ANC CHANGES HERITAGE DAY DEBATE TOPIC
Tomorrow (20 September) at a joint sitting, Parliament will hold a debate to commemorate National Heritage Day which falls on Monday, 24 September.
The original topic of this debate was “celebrating South Africa’s poetry, with special emphasis on indigenous languages”. However, on Monday, three days before the debate is to take place, the ANC sent a notice out to the Chief Whips of all the other political parties informing them that this topic had been changed to a “tribute to OR Tambo”.
September has been declared heritage month in South Africa and each year Government determines a theme for that month’s celebrations. This year’s theme is “celebrating South African poetry” (the original topic for the parliamentary debate correlated with this broader national theme).
However, instead of retaining a topic that encompasses all South African languages and cultures, thereby nurturing national unity and at the same time promoting reading and writing, the ANC has instead turned this debate into one that merely celebrates the history and achievements of one political party – the ANC.
Is this additional tribute warranted? On 17 September politicians paid tribute to OR Tambo by unveiling a R1.5 million commemorative stone in the OR Tambo Garden of Remembrance just outside Bizana in the Eastern Cape at the start of the “People’s Assembly”. Government has also announced that a number of activities would take place during October to commemorate his 80th birthday which will include the OR Tambo Games and the OR Tambo Cultural Festival.
While there is no doubt that Tambo played a vital role in the struggle against apartheid, he is just one of many significant cultural and political figures in the history of our country. If the ANC government was truly committed to the values for which it created Heritage day it would call for a debate that celebrates all our heroes thereby uniting people despite their many differences and fostering reconciliation.
Instead, the ANC has once again used its majority presence to not only distort the original aim of Heritage day but also Parliament as an institution that is meant to promote the needs and wellbeing of all South Africans and not just one interest group.
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| Posted on 19/9/2007
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