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"The proposal of the acting director-general of Arts and Culture, Ms. Veliswa Baduza, that certain museums should be placed under one managing body in order for museums to transform quicker, is an attempt to gain political control over the culture of minorities," was the reaction of Dr. Corné Mulder, chief spokesperson for the Freedom Front Plus on Arts and Culture to her proposal.
"Monuments which are important to a specific community should be managed by a body which is made up of members from that specific minority group. This practice is followed internationally in countries which consist of a number of minority groups. The state provides the funding to manage and maintain the museums because all minority groups pay taxes. The management is however left to a management body from the minority group itself to manage the museums to the advantage of that specific minority group," Dr. Mulder said.
"The ANC government is so obsessed with transformation that they act to the detriment of the history and cultural heritage of minority groups in South Africa. It is clearly visible from the figures of the Department of Arts and Culture's own records that Afrikaans and Afrikaners' history suffers the most as a result of the transformation of geographical place and street names. If the ANC government had taken the interests of minority groups into account up to now, cyber terrorism would not have shown its ugly head as a protest instrument against the government's place name changes," was the opinion of Dr. Mulder.
The FF Plus has for a number of years already been asking the ANC government to establish a properly coordinated process which would regulate the transformation of geographical place and street names, that would offer a win-win solution for everybody. President Zuma in his State of the Nation address in 2009 said that a generally acceptable process with clear guidelines for the changing of place and street names has to be investigated. This process will however only be acceptable if all relevant parties participate in the drawing up of the guidelines. If the ANC however continues to draw up one-sided and unbalanced guidelines which promote the interests of one group above that of minorities, the fight about place and street names will continue for decades to come.
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