr J C KLOPPERS-LOURENS: Chairperson, this year, during his state of the nation address, President Zuma demonstrated a total disregard for the Labour Relations Act, by giving his own explanation of the term "essential services", which was contrary to the legal definition thereof contained in the Act.

To put his distortion in context, I will now focus on the Ministerial Review Report presented to the portfolio committee on 6 June, last year. It is a report on the readiness of the National System of Innovation landscape to meet the needs of our country. The review committee was commissioned to identify what would be required from the state in order to ensure an adequate and growing investment in innovation that would deliver a sustained and durable knowledge-based economy. The committee was also commissioned to make appropriate recommendations on steps necessary to strengthen the science, technology and innovation system.

Three important observations are stated in the review report: Firstly, the shortfall in human capital development is the key weakness of the National System of Innovation. Secondly, the National System of Innovation depends almost entirely on the effectiveness of the basic education and postschool systems. Thirdly, most of the requirements for making the public education and training system work as the basic enabler of a knowledge economy are not yet in place.

The review committee also came to the conclusion that:

... extremely important, despite being controversial, is that teaching or training is not classified as an essential service, which it undoubtedly is, at all levels from basic to higher education – the nettle simply has to be grasped.

To "grasp the nettle", the committee made an appropriate and unanimous recommendation. Recommendation 15 of the report states:

Teaching at all levels should be declared an essential public service within labour and other legislation.

This recommendation refers to our labour legislation, and that is where President Zuma went wrong. He chose to ignore the exact legal definition of an essential service in the Labour Relations Act, which reads as follows:

Essential service means a service, the interruption of which endangers the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the population.

Afrikaans:
Die Wêreldgesondheidsorganisasie het in 2005 'n dokument onder die titel "International Classification of Diseases" uitgegee. Die vyfde hoofstuk handel oor geestes- en gedragsafwykings. Sielkundige versteurings word deur die Wêreldgesonheidsorganisasie as siektetoestande erken. Daar kan geredeneer word dat onderwysers wat kort-kort staak, hul leerders se geestesgesondheid in gevaar stel deur hulle aan onnodige spanning, angs, onsekerheid en trauma bloot te stel wat selfs depressie tot gevolg kan hê. Swak eksamenuitslae het al tot selfmoord gelei.

Die portfeuljekomitee is ingelig dat die proses met die ministeriële oorsigverslag nog nie afgehandel is nie. Intussen weet ons dat die ANC se besluit om onderwys as noodsaaklike diens te verklaar, deur die SAKP en SA Demokratiese Onderwysunie, Sadou, gedwarsboom is. Dit is korrek om te argumenteer dat 'n onderwyser se reg om te staak 'n fundamentele reg is, maar die Handves van Regte in ons Grondwet spel ook die regte van kinders uit. Artikel 29(1)(a) konstateer: "Elkeen het die reg op basiese onderwys". Artikel 28(1)(d) lees: "Elke kind het die reg om teen ... verwaarlosing, ... beskerm te word"; en in die geval van botsende regte tydens 'n staking, behoort artikel 28(2) oorweeg te kan word. Dit lui: "'n Kind se beste belang is van deurslaggewende belang in elke aangeleentheid wat die kind raak."

Dit is duidelik dat Sadou ontsteld is oor aanbeveling 15. Soveel as wat hierdie aanbeveling nodig is om te verseker dat wetenskap, tegnologie en innovering op 'n stewige grondslag kan gedy, bedreig dit SADOU-lede se reg om te staak.

English:

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Chairperson, on a point of order: I just wanted to double-check with the Chairperson whether we are in the Department of Science and Technology debate.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Deputy Minister, I am following the hon member, and I encourage the hon member to move closer to the Budget Vote before us.

Afrikaans:

Dr J C KLOPPERS-LOURENS: Agb Adjunkminister, u moet net mooi luister, dan sal u agterkom waaroor dit gaan.

Maar geen reg is absoluut nie. Die reg om te staak sou, as fundamentele reg, in hierdie geval beperk kon word deur artikel 36, die beperkingsklousule in die Handves, in werking te stel. Agb Minister, die taak lê op u skouers om te sorg dat aanbeveling 15 met groot verantwoordelikheid oorweeg word. Die sukses waarmee u departement sy mandaat in die toekoms sal kan uitvoer, is op die spel.

English:
One of the three priorities underlined in the National Development Plan to achieve its objectives, is "improving the quality of education, skills development and innovation". Education, skills and innovation are inseparable. Deng Xiaoping, an outstanding Chinese leader of the previous century, who contributed hugely to turning China into a fast-growing and successful economy, constantly emphasised the importance of education and the advancement of science and technology. Last year, during my Budget Vote speech, I stressed the fact that the creation of human capital and a knowledge-based economy started with the curriculum presented in our education institutions. I called on the Minister to become involved in conversations in this regard. In her response, she agreed that we must strive to improve our performance.

Too little time prevents me from elaborating on this issue, Minister, but it suffices to refer you to an extract from paragraph 4 of Chapter 2 of the White Paper on Science and Technology, which reads:

New approaches to education and training need to be developed that will equip researchers to work more effectively in an innovative society. This will require new curricula and training programmes that are comprehensive, holistic and flexible, rather than narrowly discipline-based. Education and training in an innovative society should not trap people within constraining specialities, but enable them to participate and adopt a problem-solving approach to social and economic issues within and across discipline boundaries.

Afrikaans:

Agb Minister, ek wil herhaal wat ek verlede jaar gesê het. U departement behoort betrokke te raak by die kurrikulumgesprek en moet miskien selfs die voortou neem.

English:
During the past year, I sought clarity about the issue of government's involvement in SunSpace, a strategically important satellite manufacturing company. Despite two Cabinet decisions in 2009 and 2011 that government would acquire a majority equity stake in SunSpace and that funding would be made available through the usual budget processes of government, the management and council of this company were greatly disillusioned over a period of three-and-a-half years. In what was nothing but a 180-degree turnaround on this issue, Cabinet, in October 2012, approved that negotiations be entered into with the SA National Space Agency, Sansa, to explore the absorption of the core capability of SunSpace into Sansa. The department then proposed that SunSpace's core capability be safeguarded and absorbed into Denel Dynamics.

The process started in November 2012 and it was anticipated that it could take approximately three to four months. Minister, it is now seven months later. The lives and finances of many highly qualified SunSpace staff members are still on hold. Where does the department stand regarding the whole absorption process and at what cost will the tax-paying community have to foot the bill?

Afrikaans:
Laastens, die Africa Institute of South Africa Act Repeal Bill wil die wet herroep en die instituut ontbind, wat tot inkorporasie van die instituut in die Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing sal lei. Hoewel dit tans die enigste oplossing vir probleme met die instituut blyk te wees, kom die inkorporering verdag voor. Die inkorporasieproses het reeds begin voordat die Parlement die wetsontwerp goedgekeur het. Dit lyk asof daar eers op inkorporasie besluit is en toe na redes gesoek is om dit te regverdig. Dit laat 'n mens wonder of die bestuurprobleme van die instituut nie miskien aan die wortel van die ontbinding lê nie.

In 1999 was die salarispakket van die besturende direkteur, wat tot vroeë aftrede gedwing is, 'n skrale R150 000. Vir sy opvolger is dit onmiddellik byna verdubbel en binne ses jaar versesvoudig, waarna hy moes bedank vanweë ondersoeke na wanbestuur. Dié salarispakket staan tans op R1,5 miljoen. Die jaarlikse begroting van die instituut het oor 'n tydperk van 13 jaar van R3,2 miljoen na R35,2 miljoen geklim en, ten spyte van 'n veel groter personeel, is uitsette nie na wense nie. Dit het my te wete gekom dat die instituut se bydrae tot die mediese hulpfonds van sy pensioenarisse oor die afgelope twee jaar van 70% tot 30% verminder is, glo in opdrag van die departement vanweë begrotingsbeperkinge. Dit is 'n skrale besparing van R55 000 vanjaar teen 'n begroting van ongeveer R40 miljoen.

Soos met die Transnet-pensioenarisse moet pensioenarisse van die instituut nou bykans hul volle pensioen aan mediese fondsbydraes bestee. Dit is pensioene wat in 2012, sonder konsultasie met pensioenarisse, in annuïteitspolisse omskep is en wat pensioenarisse nou uitlewer aan die onstabiliteit van die aandelemark. Minister, dit is ontstellend. Dit pas nie by die aansien van u departement nie.

'n AGB LID: Hoor, hoor!

Dr J C KLOPPERS-LOURENS: Die Minister het reeds daarna verwys, maar vergun my die geleentheid om ook vir dr Bernie Fanaroff, 'n baanbreker van die Vierkante Kilometer Reeks, SKA, projek, vandag geluk te wens met die toekenning van die Nasionale Orde van Mapungubwe, silwer, wat aan hom op Vryheidsdag verleen is. Dr Fanaroff, ons salueer u! [Applous.]

Ms S K PLAATJIE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 355

Dr J C KLOPPERS LOURENS

Ms S K PLAATJIE: Chairperson, hon Minister, members, guests in the gallery, the building of the Square Kilometre Array telescope is a proud moment for South Africa. We should rightly be very proud to have won international support for the building of this unique telescope in our country. However, this remarkable achievement underscored the two realities of South Africa. On the one side, mathematics, high science and technology prevail. On the other side, they are almost completely lacking. Our maths education has for many years been ranked among the worst in the world.

If our country has any ambition of being a leader in the field of technology, it will certainly have to put the teaching of mathematics on a war footing. The two Departments of Education and the Department of Science and Technology should seek to do away with maths literacy immediately and put mathematics at the centre of the school. Our failure to remedy the deficit in mathematics and science education will prevent the transformation of our country and of our economy from being realised.

In the apartheid era, Verwoerd had decreed that maths and science should not be taught to black children in South Africa. One would therefore have expected the democratic government to have prioritised maths and science education above everything else. If the foundation is lacking, the superstructure that the department is seeking to build is unrealistic. We demand to know when the teaching of maths and science in our schools will be put on a war footing.

The second problem relates to embedding science and technology in the National Development Plan. However, the SA Communist Party and Cosatu are rejecting the only plan for the revival of the South African economy out of hand.

On page 809 of the Estimated National Expenditure, the department states:

In order to realise the potential of technology as an engine of growth, investment needs to be made in scientific and technological education and the population empowered, through access to knowledge and skills, to use technology efficiently.

Everywhere in the world technology is indeed being used to serve as an engine of growth. Yesterday, Samsung in South Korea announced the arrival of 5G mobile broadband, which would make the downloading of data hundred times faster than 4G. If technology is going to be our engine of growth, why are we lagging behind in broadband development?

Our population has definitely not been empowered, through access to knowledge and skills, to use technology efficiently, as the projects mentioned in the Estimates of National Expenditure would have it. I will go so far as to say that our population is simply being left to provide its own support without any real intervention from government. The general population is being fed promises and nothing else.

I am stressing the point of small businesses because the department is claiming in the Estimates of National Expenditure to be contributing to employment creation and economic growth by providing technological assistance packages to small, medium and micro enterprises. We would like to know what constitutes these packages and how widely they are being rolled out.

At a time in our country when joblessness continues to escalate and desperation is intensifying, it is time to ask hard questions about how public money is being spent. By next year the present administration will have added a mind-blowing R1 trillion to the national debt. Considering how much is being spent by government and how much it is borrowing, we need to know which research undertaken by the department has already led to industrial opportunities in earth system sciences, advanced manufacturing, advanced metals and information communications technology. If indeed these industrial opportunities have been created, what investments were made in respect of research in our country and how many jobs were created?

The funding of marketable research has to be a priority of the department. We have already lost R15 billion or more on the Joule electric car and Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project. Is the ongoing marketable research guaranteed to produce income and jobs?

The time has come for each department to produce a rolling audit of expenditure and outcomes. The department must show the total number of projects or programmes from the past that have been abandoned and those it is still continuing with. Each year the Minister of Finance continues with the theme that we need more bang for our buck and therefore the question of an annual as well as a continuous value audit has become a vital necessity.

On page 813, the department explains that the increase in expenditure in 2009 to 2013 is attributed to "the expansion of executive support". What exactly does this mean and what value did South Africa obtain from that increased expenditure?

Leading on from that question, I need to ask the following: What Performance Information Management system did the department procure that was different from other departments, and what ministerial public participation programme did it undertake, as is required by government regulations?

This department must not only assert that its activities are central to knowledge growth, innovation and industrialisation but it must prove that on a year-to-year basis.

Cope will support the Budget Vote but requests that the questions raised in this intervention be given full and satisfactory responses. [Applause.]

Mr P F SMITH

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 356

Ms S K PLAATJIE

Mr P F SMITH: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and hon colleagues, as the IFP we are very pleased to be able to stand here today to support the Budget Vote of this department. We are pleased because it is our view that this department is one of the few in government that does a decent job. [Applause.] There are plenty that we could severely criticise while standing here but this outfit is pretty good. So, I shall give credit where credit is due.

Listening to the Minister, one very quickly realises that the department has a huge ambit of projects and its remit is very large. I don't have time to speak to all things, so I would like to refer to just three items, which are areas of slight concern, bearing in mind that, overall, the department is doing a pretty good job.

The first of these concerns is the popularisation of science, engineering and technology among young people, who will, in due course, populate this pipeline that we need. The Minister pointed to our young colleagues up in the gallery and said that they may well be the Einsteins of the future. Well, let's hope that is the case, but let me also say to them that it will only be the case if they study mathematics and science at school. The future of this country lies in science, engineering and technology. That is the future of South Africa. It is your future as well, but go and study maths and science, take it at university and then you are on wavelength to a good future. So, go for that.

Having said that, it is good that the department puts fairly substantial resources and effort into popularising science and outreach programmes through science centres, science weeks, etc. are an important aspect of this. However, I do think that this should not constitute a core competence of this department. In my humble opinion, we need a national programme, a massive roll-out, undertaken by Basic Education - not by the Department of Science and Technology - to deal with science, education and technology, SET, outreach, career guidance and all the pedagogic challenges we face in improving our outcomes. This will then free the department to concentrate on its core mandate, which really is the implementation of its five strategic medium-term goals, one of which is human capacity development. However, I think that here we are really speaking about tertiary-level graduate and postgraduate issues, rather than schools.

My second concern, also on the theme of human capacity development, is the extent to which the department can better contribute to tackling capacity constraints, which in turn constrain knowledge production and, of course, innovation. If you consider the SET pipeline in our school system, there is really nothing much to write home about, and my colleague in the DA was quite right to point to the very serious crisis that we have in education, in particular at maths and science level.

The results of the third International Mathematics and Science Study, Timms, are very depressing. The take up of maths in schools instead of math literacy, which is real nonsense, is depressing. It is not good for the future of science education in the country. Given that, one might well conclude that the human capacity development programmes of this department and its partner institutions, such as the National Research Foundation, are adequate, given the circumstances and material that they have to deal with. But I don't think that is actually correct. Our human capacity development targets need to be raised.

When one listens to institutions like the NRF – and they were with us - they talk about increases in outcomes of 3% to 4% per annum. That may be acceptable, but I don't think it is because we need to aim high. We need to deliver higher than that. Anything that can increase those outcomes is to be welcomed. An additional amount of R500 million has been given for the outer limit of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to be spent on human capacity development. It is a great thing but we really need to raise our targets in this area.

I also want to talk about something that the Minister didn't really deal with this time but which we have gone through before. It relates to the level of expenditure on research and development. We have had this modest target of 1% of gross domestic product for research and development for many years, and we have never managed to reach it. We go creakingly low to 0,96% and 0,94% but we never crack the 1%. This is very depressing because if one looks at the raw data, the actual expenditure on research and development has increased from approximately R5 billion to R21 billion over the decade ... [Inaudible.] ... before last year. That doesn't sound bad but the problem is that its quite modest when compared to our competitors out there in the global economy. If you have problems on the research and development side, then your are probably going to have problems on the innovation and commercialisation sides, and everything else as well.

We really need to step this up because we are not unlocking our economic potential sufficiently when our research and development is stuck below 1%.

I am very pleased that the Minister made reference to the outcome from the Ministerial Review Committee when he mentioned the R500 million grant being given over three years to strengthen research and development within industry. That is wonderful. He also spoke about a joint summit happening in July. These are very important and good initiatives. However, anything that we can do to unlock this 1% barrier and get beyond it is to be welcomed. A couple of years ago, the previous Minister spoke about a target of 1,5% that we should be heading to and she was right. Let's get over this 1% barrier and set ourselves a new challenge of 1,5%. Then we will be making progress.

I'm running out of time so let me quickly say something that may not be very appropriate, given that there is an election around the corner. I don't want to say that the department is perfect, but I do think that we have a very good team here, with good projects and good partners. It's a very exciting bunch of people to work with and from an oversight perspective it is a privilege to work with all the people involved. I won't say that of all the departments, mind you, but certainly of this one. [Applause.]

Mr A Z NDLAZI

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 357

Mr P F SMITH

Ms A Z NDLAZI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Science and Technology, hon members, distinguished guests, today, as we vote on the budget of the Department of Science and Technology, let us take a moment to reflect and acknowledge our medical scientists and the role played by the Department of Science and Technology in advancing health research.

The past year was very fruitful with regard to the investment of the department in health innovation. Not only was Prof Kelly Chibale able to announce the first South African discovery of a malaria drug candidate but this was also followed by the announcement of a close partnership with the pharmaceutical industry that will boost drug discovery and development capacities in Africa.

South Africa is suffering from a quadruple burden, namely of HIV and TB, maternal and child mortality, noncommunicable disease and violent injuries and trauma. This disease burden is mostly fuelled by poverty and disempowerment. HIV and Aids are still the main problems but noncommunicable diseases are rapidly increasing due to lifestyle changes associated with urbanisation and diet changes, as well as socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors. Innovative and creative ways to deal with all four contributors of the burden of disease and mortality are necessary to address this. It is also essential that we develop partnerships between government, the science community and industry.

The Department of Science and Technology should be congratulated on the development of a health research partnership model that brings together individual researchers from various institutions in the country into formal collaborative relationships dedicated to the pursuit of a shared health research and development agenda.

The department currently supports research and development collaborative initiatives aimed at tackling diseases such as HIV/Aids, TB, malaria and noncommunicable diseases.

IsiXhosa:

Nangona iSifo sePhepha isesona sifo sinobungozi esosulelayo, kukho ukunqongophala kwezixhobo ezifanekileyo ukuthintela esi sifo, ingakumbi kumazwe amaninzi asaphuhlayo. Abaphandi boMzantsi Afrika bayinxalenye yokuphanda ngamachiza. Le nkqubo isekuvavanyo kodwa iziphumo ziyakhuthaza ukuba ukufunyanwa kwechiza lokunyanga iSifo Sephepha eMzansi Afrika sekumbovu.

English:

South Africa is seen as a good site to conduct clinical studies and hence a number of clinical trials of HIV/Aids and TB preventive and treatment tools are being conducted in the country. It is essential that South Africa ensures that we actually benefit from these clinical trials. With regard to research on HIV and Aids, the project funded by the Department of Science and Technology ensures that South African researchers are acknowledged internationally. The ongoing effort to confirm the results of the tenofovir microbicide gel should be commended.

Young women still bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic and we have to find solutions that will protect these young lives. We are hopefully optimistic that the results of the FACT study and the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in SA, Caprisa, 008 study will be able to provide some protection. In 2012, researchers at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Caprisa announced a ground-breaking discovery that provides an important new approach that could prove useful in making an Aids vaccine. The researchers discovered a unique feature of HIV that enables infected people to make antibodies that are able to kill a wide range of HIV strains. These broadly neutralising antibodies are considered to be key in developing an Aids vaccine.

A noncommunicable disease research and innovation initiative has been established to address the increasing problem of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The key component of the department's effort with regard to the project mentioned above is aligned to collaboration with public-private partnerships dedicated to escalating drug discovery, vaccine and diagnostics research and development. As such, the department is adopting an innovative and collaborative approach to the development of new medicines or vaccines and diagnostics whereby it looks to developing strategic partnerships with other government departments.

The Department of Science and Technology, in support of the development of the National Health Insurance, and the CSIR are assisting with the infrastructure unit system support project in acquiring a primary healthcare model. The organisation is also developing, on behalf of the national Department of Health, a national normative standards framework for e-health. The organisation has developed and implemented mobile technologies to support the re-engineered primary healthcare model.

The focus of the 2012 survey has been expanded to include a wide range of health information, for instance, the health of infants and mothers and child health. It also included emerging interventions such as male circumcision, issues around psychological health and behavioural risks, for example, alcohol abuse and drug use.

As stated in the National Development Plan, science and technology should be leveraged to solve some of the biggest challenges in education and health. I have highlighted some cases, particularly in health. The ANC resolved at its 53rd National Conference that the ANC should prioritise science and technology policy development implementation and monitoring capacity. Also, the principle of mainstreaming science, technology and innovation in the ANC-led government and the private sector should be adopted. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]

Adv A D ALBERTS

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 357

Ms A Z NDLAZI

Adv A D ALBERTS: Chairperson, at the turn of the previous century the father of modern space travel, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, stated that while earth is the cradle of humankind, one does not stay in the cradle forever. Those words were prophetic because the science and technology that emerged from it gave rise to a complex new world where humankind traverses all corners and depths of the earth and rises from our earthly cradle to meet the distant planets and stars that seemed to unreachable before.

Afrikaans:

Hierdie departement speel 'n groot rol om te sorg dat Suid-Afrika deel bly van hierdie breë beweging van wetenskap en tegnologie, wat vir ons kennis bring oor die aard van ons bestaan, asook hoe ons die toekoms kan bestuur tot voordeel van alle lewe op dié kosbare blou planeet van ons.

Die departement se doelwit is dan ook om die volle potensiaal van wetenskap en tegnologie te realiseer in sosiale en ekonomiese ontwikkeling, deur menslike hulpbronne, navorsing en innovering. Die departement se prestasies, of gebrek daaraan, moet dus aan die hand van hul eie doelwitte geëvalueer word.

English:

The department deserves praise for its work on the Square Kilometre Array bid and for ensuring that the country received the lion's share of the project. The SKA bid will ensure that South Africa stays a hub for scientific research into the future. Having said this, there are also serious concerns regarding other projects that have not been managed as well.

The budget report states that the purpose of the department's research, development and innovation programme is to facilitate knowledge generation and exploitation through research and development in the key priority areas of space science, bio-economy and energy.

However, if one considers the fiasco that government created regarding its proposed investment in SunSpace, so as to grow the space science capability and economy of the country, one has serious doubts regarding government's commitment to that purpose. After government decided to invest in SunSpace, it mysteriously reneged on its commitment which in turn gave rise to the company's financial distress. Now the only private space company in Africa is going to be broken up and merged, on a piecemeal basis, with Denel, which has its own challenges. I understand that the Minister inherited this problem and, in discussions with me, seemed open-minded and willing to look at other alternatives. Therefore, I wish to implore the Minister to once again enter into discussions to save the company. The director-general of Trade and Industry seems keen to contemplate an investment, as it dovetails with the Industrial Policy Action Plan, but is concerned that the break-up process has now already progressed too far. I am certain that if the Minister liaised with Trade and Industry, a solution could be found.

Afrikaans:

Laastens is dit kommerwekkend om te sien dat die intellektuele kapitaal of menslike hulpbronne rondom die gestaakte korrelbedkernreaktor-program nou privaat voortgaan in die VSA. Dit laat die vraag ontstaan of daar nooit genoeg gepoog was om die talent vir Suid-Afrika te behou nie.

Die Minister is nuut in sy pos. Hy het nou 'n geleentheid om sy eie stempel af te druk en 'n monument te bou. Die eerste hoeksteen daarvan sal inderdaad wees as hy SunSpace van sy gewisse ondergang sal kan red. [Applous.]

Ms H LINE-HENDRICKS

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 358

Adv A D ALBERTS

Afrikaans:

Mrs H LINE-HENDRIKS: Agb Huisvoorsitter, agb Ministers, agb Adjunkministers, agb lede van die Parlement van Suid-Afrika, dames en here, die ANC glo dat wetenskap, tegnologie en innovering baie belangrik en sentraal is om bruikbare en aanvaarbare oplossings vir sosio-ekonomiese uitdagings in Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskappe te vind. Daarom moet dit bevorder word deur meer beleggings en die befondsing van innovering, nuwe idees en tegnologie.

Die datum 25 Mei 2012 was nie maar net nog 'n dag op die kalender van Afrika en, in die besonder, Suid-Afrika nie. Dit was die dag waarop nege jaar se harde werk beloon is, toe die Vierkante Kilometer Reeks-organisasie aangekondig het dat Suid-Afrika deur konsensus gekies is om die SKA op te rig. Hierdie projek is in die Noord-Kaap geleë, in 'n dorpie met die naam van Carnarvon. Dit is 'n baie klein dorpie met baie min ekonomiese en beperkte vooruitgangsgeleenthede.

Die oprigting van die SKA in hierdie area is egter reeds besig om die geskiedenis van hierdie dorpie te herskryf. Die plaaslike hospitaal is alreeds opgegradeer, meer besighede is geopen, veral gastehuise, eiendomspryse het baie drasties die hoogte ingevlieg, 'n rekenaarlokaal is by die hoërskool ingerig en 20 nuwe rekenaars is alreeds afgelewer. Binne die volgende 60 dae sal die IT-gemeenskapsentrum in Bonteheuwel, in samewerking met die Kareeberg Munisipaliteit, gereed wees vir gebruik.

Die plaaslike gemeenskap word ook op ander maniere bevoordeel. Sowat 900 werksgeleenthede is reeds geskep vir die oprigting van infrastruktuur en ander bedrywighede op die terrein. Hierdie geleenthede spoel ook oor in ontwikkelingskursusse vir die plaaslike gemeenskap. Van die kontrakteurs het 'n wye verskeidenheid kursusse aangebied. Die plaaslike onderwysers het ook rekenaarvaardigheidsopleiding gekry.

Dit is veral oor ons plaaslike jeug waaroor 'n mens baie opgewonde kan raak. Sestien studente – vier vroue en 12 mans – van Carnarvon, Williston en Van Wyksvlei het in April 2012 met tersiêre opleiding in Kimberley begin. Hulle is besig met tegniese kwalifikasies om later op die projek te kom werk. Die voorgraadse SKA-beursstudente reik ook jaarliks uit om die plaaslike skole se leerders bloot te stel aan loopbaangeleenthede wat verband hou met die SKA-projek.

Soos ons maar is as mense, moet ons altyd probleme hê en moet elke projek vir ons probleme inhou. Een van die vrae wat ek, onder die omstandighede, nooit kon antwoord en geleentheid kon kry om te antwoord nie, is: die projek is daar – goed en wel – maar wat betref die ontwikkeling wat tans op die projek plaasvind, sal dit dan wees dat die gastehuis net daar is - ons weet die wetenskaplikes werk ongereelde ure - of sal dit beteken dat meer ontwikkeling op die projek self sal plaasvind, of sal die ontwikkeling meestal in Carnarvon plaasvind?

Ons sal nie waarde kan heg sonder om ons vorige Minister, Naledi Pandor, geluk te wens met alles en met die deursettingsvermoë wat sy aan die dag gelê het nie. Sy het regtig weer betekenis aan die spreukwoord kom gee dat 'n vrou staande kan bly onder moeilike omstandighede en die beste verseker. [Applous.]

English:

The department is also involved through its entities in other community-based projects. I will now present these projects briefly.

The proposed Hondeklipbaai abalone hatchery would be capable of supplying abalone spat to both abalone ranching and land-based farming, in addition to creating 30 permanent jobs. This project is still awaiting the outcome of the application for environmental authorisation.

In the Onseepkans essential oils project, it was discovered that the agricultural potential investigation and soil analysis must be completed as part of the ploughing certificate application. The Pella essential oils project also has challenges with the approval of a ploughing certificate and water-use licence. A water-use licence was issued for irrigation purposes only and a similar licence for water storage on site is needed. A meeting was held with the majority of the key role-players in this process to clarify constraints and to speed up the process.

With the Witdraai medicinal plants project, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, first met with the relevant provincial officials to confirm the required permit application forms and to understand the processes involved in obtaining environmental approval before compiling the application. This project aims to develop a model to develop indigenous plant species from wild crafted material to cultivate material for processing while conforming to all regulatory requirements.

The Nourivier-Kougoed demonstration agronomy project faces the challenge of a damaged dam wall that poses a risk to the community in the event of flooding and abstraction of water from the dam. This is not desirable, but a high-level intervention could facilitate the solving of this problem and avert a potential disaster.

In all of these cases, our science councils and entities are working closely with local and provincial authorities to accelerate these socioeconomic innovations for the improvement of the lives of our people. It is essential that we continue to support the close working relationships and co-ordination of all spheres of government in the National System of Innovation.

Afrikaans:

Ons moet regtig erkenning gee aan die ANC-regering. Die regering is doelgerig en wil graag verseker dat wetenskap, tegnologie en innovering soos 'n hand in 'n handskoen pas om vooruitgang te verseker.

Ek wil graag die personeel in die ministerie bedank vir hul beskikbaarheid en hulpvaardigheid wanneer hulle nodig gekry is. Ek moet egter ook my familie bedank, want om Afrikaanssprekend te wees en om Afrikaans te kan praat is goed, maar om dit te kan skryf is 'n ander ding. [Tussenwerpsels.] My dogter is in matriek en sy was die woordeboek. My man was die inhoudspesialis. Baie dankie. [Applous.]

Mrs J F TERBLANCHE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 359

Mrs H LINE-HENDRIKS

Mrs J F TERBLANCHE: Hon House Chair, Minister, Deputy Minister and members, in an array of mediocre departments paying lip service to the implementation of, sometimes, very good policy, the Department of Science and Technology does stand out like one of the shining stars that can be viewed from Sutherland. [Applause.]

In a very interesting visit to the 1820 observatory here in Cape Town, we got a clear idea not only of what is happening at the observatory but also what impacts the telescopes and, specifically, the South African Large Telescope, Salt, had on the small community of Sutherland - the tourist boom, the schools built, a science centre for all to use, guesthouses established and local residents trained to act as tour guides.

The DA welcomes the development of the Square Kilometre Array in the Karoo. The world's attention is fixed on the SKA and the construction of the precursor or pathfinder to the SKA project, which is currently under way - the 64 MeerKAT antennas, the first of which will be installed by December this year.

The majority of the SKA will be built in Africa and as the world's biggest telescope and one of the biggest scientific projects ever, similar benefits to the immediate community and the benefits for the country as a whole should be explored. A concern identified by the Auditor-General in the last audit report for the Department was that of the 81 targets planned, only 54 targets were achieved during the year under review.

This represents 33% of total planned targets that were not achieved during the year under review. This was due to the fact that indicators and targets were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process and could indicate poor performance on predetermined objectives. In research, and specifically where our researchers are competing for limited funding, it is crucial that proper and detailed planning be done, that specific objectives are being set, that these objectives be measureable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Failing to achieve the set objectives in one out of three cases is simply not good enough.

Coming to the National Research Foundation, NRF, and specifically Antarctic research, in an earlier parliamentary question by the hon Marian Shinn, it was asked how the SA Agulhas II research facilities could fairly be shared by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Science and Technology. The answer was that the details would still have to be sorted out.

Climate change and diminishing natural resources are becoming more and more relevant. Only yesterday the media widely reported on the record levels of carbon dioxide recorded on 9 May at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the big island of Hawaii - thank you, James Lorimer. The measurement surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time since records began back in 1958. The question remains: How will the research facilities on the SA Agulhas II - eight permanent and six containerised laboratories for different fields of marine, environmental, biological and climate research - be utilised?

An amount of R400 million was budgeted over the medium term for human capital development and R605 million for the modernisation of research infrastructure through the Human Capital and Knowledge Systems programme, and this should be welcomed. However, in scientific publications published, concerns about funding from the National Research Foundation were raised. There have been allegations such as "The shift in the funding priorities of the department and the NRF over the last five years is leaving researchers in specific disciplines, as well as their graduate students, high and dry."

Although the shift introducing new and exciting scientific research initiatives is welcomed and is indeed of critical importance, it is also crucially important that new initiatives should not be at the expense of support for the basic sciences across all disciplines, which should be the foundation of the national research effort. It must also support the department's strategic objective to increase the number of rated researchers, strengthening research activities at universities to produce world-class research, and increasing the number of PhD students in South Africa.

An international publication reported that South Africa at present has 393 researchers for each million of our population. This is a very challenging, low figure - about a third of that of Botswana - and is placing South Africa in the bottom group of world research. It is therefore a question of doing the one thing and not neglecting the other. Interaction with tertiary institutions, the bastion of South African research, on their funding problems, listening and responding to the voices at the helm of our research facilities, should therefore be an annual occurrence. [Applause.]

Ms M L DUNJWA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 360

Mrs J F TERBLANCHE

Ms M L DUNJWA: Hon Chair, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, our guests, the young scientists, the Department of Science and Technology, good afternoon. The ANC-led government adopted 12 key outcomes to focus on between 2010 and 2014 and has prioritised the improvement of the quality of basic education as outcome one, out of a total of 20 outcomes. This means that basic education is the top priority of this administration.

One of the key challenges faced by the basic education sector is improving the quality of learning outcomes in schools, in terms of improved learner performance. A substantive amount of energy has been spent in the last few years to improve youth participation and performance in mathematics, science and technology education. The level of success and achievement is still very low in comparison to the country's needs and the majority of those affected come from poor backgrounds.

The recently released World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report 2013 ranks South Africa's maths and science education second last in the world. The report added that South Africa's costly access to information and communication technology is hampering its competitiveness and success. The hon Minister indicated earlier that Cabinet approved the information and communication technology research development and innovation implementation roadmap at the end of April 2012. The main goal of this roadmap is to facilitate increased public and private investment.

IsiXhosa:

Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo naMalungu ale Ndlu yoWiso-mthetho neendwendwe zethu ezibalulekileyo, kungumnqa namhlanje ukuba kuthiwe sililizwe lesibini ukusuka emazantsi kwiZibalo neNzululwazi, abathi xa bakhumshayo, Maths and Science. Ilityelwe eyokuba sisuka phi sileli lizwe. Sisuka phi sileli lizwe nobu burhulumente obukhokelwa yi-ANC? Ngomhla we-17 kweyoMsintsi ngowe-1953, wayemi apha ohloniphekileyo uH F Verwoed wathi, "Akubalulekanga ukumfundisa umntwana womntu ontsundu iZibalo neNzululwazi." [Kwaqhwatywa.]

Ndithi ke loo nto masimane sizikhumbuza ukwenzela ukuba sithi xa sibheka phambili siqinisekise ukuba zonke iinkqubo ezibekwe bobu burhulumente obukhokelwe yi-ANC, zilungisa loo monakalo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Ndiza kuthi ngumonakalo kuba namhlanje xa umzukulwana wam esiza nomsebenzi wesikolo wasekhaya esithi mandimncedise kwiZibalo neNzululwazi, andazi nto mna kuba kaloku ndingomnye waloo maxhoba aloo monakalo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Kwahlekwa.]

English:

The Department of Science and Technology developed a Youth into Science strategy to enhance science and technology literacy among the public in general and the youth in particular and to enrol more young people with talent and potential in science, engineering and technology-based careers.

IsiXhosa:

Ndicela ukuyikhumbuza le Ndlu yoWiso-mthetho yoMzantsi Afrika ukuba ukuba andiphazami ngonyaka wama-2010 kwabakho abafana ababini abamhlophe abakha iigliders. Isizathu saloo nto yinto yokuba abazali babo babavumela ukuba badlale phaya egaraji, badibanise nantoni na abanokuthi bayidibanise. Ngaloo nto kwakukhangelwa ukuba zeziphi izakhono abanazo. Yiyo loo nto ke obu burhulumente obukhokelwa yi-ANC bunamaziko enzululwazi nobuchwepheshe, [science centres.]. Iinjongo zala maziko kukuqinisekisa ukuba njengokuba abafundisi-ntsapho, abakwangamaxhoba eBantu Education Act, No 47, 1953, eyayisithi uze ungamfundisi umntwana womntu ontsundu iZibalo neNzululwazi, kufuneka ke bahambe bakhuthazwe ukuba bazifunde ezo zifundo.

Yiyo loo nto kukho into ethi xa ikhunyushwa ngabantu bezeNzululwazi nobuChwephesha bathi yiScience Week. Ezaa Veki zeNzululwazi [science week] bantu baseMzantsi Afrika, siyikomiti yeScience and Technology sithi yiyani kuzo kuba ziza kuninceda ukuphuhlisa le ngqondo eninayo yemveli. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Ndathi xa ndimamele kumabonakude kwathiwa kukho umzobo owenziwe ngoomama bamaNdebele. Xa ujonga kwezaa zindlu bazikalikayo bezihombisa ngaloo mizobo kuthiwa zii-organic mathematicians. Kufuneka ke sizikhuthaze ezi-organic mathematicians. Aba mama basemakhaya xa behleli kufuneka sibaxelele ukuba mabaye kula maziko eNzululwazi ukwenzela ukuba bakwazi ukutshintsha ubomi babo. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

English:

Through its work, the Department of Science and Technology regards a national network of science centres as the ideal infrastructure for the delivery of science, public awareness and youth development programmes aimed at improving the quality of education outcomes.

IsiXhosa:

Namhlanje kumiwe apha ngabahlobo bam abangasekunxele besithi akukho nto yenziwa ngulo rhulumunte. ISebe lezeMfundo esiSiseko linenkqubo ethi Dinaledi Schools apho thina siliSebe leNzululwazi nobuChwepheshe sincedisayo kuyo. Isizathu salonto sesokuba loo kurhulumente wathi uyawubona umonakalo abantwana bethu abakuwo. Kuyanyanzeleka ke ukuba sincedise ngokuthi sithathe izikolo esiza kuthi sizilungiselele ukuvavanywa ukuze zikwazi ukuphumelela iZibalo nezeNzululwazi. ISebe lezeNzululwazi noBuchwepheshe lenza loo nto. Kungumnqa namhlanje ukuba abahlobo bam bekomiti bangama apha bayibuze loo nto.

Kubalulekile ke, Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo weNdlu, ukuba sitsho ukuba eli sebe lisebe abathi xa bekhumsha bathi lithi- cut across all departments. Okubalulekileyo kukuba onke amasebe ayazi ukuba ukuze iimfuno zawo namagunya awo aphumelele makasondele kufutshane. Ndiyavuya xa ndimi kule ndawo, ndibabona abantwana abancinci, amantombazana namakhwenkwe eli lizwe, amadoda namankazana eli lizwe, amhlophe nantsundu, xa beze kumamela xa sisithi sibanika uxanduva lokuba babonise ilizwe ukuba, ukuba ngaba wonke umntu uyazimisela kwezeNzululwazi nezoBuchwepheshe akangekhe ahlale ecaleni kwendlu agcakamele ilanga. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

Mandenze umzekelo omncinci, kubakho into apha kuthiwe abantu baya kwaChicks. Uyakuyazi ke ohloniphekileyo uNqaba kuba usuka eBhayi. Xa besiya phaya kwaChicks, bayokuthengisa izinto abacinga ukuba azinakwenza nto. Bazithengise ngemali engekhoyo, bafumane nje i-R100. Kodwa ukuba ngaba aba bantu bebesondela phaya kula maziko enzululwazi, babone ukuba yintoni na abanokuyidibanisa nenye into kuphume into entsha onokuthi njengokuba ubuza kuthengisa le glasi nge-R100 kodwa xa idityaniswe nezinye izinto, unako ukuba ungafumana ngaphezulu kwama-R100 000. Bangacinga ke ukuba abantu ndibalisa intsomi. Yiyo ke loo nto sikhuthaza, sisithi siyavuya thina silisebe, singamaLungu ekomiti yasePalamente xa kanye eCofimvaba kuza kubakho iziko lokuphuhlisa abantu. ECofimvaba ezilalini. [Kwaqhwatywa.] ECofimvaba, apho abantu bacinga ukuba akunakuphuma nto. Apho kunokuphuma khona izazinzulu, iiNjineli, ootitshala abanokukwazi ukuba bafundise abantwana iZibalo.

Siyacela ke kwiNdlu yonke, sicela nalapha kwimibutho ephikasayo ukuba mabazi ukuba ukuphuhlisa okanye ukufundisa abantwana - phofu Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo andibaceli, ndicela umngeni apha kubo wokuba njengokuba bebenethamsanqa lokuba bona iZibalo neNzululwazi bebezifunda besebancinci, ndicela umngeni ke ngoku wokuba wonke umntwana walapha eMzantsi Afrika, ngokungakhethi bala, omhlophe nontsundu, isini okanye umgangatho wokuphila makathi xa ephuma ephakama, kwisizukulwana esilandelayo singabinengxaki yokuba ngoobani na abantu, bangaphi na abantu esinabo abazi inzululwazi obuchwepheshe.

Ixesha lutshaba, kuba ukuba besinalo ixesha besiza kuzitsho zonke sibaxele nabantu esibaziyo ukuba baye baphuhliswa bafunda besuka ezilalini. Xa ndiza kusuka mandibize intombazana enguLifukazi Ngcwangu. Ngelishwa ayizanga apha.

English:

When she applied to study medical technology at the Port Elizabeth Technikon at the time, she was requested to apply to the then Minister of Education to state reasons why, being a female and a black student, she wanted to study medical technology at Port Elizabeth Technikon. It took her a year-and-a-half to receive a response. Never again! Never in this government, never again in this country, never again in Africa will children have to ask permission to study and improve their social conditions in life. [Applause.]

IsiXhosa:

Masimbulele uMlawuli Jikelele, umfana omncinci, osinyamezeleyo. Siwabulele amaqela, simbulele nohloniphekileyo uSmith ngokuthi angqine ukuba eli sebe liyawenza umsebenzi omhle. Ndimcele ohloniphekileyo umhlobo wam,...

English:

... she knows I cannot pronounce her surname but only her name - hon Juanita - that in fact she will have to understand that this department has a mammoth task and together in science and technology, united as we have always been, we ensure that we support the Ministry. We must also ensure that we play our oversight role in such a way that this government and this country see the importance of science and technology, as outlined in the National Development Plan.

IsiXhosa:

I-ANC ke xa ndime apha, ithi iyayixhasa le Voti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali, imcela noMphathiswa weSebe lezeziMali ukuba akhe aphinde ajonge ukuba ugalela kangakanani na engxoweni ukwenzela ukuba isebe eli likwazi ukwenza umsebenzi walo ngokupheleleyo nangokufanelekileyo. Ndiyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 361

Mrs J F TERBLANCHE

The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson and hon members, it is really difficult to respond when so much has been said. One thing that is clear to me, however, is that the members have really worked hard and prepared themselves for this debate. I am really impressed.

It was difficult to absorb everything that everybody was saying, because these were well-researched contributions to this debate. I think the members in the gallery would have obtained lots of additional information and I am sure members in this House who are not members of the portfolio committee have found this debate enriching and fascinating. So, I want to thank the members from all parties for really making a constructive contribution to a very important debate and for doing their homework really thoroughly. I also want to thank, obviously, all members for the support they have given the Department of Science and Technology and the acknowledgement of the importance of the work that is being done to our country.

Very briefly, firstly, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, the hon Ngcobo, spent some time highlighting the importance of indigenous knowledge systems. I want to thank him for that because it is one of the areas that are sometimes neglected. Sometimes, it is underappreciated. It is often regarded as a kind of pseudo-science, but we believe there really is valuable knowledge held by communities and that it needs to be valued, acknowledged, better understood and better researched, so that we can extract maximum value from this knowledge and ensure that local communities benefit from the commercialisation of their knowledge. The starting point, however, is recognising that there are knowledge-holders out there who have important knowledge. Give them due credit and make sure that, however you construct it, some benefit flows to what we regard as local community knowledge-holders.

Secondly, to the hon member Kloppers-Lourens - I do not have a lot of time, I am afraid, so I am going to have to rush through my comments. Your dedication to the work of this portfolio committee is really much appreciated. We do not disagree with some of the comments you made on education, but our approach might be a little bit different. The Minister, Naledi Pandor, is sitting there. She is also the chairperson of the ANC's committee on health and education. The matters that have been raised here are being very, very carefully debated. We agree that there has to be a greater level of accountability and responsibility taken by teachers in our society. The matter of essential service, or not, is a matter that is still being discussed. One thing that we believe is very important is keeping stakeholders on board and engaging with our social partners, including trade unions.

There are a couple of other things. In this debate – and we know there are big challenges in education – we must not neglect to acknowledge the thousands of teachers who really care about their work, who are dedicated and who often work under difficult conditions. [Applause.] Yes, they are really the salt of the earth. However, we must also appeal to teachers who neglect their responsibilities. They are not doing our country a favour, even if they exercise their right to protest as enshrined in the Constitution. Respect and dignity must be maintained at all times. Teachers are meant to be role models in our society. [Applause.] They must rise to that. They must be role models.

Parents must be, too. We would like to suggest that parents are probably not taking their responsibilities as seriously as they should. I think it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that parents in our constituencies take their responsibilities more seriously.

Hon Plaatjie, thank you for a well-researched piece of work. A lot of questions will have to be answered afterwards. You touched on earth science systems. Interestingly, South Africa has ideal conditions for doing internationally important astronomy work and ideal conditions for doing work in palaeontology because of our enormously rich fossil finds. So, when it comes to earth sciences, we are, in truth, a natural laboratory.

We have everything in our country that will give the world better answers to some of the fundamental questions, including questions relating to climate change and to what is happening on our planet. So, it is not by coincidence that we chose Global Change as one of our five priority areas. We have such ideal conditions to do research in this important area of earth science.

In a place called Potsdam, not far from Berlin, there is an institute called the German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Helmholtz Institute for Geosciences. When we visited the institute, they said there was no country in the world that had so much to offer, as a kind of a living laboratory for researchers, as South Africa in the area of earth sciences.

To the hon Smith - where are you anyway, Peter? We are not allowed to call each other by first names, are we? [Laughter.] You are a truly valued member of the portfolio committee. Your intellect and positive contributions are always valued by the members of the portfolio committee. I would agree with most of what you say, except that mathematical literacy is not "a nonsense". I would say that we obviously want our learners to do well in mathematics and science. We need to concentrate on the quality of teaching that happens; the capabilities of our teachers. There are a number of things that we need to do in order to get better results in mathematics and science, but mathematical literacy does have value.

Hon Smith, of course we would like other departments, including Basic Education, to popularise science, but my department does science, so we need to popularise it. Dr Bernie Fanaroff, you want to use the SKA to popularise science in the minds of many young people out there, who will dream; who will one day become the astronomers; who will make Bernie a not-so-very significant figure one day. They will be getting the next Mapungubwe Orders because we nurture them. We excite them through what we are doing, hon Smith, and I think that is very important.

We must also learn to communicate our work much more effectively. Yes, we must target the 1,5% and yes, it is true, there has been a backward slide. We must take that seriously. With the work that we are doing in the tax incentives, the uptake has not been what we were hoping it would be. So, we have been working very carefully with Sars and with the Treasury to ensure that we tighten up these instruments to get better uptake, because the real decline in expenditure in research and development has been on the private-sector side. It has been a difficult period, admittedly, and of course some of the major projects, such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and its discontinuation, had a major impact on the amount of research and development done by the private sector. Yhu! [Gosh!] This man is going to stop me very soon! [Laughter.]

Hon Ndlazi, the 23 higher-education institutions that we have in our country are now served at speeds of up to – how many gigabytes per second? A lot. A lot! [Interjections.] I thought one of you would help me! The fact of the matter is that in terms of the ICT needs of our universities and higher research institutions, we are very close to the international benchmark, and that is a fact.

Afrikaans:

Agb Alberts, ek is nie só nuut in die pos nie, jy weet. Ek was daar en ek het goeie onderwysers, soos minister Pandor, gehad. Ek is al baie jare in die pos. Dit is net onlanks dat ek 'n Minister geword het, maar daar is nie só groot 'n verskil nie.

English:

A lot of issues were raised about SunSpace and Information Systems (Pty) Ltd. Let me just say a couple of things. SunSpace is a private company. Yes, we had big dreams for SunSpace, and SunSpace had big ambitions. It developed very, very serious human capabilities. They had it, but unfortunately they did not get the international contracts that all of us were hoping they would get. Effectively, SunSpace became insolvent. Now, it is true, we must use our taxpayers' money responsibly. Just salvaging an insolvent company would not have been a responsible use of taxpayers' money. The decision to merge or rescue SunSpace was the right decision, but to rescue it in the right way was important. So, we – or rather, SunSpace itself – did appoint a business rescue practitioner; we put a lot of money into SunSpace and a lot of effort into rescuing the human capabilities, the human capital that is there. However, I think this is going to be a topic for discussion in the portfolio committee so that we can go through it in greater detail.

Afrikaans:

Aan die agb lid Line-Hendricks, nee, u Afrikaans is uitstekend, man! [Tussenwerpsels.]

English:

I do not know why you apologise for your written Afrikaans because you were reading what you wrote. [Applause.] Thank you for what you said about the SKA. Thank you very much to the hon Terblanche also.

One thing we should all be mindful of, however, is that this is a global project. It is a project that has put Africa on the map such as no other scientific project has ever done. So, we must be a bit careful to avoid it becoming a local economic development project. We want the people in Carnarvon to benefit, as people in Sutherland have benefited, but we can go only so far in the local benefit. We do not want people in the rest of South Africa to say: "It brought development to Carnarvon, you know – what about the rest of us?" We have got to embrace it as a national project that puts our country on the map in the area of science and technology such as no other project has. There will be jobs - and many jobs – for engineers, for technicians, for astronomers. They are coming, but they are not all going to be located in Carnarvon, and I think you must help us manage that process. [Applause.]

I thank the hon Dunjwa for trying to wrap it all up. I think your role in the portfolio committee, keeping us all disciplined, keeping us all focused on our work, is well appreciated. Above all, I think the role of the chair of this committee – and all the members of the committee – is to ensure that it is not fraught with political in-fighting. When there are issues, there are serious issues, and we engage on those issues.

Members of the opposition parties, you have really done me a disfavour here. With elections coming up, you have not given me anything to bash you on! [Laughter.] Thank you very, very much for everything you have said and done. [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

SECOND ORDER

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 362

FIRST ORDER

APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 14 – Arts and Culture:

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Hon Chairperson, Deputy Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, hon members and distinguished guests, since 2009 our work has been in line with our electoral mandate, guided by the theme: "Working together we can do more". Despite the many challenges that still lie ahead, we are satisfied that we have made considerable progress in delivering on our mandate and have laid a solid foundation for the future. In particular, we have succeeded in placing arts, culture and heritage at the centre of our efforts to heal the wounds of our unhappy past; to build an inclusive society; and to support economic growth and the building of sustainable livelihoods.

The 2009 ANC election manifesto, among other documents, committed this government to building a socially inclusive society. In line with this commitment, the Department of Arts and Culture has, thus far, facilitated 110 community conversations throughout the country. More conversations are currently ongoing. They provide a unique opportunity for us as South Africans to dialogue on the kind of society we seek to build.

In October 2009, we convened a National Social Cohesion Colloquium, where it was reiterated that we are one people, one nation, bound together by a common heritage and a shared destiny. During the 2010 Fifa World Cup, we initiated programmes aimed at using that historic event to build national unity and foster national pride and identity. These programmes included the Magnificent Fridays campaign, the schools essay competition and Our Flag in Every School campaign.

In order to take forward our work of building an inclusive society, in July 2011 we convened a National Summit on Social Cohesion in Kliptown, the birthplace of the Freedom Charter. Delegates to the summit recommitted themselves to the goal of building a South Africa that truly belonged to all who lived in it, black and white, united in their diversity. They also committed themselves to a plan of action that will, among other goals, promote social justice, the values of ubuntu, human rights and equality for all. They agreed that at the centre of implementing this plan will be our social cohesion advocates: eminent South Africans drawn from all sectors of our society.

Some of those eminent South Africans we appointed are in the House with us, including former Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, Ms Joan Ramagoshi, and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. [Applause.] We are confident that our social cohesion advocates will mobilise all sectors of society in consolidating and deepening the progress we have made since 1994 towards building an inclusive society.

Hon members, next year South Africa will complete 20 years as a free and democratic country. This is a milestone that all South Africans should celebrate. As a build-up to that occasion, beginning this year, we will launch a year-long programme that will culminate in the celebration of 20 years of liberation, on 27 April 2014. Our build-up programme will allow us to highlight and celebrate our achievements; and to make the point, once more, that South Africa is a better country than it was before liberation. Also included in the programme are activities aimed at promoting the National Development Plan - Vision 2030 as our nation's long-term vision and the basis for collective action and partnerships across society.

We declared 2012 the Year of Heritage. This we did as an acknowledgement of the centenary of the oldest liberation movement in Africa, the ANC. We identified 29 heritage projects, primarily to honour the heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle. Most of these projects have been completed or are at an advanced stage of implementation. These include the opening, last month, of the //hapo museum at Freedom Park; the completion of the iconic Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg; and the completion of the first phase of the project to refurbish the homestead of the former ANC president, O R Tambo, in Mbizana. [Applause.]

We have also built a road linking the Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park. The monument, commemorating the Matola Raid, has now been completed. A number of graves of our struggle heroes and heroines were upgraded and declared as heritage sites. These include the graves of Robert Sobukwe, Helen Suzman and Steve Biko. We also renamed the Bloemfontein Airport as Bram Fischer Airport in honour of this struggle icon.

Fellow South Africans, one of the biggest achievements in restoring the dignity of our indigenous people, was the return of Trooi and Klaas Pienaar, whose bodies were illegally taken to Austria for scientific research. [Applause.] We are delighted that these South Africans have now been given a decent burial in the land of their birth. Equally, we are in the process of returning the mortal remains of Dawid Stuurman, a leader of the Khoi people and one of the early freedom fighters, who was taken away for imprisonment in Australia, 240 years ago. [Applause.]

We continue to make progress towards the implementation of the Liberation Heritage Route, linking sites and individuals of significance to the South African struggle for liberation, throughout the continent. Sites have been identified in Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Lesotho. Last week, we had discussions with the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia with a view to building a monument at the place where former President Nelson Mandela received his military training in 1962. [Applause.]

We have also made progress in capturing and documenting the correct history of the early wars of resistance, as well as our country's participation in both world wars. This we have done through the SA Democracy Education Trust project, wherein three volumes documenting this history have already been produced. We thank the late Professor Bernard Magubane, a great thinker and intellectual who contributed immensely to ensure that our history is well documented.

This year also marks 100 years since the Union Building was officially opened. Despite its history as a symbol of white supremacy, the Union Building is now one of the symbols of our new democratic nation. In this regard, we are proud to announce that we have commissioned the installation of the statue of the founding President of our free and democratic nation, President Nelson Mandela, to be placed in front of the Union Building. [Applause.]

Fellow South Africans, as part of marking that is has been 100 years since the promulgation of the Natives Land Act, the Iziko Museum is hosting an exhibition, "Umhlaba 1913 to 2013". We are also working with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to document the legacy of the Natives Land Act.

The ANC government has always known that the creative and cultural industries are important contributors to the development of our economy and society in general. It is against this background that working with our stakeholders, we have identified arts, culture and heritage as the new Mzansi Golden Economy. We are making progress in the establishment of cultural precincts across the country. Yesterday, we handed over a cheque of R13 million to kick-start the establishment of the Ray Alexander Simons Memory Centre in Gugulethu. [Applause.]

Last week we unveiled a study of the contribution of film to the economy. According to this study, the film sector contributes R3,5 billion annually to our gross domestic product and provides employment to more than 25 000 people. We are currently in the process of restructuring the National Film and Video Foundation into a fully fledged national film commission and establishing a film fund.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our artists in this sector who have excelled and won awards on the world stage. Some are here with us today. They include Ms Florence Masebe, who won the best lead role in the film Elelwani at the African Movie Academy Awards. [Applause.] We also congratulate the makers of the film Layla Fourie, which received the Jury Special Mention Award at the Berlinale International Film Festival. [Applause.]

In the coming months, we will unveil plans on how our sector will develop content for television as our country prepares to introduce digital television. To this end, I have appointed a content task team, working with the Department of Communications, the Independent Communications Authority of SA, the SA Broadcasting Corporation Consumer News and Business Channel Africa, MultiChoice and the entire television sector to look at how we can increase local content in our country.

Music is one of the biggest sectors in the broader creative industry. It is also an important contributor to nation-building and social cohesion. We are disturbed that this important sector continues to face challenges, including piracy, problems with the collection and distribution of royalties, social security for artists and many other problems. To respond to some of these challenges, I have also appointed a task team to address these challenges and will report back within three months.

Fellow South Africans, we are proceeding with our plans to establish a national skills academy for the creative industries as a centre of excellence. Detailed plans for the establishment of the academy will be finalised in August this year. We have, over the years, invested in the growth and development of the book sector. We are now in the process of establishing a statutory body council, which will oversee the sector. Already, the sector is estimated to be worth more than R5 billion and employs an estimated 17 000 people. We will continue to invest in the development of this sector as part of improving the culture of reading in our society. We also continue to support young and new writers. This we will do through various platforms and partnerships, including our partnership with Write Associates, which has now grown to focus on the continent as a whole.

Last year, Parliament passed into law the Use of Official Languages Bill. This is an important intervention that will go a long way in promoting multilingualism and move us closer to the goal of ensuring parity of esteem for all languages, especially indigenous languages. [Applause.]

Hon members, culture is an important ingredient in building relations among people and opening up other opportunities for interaction, especially in areas such as trade, commerce and development support. Culture has now become the soft power of many nations. In this regard, we have signed cultural agreements with many countries and are currently implementing cultural exchanges. We are pleased to announce that, as per the decision of President Zuma and the former president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, we are now on the second year of implementing the South Africa Season in France programme. The first year of the season in South Africa was a resounding success. We are confident that the South African leg in France will also be a success. This will be launched on 28 May and will run until December this year.

We will be taking more than 800 South African artists to participate in events taking place in more than 100 cities in France. We have also signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom and plans are under way to enter into cultural seasons with China, Russia, Angola and Nigeria. We will also enter into discussions with the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, Dirco, with an intention to appoint cultural attachés in strategic countries where we have diplomatic missions.

To address challenges in our sector, we have decided to align and streamline funding for the sector. This includes working with the National Lotteries Board and our funding agencies to ensure maximum funding of our sector. This proposal will be included in the revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage, which we will publish shortly.

Hon members, we have made significant progress and laid a firm foundation to bring about a better life. Informed by the National Development Plan - Vision 2030, we will continue to increase investment in our sector.

As I conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to thank hon Sunduza, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, and all members of the portfolio committee for their rigorous oversight on the work of the department and its agencies. I also take this opportunity to thank the Director-General of the Department of Arts and Culture, Mr Sibusiso Xaba, and the entire staff of the Department of Arts and Culture, the chairpersons and chief executive officers of our institutions and their entire staff. I also thank all stakeholders who continue to add value in our work. It is therefore my honour to present before this House the 2013-14 Budget Vote of the Department of Arts and Culture. Ke a leboga. Inkomu. [Thank you]. [Applause.]

Ms T B SUNDUZA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 363

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Hon Minister, Mr Paul Mashatile, Deputy Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, provincial MECs present, council and board members of arts, culture and heritage institutions, hon Members of Parliament and guests ...

IsiXhosa:

... ndiyanibulisa nonke namhlanje kule Voti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali yeSebe lezoBugcisa neNkcubeko.

English:

I would like to say that the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I would like to thank Almighty God for giving me the grace to debate on this Budget Vote once again. I stand here, confident and without fear of intimidation, because my parents, Mr and Mrs Sunduza, are in the gallery. [Applause.] I am therefore protected and I am talking about the two ANC cadres who taught me to fight for justice till today. I would also like to acknowledge my friend, Dumisani Booi, who is also in the gallery.

IsiXhosa:

Niyazithanda neendaba.

English:

I would like to quote from an unsung poet who said:

No amount of torture

No amount of innocent blood being shed

No amount of distortion or pretence can stop us

In your Holy Name, Morena,

We are, you with us, taking our land back,

Declaring peace, not only as absence of war,

But as Shalom, justice in action

In your holy name.

These are the words of my special guest in the gallery. Her name is Joyce Boitumelo Dipale, who was shot by Dirk Coetzee in exile, helped by Almond Nofemela and Joe Mamasela. She is a poet and a cultural activist, but her speech and memory were severely affected by the torture.

IsiXhosa:

Sisi Joyce. Khanimncede aphakame. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

English:

She is a former soldier of uMkhonto weSizwe and she is still committed. Thank you for coming.

History is heritage and it must be told and archived correctly. This is the history that has not been told to our generation. A member of the DA, the opposition party, once said, "Parliament is boring because it becomes a history lesson." Indeed, it is boring to them because it is not the history of Vasco da Gama or Christopher Columbus, who got lost in a ship, or the Anglo-Boer War. That is why it is "boring". This is the history that we must be recording - and it is our heritage as well. We only know about the war that was lost but nothing is even said about Africans who suffered in the Anglo-Boer War; who were tortured kwezo mfazwe [in those wars.] We are disillusioned because we only knew about the Mfecane or Difaqane and they never told the truth - that we were fighting for our land. I'm saying this because this year we are celebrating the centenary of the Natives Land Act, which no one wants to talk about.

Africa must unite as we also celebrate 50 years of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU. No one will ever say that mathematics was invented in Egypt because, to some, nothing good comes from Africa. [Interjections.] Therefore, the only time we must digest anything is when the Dutch and French ancestors write it for us.

We commend the SA Democracy Education Trust, SADET, project of writing our South African history. We are very grateful to them because the only history we know was taught by the DA's predecessors, the National Party. I call on African writers to write our history. [Interjections.]

IsiXhosa:

Umthetho wenu niyathanda ukungxola kakade xa nixelelwa inyani.

English:

As I support the Budget Vote, I call on the Minister and on Africans to write our history. I also call for Lovedale Press to be revived. I am saying this because I'm proud that some African women have started to write books. I have a book here, I honour the women who wrote it by James Arthur Calata. This copy is for the hon Naledi Pandor because she promised she will come and listen to me.

IsiXhosa:

Yeyakho le mama. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

English:

We must also honour those who fought in World War 11, such as Mfanasekhaya Linda Gqobose, who is the father of Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa.

I would like to comment on the false claim the DA is making in their "Know your DA" initiative of being South Africans who fought apartheid. I am not talking about voices who spoke about apartheid, but about people who took action against apartheid. We honour people like uMkhonto weSizwe fighters, and Beyers Naudé and Trevor Huddleston are the people who fought for democracy, not ...

IsiXhosa:

... aba bathi sasikhona babe bethetha ngomlomo kungekho nto bayenzayo. Yiyo loo nto behambisa iiplastiki ezizuba behamba besipha abantu bethu ukutya. Ndiyathetha ngoku ndithi ...

English:

... to the youth of South Africa: Know your history and beware of the DA because ...

IsiXhosa:

... iza kumane ininika ukutya kuba iyayazi ukuba niyalamba kwaye bathatha imiyalelo esuka e-Europe.

English:

I will not leave the DA alone because they are misleading our people. [Interjections.]

I also want to say that when we talk about culture, we are talking about social cohesion; where people meet. That is why some people will never understand it when we take Parliament to the people because only a few were represented. Indians and coloured people were represented in the tricameral Parliament. That is why Sandy Kalyan will never understand why we are taking Parliament to the African people. It is part of social cohesion!

IsiXhosa:

Akayazi loo nto kuba yena wayemelwe ngelaa xesha.

English:

Then she asks the questions about the food. Our people are hungry. I'm not sure when they go to those houses. They think that people are full.

IsiXhosa:

Ngoku uthi simosha ngemali, akazi nto kuba kaloku yena uqhele ukutya.

English:

We mark 50 years since Nelson Mandela arrived in Robben Island as a prisoner. It is important to mark 20 years of freedom and democracy. This Parliament should use this opportunity to honour Madiba as its first President. I will continue to say that we must build a statue for Madiba here at Parliament.

IsiXhosa:

Elaa hashe lisuke liye kwiziko lezenkcubeko.

English:

There is space in the museum for that horse. It does not represent us; it represents them. We must also declare the month of July as Ubuntu Month, in honour of Madiba.

The National Development Plan has identified nine major challenges that are facing South Africans. While all these are of critical importance to the nation, the budget of the Arts and Culture Department will strive to contribute to the creation of decent jobs, economic growth and the realisation of a socially cohesive and inclusive South Africa.

My debate will focus on cultural development and heritage promotion, which are programmes 4 and 5 of Vote 14. The main purpose of cultural development is to promote and develop South African arts and culture. The main focus of this programme is to implement the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy projects. The Mzansi Golden Economy has finally come, in 2013. It will attack poverty, expand all cultural industries and become a beacon of our economy. The Mzansi Golden Economy will invigorate and expand economic opportunities in the creative industries by building infrastructure in the arts, culture and heritage sector and create conditions for entrepreneurship and an inclusive economy.

This programme is significant and that is why the budget allocation has been increased by 32% in the current budget, relative to the previous financial year. We are also championing the liberation route – when I say "we" I mean the ANC – in Africa. The continued support of the National Literary Awards is one of the key achievements of this programme.

Heritage promotion provides policy legislation and strategic direction for identifying, conserving and promoting cultural heritage. This programme takes the largest chunk of the Arts and Culture budget allocation, which is R834 million. The bulk of this allocation is transferred to heritage institutions for operations, capital works and some of the key functions of this programme, including monitoring and evaluating the performance of heritage institutions protecting and preserving our heritage. The Minister has referred to the Sara Baartman centre and the Matola raid project.

We must not be apologetic when we build more monuments to acknowledge our heroes of liberation. That is why the issue of land becomes very important: We need land to build these monuments.

IsiXhosa:

Intloko ka-Strydom le yawa ePitoli yayinkulu, yawa ngenxa yobukhulu bayo. Nathi ...

English:

... we must not be apologetic. Therefore, we must not have small museums for honouring our own heroes.

One of the challenges that the department is grappling with is the issue of consultants. Therefore, we appeal to the department to minimise the use of consultants and create more employment opportunities. There is a great overreliance on consultants. That is why we are saying we are disappointed with the management challenges in some of the public entities such as SA Heritage Resources Agency, SAHRA, for instance.

Piracy and counterfeiting are killing the music industry in South Africa.

IsiXhosa:

Siyanicela bantu musani ukuthenga izinto ezibiweyo nezo kotshiweyo, thengani uqobo kuba nilambisa iimvumi zethu zethu zaseMzantsi Africa kwaye niyazibulala ngokwenza oko. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

English:

We are praying for the revival of traditional mbaqanga music and choral music.

Minister, we don't have film and video schools at tertiary institutions. They are private institutions and are exploiting are African people. They are really exploiting them. Dr Blade Ndzimande and you, Minister, must meet ...

IsiXhosa:

... khon'ukuze sikwazi ukuqinisekisa ukuba kusekwa ...

English:

... a film-production curriculum in the universities of South Africa. That is why you are not finding many black people producing ...

IsiXhosa:

... iifilimu ezithile kuba bayaqhathwa ngaba bamhlophe.

English:

The National Development Plan puts it very clearly that the wellbeing of every citizen is the concern of other citizens and that the development of South Africa means the development of each and every one of us who lives here. We must build on our solidarity, which, through history and heritage, has demonstrated our aspiration to create a caring society.

Major leading economies in the world have strategically positioned their creative industries, as in Asia. This has resulted in the growth of demand and participation in the creative industry to produce the required quantity. Their economic growth has been sustained through their creative industry, even during the period when the meltdown affected them.

The ANC, as a legitimate voice of the people of South Africa, is concerned about the structure of the global economy and youth unemployment. It is this consideration that moved the Department of Arts and Culture to introduce the Mzansi Golden Economy.

IsiXhosa:

Ndicela nindimamele kuba aniyazi nale Mzansi kwaye niza kuphinda nisibuze izinto eningazaziyo apha.

English:

We further request that we support our African initiatives, such as clothing and hairdressing, because it creates employment for those who are in need. The Mzansi Golden Economy projects should include the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that piracy is criminalised.

Two years ago, the original copy of the Freedom Charter was brought back to South Africa. The Freedom Charter remains an important document in our history and it underpins the values of the South African Constitution. The Department of Arts and Culture and its agencies are making plans to host the 60 years commemoration of the Freedom Charter.

The department has supported a number of festivals, such as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Johannesburg Joy of Jazz. However, we plead with you, Minister: now is the time for rural development. These festivals must also be taken to the rural areas.

IsiXhosa:

Sibe nawo umnyhadala womjuxuzo phaya Pealton, kulo sisi Pam.

English:

This will also contribute to job creation.

This year marks 100 years of the cruel and evil Natives Land Act of 1913. We all know what happened. Some members in this House are beneficiaries of the 1913 Natives Land Act. Some on the left here will soon go red. [Interjections.] That is why they are not supportive of the land reform and restitution processes. If you want to check whether a person had benefited during the segregation and apartheid period, ask them their views about the land claims now. They will sweat and become red.

Hon Mulder is the best example. How dare he say blacks don't have claim to land? [Interjections.] Yes, he is in our Cabinet because that is social cohesion nina aniyiqondi loo nto. [and you don't understand that.] [Interjections.] The ANC will continue to spearhead the land reform process and ensure that its heritage is accurately recorded. During this year, many national museums will be hosting exhibitions to commemorate and educate South Africans about the effects of the Natives Land Act of 1913.

IsiXhosa:

Yhu! Ibuhlungu ke into yakho Mama uKopane kuba ufana nam apha ebusweni akukho nto uyifumeneyo. Uhlawulwa umvuzo lo siwufumanayo apha.

English:

The Khoi and San communities deserve special recognition in South Africa. They were crushed by the evils of white racism long before anyone else. They have been slaughtered, removed from their land and enslaved. A myth was even spread that they had all disappeared and those surviving Khoi and San communities were given new labels, such as Boesman and Kaffirboetie. [Interjections.] The ANC is the natural home of the Khoi and San communities for claiming land that was stolen from them before the 1913 Natives Land Act came into effect.

In addition, the Department of Arts and Culture is in the process of repatriating the remains of a Khoi freedom fighter and a Robben Island prisoner who is respected for escaping twice from the Island, Chief Dawid Stuurman. In 1823, after being recaptured, Stuurman was tortured and sent to serve his entire sentence in Australia. He later died in Australia and was buried as a pauper.

IsiXhosa:

Ngoku isebe liyambuyisa, libuyisa namathambo akhe. Sicela i-Australia isebenzisane nathi ukubuyisa umntu wethu. Ingamenzi udwayi lwabo. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

English:

I like history because it is the truth. Monuments play an important role in nation-building. We will continue to call for the transformation of public monuments. I challenged O R Tambo International Airport to mount a decent statue of Oliver Tambo at the entrance to the airport, which will serve as a tribute to the values that Tambo strived for. I am against the existing dummy sitting in the corner - it is an insult to Oliver Tambo, an internationalist and a South African. In my travels in Israel -

IsiXhosa:

Ncumani kaloku nifumana imali phaya.

English:

- heritage monuments are their tourist attractions. [Interjections.] Every time I go to the holocaust museum, Minister Pandor, there are Jews there, crying as they remember the holocaust. But in South Africa they say we should forget about apartheid. How soon? Why should we forget? They must be thankful that we are extending a hand, considering what they did to us, you know.

IsiXhosa:

Unotshe soze silibale, ingakumbi xa nisuka nigeze, nisichaphukisa okokuqala nokokugqibela.

English:

The opposition is forever challenging the transformation of the national geographical places, mainly because it is proposed by the ANC. [Interjections.] Therefore, they like it when they see Boesmanskop and Kaffirfontein.

IsiXhosa:

Ababoni nto ingalunganga.

English:

They are very happy about it because it is their heritage. The ANC will not be confused by those who don't want to transform, those who are racist and those who want to block anything that represents African heritage. We call on the SA Geographic Names Council, the Minister and all to fast-track the renaming of Pretoria and other places to reflect the views of the majority of South Africans. [Interjections.] It might be stupid but it is fine because you are a beneficiary; that is your problem. I wonder how you stay in your house when your maid is just sitting at the back of your house? How do you feel, especially those who come from the farms?

IsiXhosa:

Nimane niba thuma nje. Aninazo neentloni, nize niphinde nibe nezibindi zokuya kwiindawo ezihlala abantu abamnyama niye kufuna ukuba banivotele. Nisile bonanje! [Kwahlekwa.]

English:

This year marks 50 years since the OAU was formed. This calls on us to reflect on what it means to be an African. [Interjections.] The Department of Arts and Culture … If you loved Africans you would share the farms that you inherited. [Interjections.] You know, hon Ms D Kohler-Barnard, every time you do that you remind me of the cop who arrested me during apartheid. Mandela was never rude. When you do that, you just remind me of him, so please stop doing that. [Interjections.]

We call on the SA Geographic Names Council to do it as soon as possible. The Department of Arts and Culture will be contributing towards Africanism and the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance.

The Department of Arts and Culture support a number of museums, art galleries and bands. Minister, people who create graffiti are asking where they could get space to practise and see their art. They say graffiti is art but they are told it is illegal. We will continue to promote our galleries because they play an important role.

Social cohesion is very important, but I think for all of us to be united, some people must change their mind-sets and just take them from pre-94 and move them to post 1994.

The moral decay in our society is the biggest challenge facing this country. The ANC calls upon the Department of Arts and Culture to restreamline the work of the Moral Regeneration Movement. It must either be properly aligned to the department or under the Presidency, so that it can be funded properly.

We call on the department to remember Lovedale Press, where all our black writers were published. All our history, the correct version, comes from that place, so we call on you to fund it. [Applause.] The author D D T Jabavu and all the writers whose work was published by Lovedale Press would be very glad.

The other challenge that I am concerned about is the co-ordination and monitoring of boards. Malfunctioning boards and councils are to be avoided. Therefore, I call for the strengthening of governance in a small part of the Department of Arts and Culture.

As I conclude, I was recently inspired by the Auditor-General when he mentioned to me, that all entities of the Department of Arts and Culture are very close to achieving clean audits in the future. I want to congratulate the Robben Island Museum, under the leadership of Mr Sibongiseni Mkhize and his team, who have turned the institution around and achieved unqualified audit reports for two consecutive years. Those who thought Robben Island will come to the Western Cape were dreaming because already it has its savings. However, I need to mention to you, Minister, as well as the Minister of Environmental Affairs, that there is a problem at Robben Island with illegal poaching. They are poaching all the endangered species. I think its time that we have our police and marine police. That is our United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Unesco, World Heritage Site, which is very important to us.

The National Development Plan states that success will be measured by the degree to which the lives as well as opportunities of the poorer South Africans are transformed in a sustainable manner. I call on the Department of Arts and Culture and its team to work together regarding this issue.

In conclusion, I know that when the truth is spoken, people become angry. The Department of Arts and Culture is doing well. People must just tick and say correct, correct and correct, and not say anything that is not there.

IsiXhosa:

Ndicela ukubulela wena Mphathiswa kunye noSekela Mphathisa.

English:

I would like to thank the House Chairperson, hon Frolick, who has been very supportive, the Chief Whip of the ANC, the staff ... [Interjections.] Your democracy is ill informed and that is the problem. [Interjections.] Your democracy is manipulative, you know..

IsiXhosa:

Ndiyabulela kakhulu. Abanye abantu ningabahoyi bethuna. Inyani iyaluma! Ndiyabulela kakhulu ngokundimamela. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

Mr N J VAN DEN BERG

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 364

Ms T B SUNDUZA

Afrikaans:

Mnr N J VAN DEN BERG: Agb Voorsitter, voordat ek begin wil ek vir die mense sê dat ek baie Afrikaans gaan praat, so as hulle hul oorstukkies wil gebruik, is hulle baie welkom om dit te doen. Ons land is so vol slegte nuus dat ek net graag die volgende goeie nuus met u wil deel. Dit is in Engels.

English:

I would like to take a moment to congratulate South African Music Awards winners and nominees, especially local musicians Donald Moatshe and Toya de Lazy, on their recent Black Entertainment Television Award nominations, this past week. These two stars have been nominated in the Best International Act: Africa category and are shining examples of the exceptional talent that South Africa has to offer. They deserve our support and we will be cheering them on all the way to the top and beyond. [Applause.]

Afrikaans:

Baie geluk! Ek wil ook al die kunstenaars in Suid-Afrika vandag groet, want hulle speel 'n baie belangrike rol in Suid-Afrika in die voortgang van kuns en kultuur, wat so belangrik is. Ek kan nie meer saamstem met wat die agb Minister gesê het nie. Hy het 'n goeie toespraak gelewer. Ek stem 100% saam met die inhoud wat hy gegee het, maar vir my gaan dit dikwels oor die uitvoering van die goed. Daar is nie 'n presiese uitvoering aan al die dinge waarvan hy gepraat het nie.

Net om te antwoord op die agb voorsitter van ons komitee, die agb Sunduza – ons werk baie goed saam in die komitee, maar sy was vanmiddag baie lekker stout met al die uitlatings wat sy hier gemaak het. [Gelag.] Ek vergewe haar, omdat sy nog 'n kind is. Ek weet haar pa en ma sit hier, en julle sal met my saamstem dat hulle die roede meer moes ingelê het toe sy 'n bietjie kleiner was. Dan het sy vandag vir ons geluister. Nietemin, ek vergewe haar en ek moet vir haar sê dat sy vandag mooi parmantig aangetrek is. Maar pas op vir jou, agb Sunduza. [Gelag.]

Ek wil vir agb Sunduza sê sy kan nie met 'n klomp onsin hier vandag in die Parlement vorendag kom nie en sê dat die DA die grondhervormingsplan en dies meer teenstaan. Waar kom sy aan die dinge wat sy hier vertel? [Tussenwerpsels.] Sy moet eers met ons kom praat voordat sy hierdie goed loop sê. Ek wil nou een ding vandag vir u in hierdie Parlement sê. Ek het 'n toespraak heeltemal uitgewerk, maar nou kom krap sy die kaarte deurmekaar. Ek het vir myself gesê dat ek nie kwaad gaan word nie; dat ek net rustig met al die mense gaan praat oor 'n baie belangrike saak wat my verskriklik na aan die hart lê, want as 'n mens jou stem verhef, dan klink dit asof jy raas en kwaad is. Die agb Sunduza het haar stem vir my verhef, maar ek sal met haar daaroor praat.

Die agb lede van die Parlement moet een ding onthou en dit is dat ons baie versigtig moet wees, as ons luister na wat vandag hier gesê is. Ek wil die Minister gelukwens met die toespraak wat hy gelewer het en met al die goed wat deur die departement gedoen word, soos, onder meer, die National Summit on Social Cohesion konferensie wat ons in Kliptown, Soweto gehad het. Dié goed is verskriklik belangrik om ons mense nader aan mekaar te bring sodat ons met mekaar in hierdie land oor die weg kan kom. As ons nie met mekaar in hierdie land oor die weg kom nie, is ons land daarmee heen. Dit is elkeen van ons se plig en verantwoordelikheid. Ons het 'n verskriklike groot verantwoordelikheid, en daarom word ek sommer vies as hierdie verhoog, as dit gaan oor kuns en kultuur, verpolitiseer word. Ons moet nie politiek insleep as ons oor kuns en kultuur, taal en dié dinge praat nie. Ek sal netnou nog 'n paar woorde daaroor sê.

Ons moet aanvaar dat kuns, taal, kultuur en al dié dinge 'n fyn senuwee draad is wat deur almal van ons loop. As u 'n senuwee knyp, dan maak u hom elke keer seer. As u hom seer maak, dan desensiteer u daardie senuwee en naderhand kom u dit nie meer agter nie.

Wat die agb Sunduza gesê het oor wat verkeerd geloop het in die verlede in Suid-Afrika, is alles waar en ek ontken dit nie. Daar is mense wat vir hierdie land geveg het sodat ons vryheid mag hê. Ek kan vandag sê dat sedert 1994 is dit vir my lekker om in Suid-Afrika te bly. Ek kan enige plek in my kiesafdeling daar in Khutsong rond stap. Ek word deur niemand in Suid-Afrika bedreig nie. Die mense van Suid-Afrika aanvaar my. Ek is ook deesdae 'n tata, so sê hulle vir my. Ek weet nie hoekom nie! Maar hulle aanvaar my; ek is deel van hierdie land en hierdie Afrika. Asseblief! As agb Sunduza nou praat van "our", [ons], wie is dié "ons"? [Tussenwerpsels.] Agb Sunduza, dit is ons almal.

Mense moet baie mooi luister. Die leiers wat na vore gekom het in hierdie land - en ons begin met Genl Louis Botha, wie se standbeeld voor die Parlement staan - sowel as ANC leiers, soos Dube en Albert Luthuli, by wie se graf ons was, het ongelooflike bydraes gelewer in die ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika. Hulle het suiwere denke gehad en ek is baie jammer dat daar in die verlede nie na hulle geluister is nie. Ek dink die geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika kon bes moontlik 'n totale ander rigting ingeslaan het as daardie soort van vertrapping van mense nie plaasgevind het nie.

Ek wil aanstap. Agb Minister, ek wil 'n bietjie vinger na u toe wys. Die gebeure in die Pan SA Language Board, PanSALB, en SAHRA is as gevolg van 'n bietjie swak leierskap. Ek wil sommer na die Adjunkminister ook vinger wys. Hulle is afwesig in die komitee waar ons probeer om 'n oorsig-rol te speel. Hulle is nie daar nie, en ek wil vir die Minister sê dat die lede van sy departement wat in daardie komitee is, en dikwels teenwoordig is, nie die boodskappe wat ons vir hulle gee, oordra nie.

Ek het nou eendag gevra vir die memorandum van verstandhouding wat geteken is tussen Suid-Afrika en Nederland. Ek wag nou nog daarvoor - en lede van die Minister se departement was in die komitee. Ek wil sê die feit dat die Minister en Adjunkminister nie teenwoordig is nie, veroorsaak dat ons oorsig-rol daarmee heen gaan. Dit is 'n baie groot probleem. Mense wys vinger na my toe omdat ek 'n lid van die Parlement en die portefeuljekomitee is, en dan sê hulle dat ek niks doen nie. Dit is onwaar. Ons werk regtig hard, maar ons moet sorg dat hierdie dinge wat ons in die komitee besluit, gedoen word. Ek wil vir die Minister sê, dat alhoewel ons 'n verskeidenheid van politieke partye in daardie komitee is, werk ons vir een doel. Dit is dat ons Suid-Afrika ons s'n moet hou, en dat ons almal moet hoort in hierdie Suid-Afrika.

Nasie-bou en sosiale eenheid het items vir spesiale dae geword. Ons moet dit 'n daaglikse werklikheid maak! In ons handel en wandel met mense moet ons deeglik bewus wees wat ons vir hulle sê, en op welke wyse ons dit sê.

Ek wil vlugtig praat oor nuwe monumente en nuwe dinge wat gedoen word. Ek is bitter dankbaar om te hoor dat daar 'n monument van Madiba by die Uniegebou opgerig gaan word. Ek is baie dankbaar dat dit gaan gebeur. Ek wil net vir agb Sunduza sê, ja, Louis Botha staan nou op sy ruiterstandbeed voor die Parlement. Niemand het nog ooit 'n debat gevoer oor of dit die beste plek is nie! Ons wil almal graag vir Madiba hier hê. As die Parlement moet ons besluit waar. [Tussenwerpsels.] Weet u wat, elke groep in Suid-Afrika moet iets hier hê waarnatoe hy kan stap, aan daardie standbeeld kan vat en sê, "Hier is my voorvaders" of "Hierdie is die mense wat vir die San en Khoi geveg het en ek is trots daarop".

Wat baie, baie belangrik is, is dit: Almal van ons, of ons nou oud, grys of wat ookal is, ons wil behoort. Ons wil aan iets behoort. As iemand in 'n land bly, dan wil hy aan daardie land behoort en deel voel. [Tussenwerpsels.] Kyk maar net na u kinders. U kinders wil sien, hoor en voel dat hulle behoort, net soos elke mens in Suid-Afrika. Laat almal van ons wat vandag hier sit 'n poging maak en almal die geleentheid gee om te behoort in Suid-Afrika. Ons moet vergeet van die nuwe Suid-Afrika. Dit is nie meer die ou of die nuwe Suid-Afrika nie; dit is ons Suid-Afrika waarin ons vandag bly. Kom ons hou dit so. Kom ons bou aan ons demokrasie. [Applous.] Moenie dinge van ander partye sê wat nie waar is nie. Kom ons wees lief vir mekaar en bid vir mekaar, want dit is die enigste wyse waarop ons voort kan gaan.

Ek wil byvoeg dat ons aan hierdie hele proses moet werk – die proses waarvolgens almal aan Suid-Afrika kan behoort. Ek wil vir almal vra: as daar name verander word in die toekoms, moet dit nie 'n politieke kwessie maak nie. Moenie probeer stemme werf deur kultuur, taal en dies meer by te sleep nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Dit veroorsaak verdeeldheid. En wat wil ons hê in Suid-Afrika? Ons wil eenheid, versoening en 'n wonderlike nasie aan die suidpunt van Afrika hê. [Applous.]

Mr P NTSHIQELA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 365

Mr N J VAN DEN BERG

IsiXhosa:

Mnu P NTSHIQELA: Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, Mphathiswa noSekela Mphathiswa nawo onke amaLungu ale Ndlu. Ndiyakuvela oku ukuthethileyo Mphathiswa okubaluleke kangaka malunga nomhlaba. Ukuchaphazele ke noko kwaye kubalulekile. La nto yala cohesion summit eyayiphaya eKliptown, yayibhadlile ke kodwa. Siyayazi into eyithethayo into ye social cohesion kaloku ixela ukuba abantu bakwamasiza ehostele phaya eSebokeng, aba bagxothwayo namhlanje babefike ngowe-1973, kuthiwa mabaye phi kube kusithiwa umhlaba uyafumaneka? Mayithethwe kaloku le nto yenzeke.

English:

According to Cope, arts and culture remain the heartbeat of the nation and the Department of Arts and Culture should focus on, stick to and deliver on its constitutional mandate to achieve its development expectations. Its performance must be measured on cultural development progress because the culture of our people cannot be compromised.

I have taken note and observed the progress made by the Department of Arts and Culture in correcting PanSALB's disappointing situation but the pace at which the process is happening is a worrying factor. It is time now that PanSALB's new board, which is still to be appointed, should be made aware of the urgency of getting PanSALB to run its business as usual and to begin implementing its original mandate. The people of South Africa are waiting with patience for its speedy recovery. The mistakes made by PanSALB over previous years should not be repeated but avoided, especially when it comes to infighting, unnecessary staff dismissals, court cases and the wasteful expenditure of the taxpayer's money. [Interjections.]

IsiXhosa:

Sukudibanisa iCope neGupta, man. [Kwahlekwa.]

English:

The implementation of the use of languages must be taken seriously and put very high on the development agenda. It is not right to continue to use languages that our children were forced to use during the apartheid era while the Language Bill was passed in this Parliament to accommodate those who had been excluded previously and deprived of the right to use their own languages. [Interjections.]

IsiXhosa:

Ningathi nqa xa nindibona ndisebenzisa nezandla, ndizama ukugxininisa le nto.

English:

This is totally wrong, Minister Mashatile. You will recall what damage that caused our people at that time. Implement this and implement it now. [Interjections.]

While we appreciate the commitment shown by the current SAHRA board, the excuse of blaming the unfinished job on the previous board must come to an end. The current board must perform and deliver as expected.

IsiXhosa:

Hayi ndiyabaxelela mna, anduzube ndijikeleza. [Kwahlekwa.]

English:

It is clear that one part of the oversight role of the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture is to ensure the proper use of public funds and a corruption-free arts and culture sector. It is not right for the SAHRA CEO to run to the ruling party for protection and defence when she is told to perform and deliver on her duties. [Interjections.] The SAHRA board is expected to monitor everybody's performance regularly.

The national Khoi and San council formation is highly appreciated.

IsiXhosa:

Kukho abantu abangxola njeee, ndithetha into enengqondo apha. [Kwahlekwa.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Chair, on a point of order, the member should not tell lies. Nobody ran to us.

Mrs J D KILIAN: Hon Chair, on a point of order, that was not a point of order. The hon Chief Whip really needs training on what a point of order is.

THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mr G T Snell): Hon member, that is why I did not take it as a point of order. Continue, hon member.

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Chairperson, on a point order, it is unparliamentary for the Chief Whip to say that the hon member is telling lies. I want the hon Chief Whip to withdraw that remark. [Interjections.]

THE TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mr G T Snell): Hon Chief Whip, can you please withdraw.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: With respect, Chair, he is making a categorical statement that someone ran to us. We never saw that person, so it is a lie.

Mrs J D KILIAN: Chairperson, will you please ask the hon Chief Whip of the ANC to withdraw that remark.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mr G T Snell): Hon member, I am busy with that at the moment. Hon Chief Whip, can you please withdraw your remark?

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Out of respect for the Presiding Officer in the House, I withdraw this matter. [Applause.]

Mr P NTSHIQELA: The formation of the national Khoi and San council is very much appreciated and is an indication of the progress made regarding the restoration of their dignity. However, the progress must be speeded up to ensure that this community enjoys the benefits of the entire nation and are brought into the economic mainstream.

IsiXhosa:

Ndisaxoka nangoku? [Kwahlekwa.]

English:

Programmes must be put in place, prioritised and implemented to promote the cultural development and improvement of the living conditions of the Khoi and San. The reburial of Chief Dawid Stuurman could play a major role in total recognition of the Khoi and San community. We agree with the National Heritage Council that Chief Dawid Stuurman was a true national hero and a great revolutionary and that his reburial will provide an opportunity to promote social cohesion and nation building.

The National Social Cohesion Colloquium held in Kliptown was a good idea, making meaningful the dream of a nation with clear participation of people from all walks of life. It promoted equality and encouraged the idea that all people should be able to live together and travel together. It also promoted the idea that the salary scales in this country should be adjusted and that it should change dramatically so that all people, irrespective of colour and political affiliation - as opposed to life enjoyed by, for instance by Gupta family and others - can enjoy a good life. The question is: Where are we in the implementation of the outcomes and resolutions of this social cohesion summit? Come on, Mr Minister Mashatile, we know that, together, we can. [Interjections.] Delivery must be seen and be tangible now.

The time has come to install a Mandela statue in this Parliament. [Interjections.] [Applause.] Modernise and reflect our democracy – he was the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. [Applause.] We cannot shy away from the fact that he played... Cope supports this Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mrs H S MSWELI

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 365

Mr P NTSHIQELA

Mrs H S MSWELI: Hon Chairperson, Outcome 12(b) of the Department of Arts and Culture's strategic plan for 2012-13 states that the department wants to help bring about an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship. With the introduction of the Mzansi Golden Economy and its idealistic strategy of creating 5 million jobs within the next five years, it seems that the department is doing all it can to promote our country's cultural heritage.

Artists are the backbone of our society and are responsible for the creation, preservation and passing on of our heritage to a new generation of our people. Through their efforts many people, both local and international tourists, have had the opportunity to see different types of artistic expression, informed by the cultures in South Africa and also influenced by artists from other African countries who reside here.

As important as their role in society is, artists are the most neglected and exploited individuals in our nation. An amount of R7 billion in tax revenue is generated from artists, yet the majority of these artists live and die in poverty due to their unstable working conditions. This has resulted in royalties, pension funds and other benefits being denied them because the department does not seem to take their needs seriously.

In 2009, the President and some in his Cabinet met with artists in Johannesburg to hear their grievances. Commitments were made to address their issues but very little has been done. The complaints ranged from entertainment contracts being given to the same artists all the time by the department to police not taking piracy seriously because pirated products are openly being sold on the streets and nothing is done about that.

The Eastern Cape holds a wealth of creativity but it seems the Grahamstown National Arts Festival is the only event that the department bothers to attend and promote. The provincial offices have no presence, neither do they have programmes of any value for artists, despite the fact that money is available to assist their needs.

With regard to cultural tourism, very little is being done to make it a functional reality. The roads leading to many areas that are rich in cultural heritage are heavily neglected and the department should have made it a priority to get the Department of Transport to fix them. The result is that a major source of revenue for local residents is lost because those responsible for upgrading the roads do not seem to care. Those in the rural areas are affected the worse by this situation because they are mostly ignored.

Big city centres, especially Johannesburg, are seemingly the places to be when one wants to progress in you craft because there are no resources available for rural artists to succeed while living in their own areas. As a result, local artists move to big cities to seek a better life and to be considered successful.

There is a complete lack of visionary leadership and political will to ensure that cultural practice in our country is preserved and promoted, not only among local communities but also across the country. It seems that cultural expression is fit only for Heritage Day, the once-a-year national holiday that is supposed to be celebration of diverse cultures when in actual fact it is a celebration of specifically selected cultures.

The department needs to change the way it does business because it is responsible for preserving an essential part of who we are. People must be held accountable for the state of our country's art and cultural practice. We cannot continue to be approved budgets while it is still business as usual. If we do not take care in the provincial and municipal offices, we will loose the little that we have left of our heritage and we will no longer know who we are. That would be a terrible place to be.

IsiZulu:

Sengigcina, Sihlalo ohloniphekile, ngincoma uNgqongqoshe wezamaCiko namaSiko ngezinto azenzile nasazozenza zaphumelela, njenemitapoyolwazi, imifundaze, izinqolobane zamagugu esizwe nemiklamo yokufundisa intsha yethu ngamasiko esintu ngaphandle kokukhetha ibala lomuntu.

English:

The IFP supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr L P KHOARAI

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 367

Mrs H S MSWELI

Mong L P KHOARAI: Modulasetulo, ke a leboha. Letona le kgabane le Motlatsi wa Letona; Matona a diporofense ...

English:

... the Department of Arts and Culture, council and board members of Arts and Culture and heritage institutions, hon members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends.

Sesotho:

... kgotsong! Ha ke qala, Mokgatlo wa ANC o tshehetsa Voutu ya Bajete ya Lefapha la Bonono le Setso. Modulasetulo ...

English:

... it was on this day, 37 years ago, that learners at Phefeni Secondary School in Orlando West, Soweto, started boycotting classes in protest against the imposition of Afrikaans as medium of instruction in certain subjects in schools. The unrest spread to Belle Higher Primary School, Thulasizwe Higher Primary School and other schools in the country.

We also remember the role played by young African giants like Tsietsi Mashinini, Comrade Susan Shabangu, Dan Montsitsi - the list is endless. These boycotts spread like wildfire and culminated in the 16 June 1976 uprisings. It is against the backdrop of these uprisings that the power of language, culture, memory, history and heritage should be remembered. The arts and culture sector has the ability to act as an agent for social change in our society.

I am talking about gallant fighters for freedom, some of whom are members of Parliament today. Their role will never be forgotten in the history of our struggle.

Today, as we stand on the brink of celebrating 20 years of democracy, we can proudly reflect on our collective achievements. The vital role played by Department of Arts and Culture in building the nation and social cohesion should not go unnoticed.

Because the National Development Plan, the NDP, is the point of departure for strategic planning within all spheres of government, we should heed the following statement, which is taken from the NDP:

Arts and culture open powerful spaces for debate about where a society finds itself and where it is going. Promoted effectively, the creative and cultural industries can contribute substantially to small-business development, job creation and urban development and renewal.

The department is progressively improving on delivery in respect of its strategic goal to strengthen governance and accountability.

Effective human resource management is fundamental to improving performance and delivery. The department has worked to reduce its vacancy rate from 26,8% in 2009 to 9,5% in 2012, with female representation at 43% at senior management service level. We look forward to the department maintaining its current estimated vacancy rate of 10% over the medium term and attaining its goal of having 50% female representation at the SMS level.

Further, the department has progressively improved on spending against its approved budget. This is evidenced by the estimated performance of 98% of the approved budget spent in the last financial year.

The department has successfully received unqualified audit reports since 2009. Tied to this, the department has, since 2010, made great strides to successfully attain targets set out in its annual performance plan.

Entities of the Department of Arts and Culture strive to spend the taxpayer's money appropriately. The ANC wishes to congratulate the following institutions for achieving a clean audit during the 2011-12 financial year: the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, which is in Pietermaritzburg; the KwaZulu-Natal Playhouse Company, which is in Durban; the Msunduzi Museum in Pietermaritzburg; the Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg; the Luthuli Museum in KwaDukuza; the Iziko Museum of South Africa, which is here in Cape Town; and Freedom Park in Pretoria.

I am proud to announce that 63% of the Department of Arts and Culture's entities and institutions received unqualified audit opinions. In our recent engagement with the Auditor-General, it was made clear that more entities were expected to receive clean audits for the 2012-13 financial year.

With regard to the department's job-creation strategic goal, 3 300 jobs will be created through infrastructure initiatives over the medium term, with 1 000 jobs to be created in the 2013-14 financial year.

In his 2013 state of the nation address, the President made mention of the Summit on Social Cohesion, hosted in 2012. It focused on building a socially inclusive, caring and proud nation. The subsequent implementation of the social cohesion programme will constitute a major focus within the department over the medium term. The impetus for this programme stems from the Constitution, which compels the country to heal the divisions of the past, while being mindful that the democratic South Africa emerged from a system where the majority of its citizens were deliberately disadvantaged and marginalised in terms of opportunity.

Access to information is key to successful programmes and public participation. To keep abreast with digital technology trends, the department plans to promote its public profile and programmes through activating five social media platforms over the medium term.

The strong focus on promoting the work of the department and strengthening partnership with associated institutions and provinces can only contribute to greater efficiency within the department. We accept that there are still same challenges in the department and working together with family of Arts and Culture, we shall achieve more.

In conclusion, the ANC supports the Department of Arts and Culture's effort to build small business by enforcing that service providers are paid within 30 days, as required by law. The ANC supports the Budget Vote of the Department of Arts and Culture. Ke a leboga. [I thank you.] [Applause.]

Mr S Z NTAPANE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 367

Mr L P KHOARAI

Mr S Z NTAPANE: Hon Chairperson, Ministers and hon members, arts and culture are integral to the project of nation-building. Arts and culture play a significant role in reminding us who we are, as hon Msweli have said, where we come from and what we have achieved as a nation. It is therefore important for government to play an enabling role to ensure that South African arts and culture flourish.

We admit that significant strides have been made over the past 18 years in promoting and preserving our cultural diversity. However, our cultures, languages and heritage do not get the attention they deserve. We have said many times that enough is not being done to preserve our indigenous languages in particular and they are under increasing threat of extinction.

In addition, the public broadcaster, which should play a vital role in supporting and promoting indigenous languages, has, through its preference for slang and informal expressions over formal ones in its programmes, only contributed to the bastardisation of indigenous languages.

This bastardisation occurs against the backdrop of high levels of dysfunction, maladministration and poor leadership at critical Arts and Culture institutions that have an important role to play in this regard, such as the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB.

PanSALB is regrettably not alone in this mess. As my other colleagues have said, a lot of changes have been effected by entities under the Department of Arts and Culture. However, there are entities that fall under the Department of Arts and Culture that are characterised by weak leadership and maladministration. The poor audit reports that some of these institutions have been getting over the past few years bear testimony to this.

We urge Mr Xaba, the Director-General of the department, to ensure that the department deals decisively with this problem. We were happy to read in the media that some of the entities that fall under the Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Tourism worked together as a team to entertain the more than 9 million international tourists who visited South Africa last year. This collaboration, which we have been advocating, will without a doubt help us retain our status as one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

Let me take this opportunity, hon Minister, to also tell you that your dedication to your job and the respect you give the committee is not going unnoticed. Comrade Mashatile, the UDM support this Budget Vote. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 368

Mr S Z NTAPANE

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Hon Chairperson, my colleague, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile, other Ministers present, Deputy Ministers present, our committee chairperson, the hon Babalwa Sunduza, members of the portfolio committee, members of the House, management present here, guests in the gallery, leaders of our entities, chairpersons, chief executive officers in the gallery and all our stakeholders, six days ago, on 10 May, this year we celebrated 19 years since President Mandela took the oath of office as our first President of a democratic South Africa. This was the beginning of the reconstructive leg of our long walk to freedom after many centuries and decades of struggle against colonialism and apartheid. That journey took us to the adoption of our Constitution in March 1996, which has been hailed as one of the most progressive in the world. In the Preamble to our Constitution, we declared:

We, the people of South Africa,

Recognise the injustices of our past;

Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;

Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and

Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

This was indeed a profound statement of the aspirations of our new nation.

Over the past 19 years, the ANC, which is the elected government of the people and the leader of society, has worked with all our people to actualise the aspirations expressed in this Preamble.

We have systematically removed from the statute books all the laws that sought to undermine the values, cultures and dignity of our people and replaced them with progressive policies and laws. Our Fourth Parliament since 2009 has been laying more bricks on the foundation laid by then President Mandela. In order to take our reconstruction and transformation process forward to a higher level, we adopted the National Development Plan in 2012.

From our appointment as leaders of this Ministry and department, we understood that this sector had three major roles to play in the reconstruction of our nation. Firstly, we needed to lead the work of building a new South African nation on the ruins of colonialism, racism and apartheid. We needed to be drivers in what President Mandela called "the Reconstruction and Development Programme of the soul". Nation building and social cohesion are therefore our core business and we welcome the realisation of that by the hon Van der Berg of the opposition. We hope that the opposition will also translate this into real action.

Secondly, arts and culture and the creative industry needed to be a major contributor to economic growth and job creation. Lastly, arts and culture needed to be a potent instrument of creating relations with other nations of the world, enhancing both political and economic diplomacy. This last point - our international relations - is very relevant this year and this month as we celebrate 50 years since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, which is now called the African Union.

We are grateful to the sister people of our continent, who, through the work of the Organisation of African Unity, the subregional bodies such as Southern African Development Community, the frontline states and other multilateral organizations, such as the Nonaligned Movement, the Commonwealth and the United Nations, always placed high on their agenda the support for the liberation struggle of our people.

Today we pay homage to the founders of the OAU; those pioneering and visionary leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Sekou Toure, Kenneth Kaunda, Abdel Nasser, to mention just a few. In honour of their pioneering work, we will be hosting a month-long exhibition of contemporary visual art by different artists from the SADC region from 24 May to 28 June this year at the Pretoria Art Museum under the theme "Cultural Brokerage: Africa Imagined".

A lot has already been said by the Minister and other speakers about the Mzansi Golden Economy. We also appreciate the support from the IFP in this regard. We wish to reassert that arts, culture and the creative industries have been part and parcel of human economic activity and trade from time immemorial. Today it is an undisputed fact that many centuries ago our forebears traded in various fine arts from across the oceans. Nothing illustrates this better than the immaculate beads and the Golden Rhino found at Mapungubwe. How else would diamonds and gold dominate world trade for centuries if not for the role of the fine arts?

Other forms of art, such as painting, craft, photography, music, film, drama and dance, have been known to be identified with various countries. Unfortunately, at times the extent of the exposure enjoyed by various role-players from different parts of the world reflected the economic and political power of different nations of the world.

The Mzansi Golden Economy Strategy is seen, from our side, as an endeavor to reclaim the place of the cultural industry as a contributor to the national economy and even as an exporter of services to other parts of the world.

We are pleased to announce that we are making progress in initiatives such as the arts bank, which is aimed at identifying and purchasing art from artists, including emerging artists. Such artwork will then be leased to national departments and institutions both for decoration and showcasing purposes.

We are also making progress in establishing a sourcing enterprise, which will provide market access locally and internationally to artworks and performances by artists from all over the country.

We are also making progress in support of major events, as was mentioned earlier. Just to correct the hon Msweli, we do support cultural activities all over the country, not only the national arts festival. In the Eastern Cape we support a number of activities, including the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. There is the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Gauteng, Mapungubwe Arts Festival in Limpopo, Buyel'Ekhaya Pan African Music Festival in the Eastern Cape, Macufe Festival in the Free State, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Mpumalanga Comes Alive and many more. These events are estimated to be creating a total of 25 000 job opportunities every year.

We are also making progress with a public art development programme, which includes murals, innovative public art installations, story-telling and street theatre. Notable among the achievements in this regard is the Cape Town-based Infecting the City.

In the visual arts area, this year we hosted the Visual Arts Indaba to discuss recommendations for growing the sector. These recommendations will be put into action this year. We have appointed the visual arts task team and put out the call for participation by the sector on issues such as the rights of artists and the resale rights of the arts. The department will continue this year to strive to partner with visual arts organisations to train more visual arts participants in the areas of arts administration and management.

In the area of design, we have identified the design industry as a strategic sector that can support economic advancement. The design industry has the potential to create meaningful jobs. In this financial year, we will focus our attention on policy formulation with a view to creating a design strategy.

Also in the pipeline is the creation of provincial fashion hubs. A pilot fashion hub will be established in KwaZulu-Natal by next year, and the plan is to create similar hubs in other parts of the country.

This year the department, in partnership with the Design Indaba, supported and gave an opportunity to 41 emerging creatives to participate at the International Design Indaba, where they were given a platform to showcase their work. We are hoping that in future these young entrepreneurs will be able to plough back what they learnt from the experience and will be able to come back as fully fledged business people who will in turn create jobs for unskilled and semiskilled individuals.

In the area of library and information, we are pleased to announce that we continue to contribute towards improving literacy levels and knowledge development and the creation and sharing of knowledge through the building of libraries in communities. During the 2013 to 2015 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, National Treasury allocated us an additional amount of R1,1 billion towards the building of community libraries. This is over and above our previous baseline amount in the conditional grants for community libraries. These funds are earmarked to address service delivery backlogs in the provision of community libraries and information services.

We are also pleased to announce that since the inception of the Community Library Conditional Grant in 2007, starting with an initial capital injection of R200 million, more than 900 persons have been employed in this service, 41 new libraries have been built and 244 existing libraries have been upgraded. In the 2013-14 financial year alone, we are planning to construct 16 new libraries and upgrade 40 existing community libraries. [Applause.]

Furthermore, this year we held a Library Week. The theme was "Educate yourself at your library". The impact of this work is intended to brand public libraries as places of knowledge and learning. Informed by the successes of this work, we have decided to launch the SA Library Week, which we will be held annually.

On 28 February 2013, in collaboration with the US Embassy, the National Library organised Black History Month celebrations, featuring the "I have a dream" speech by Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

In June last year, the National Language Services signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tanzanian Library Service Board in the fields of books, modern technology, workshops, preservation and conservation. Also last year, the National Library of South Africa signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Library of Romania in the fields of photography, painting, print, digitisation and events. The National Library also signed an agreement with the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade in the fields of catalogues, collections, digitisation and publications.

We are pleased that there has been significant progress in the promotion of the culture of reading and writing. However, we remain aware that a lot more still needs to be done. We are working with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training in taking this to greater heights.

In the area of heritage, we support a number of projects, which the Minister has already mentioned. Just to add to this, there is the Historic Schools Project, including, among other places, Adams College, which celebrates 160 years of existence this year, and the University of Fort Hare, which started as the University College of Fort Hare and will be celebrating 100 years of existence in 2016. We have also tasked the National Heritage Council, together with Amathole District Municipality, to work on the Nkonkobe Heritage University Town Project in Grahamstown.

To celebrate the legacy of Dr D D T Jabavu, the first public lecture on "Early African Intellectuals" will be held in September this year. This initiative is aimed at further strengthening the first book that the National Heritage Council published two years ago, titled Early Modern African Intellectuals.

The SA Heritage Resources Agency will be convening a National Indaba on Heritage as part of the social cohesion and nation-building programme. This will assist the nation to engage in robust discussion around what constitutes South African heritage, as part of social cohesion and nation-building. This will make us focus in terms of the need to conserve, preserve and value our heritage.

As part of the restoration of human dignity and preserving our history and heritage, we are renovating a number of graves of people who were buried and marked as "unknown" in the concentration camps. South Africa has launched the South African Heritage Resources Information System, an innovative, revolutionary and world-class web-based portal and system for the integrated management of our heritage resources.

In the area of national archives, despite the capacity challenges the available staff continues to do sterling work to deliver service to our country. We have played an active role in the international arena when we registered our documentary heritage in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Unesco, Memory of the World Register. These documents include, among others, the Bleek Collection, the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VoC, the Rivonia Trial and the DocSA collections.

We are also delighted to announce that we have submitted two nominations to the Unesco Memory of the World Register. These are the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, Codesa, Multiparty Negotiation Forum and the Medu [Roots] collections.

We have given the go-ahead to the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa to embark on a major capital works project to ensure that they increase their capacity to preserve our records.

In the course of this year, our Bureau of Heraldry will also have a special focus on the promotion of our national anthem. This project will be launched during Youth Month. The anthem will be promoted through a variety of activities. We hope the hon House will support our Budget Vote. [Time expired].

Dr C P MULDER

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 369

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Chairperson, the hon Minister of Arts and Culture has one of the most difficult tasks in South Africa. One of his responsibilities is to enhance and foster nation-building and social cohesion. The hon Van den Berg was right when he referred to nation-building and social cohesion as two of the most important things that we need to achieve in South Africa. The question is whether we are succeeding in that. I am sorry to say that we are not succeeding. The hon Sunduza asks why.

Afrikaans:

Die agb Adjunkminister het ook daarna verwys. Die datum 27 April is die herdenking van die nuwe bedeling, as ek dit so mag stel. Die Rapport, wat die grootste Afrikaanse Sondagkoerant is, het op 28 April 'n elektroniese meningspeiling gehad, waarin mense kon sê hoe hulle hul Saterdag, 27 April deurgebring het. Vyftig per sent het gesê dat hulle niks besonders gedoen het nie. Vir hulle was dit maar net 'n gewone Saterdag. Een per sent, of 43 mense, het gesê ...

English:

... I attended some of the festivities. Two per cent, or 99 people, said, I stayed at home and thought about our history. Forty-eight per cent said that as far as they were concerned, we can abolish this day. Now, it's not that I like this, but I'm just putting that reality on the table. This is how people are experiencing it out there. The question is, why are we not succeeding?

I would like to start off by saying that it's not that difficult to know why we are not succeeding. You only had to listen to the speech by the hon chairperson of this portfolio committee today to know why we are not succeeding. The hon chairperson is the chairperson but, with all due respect, she is also still a rather junior member of this House. What you often find is that some of the older people, who really were in the struggle, are more mature and understanding, but sometimes members of the younger generation want to create the impression that they were fighting absolutely in the front trenches - which is not true. [Interjections.] I listened to what the chairperson said today.

Afrikaans:

Sy het op 'n neerhalige manier na die Anglo-Boereoorlog verwys en sommer net so 'n streep daardeur getrek.

English:

Hon Sunduza has absolutely no idea what kind of emotions she is talking about - none whatsoever! Tread carefully!

Afrikaans:

Sy het verwys na die standbeeld van Generaal Louis Botha wat hier voor staan – hy was 'n eerste minister van Suid-Afrika. Sy het minderwaardig daarna verwys as ...

English:

... "that horse".

Afrikaans:

Sy is baie gou om te verwys na "dignity" [waardigheid].

English:

We should respect the dignity of all the communities of this country. All of them! Each and every one of them! She did not do that today.

Afrikaans:

Die Minister weet dat ons verlede jaar die beraad oor sosiale kohesie gehad het. Die probleem is dat hy nie sal slaag nie. Ek weet hy probeer baie hard om almal te kry om deel te word daarvan, maar hy sal nie slaag nie want die resep is verkeerd.

English:

On that day, the hon Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma replied on behalf of the government ... It's a pity that my time has expired, but you know what I am saying. [Time expired.]

Ms M R MORUTOA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 369

Dr C P MULDER

Ms M R MORUTOA: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests and the public at large, the debate on national archives and libraries is complex in that it involves looking into how best to mobilise the past for the creation of a better future.

We know that, historically, South Africa is a country with a wealth of history, both positive and negative. Pivotal periods, such as colonialism, the struggle for freedom and the birth of democracy, tell us how South Africa came to be.

In line with the National Development Plan, the ANC-led government has found that facilitating dialogue about the past can be a healing process. It would be irresponsible for us to deny that under the apartheid regime, some of the least protected human rights in South Africa related to arts, culture and heritage. Of course, this was part of the plan by the apartheid government to suppress evidence of Africans and their rich and diverse history, languages and cultures. More importantly, the suppression of rich historical data was deliberately linked to hiding the injustices inflicted on citizens by the previous government.

Even sadder was the fact that the denigration of Africa was taught in schools then, thereby misleading the nation. The ANC, as activists, condemned this in the past and the ANC-led government condemns it today. It is pleasing that since the ANC government took leadership, there has been an increase in the presence of African literature, art and the use of indigenous languages.

Most importantly, as a result of the high regard that the ANC-led government has for access to information and participation in cultural life, discrimination on the basis of culture, heritage, creed and religion is outlawed by the Constitution.

The National Archives of South Africa Act, Act 43 of 1996, cements the role of the national archives in the country. More importantly, it emphasises the importance of creating reliable and timely information systems that protect, through the provision of archives and libraries. As a result, it is irresponsible for any political party to dismiss the collection, storage and preservation of the nation's data and identity. What is ultimately clear with regard to the debate about apartheid initiated by President Jacob Zuma is that some South Africans do not know their history. The do not know where they come from and they do not know where they are going.

We are pleased that the Department of Arts and Culture has responded by strategically advancing the development of the nation's archives and libraries, which are central to the project of nation-building. The national archives are what the ANC's Ready to Govern document described as "a conscious effort to promote, document and research South African and African forms of cultural expression".

Archival records are paper-based textual records that include electronic records, audio-visual and photographic material. More than R780 million has been allocated for the national archives and libraries in this financial year. Growth in the budget - to more than a billion rand in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework - is in line with the department's responsibility to consolidate social cohesion and access to information.

The budget aligns with the ANC government's undertaking of infrastructure investment for economic development in a wide array of sectors. Similarly, the department is investing in modernising the infrastructure of the national archives for accessible and quality storage of social knowledge. Since the country is heading towards creating an integrated arts and culture service for communities, we urge the department to ensure that they upgrade the national automated archival information retrieval system.

In support of our national archives and libraries, the department hosts and leads an annual Archives and Heraldry Awareness Week in May every year. Cheers! This week is aimed at instilling an appreciation of history and heritage in all South Africans. Such an effort fosters nation-building and, through social cohesion, begins to fade out social exclusion.

Libraries also play an integral role in fostering nation-building and debates about the importance of social memory. A very important fact is that their functions are rooted in the provision of reading materials, mainly books, but also reference books, newspapers, magazines and journals. In this democratic dispensation libraries provide modern sources of information, such as Internet services and audio-visual material.

In line with the NDP, the Department of Arts and Culture has created a culture where libraries serve to distribute and host art launches, supporting a growing economic base of artists. We are pleased that the department will continue its focus on revitalising the country's community libraries. They guarantee access to knowledge, particularly for our youth and poor communities. Within this, we can see that equity of resources and access to opportunities are slowly taking shape. Hence, we commend the ANC-led government's support in building 13 new community libraries in the previous financial year.

The Department of Arts and Culture is set to build more libraries this year and will upgrade, renovate and maintain museums, performing arts institutions, libraries and archives, in line with its Immovable Asset Management Plan. Archives and libraries are used free of charge and provide free access to information to the working class, school-goers and the unemployed seeking jobs. This lends a hand in making education accessible. Hence, as part of facilitating better access to community libraries, the department will complete the shift of the library services function from municipalities to provinces. Overall, we can expect greater spending on the national archives and library services programme this year by the department.

In conclusion, we commend President Jacob Zuma for opening the debate about the relevance of the past for the future. We need more conversations about how South Africans identify with each other. The ANC supports this Budget Vote and we ask that all support it in order for us to continue building a knowledge economy that will benefit all South Africans. [Applause.]

Mrs I C DITSHETELO

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 370

Ms M R MORUTOA

Mrs I C DITSHETELO: Chairperson, the plan to create 150 000 decent jobs by 2016 is acknowledged and it is hoped that it shall come to pass. As South Africans we need to focus our energy towards the creation of jobs because the scourge of unemployment threatens the human dignity of the millions that remain unemployed.

It is unfortunate that the recognition of the 11 South African languages has not translated into citizens accessing information in the languages of their choice, nor has it translated into the further development of our languages and cultures, which suffered immensely under apartheid.

The department has a pivotal role in ensuring equitable cultural expression and language development is an easy tool to use. The need for citizens to access information in their own language cannot be overemphasised; nor the need to preserve culture, heritage and arts through language preservation.

The tracking of progress made by the Department of Arts and Culture through estimates of national expenditure is most welcomed, especially as it relates to the number of arts practitioners placed in schools. Schools are a good place to start when we seek to revive and preserve artistic and cultural expression.

It is understood that in the past years Robben Island, a heritage site, has been under the spotlight for the apparent mismanagement of funds. However, this cannot be rectified by the massive cuts that the department is applying to Robben Island. It is a historical heritage site and, as such, when the department seeks to assist in this issue, it should rather ensure the efficient and effective management of the site. That will not be achieved through massive funding cuts. These cuts appear particularly unreasonable when compared to other sites, such as Table Mountain, that do not hold as much historic value as the island.

It is almost as if the department is allowing important history to vanish. The discrepancies and inconsistencies on how funding is allocated need to be ironed out. Due consideration should be paid to the performance of the entities receiving grants. Similarly, the importance of such entities in the bigger scheme of things should be equally important. It makes no sense, for instance, to continue to allocate huge funding to projects that do not preserve culture or history simply because they have a good management record while neglecting sites that hold symbolic and historical value. This does not in any way encourage the proper management of funds.

Lastly, making people aware of the national symbols is an important tasks. The department must ensure that this is accomplished if we are to build pride in the South African brand. The rolling out of flags and other significant information must receive attention. The UCDP support the Budget Vote No 14 of the Department of Arts and Culture. [Applause.]

Mrs F F MUSHWANA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 370

Mrs I C DITSHETELO

Xitsonga:

Manana F F MUSHWANA: Mutshamaxitulu, muchaviseki Sunduza, muchaviseki Holobye wa swa Vutshila na Ndhavuko Holobye Mashatile, muchaviseki Xandla xa Holobye Phaahla, Tatana Mushwana wa Rinono - loyi a nga tikarhata namuntlha a ta haleno hikuva ha swi tiva leswaku endzhaku ka wanuna un'wana na un'wana ku na wansati, kambe ndza swi tiva leswaku etlhelo ka wansati un'wana na un'wana ku na wanuna, hi loyi a tshameke lahaya - ntlawa wa Tovyl lowu namuntlha wu tshameke siku hinkwaro wu languta wu wisa ku famba wu hungasa, mufundhisi loyi a nga khongela vhiki hinkwaro loko ndzi n'wi byerile leswaku vhiki leri swa tika na Komiti ya Vutshila na Ndhavuko, hinkwerhu ka n'wina ndza mi xeweta.

English:

Speaking one's mother language is a right that not everyone can take for granted in countries where local mother tongues are threatened by more dominant languages. We as South Africans, however, are privileged in that our Constitution recognises the principle of multilingualism by providing for 11 official languages; that the state is directed to take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of the historically marginalised languages; and, above all, that everyone has the right in terms of section 30 of the Constitution to use the language of their choice.

As early as 1955 we declared through the Freedom Charter in Kliptown that all people shall have equal rights to use their own languages. That statement in the Freedom Charter did not mean that we should use languages to exclude others but to promote a better understanding of each other's culture. That being the case, and knowing and appreciating that each other's languages can play a profound role in promoting understanding and developing social cohesion, all South Africans should be encouraged to learn an African language.

The privilege to be able to use one's own language reinforces the sanctity of all indigenous languages as instruments of heritage, identity and nation building. It is for this reason that language becomes a highly emotive issue, as it is central to the existence of people and to their definition of who they are, who they want to be and how they wish to be identified. Unfortunately, only two of the 11 official languages are fully developed and enjoy precedence over other languages.

We therefore need to bridge the gap and accelerate the efforts to promote and developing the other nine languages. We will have succeeded in our objectives only when our mother tongue languages have reached a point where they are used in scientific discourse and as a medium of instruction for educational purposes in the manner that the other two languages are. By saying this, we do not seek to reverse the gains of English and Afrikaans. No. However, all of us - including mother tongue speakers of English and Afrikaans - have a duty to develop the other nine official languages that remain historically marginalised. Please, let's do it together.

Although English is a dominant language in the world, South Africans must continue to make daily use of their own languages, other than just English. It is vital that the indigenous languages, which are used in families and social networks, grow and flourish. This will only happen if these languages are cherished by their speakers and continue to be vital in both the spoken and the written world.

If stories are told, poems written and songs sung, the language will live and its speakers will change the attitudes and behaviours of other cultural groups, especially children. Children need to realise the importance of their mother language because this is critical for their sense of identity and belonging.

The promotion and development of languages must penetrate all aspects of South African life, including the media, education, labour, the civil service and the provision of primary health in a manner that is meaningful to ordinary people. It is exactly for this reason that the ANC resolved at its Mangaung National Conference that we must ensure the development and promotion of indigenous languages with a view to including the language programme in the school curriculum. It was also resolved that an indigenous language policy that seeks to ensure that one African language should be compulsory in schools should be developed in 2014. Which language would depend on the region.

The ANC has consistently upheld the notion that broadcasting operates at two levels: Firstly, it acts as a means to reflect the rich South African cultural heritage and provides a voice to South Africans to participate in democratic dispensation. It also acts as an important platform for community involvement, education and entertainment.

Since the advent of democracy, the ANC has been consistent in developing a policy environment that transforms the media sector to meet the broadcasting needs and wants of all the segments of the South African population. To this end, television coverage has been extended to reach 92% of the population and radio coverage reaches 95% of the population. The public broadcaster and an array of independent commercial operators provide radio and television services and all official South African languages are now reflected on both television and radio, although in a limited manner.

The Department of Arts and Culture's budget for the present fiscal year includes the National Language Service Programme, NLSP. Out of the total budget of the Department of Arts and Culture of R2,9 billion, R123,7 million, or 4,2%, is allocated to this programme. This amount will increase to R134,4 million and R138,9 million respectively in 2014-15 and up to 2016. The main purpose of the programme is to promote the use of all official languages and access to services and information through human language technology development and activities of 11 official languages by 2015-16. The purpose is also to build capacity in language practice by increasing the number of bursaries awarded in that field of study from 100 in 2012 to 280 in 2013-14.

Considering the very important task that needs to be funded, one is inclined to think that the National Language Service Programme deserves a bigger slice of appropriation. Consideration should also be given to ring-fencing government funding and targeted it towards developmental and educational programming favouring indigenous languages on a long-term and sustainable basis.

The ultimate achievement will be when we reach a situation where any citizen can engage government in any language of his or her choice and does not feel forced to speak or write in English or Afrikaans only. It is for this reason that the ANC has been and still is in favour of the establishment of a language policy that encourages the growth of all our people's languages within a multilinguistic framework that includes the rehabilitation and development of all indigenous languages. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 14.

Isizulu:

Isizwe yisizwe ngolwimi lwaso kanye namasiko aso. Masibhukule sithuthukise lezi limi esazincela ebeleni.

English:

Thank you. Ke a leboha. Ke a leboga. Ndiyabulela. Baie dankie. Ri a livhuwa. Hi kensile. Ngiyabonga. Ngiyathokoza. Congratulations, Kaizer Chiefs ... [Interjections.] ... although I stay in ... [Laughter.] Amandla! [Applause.]

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 371

Mrs F F MUSHWANA

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK: Chairperson, the Department of Arts and Culture has to respond to Outcome 12, which speaks to an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship. That is exactly why arts and culture drives nation-building and social cohesion.

Afrikaans:

Dit is noodsaaklik dat ons vanaand presies weet wat hierdie twee begrippe behels en wat dit nie behels nie. Ek wil dit aan die hand van twee voorbeelde illustreer. Oud-president Nelson Mandela het in sy aktiewe openbare lewe daarin geslaag om mense te laat voel hoe dit is om aan mekaar verbind te wees; om nasietrots te ervaar. Reeds vóór 1964 het hy in die Rivonia-verhoor sosiale kohesie se wesenstrek as volg beskryf:

I have fought white domination and I have fought black domination. I have cherished the idea of a free society in which all persons live together in harmony.

Mnr Mandela het inderdaad harmonie tot stand gebring deur die wyse waarop hy oënskynlik onversoenbares saamgevoeg het. Wie sal ooit die nr 6-rugbytrui tydens die 1995 Wêreldbeker-rugbytoernooi vergeet?

English:

Hon Sunduza, I would like to say this: I think - no, I know - that some of the comments in your speech tonight fall into the next category. Listen to this.

Afrikaans:

In skerp teenstelling hiermee, egter, is die uitspraak van Minister Lulu Xingwana dat alle Calvinistiese, wit, Afrikaanse mans dink hulle besit hul vrouens en kan met hulle maak wat hulle wil. [Tussenwerpsels.] Minister, hoekom het u nooit hierdie laakbare opmerking van 'n kollega van u verwerp met die minagting wat dit verdien nie? Dít, Minister en die agb Sunduza, dra by tot nasieverdeling, nie tot nasiebou nie.

English:

Hon Sunduza, some of your comments do not build. They divide.

Afrikaans:

Die bevordering van veeltaligheid is nog 'n prioriteit van die departement.

Me A VAN WYK: Voorsitter, ek wil graag hoor of die agb lid 'n vraag sal neem.

English:

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK: Hon Chairperson, no, not at the moment, but when I have finished.

Afrikaans:

Die Wet op die Gebruik van Amptelike Tale wat in Oktober 2012 reeds deur die President onderteken is, is 'n stap in die regte rigting. Ongelukkig het dit nog 'n hofsaak geneem om die President te dwing om hierdie wet in werking te stel. Dit het stil-stil op 2 Mei vanjaar gebeur, sonder enige aanduiding dat staatsdepartemente gereed is om dit te implementeer. Ongelukkig versterk dit die persepsie dat die Minister en die President inheemse tale minag.

Daar moet voorsiening gemaak word vir 'n doeltreffende klagte-meganisme sodat die publiek kan kla oor tekortkominge van 'n betrokke departement se taalbeleid. Die Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad, PanSAT, wat tot dusver heeltemal disfunksioneel was, sal nie in staat wees om hierdie taak te verrig nie, wat eenvoudig sal beteken dat die wet nie in sy doel sal slaag nie. Die DA se voorstel van 'n taal-ombudsman – of 'n taalgeneraal – moet weer aandag geniet.

Die opleiding van taalpraktisyns om hierdie wet suksesvol te implementer, gaan deurslaggewend wees, en daarom is die toekenning van 11,8% van die program se begroting van R124 miljoen vir beurse vir studente prysenswaardig.

English:

Programme 4, Cultural Development, received the largest increase in the 2013-14 budget compared to the other programmes – 32,2% in real terms. This is due to the implementation of Mzanzi Golden Economy projects and is also a response to Outcome 4, which addresses job creation and economic growth. The Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report for the 2011-12 financial year, though, points to underspending of R19,4 million in this programme, which is unacceptable where jobs are at stake.

What are the project's short-term and long-term targets? What are the timelines within which these targets are expected to be achieved? Without these, monitoring and evaluating the department's progress is impossible. Minister, corruption must not be allowed to destroy this project.

Afrikaans:

Ten slotte, die regering verkondig voortdurend dat die ontwikkeling van die platteland vir hom 'n prioriteit is ...

Me A VAN WYK: Agb Voorsitter, aangesien dit nou amper die einde van die toespraak is en die agb lid aangedui het dat sy 'n vraag teen die einde sal neem, sal sy nou die vraag neem? [Tussenwerpsels.]

English:

The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mr G T Snell): Hon member, continue, please.

Afrikaans:

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK: Baie dankie. Agb Van Wyk, hou op om my te pla, asseblief.

Die vraag is of die departement hierdie prioriteit weerspieël. Wat museums en gemeenskapsbiblioteke betref, lyk die prentjie nie altyd rooskleurig nie. Ek praat nou van die platteland. Die William Humphreys Art Gallery is die enigste nasionale museum in die Noord-Kaap en moet met 'n karige begroting van slegs R5,6 miljoen klaarkom. Eie aan mense in die Noord-Kaap, verrig hulle wondere met die karige begroting en lewer hulle uitmuntende diens, nie net aan Kimberley nie, maar ook aan dorpies ver van daar.

English:

Minister, put your money where your mouth is and increase their budget significantly.

Afrikaans:

Gemeenskapsbiblioteke in kleiner dorpe word ook meer as dikwels afgeskeep. Vir hierdie inwoners in kleiner dorpe is plaaslike biblioteke dikwels die enigste inligtingsbron en plek waar leesstof beskikbaar is. Vir leerders in hierdie gebiede is dit die enigste plek waar inligting vir skoolprojekte bekom kan word, aangesien die skoolbiblioteke nie meer bestaan nie.

Ten spyte van die departement se prioriteitstatus vir biblioteke, is daar baie gevalle in die platteland waar biblioteke net 'n droom bly. In Kamieskroon in Namakwaland is die biblioteek vir langer as 'n jaar reeds gesluit. Die werknemer daar, wat 'n ANC-kader is, wou nie verder daar werk nie, want daar was nie 'n rekenaar nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die vorige persoon het sonder 'n rekenaar klaargekom en die mense kon hulle boeke uitneem. Die boeke is verwyder en na Garies, 'n buurdorp, geneem. Dit is 'n klap in die gesig van plattelandse mense. Dit ontneem hulle van basiese regte en striem hulle ontwikkeling.

Die DA-regeerde Wes-Kaap het onlangs R187,4 miljoen bewillig om plaaslike biblioteekdienste te versterk. [Applous.] [Tussenwerpsels.] Miskien kan die ANC-regeerde Noord-Kaap by hulle gaan kers opsteek.

Baie dankie, enkosi kakhulu. Ek kan nou 'n vraag neem as die persoon wil vra.

English:

The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mr G T Snell): Unfortunately, your time has expired, hon member. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK: Oh, that's a pity! [Interjections.] [Applause.]

Ms L N MOSS

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 373

Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK

Afrikaans:

Me L N MOSS: Voorsitter, agb Minister, agb Adjunkminister, agb parlementslede en ook ons gaste, wees gegroet in die naam van die wonderlike dag wat ons ingegaan het en vanaand gaan afsluit as ons gaan lê.

Ons het nie 'n wetenskaplike studie nodig om te bewys dat die opening- en afsluitingseremonies van wêreldbekertoernooie wat deur Suid-Afrika aangebied is aan ons die geleentheid gebied het om ons uitvoerende en visuele kunste as 'n uitdrukking van ons nasionale identiteit te vertoon nie. Dit is geleenthede vir ons uitvoerende en visuele kunstenaars om ons stories deur sang, dans, kleredrag – soos ons voorsitter, agb Sunduza – en ook ons ontwerpe en visuele kunste te vertel. Die ANC-regering se doelwit is om met elke sektor van die samelewing in die land in gesprek te tree, as 'n belangrike element van 'n demokratiese kultuur. Ek hoop Mnr Mulder hoor wat ek sê. [Tussenwerpsels.] Daarom sê ons dat ons meer kan doen as ons saamwerk en nie net kom kla nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Jy gaan jou kans kry. Ek wag vir jou. Jou sport gaan kom. In die uitvoerende kunste is die kultuurkomponent 'n baie belangrike vennoot in ons strewe om 'n maatskaplike en kulturele identiteit vir ons nasie te bou.

Enige buitelander wat Suid-Afrikaners beter wil verstaan, sal waarskynlik na ons musiek luister en na ons rolprente en televisiedramas kyk. Dit is hoe belangrik die uitvoerende kunste vir die beeld van hierdie land en sy identiteit is. Hulle moet dit nie steel nie. Die ANC het gehoor gegee aan die versoeke van ons kunstenaars dat die regering moet help met die beskerming van intellektuele eiendomsreg.

Wat toekomstige groei betref, wil die ANC-regering ontwikkeling sien in die landelike kultuurkomponent-sektor, byvoorbeeld wat tradisionele komponiste, akteurs, handwerkkunstenaars en skilders betref. Dit stem ooreen met die nuwe toespitsing op landelike ontwikkeling.

Die ANC wil ook sien dat die bedryf bewustelik poog om jeugontwikkeling te steun. Ons jeug moet aangemoedig word om skool en instellings vir hoër onderrig by te woon en om nie onderwys ter wille van die uitvoerende kunstebedryf te verlaat nie. As hulle by die bedryf inskakel nadat hul 'n kwalifikasie verwerf het, kan hulle bydra tot die groei en ontwikkeling van ons uitvoerende kunstesektor, aangesien hulle dan oor broodnodige vaardighede sal beskik. Ons spoor diegene wat reeds in die veld is aan om alle beskikbare tyd te gebruik om te studeer. Dit is nooit te laat om jou met onderwys te bemagtig nie. Onderwys is die sleutel wat alle deure van onmoontlikhede kan oopsluit.

Die bevordering van die uitvoerende kunste behels die bevordering en ontwikkeling van literêre-, visuele- en uitvoerende kunste deur beleidsontwikkeling en die verlening van finansiële bystand aan uitvoerende kunste-instellings, organisasies, gemeenskapskuns en individue. Dit steun ook die kunste en maatskaplike ontwikkeling deur middel van aktiwiteite wat gerig is op vroue, kinders, die jeug, persone met gestremdhede en ouer persone. Dit is toegespits op vaardigheidsontwikkeling deur die verbetering van basiese onderwys deur middel van kuns, kultuur en erfenis. Die uitvoerende kunste wil teikengroepe se deelname aan en toegang tot kuns- en kultuurprogramme verhoog teen 2013-14 deur agt openbare kunsontwikkelingsprogramme in werking te stel. Die ANC-regering maak kuns en kultuur deel van die hoofstroom-skoolstelsel deur die aantal kunspraktisyns wat in skole geplaas is van 50 in 2011-12 tot 250 in 2015-16 te vermeerder. Dit is die ANC. [Applous.]

Die bestedingsfokus oor die mediumtermyn is om die rol van die kunste in maatskaplike- en ekonomiese ontwikkeling deel van die hoofstroom te maak deur middel van die uitvoering van Mzansi Goue Ekonomie strategiese projekte en die ontwikkeling van die plaaslike rolprentbedryf deur die Nasionale Film- en Video-Stigting. Besteding vir die Nasionale Film- en Video-Stigting het beduidend gegroei van 2010-11 tot 2012-13, want bykomende fondse is bewillig vir die stigting in die 2011 begroting om die plaaslike rolprentbedryf te ontwikkel en om werk te skep.

Die stigting het 63 beurse toegeken vir verskeie rolprent- en videostudies. In 2012-13 is 49 draaiboeke met 'n plaaslike inhoud ontwikkel en 64 rolprente met plaaslike inhoud vervaardig. Oor die mediumtermyn is besteding aan die Mzansi Goue Ekonomie strategiese projekte verantwoordelik vir die toename in besteding aan die subprogramme van die uitvoerende kunste. Die ANC-regering wil besteding oor die mediumtermyn verminder met R4,9 miljoen. Hierdie besnoeiing sal teweeggebring word met bewilliging van fondse aan die Nasionale Kunsteraad en die Playhouse-maatskappy. 'n Bedrag van R17,7 miljoen uit hierdie program is in hierdie tydperk ook geoormerk vir die administrasieprogram om die inligtingstegnologie- en beursdienste te sentraliseer.

Elke kunsvorm, van toneel tot dans, opera, kabaret, die skone kunste en handkunswerk, klassieke musiek tot jazz tot lesings, word oral in Suid-Afrika verteenwoordig. Die land is ryk aan kulturele diversiteit wat dit 'n belangrike bestemming maak vir alle kunsliefhebbers. Baie moet nog gedoen word om te verseker dat menseregte en die basiese demokratiese regte waarvoor die Grondwet voorsiening maak, versterk word en doeltreffend is. Dit behels voortgesette bevordering van kuns, kultuur en erfenis in Suid-Afrika en waardering vir die rol wat sosioekonomiese ontwikkeling speel deur die instelling van minstens 57 programme en projekte in 2013-14 wat die maatskaplike en ekonomiese status van Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskappe sal verbeter. Maatskaplike verryking, sosiale kohesie en nasiebou word bevorder deur kuns, kultuur, en erfenis en nie deur die Minister alleen nie. Deur die toewysiging van hulpbronne en die versekering dat produksies maatskaplike inklusiwiteit en nasiebou bevorder, sal hierdie programme geïdentifiseerde gebiede bereik.

Die ANC-regering se mediumtermyn-bestedingsraamwerk verklaar dat ons kuns en kultuur wil gebruik as 'n meganisme om die kulturele diversiteit van ons samelewing te bevorder en om ons mense te verenig. Ons wil die kultuur, kunste en sport bevorder ten einde gemeenskaps- en nasietrots, positiewe maatskaplike waardes, asook ekonomiese ontwikkeling, insluitend toerisme, te konsolideer. Die ANC beskou die kunste dus as 'n ekonomiese sleutelaktiwiteit, bykomend tot die verskaffing van vermaak, die bevordering van kulturele identiteit en die bevordering van 'n nasionale identiteit. Die musiekbedryf alleen het die potensiaal om werk en rykdom te skep. Dit word deur regstreekse optredes, die vervaardiging en verkoop van klankopnames, die invordering van outeursgelde en administrasie, die vervaardiging en verkoop van musiekinstrumente en die regsgemeenskap bereik.

Die diefstal van intellektuele goedere raak die inkomste van baie kunstenaars. Die SA Polisie, in samewerking met die departemente van Justisie en Konstitusionele Ontwikkeling en Handel en Nywerheid is besig om die voorkoms van roof in hierdie bedryf uit te wis. Magsoptrede teen roofbedrywe oor die land heen, inhegtenisnemings en skuldigbevindings neem toe weens die gesamentlike pogings van hierdie departemente.

Ten slotte wil ek dit benadruk dat Afrika vandag erken word as die Wieg van die Mensdom. Ons het in ons deel van die kontinent 'n ryk en uiteenlopende verlede. Die kompleksiteit en diversiteit daarvan word nou eers waardeer. Ons erfenis is inderdaad die fondament waarop ons bou om ons samelewing te herbou. My boodskap vandag is om vreugde te vind in die rykdom van ons samelewing. Ek pleit by u om te dink aan die volop geleenthede wat ons as gemeenskappe, ons land en ons kontinent het – behalwe vir die mense wat negatief is. Dink aan u erfenis en hoe dit in baie opsigte verskil van dié van u ouers. Dink ook aan die besondere kenmerke wat u bind aan vorige generasies, aan temas en tradisies wat u lewe gevorm het. Soos die agb Sunduza gesê het, haar pa is ook vandag teenwoordig in die Huis, so die punt wat ek nou maak - dat ons baie by ons ouers en voorouers moet leer - is belangrik.

Die kulturele dorpe demonstreer die tradisionele leefstyle van verskillende mense aan besoekers in 'n natuurlike omgewing.

Gun my hierdie geleentheid om ook alle kunstenaars te bedank wat tydens die verkiesingsveldtogte met ons saamgewerk het. Die ANC waardeer u steun opreg, kunstenaars. Ons moet nou almal saamwerk om die doel van 'n beter lewe vir almal te verwesenlik.

Ek wil graag uit my hart aan die opposisie sê dat dit my pleidooi is dat ons die land moet bou. Ons kom almal uitgevat in ons beste uitrustings na hierdie Parlement in Februarie en dan luister ons na die President se staatsrede. Dan lê ons President in sy toespraak uit wat hy voorsien in die jaar en op die pad vorentoe moet gebeur. Nasiebou is een van die punte wat hy uitgespel het in sy toespraak, maar nasiebou kom nie alleenlik van die President of van ons Minister af nie. Elkeen in hierdie Huis – ongeag van watter party ons kom – het 'n rol om te speel en te vervul sodat ons die land bou en sodat ons die nasie bou. [Applous.]

Nasiebou begin in jou huis. Ek raak bekommerd as ek so kyk en leiers begin in 'n ander rigting praat, om skuld te gee vir die President of die Minister. Nasiebou begin in jou huis en is spesifiek gemik op die jong seuns en dogters in ons huise wat geleer moet word wat die samelewing behels, wat 'n nasie behels, sodat ons 'n volgende geslag leiers in die land kan hê om oor te vat.

Ek wil 'n voorbeeld gee wat ek oorgekom het. Ek klim in 'n hysbak hier in Kaapstad. Die persoon sê dat hy of sy nie saam met anderkleurige persone in die hysbak wil wees nie en loop by die hysbak uit. Is dit nasiebou? Nee, want jy kyk nog na kleur. Nasiebou is dat ons verby kleur moet kyk, dat ons hande moet vat, mekaar vergewe alhoewel ons nie kan vergeet nie. Dít is nasiebou. [Applous.] Nasiebou is wanneer jy kyk na jou buurman of buurvrou. Het sy 'n stukkie brood op die tafel? Gee ons om vir mekaar as ons sien dat ons buurvrou geteister word deur haar kind wat verslaaf is aan dwelms en alkohol? Verleen ons hulp en vra ons hoe ons kan help om haar in so 'n situasie met haar kind uit te help? Dít is nasiebou.

Ek wil verder op die punt van nasiebou praat. Agb Ma Storey het vir ons 'n storietjie vertel in die komitee. Sy het gesê as sy na die supermark Pick 'n Pay gaan, voel sy nie eers lus om in te gaan nie. Daar word jy gestamp en gestoot, want jy hoort nie hier nie. Die uitlating wat die DA-leier Helen Zille gemaak het - dat die vlugtelinge moet teruggaan na waar hulle vandaan kom - het gemaak dat die mense van die Kaap nou ook vir jou 'n koue skouer gee. [Tussenwerpsels.]

Ek wil vir die agb lid van Cope sê dat ons in die komitee baie goed saamwerk. Moenie hier voor kom staan en dan praat u iets anders nie. As u nie weet wat 'n hoof finansiële beampte en hoof uitvoerende beampte is nie kan die komitee vir u opleiding aanbied. [Applous.] Die hoof finansiële beampte is die een wat na ons geld moet kyk in daardie departement. Die hoof uitvoerende beampte is die een wat die leisels moet vat om daardie instituut vorentoe te laat beweeg. Daarom moet hy of sy ook 'n finansiële agtergrond hê.

Die kwessie van die Khoi en San – ek is nie gekoop nie. Ek wil nie hê mense moet sê as jy nie Khoi of San is nie, verstaan jy nie die kultuur nie, en dan bly jy stil, of jy doen behoorlike navorsing. Die Khoi en San se kwessie rondom Stuurman is voorgehou aan ons. Drie weke of 'n maand gelede was die Khoi en San, Griekwas en Namas in gesprek met die portefeuljekomitee. Daardie mense het gestipuleer wat hulle verwag van die staat. Hulle het ook gesê dat die enigste party wat vir hulle omgee die ANC is. [Applous.] Hulle het dit pertinent gestel in daardie komitee. Die party wat na hulle luister, is die ANC. [Tussenwerpsels.] Daarom skroom ek nie om dit te sê nie. Die ANC steun die begrotingspos. [Tyd versteke.] [Applous.]

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Thursday, 16 May 2013 Take: 374

Ms L N MOSS

Afrikaans:

Die MINISTER VAN KUNS EN KULTUUR: Baie dankie, agb Voorsitter.

English:

I will not be able to respond to all the issues raised by hon members because of the little time I have. Let me start by thanking all the members for their contributions. I want to assure them that I have taken very detailed notes of their comments and we will be able to take into account all those issues as we implement our programmeS.

I did not hear whether the hon Van den Berg supported the budget or not. [Interjections.] That's fine. I thought that if you did, then we would succeed in our work. Earlier the hon member said that he didn't think we are succeeding... Sorry, it was not the hon Van der Berg but the hon Mulder. Sorry, hon Van den Berg. The hon Mulder said that we were not succeeding in our work, but I can assure him that if he supported this Budget Vote, we will show him that we are indeed on the right track and that we are going to succeed. [Applause.]

I think the task of nation-building is not something that you can deal with emotionally. It's a very difficult task indeed. Perhaps I should advise him today that he should have tea with hon Sunduza and have some discussion. Earlier I said that one of the things we are doing is to encourage dialogue and conversation, because the way to build a nation is through dialogue, conversation and understanding each other's culture and history. I think it is important that when we deal with history, we deal with the history of all our people. We should not be selective. [Applause.] I think we will succeed. I want to say to the hon Van den Berg ...

Afrikaans:

... ons werk baie hard om kultuur te depolitiseer. Ons weet in die verlede was kultuur en kuns gepolitiseer.

English:

We are working hard to ensure that we change that past and to ensure that culture is the culture of the people. We must work with everybody in the country to ensure that we do exactly that.

Let me try to conclude by making a few points. There are members, like hon Van Schalkwyk, who talk strongly about the funding of museums, including the William Humphreys Art Gallery. We agree that museums and heritage sites are very important because tourism in the country develops due to many of these institutions. Whether people go as local or international tourists, they go to our museums and heritage sites. We are working hard to ensure that they are properly funded and that those places are upgraded, including the roads leading to those areas. We are going to work hard to address that.

There was one issue that came across strongly from a few members - two in particular - namely a statue of Nelson Mandela here at Parliament. It does seem as if all parties agree on this issue. If that is the case, we will discuss it with the Speaker and work on implementing it. {Applause.] Of course, we remain sensitive to history as we do these things, but I think there is consensus that we should move in that direction. We will erect a statue at the Union Buildings and we will also erect one here at Parliament, in response to this consensus.

We have noted the rest of the issues, including that of funding. We will make sure that we work, particularly with the portfolio committee, to address these issues. Thank you very much for your support. You can be assured that everything you said here will be done.

Afrikaans:

Baie dankie. [Applous.]

The House adjourned at 18:43.


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