Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic core, leaders of the business community, dignatories, ladies and gentlemen, all protocol observed.

It is indeed a pleasure to address you here as acting Premier of the Province. Our Premier, Ebrahim Rasool, would have wanted to be here today but he is out of the country on other important business for the province.

This is the ninth year of the Cape Town Festival and we are pleased that the festival is going back to its roots, the "One City Many Cultures" project which Ryland Fisher initiated when he was editor of the Cape Times.

I have always said that the "One City Many Cultures" is a very important project and in some ways it inspired our own "Home for All" campaign. The two projects have much in common, trying to address the racial and cultural divide in our city and our province.

We see this racial divide in the housing situation in the province, we see it sometimes with controversies around our sports teams and we even see it sometimes in our schools when there is conflict between learners of different race groups.

There is a definite need for the "Home for All" campaign and there is definitely a need for "One City Many Cultures".

We are pleased that the format of today's festivities is a spiritual music concert. While it was important for us to celebrate Human Rights Day, it was also important to be respectful to people who are celebrating Good Friday and other religious activities.

Human Rights are fundamental to all South Africans. Our fight against apartheid was a fight for Human Rights. We need to remember what led to the significance of this day in 1960, when 69 people were killed at Sharpeville and some people were killed at Langa in protests against the hated pass laws. We need to be thankful that we have moved on so much in South Africa that Human Rights will no longer be violated in the way it was at Sharpeville and Langa in 1960.

Projects such as the Cape Town Festival and the "One City Many Cultures" campaign can hopefully play a role in helping us remember our history and making sure that we never ever go back to where we come from.

On behalf of the people of the Western Cape, I am very proud to welcome the Soweto Gospel Choir to our province and our city. They have indeed made our country proud, winning not only one but two Grammy Awards. We are so proud that they have chosen to perform in our province so soon after winning their second Grammy. I believe that they only flew in this morning, after touring the UK, and are leaving again tomorrow morning after this performance. Maybe next time we need to find a way of keeping them here a bit longer so that they would be able to enjoy the hospitality of the people of the province.

I want to congratulate the organisers of today's event and I am personally looking forward to attending some of the other Cape Town Festival events in the next few weeks.

Enjoy the rest of your day and the rest of your long weekend.

TRAVEL SAFELY AND BAMBANANI AGAINST CRIME

In case of enquiries, contact Makhaya Manie, spokesperson for MEC Ramatlakane, 082 780 4493.

Issued by:

Jeremy Michaels
Chief Director: Communications
Department of the Premier
Provincial Government of the Western Cape
Office: +27 (0)21 483 9955
Fax: +27 (0)21 483 7196
Email: jmichaels@pgwc.gov.za
Postal address: PO Box 659, Cape Town, 8000.
Physical address: Office of the Premier, Mezzanine Level, M7, 7 Wale Street, Cape Town, South Africa, 8001.
Website: http://www.capegateway.gov.za/premier