Posted Fri, 06 Aug 2010
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Vision
Excel in culture, sport and information services in the province and the country as a whole.
Mission
To develop, support and promote cultural, sporting and information excellence through participation of our stakeholders.
Strategic objectives
• Acknowledging cultural diversity and promoting unity by affirming, conserving and celebrating people’s way of life while striving for moral renewal in our society
• Creating a reading and learning culture to empower people to make informed decisions.
• Improving quality of life by maintaining healthy minds and bodies through active participation in culture, sport and recreation.
Departmental
priorities
• Accelerating good governance
• Infrastructure development for sport, recreation, arts and culture
• Ensuring mass participation
• Nation building
• Reconciliation and patriotism cultural renaissance
• Commissioning film and video research conserving
• Restoring and preserving the diversity of heritage
• Acknowledging cultural diversity and promoting unity
Highlights from the 2010/11 Policy and Budget Speech
Achievements in the culture sector
We are a province of achievers and we are proud to announce that we have excelled in various fields. Our very own Nothembi Mkhwebane was bestowed with the National Order of iKhamanga in Silver by Honourable President Jacob Zuma during Freedom Day for putting Ndebele music on the world stage. A KaNyamazane-based artist, Jinda, also recently won a South African Traditional Music Award for best
traditional album in SiSwati.
Archives, library and information services
In the current financial year, we will continue to work towards eradicating the backlog of libraries in the province. In this regard, we will be building four new public libraries – in Hluvukani in Bushbuckridge Municipality, Silindile in Msukaligwa Municipality, Botleng in Victor Khanye Municipality and Driefontein in Mkhondo Municipality. We will also upgrade libraries in Nelspruit, Mzinoni, Middelburg, KwaMhlanga and Ermelo.
The department has budgeted an amount of R25-million for this purpose and the libraries will go a long way in assisting learners and adults to improve their literacy rates. The department will, this year, host the National Oral History Conference, which will look into recording and preserving the history of historically marginalised communities in the province and the country at large.
Cultural affairs
We have set
aside an amount of R900 000 to help six groups from the province to record their albums and we will also help to market these groups as we are committed to groom and expose local talent. The groups were identified during the Tjhagalani Kusephuka Tidzindzi Arts and Culture Festival, which the department hosts annually in Bethal to identify talent in the province.
An arts and culture indaba will be convened in August 2010, where we will discuss ways that we can develop and take the industry to new heights in the province.
Mpumalanga Provincial Geographical Names Committee
The province of Mpumalanga continues to register significant progress in the area of standardising geographic names.
Our department was able to successfully facilitate the transformation of 43 national geographic features across our province during the 2008/09 and the 2009/10 accounting periods. The features transformed during the 2009/10 accounting period include the following key geographic places: Nelspruit to Mbombela, Piet Retief to eMkhondo, Belfast to eMakhazeni, Machadodorp to eNtokozweni and Waterval Boven to Emgwenya.
Heritage and museums
Our provincial cabinet has endorsed a proposal by the National Heritage Council to write the Mpumalanga provincial chapter of the National Liberation Heritage Route and identify, document and protect heritage sites linked to our liberation struggle and submit them to UNESCO for consideration as part of the African Liberation Heritage Route. Our department will be the lead implementing agent of the National Liberation Heritage Route in the province.
A summit on the National Liberation Heritage Route Summit has already been held in the province and its resolutions were as follows:
• The establishment of the Provincial Chapter preceded by a broader consultation
• There shall be resource allocation for sustenance of all anchor liberation
routes
• There shall be research commissioned to scout all the stories, history, events and sites and integrate them into a provincial chapter
• The Liberation Heritage of South Africa shall be nominated under the 1972 World Heritage Convention
• Advocate for proper and sustainable management of the National Liberation Heritage Route
South Africa has won the rights to host the 2012 World Gold Panning Championships following the successful bid that was made last year and this shows that the rest of the world has confidence in our hosting abilities.
2010 World Cup in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga successfully hosted four first-round matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the newly built Mbombela Stadium.
The four matches in Mbombela featured the countries; Ivory Coast, Italy, Australia, Honduras, Korea DPR, Chile, New Zealand and Serbia. All the matches went smoothly with locals coming out in large numbers to support the teams.
Chile chose Mpumalanga as their base camp in a move that endeared the South Americans to the local fans, who supported them from the moment they landed in the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to the time they left.
The Fan Fest in Hoerskool Bergvlam was a success as people came in large numbers during the games – particularly when our national team played.
The department organised public viewing areas in all the regions of Mpumalanga to ensure that those who were outside Mbombela were not left out.
Crafters were also not excluded as the department ensured that they sold their products at the Fan Fest. Ingwenyama Wire Project was one of the success stories as its products were in huge demand and there are currently orders from as far as Australia.
The summary of the departmental budget according to programmes is as follows:
• Programme One: Administration: R86.485-million
• Programme Two: Cultural affairs:
R42.283-million
• Programme Three: Library and archive services: R105.110-million
• Programme Four: Sport and recreation: R48.375-million
Key contact:
Ms Sibongile Nkosi, Senior Manager: Communication
Tel: +27 13 766 5372 Fax: +27 13 766 8253
Email: nkosist@mpg.gov.za
Physical address: 1st and 2nd Floor, Building 5, Government Boulevard, Riverside Park,
Nelspruit 1200
Postal address: PO Box 1243, Nelspruit 1200
Website: www.mpumalanga.gov.za/dcsr
