Date: 28/09/2003
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Launch of Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre
ADDRESS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE LAUNCH OF THE EKHAYA MULTI-ARTS CENTRE IN KWAMASHU, DURBAN, 28 September 2003
The Trustees of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation,
Representatives of Afrisun,
Representatives of the War Child Organisation from the Netherlands,
Community of KwaMashu
Distinguished guests,
I am happy to meet you at this wonderful occasion, where we launch yet another project that will contribute to the building of a better life for the people of this city.
Arts and culture is a powerful and constructive tool of nation building and of moulding our youth and giving them direction. They also an instrument of expression for any nation, an articulation of the heritage and everything that a nation holds dear.
Arts and culture define people and nations. I therefore salute the people of this community for developing this project.
It is only a few years ago that the KwaMashu community, together with many in this province, were engulfed with violence and human suffering. Through the hard word, commitment and dedication of the leadership of the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party, peace and stability was restored to this province.
The Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, one of the sponsors of the Centre being launched today, was formed for a very specific purpose, to ensure that immediate reconstruction began to make those who had suffered from violence to begin to build a new life.
The construction of this multi-arts centre has the backing of the Safer Cities Project, the Peace and Reconstruction Foundation and other stakeholders in the Ethekwini Unicity and KwaZulu-Natal province. They have supported this project because they see value in it, in terms of nation building and reconstruction.
I must thank the donors for backing this worthwhile project - the Peace & Reconstruction Foundation, Afrisun and the International donor agency War Child from the Netherlands.
Equipment and furnishings are being sourced as donations-in-kind and through international art charities and we hope they will respond positively.
We believe that the Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre will be an answer to the critical shortage of arts and culture related facilities for disadvantaged KwaZulu-Natal communities.
We wish you all the best in this endeavour as it will keep our youth constructively engaged, and save them from developing anti-social habits such as alcohol and drug abuse and crime.
As part of the Moral Regeneration campaign, government and civil society have identified arts and culture as one of the tools to be used in building a new society and renewing the moral fibre of our nation.
You would be aware of the Ingoma Cultural Project run by government through the national Department of Arts and Culture, as a moral renewal tool. We hope this centre will be able to link up with such national projects to add value to what we are trying to achieve.
Our country has a rich and vibrant culture, which we need to nurture and develop, and package properly to be able to market it internationally, as an example of our rich and diverse cultural heritage. Cultural tourism has a long-term value and we need to invest in it as much as we can.
I must add that you have chosen the right community to launch an arts and culture centre, given the talent that has emerged from KwaMashu in music, theatre and other forms of art.
We can mention actors Henry Cele, Roland Mqwebu of Emzini Wezinsizwa, Leleti Khumalo from Sarafina, and musicians Alfred Nokwe and his daughters Tu and Marilyn, gospel singer Deborah Fraser and Sipho Gumede.
We will wait and see how many more stars will emerge through the work of this Centre, it the various art forms.
We will also wait to hear what type of projects you will develop in celebration of our 10th anniversary of freedom on 27 April next year.
Government wishes to extend an invitation to all South Africans to prepare for an explosion of celebrations on this day. The first decade of our freedom has been remarkable given the progress we have made.
Millions of people now have water, electricity, houses and other services, which they did not have before.
Most of all, the restoration of the right to human dignity, and equality for all and other fundamental rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights in our Constitution, are some of the gains we will be celebrating and which we also need to be ready to defend.
We are now a free people, a nation recognised and respected for its resilience in the face of adversity. Our willingness to reconcile with the past and to move on the build a better future, coupled with the role we are playing internationally, continue to surprise many.
I therefore urge you in this community to begin planning for the bid day, and also for the rest of the year as celebrations will not be limited to 27 April only. We have come this far, and have consolidated our democracy to make sure that nobody ever takes us back to the dark days of oppression and suffering.
There are still many challenges that we face. While we have made tremendous progress, the apartheid legacy left too huge a gap to fill and we have a lot of work to do before we can say there is universal access to basic services.
However, what we have achieved in a short space of time, calls for acknowledgement and for us all to pat ourselves on the back because each and everyone contributed something to make our country the success it has been so far.
Once again, congratulations to you the community of KwaMashu.
The ground is fertile for very positive and good work here and the Centre can only grow from strength to strength.
I wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency, 28 September 2003
Source: SAPA
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Launch of Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre
ADDRESS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE LAUNCH OF THE EKHAYA MULTI-ARTS CENTRE IN KWAMASHU, DURBAN, 28 September 2003
The Trustees of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation,
Representatives of Afrisun,
Representatives of the War Child Organisation from the Netherlands,
Community of KwaMashu
Distinguished guests,
I am happy to meet you at this wonderful occasion, where we launch yet another project that will contribute to the building of a better life for the people of this city.
Arts and culture is a powerful and constructive tool of nation building and of moulding our youth and giving them direction. They also an instrument of expression for any nation, an articulation of the heritage and everything that a nation holds dear.
Arts and culture define people and nations. I therefore salute the people of this community for developing this project.
It is only a few years ago that the KwaMashu community, together with many in this province, were engulfed with violence and human suffering. Through the hard word, commitment and dedication of the leadership of the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party, peace and stability was restored to this province.
The Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, one of the sponsors of the Centre being launched today, was formed for a very specific purpose, to ensure that immediate reconstruction began to make those who had suffered from violence to begin to build a new life.
The construction of this multi-arts centre has the backing of the Safer Cities Project, the Peace and Reconstruction Foundation and other stakeholders in the Ethekwini Unicity and KwaZulu-Natal province. They have supported this project because they see value in it, in terms of nation building and reconstruction.
I must thank the donors for backing this worthwhile project - the Peace & Reconstruction Foundation, Afrisun and the International donor agency War Child from the Netherlands.
Equipment and furnishings are being sourced as donations-in-kind and through international art charities and we hope they will respond positively.
We believe that the Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre will be an answer to the critical shortage of arts and culture related facilities for disadvantaged KwaZulu-Natal communities.
We wish you all the best in this endeavour as it will keep our youth constructively engaged, and save them from developing anti-social habits such as alcohol and drug abuse and crime.
As part of the Moral Regeneration campaign, government and civil society have identified arts and culture as one of the tools to be used in building a new society and renewing the moral fibre of our nation.
You would be aware of the Ingoma Cultural Project run by government through the national Department of Arts and Culture, as a moral renewal tool. We hope this centre will be able to link up with such national projects to add value to what we are trying to achieve.
Our country has a rich and vibrant culture, which we need to nurture and develop, and package properly to be able to market it internationally, as an example of our rich and diverse cultural heritage. Cultural tourism has a long-term value and we need to invest in it as much as we can.
I must add that you have chosen the right community to launch an arts and culture centre, given the talent that has emerged from KwaMashu in music, theatre and other forms of art.
We can mention actors Henry Cele, Roland Mqwebu of Emzini Wezinsizwa, Leleti Khumalo from Sarafina, and musicians Alfred Nokwe and his daughters Tu and Marilyn, gospel singer Deborah Fraser and Sipho Gumede.
We will wait and see how many more stars will emerge through the work of this Centre, it the various art forms.
We will also wait to hear what type of projects you will develop in celebration of our 10th anniversary of freedom on 27 April next year.
Government wishes to extend an invitation to all South Africans to prepare for an explosion of celebrations on this day. The first decade of our freedom has been remarkable given the progress we have made.
Millions of people now have water, electricity, houses and other services, which they did not have before.
Most of all, the restoration of the right to human dignity, and equality for all and other fundamental rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights in our Constitution, are some of the gains we will be celebrating and which we also need to be ready to defend.
We are now a free people, a nation recognised and respected for its resilience in the face of adversity. Our willingness to reconcile with the past and to move on the build a better future, coupled with the role we are playing internationally, continue to surprise many.
I therefore urge you in this community to begin planning for the bid day, and also for the rest of the year as celebrations will not be limited to 27 April only. We have come this far, and have consolidated our democracy to make sure that nobody ever takes us back to the dark days of oppression and suffering.
There are still many challenges that we face. While we have made tremendous progress, the apartheid legacy left too huge a gap to fill and we have a lot of work to do before we can say there is universal access to basic services.
However, what we have achieved in a short space of time, calls for acknowledgement and for us all to pat ourselves on the back because each and everyone contributed something to make our country the success it has been so far.
Once again, congratulations to you the community of KwaMashu.
The ground is fertile for very positive and good work here and the Centre can only grow from strength to strength.
I wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency, 28 September 2003
Source: SAPA
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