The Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr. Joe Phaahla
The Director General of the Department of Arts and Culture, Mr. Sibusiso Xaba and senior management from the Department
We are honoured to present our 2011/2012 Budget Vote at the start of an important month in the development of our democratic nation.
The month of June is dedicated to honouring the many sacrifices made by generations of young people to bring about freedom and democracy in our country.
This year we commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the Soweto uprising under the theme: "Youth Action for Economic Freedom in our Lifetime".
During this month we recommit ourselves to the objective of further advancing youth development, as an integral part of building a national democratic society; that is united, democratic, non racial, non sexist and prosperous.
Honourable Members for this Budget Vote we are joined by young practitioners in the arts, culture and heritage sector.
I request our young guests to stand up for the House to see them. You may sit down.
Honourable Members, we acknowledge that more work still needs to be done to develop an appreciation for the arts among young people.
We are also aware of the need to ensure that talent is identified and developed from a young age and that a career in the arts becomes a career of choice among young people.
These are some of the tasks that we will continue to be seized with going forward.
Some of the specific programmes we will engage in, include working with the Field Band Foundation to build mass participation of youth in music and performing arts.
Working together with the Youth Development Agency we will support this year's Youth Day celebrations.
Our support will include running programmes aimed at raising awareness of the significance of Youth Day.
Honourable Members, as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting youth in the arts, I am pleased to report that we have allocated more than R 6 million for youth programmes in the current financial year.
In addition, through our partnership with the European Union, more funds will be made available to advance youth development in the arts.
Honourable Chairperson, as the ANC government, we are proud of the progress we are making in building the kind of society envisaged by our forebears who declared in 1955 that South Africa belongs to all who live in it.
We must continue to commit ourselves to the realization of the ideals of the Freedom Charter.
This we must do so that in 2055, at the centenary of the Freedom Charter, we must have made significant progress towards achieving its goals.
Honourable Members, last year during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the nation demonstrated high levels of unity and patriotism.
To us this proved that our goal of building a nation united in its diversity is within reach.
We must sustain the momentum we have built during the World Cup; to forge a national identity and promote social cohesion.
In order to further strengthen efforts aimed at nation building and promoting social cohesion, the Department of Arts and Culture has began a process of repositioning the arts, culture and heritage sector as a major contributor to the economic emancipation of the people of South Africa.
This process culminated in the historic National Consultative Conference on the contribution of the arts, culture and heritage sector to the economy, held in April this year.
The Conference brought together more than 1 000 delegates who, for the first time in many years, crafted a clear path for our sector and defined its contribution to the economy.
Our music industry was worth around R1.
The visual arts sector has a turnover of nearly R 2 billion per annum. There are an estimated 17 000 people working in the sector.
The total net turnover of the book publishing industry in 2007 was estimated to be worth R 3.2 billion.
The film industry generates over R5.
Delegates at the Conference further noted that; societies with greater social cohesion tend to be the ones that are more economically prosperous.
This they did as a direct response to President Zuma's clarion call that; the year 2011 is a year of job creation.
Honourable Members a number of specific proposals were agreed to at the Conference.
These include the need to develop interventions throughout the education system to identify and develop the artistic talent of learners at a young age and encourage learners to pursue careers in the arts.
Conference also committed itself to a process that will lead to the establishment of a National Skills Academy for the Arts.
It was also agreed that there is a need for the establishment of an enterprise which will source goods and services from the sector, thus ensuring better access to markets for arts practitioners.
Conference also agreed on the establishment of cultural precincts throughout the country.
In the current financial year, work will begin to establish five cultural precincts, commencing with planning for a precinct in Mangaung.
Furthermore, a touring venture will be established which will develop exhibitions and performances that will tour to the cultural precincts and elsewhere.
Conference also committed to taking forward the planning and implementation of the National Liberation Heritage Route.
A public art programme will also be designed focusing on beautification and storytelling through art in communities as well as showcasing our artistic talent.
Conference agreed on the establishment of an Art Bank to curate and display local art works in public buildings.
Conference further committed to the establishment of a Cultural Observatory whose purpose will be to develop key indicators, collect cultural statistics and analyze trends within our sector.
Honourable Members, project teams are now in place to develop detailed business plans for the implementation of all Conference resolutions.
Consultations with provincial and local government with regard to the establishment of cultural precincts have also begun.
Honourable Chairperson, we look forward to reporting to this House on the progress we are making as we travel on this uncharted but necessary journey.
Honourable Members the new path that we have crafted, will require that we re-examine the funding of our sector.
This was also the overwhelming view of delegates at the Conference.
In this regard, the Department of Arts and Culture has embarked on a process of realigning funding to the priorities identified at the Consultative Conference.
We will also be approaching National Treasury, with a view to securing increased funding for our sector focusing on the priorities we have identified.
We are confident that we will receive a sympathetic ear from National Treasury, because our priorities speak directly to job creation; which is the primary focus of the work of government.
We will also be working with the Department of Trade and Industry with a view to ensuring that our sector benefits from the support measures outlined in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2).
We are confident that; because of the plans we are putting forward, our sector will also be considered for funding from the R9 billion fund for job creation announced by the President earlier this year.
We will work with other public funding agencies such as the Industrial Development Corporation and the private sector to secure adequate funding for the sector.
Honourable Members, over the past few months we have had discussions with the Lottery Fund Distribution Board, with a view to mainstreaming Lotto funding for our sector.
Honourable Members, we made a commitment to stabilize the Department and build the necessary capacity to effectively implement our mandate.
I am pleased to announce that we have appointed a Director General for the Department of Arts and Culture, Mr. Sibusiso Xaba.
The immediate task of the DG is to ensure that all vacant critical posts are filled by the end of the current financial year.
Honourable Members, we have inaugurated Boards of our institutions; including the National Arts Council, the National Film and Video Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Museum.
The process to appoint the Board of the National Heritage Council is at an advanced stage.
Our intention is to appoint all outstanding Boards by the end of the financial year.
Honourable Members, the Robben Island Museum is an important World Heritage Site.
Our goal is to ensure that it is preserved as an important part of our liberation heritage and that it remains a major tourist destination and a world class facility.
In the coming months we will begin a process of rationalizing all our institutions to minimize duplication and ensure clarity of roles.
The National Liberation Heritage Route.
In his State of the Nation Address, President Zuma indicated that we will launch a National Liberation Heritage Route to honour all those who contributed to the liberation of our country.
We are pleased to report that provincial consultations on the National Liberation Heritage Route have been held.
This project has also been presented to a number of African countries and is supported by the African World Heritage Fund, one of whose Board Members Mr. Leon Rajaobelina is present in this House.
Honourable Members, as we implement the National Liberation Heritage Route project we will do so fully aware that; next year the oldest liberation movement in Africa, the African National Congress, will be celebrating its centenary.
This is an important part of our liberation heritage to be celebrated and preserved for future generations.
Linked to the National Liberation Heritage Route will be our programme to honour national icons.
This will be in addition to the work we are doing with the Freedom Park on the Gallery of Leaders, the Wall of Names, Isivivane and S'kumbhuto.
I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Wally Serote who, earlier this year, retired as CEO of the Freedom Park, for the outstanding work he has done to develop this site, which stands as a monument for our country's freedom and democracy.
Honourable Members, in taking forward the work of preserving and restoring our liberation heritage, we will be unveiling the National Heritage Monument project in the year 2012.
Honourable Chairperson, Liliesleaf will also be declared a heritage site.
It is here that icons such as former President Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, the late Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Elias Motsoaledi, Arthur Goldreich gathered and planned to overthrow the apartheid regime and formed Umkhonto weSizwe, whose 50th Anniversary we will celebrate in December this year.
Work is also being finalized to declare the Voortrekker Monument as a Heritage site.
Honourable Members, in February this year, we marked the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Matola Raid in Mozambique.
The highlight of this event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Mozambique and the unveiling of the design of the Matola Raid Monument and Interpretation Centre.
This historic site will stand as a constant reminder of the common heritage we share with the people of Mozambique for National Liberation.
We acknowledge the presence in this House of a delegation fvrom Mozambique led by the Permanent Secretary of Culture in Mozambique; Ms Maria Manuela Rico.
Honourable Members, we are joined on this occasion by Ms. Xoliswa Sithole, one of our country's most talented film makers.
Ms Sithole's work has been recognized internationally for its relevance to the plight of women and children.
She recently won a second BAFTA for her documentary "Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children" in the current affairs category.
She has also won a Peabody Award, the oldest multimedia award.
Honourable Members, talented and pioneering filmmakers should continue to receive support from government.
Already in R130 Million has been made available to the NFVF by national treasury over the next three years.
This we must do as part of our commitment to telling our stories to future generations and the world at large; and also to strengthen the contribution of the film industry to job creation and to economic growth and development.
Honorable Members, in the next three years, the Department will increase our investment in the production of local films.
This will include positioning our country as a film destination.
Honourable Members, we will continue to encourage and support initiatives to promote our artists on the world stage.
Our immediate task in this regard is to finalize the policy on our cultural diplomacy, in partnership with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
Among others this policy will result in the deployment of Cultural Attaches in our diplomatic missions.
Honourable Members, in recognition of the important role played by the music industry in the economy and in job creation, we will continue to work with the Department of Trade and Industry to address concerns related to copyright issues as they affect our artists.
Working with the relevant law enforcement agencies we will also intensify our campaign against piracy.
We will also ensure that through the Down Town studios in Johannesburg, the music community becomes an integral part of the music industry.
Honourable Members one of the tasks we continue to be seized with is the need to attend to the social security needs of our practitioners in our sector, many of whom face challenges after their careers have peaked.
This we will do as part of ensuring sustainable livelihoods for our artists.
Before the end of this financial year, we will announce progress in the implementation of the social security scheme fro our artists.
Performing Arts, including our Arts related institutions - R549.
National Language Service, including the PANSALB - R101.
Cultural Development - R180.
National Archives and Language Services, including conditional grants for community Libraries - R694, 452.