Members of the Cultural Commission
Chairperson of the Language Committee and members present,
Traditional leaders,
Cultural and language practitioners, performing artists
Ladies and gentlemen

This gathering today marks the culmination of a long and often laborious road in pursuit of answers to the transformation agenda in order to create a better life for all. In 1994 the government of national unity set about the task of addressing and redressing imbalances in our country.

From 1994 to date, at least 13 pieces of legislation relating to arts, culture and heritage have since came into being at national level, while the Western Cape in the same period, managed to produce three.

These are, the Western Cape Cultural Commission and Cultural Councils Act 14 of 1998, the Western Cape Provincial Language Act of 1998, and the Western Cape Heritage Management Resources Regulation of 2003.

The Cultural Policy under review today was founded on the prescripts of the above- mentioned laws and regulations.

We are therefore gathered to re-align this cultural policy with that of central government in the main, but specifically to proactively respond to present challenges faced by performing artists, cultural and heritage practitioners within the Western Cape.

We are doing so because policy is something that is not cast in stone and must be reviewed from time to time to evaluate whether it is responding to our objectives and the needs of the community is intended to serve.

Arts, culture and heritage are expected to transform in the same way that other aspects of our socio-economic life are undergoing change.

We must therefore come out of this session with policy changes that will ensure that all our people, regardless of their different cultures, language, orientation, skills and religion, benefit equitably from the resources of the government.

Transformation is a dynamic process and is often not easy, it requires total commitment from all role players to succeed. Transformation is also characterized by genuine representative structures reflecting a broader demography.

I stand here reasonable satisfied that we have endeavoured to fulfil this critical requirement in the process leading up to this summit. Lest we become presumptuous and complacent, hence we felt this last chance was critically important.

In the past, ladies and gentlemen, some of us bear witness to how performing artists played a pivotal role in toppling the apartheid regime. Artists defied all odds, risking the brutality of the old order and utilized their artistic expression to mobilize our people with success both underground and during mass democratic movement.

At the height of the political instability in the country, toyi-toyi, singing and chanting became a trademark of the mass democratic movement. That artistic expression was an unbelievably powerful tool that rallied and united the oppressed masses against a common enemy - racism and oppression.

I hold the view that arts and culture can play a significant role in social cohesion, national reconciliation, unity and nation building in same way it did, during the dark days of apartheid.

The key challenge to government and the stakeholders in the cultural landscape is to uphold democratic values and empower all our constituencies to participate meaningfully in this process to achieve the desired outcomes.

In this day and age, our performing artists are increasingly falling victims to some unscrupulous business promoters who see them only to advance their own selfish interest and greed.

As a consequence some promoters are getting wealthier at the expense of desperate artists, who are getting destitute by the day.

The situation that some artist find themselves in their hour of need is unacceptable and we should ensure that we proactively develop strategies that will guide the work of the department to ensure that no artist dies a pauper. I am convinced that a well organized and united artist forum will go a long way in ensuring that we improve the well being of all artists.

This policy must be able to proactively respond to these challenges. We must see how government can through its policies capacitate the musicians in particular to sustain their role in society. The policy, I believe should also provide a framework on formalizing the industry.

The Western Cape province has unique challenges of its own and we must ask ourselves how can the policy under review, be crafted to respond to the challenges of language diversity, and a host of other challenges threatening to polarize our society.

A further challenge is the role of Traditional leaders in the Western Cape. There are traditional houses in the Western Cape but there is no legislative framework to mandate the Department and government in dealing with this issue. We should clearly define the role of these traditional leaders and work out the kind of relations we must have with them. In doing so, we should take into account the national legislation.

We must strive to create opportunities that will bring about measurable and real changes to the lives of all our people not only in the Metro region but those in the Central Karoo, the Overberg, the West Coast, Boland and the SWD region.

If we are to ensure that our policy caters for groups in the remotest areas of the province, for women and the disabled, then we can truly say we have a transformed policy. However, these noble ideals require that some of us must be prepared to forgo some benefits that accrue from the status quo due to limited resources.

Given our history, ladies and gentlemen, there are those who were and still are overly privileged, and those who were and still are in the doldrums.

The stark reality of our past is still evident in the resources and facilities from different communities. In true spirit of a home for all, we have to ensure that those who have nothing are offered their rightful place through the enabling policy framework and some degree of sacrifice.

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport deals with the soul of the nation and speaks the language that all people understand.

We are well positioned to use our museums, libraries, sport and recreation and other programmes to address some of the challenges faced by government and society at large.

The Provincial government has recently launched a Social Capital strategy to address some of the social-ills of our communities. Your challenge is to ensure that the policy framework links up with the social capital initiatives of the government in a manner that revitalizes communities through cultural programs that are informed by the new policy.

I am certain that there is a will to collectively strive together as artists and cultural practitioners to seek a common objective of transforming the entire cultural landscape.

The dawn of a united community through equitable promotion of cultural expression, I believe is entirely in your hands. You have what it takes to build a united Western Cape through arts and culture.

Once again, draft 18 of the policy is being laid bear for your final scrutiny and input. Typical of democratic process, we want all stakeholders to take ownership so that we can, collectively take arts and culture to new heights in this province.