Cape Town – Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has called on all South Africans to “find the Mandela within” and live by the values and principles that the former President stood for.
This, the Minister said, is part and parcel of his department’s aim of generating a moral vision in order to promote nation building and social cohesion.
He said this when he took to the podium to kick-start this year’s debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“The Department of Arts and Culture as the custodian of the historic mission of nation building and social cohesion will continue to intensify the work of mobilising our communities to embrace and to celebrate our shared heritage and common destiny.
“And so our call today is for South Africans to ‘find the Mandela within’, because his spirit resides in each and every one of us. His long walk is the embodiment of the African proverb which teaches us that ‘if you want to go far, go together’.
“When these bridges of the heart are built, we will begin to heal and free our society from the malignant cancer of racism, xenophobia, Afrophobia, tribalism and cultural chauvinism, because that way we shall have found the Mandela within,” he said.
Minister Mthethwa said to this end, the people of South Africa should join government in invoking the Moral Regeneration Movement charter of positive values.
This includes, amongst others, restoring and anchoring values enshrined in the Constitution, including respect for human rights and accepting accountability for one's being and actions; respecting human dignity and equality; and, improving material well-being and economic justice.
“The successes of nation building and social cohesion depend on changing the material conditions of all South Africans for the better,” he said.
Heritage projects in the pipeline
The Minister said plans were underway to build monuments to honour the heroes of the liberation struggle.
These will include the construction of the Heroes Acre in Tshwane as a national monument.
In his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma spoke at length about the reburial of struggle stalwarts JB Marks and Moses Kotane in South Africa.
The Minister said a process to repatriate their mortal remains were already underway.
“As the nation is aware, these great patriots can rightly be considered the founding fathers of the liberation struggle who inspired the likes of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, among others, to become the selfless leaders that they turned out to be in life. We want as well to express our appreciation to the President, for according the reburials of these outstanding patriots as official funerals.
The Minister said, meanwhile, that work was underway to establish the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA) to protect the rights of artists and creative workers not to fall prey to unscrupulous individuals in the industry.
As a tribute to Nat Nakasa and the countless literary stalwarts of the nation, including the recently departed and eminent author, Andre Brink, the Minister said government will promote the culture of lifelong learning and reading.
DA Parliamentary caucus leader Mmusi Maimane said the legacy of apartheid was still a challenge for South Africa, with black children still not having the same opportunities as white children.
“Much has been done to redress the past, make no mistake. Life in South Africa today is certainly better than it was during apartheid. But we need to hold ourselves to a much higher standard.
“We need to become the nation that President Nelson Mandela helped us believe we could become. A place of hope, prosperity, selfless leadership and mutual respect.” – SAnews.gov.za
