SPEECH BY KWAZULU-NATAL MEC OF TRANSPORT, MR S'BU NDEBELE, AT KWAMUHLE
MUSEUM, 18 May 2000
Master of Ceremonies
Mayors Present
Deputy Mayors
Councillors Present
Ladies and Gentlemen
"Not anywhere in free South Africa stand a statue and a monument which speak
to us and all future time to say - once upon a time, our country was blessed
to have as its citizens these who, though dead, are brought to life by every
day's dawn that portends fulfilment for all the people of our motherland"
President Thabo Mbeki
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share with you some of my ideas
on problems relating to issues of Representation and inclusivity of
monuments. I think it is important to begin by congratulating Kwamuhle
Museum and the Cultural, Heritage and Tourism Unit of the University of
Durban Westville for having organised this important occasion. The occasion
comes almost three weeks after the President unveiled our new Coat of Arms
in Bloemfontein. Inscribed in our new Coat of Arms is our new and lovely
motto [!ke e: /xarra //ke], written in Khoisan language of the /Xam people
and literally meaning: diverse people unite. On a collective scale it calls
for the nation to unite in a common sense of belonging and national
pride-Unity in Diversity. Our new coat of arms bears some significant
elements of our natural and cultural heritage which makes us proud of our
past and more importantly proud of being South African. The Coat of Arms
reminds us that we must forge ahead to the future without ever forgetting
the past and how else can we remember the past if not through monuments?
Monuments, as we all know, are not history; rather they are a physical
representation of history. They are signs standing for both concrete and
abstract processes, including wars, peace, invasions, conquests, love,
adventures, business and family lives. Moreover, they have become a heavily
contested terrain because of their association with history and identity.
President Thabo Mbeki's words best summarise the reality about South African
Monuments "Not anywhere in free South Africa stand a statue and a monument
which speak to us and all future time to say- once upon a time, our country
was blessed to have as its citizens these who, though dead, are brought to
life by every day's dawn that portends fulfilment for all the people of our
motherland".
The White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage stipulates that the imbalance
regarding what counts as a national monument must be corrected. It states
that what national monuments should not be seen in isolation, but should be
identified in a systematic programme for "cultural mapping". In this regard
it encourages communities to locate and mark the heritage sites important to
their identity. Furthermore sections 185 and 186 of our constitution gives
meaning to these cultural rights which we have as South Africans. Our
heritage resources therefore are not just ordinary physical representations
of what happened, they reflect the evolution of our collective value systems
which are unfortunately not adequately reflected at present.
Until 1999 more than 60% of monuments in South Africa reflected the values
of one sector of the South African Community, i.e. the White Community,
while places of history illustrating Black history had been ignored. In
other words our collective past, our histories and the way we want to be
perceived by people from outside our country has always been encapsulated in
the value system of a small segment of the South African population. So,
what would be the reason of reason of calling ourselves South Africans if
our architectural and built heritage says the opposite?
This is why early this year; I suggested the renaming of CR Swart Police
Station because South Africa is at present undertaking a very unique
experiment. We are treading the path that has not been traded before, namely
that of non-racialism. This is a unique South African creation which
contrasts significantly to the multiracialism of the United States and
elsewhere as well as assimilation as practised by France and Portugal. This
non-racialism should not only be about the present for we all own the past
as Africans, Coloureds, Indians and Whites. Reconciliation will not be
complete if we fail to articulate the past accurately and in a manner which
holds all our histories with reverence.
To argue that the names and statues of the past oppressors should still
define the new dispensation is as outrageous and insulting as having a
rapist insisting nine months after the rape incident that the child must
inherit his surname. However, one must hasten to add that not all Whites
were oppressors. People like Arch-Bishop Trevor Huddleston, Braam Fischer,
PS Bunting and Joe Slovo belong to that group of people who, though White,
fought against Apartheid as if they had been defined as Black by Apartheid.
They are a very unique feature of our historical heritage.
But South Africa is not a zebra nation consisting of Blacks and Whites only.
We combine both East and West in a unique cluster of nations put together.
Writing in 1899, Rudyard Kipling decreed "oh, East is East and West is West
and never the Twain shall meet". This was untrue even as he wrote his
ballad. By 1860 East had met the West in KwaZulu-Natal. But what is more,
East had met the East. The Indian people from the East met the African
people from the Eastern shores of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal where East
meets West and East meets East.
This meeting of East with East transformed an ordinary barrister who India
gave to us as Mister Ghandi and we as South Africa gave them as the Mahatma
(Great Soul). Gandhi's concept of Satyagraha (truth-force) changed South
Africa and Western civilisation forever. His teaching influenced such great
South Africans like Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela. These leaders brought
South Africa to where it is today but even greater was Ghandi's contribution
who motivated and influenced them. And if we say that our past is one, the
monuments around us must bear testimony to that. If India can have one of
its busiest streets named after Nelson Mandela, what is stopping us from
having some of our institutions named after Jawarhalal Nehru?
It is through a balanced reflection of our cultural heritage that the
culture of power can become the power of culture. Therefore let us not be
misled by those who argue that monuments are an insignificant item in the
South African political agenda. They argue that monuments do not bring food
to the table, that they are not and should not be an integral part of the
transformation debate, yet they agree in the same breath that tourism means
more investments and job creation. The richness of any country does not just
derive from nature. If that was so Japan and Switzerland would have been
beggar nations and not donor nations. The single most important resource of
any country is its people. We have people that have been in South Africa for
more than 300 years. Their history is our heritage. We have people who have
almost two centuries in this part of our continent and they are as South
African as President Thabo Mbeki and former President Mandela. People,
unlike plants, have cultural history. It is for this reason therefore that
our built environment must accurately reflect our collective histories
because the prevailing imbalances are an insult to both memory and what we
fought for.
WITHOUT EVER FORGETTING THE PAST, WE MUST FORGE AHEAD TO THE FUTURE
Issued by: Office of the MEC of Transport, KwaZulu-Natal, 18 May
2000
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