Closing remarks by the Deputy Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Nomatyala Hangana, at the Good Hope Centre on Multilingualism and Capacity Building Conference, South Africa

Honourable Mayors and Councillors;
Municipal Speakers;
Distinguished delegates;
Ladies and gentlemen.

I am sure all of you will agree that this has been an important conference which has given us some valuable insights on the challenges that we face as we seek to build a prosperous and tolerant society that appreciates diversity and embraces multilingualism.

I think all of us have realized after the presentations that were made and issues raised in our deliberations, that multilingualism and capacity building can not be a success if led by government alone. We can only claim success if there is cooperation with municipalities, private sector, civil society and our strategic partners.

My colleague, the Honorable Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Sydney Mufamadi in his opening address indicated that multilingualism is a critical factor for integration. He argued that through multilingualism we as Africans can begin to understand one another and realize that we share common values, culture and history.

Multilingualism serves as a bridge that gives our people the means to communicate, but also helps them to understand each other's cultures and to build on their shared values. Increasing people's knowledge of their languages is key in the capacity building efforts of government, and in the building of an inclusive South Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen, capacitating and developing our people, will make them realize the value of reaching out to other African communities and regard them as family, if not a resource for our own growth and development. The recent attacks on foreigners by some of our citizens have shown us that it is critically important to educate people on all these issues such as diversity and tolerance and these are issues that would be easily understood if we succeed in our efforts to build a truly multilingual and caring society.

Colleagues, it also important for all of us to value the critical role of ward committees and community development workers in ensuring that there is solidarity among our people. Our people need to know each other's cultures, ideas and ways of living-and this involves language too. When we learn a new language, we are not just accessing a communication tool, we are accepting that we can be influenced and changed by a different conception of life. We are in fact drawing nourishment from a variety of cultures. Through multilingualism, we can learn to see our "indigenous languages" as sources of wealth and bridges to greater solidarity and mutual understanding.

As we come to the end of this conference, and moving towards the rollout and implementation phase, we must make every effort to be inclusive in our approach. We must always remember that all our programmes as government can only succeed if we work together with our communities. Therefore, community participation is critical in the implementation of these projects. The discussion document on the funding model for ward committees gives an outline on how to empower ward committees and thus ensure their effective role in our communities. I see this funding model as a very critical tool that will empower even the ward councillors to play a greater role in community representation. The more effective the ward committees are; the greater the community ownership of multilingualism and capacity building projects.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as we roll out these projects, we must involve the private sector and other strategic partners and we must ensure that their support is consistent with the development priorities of our country. We must also ensure that technology cooperation forms a critical part of our interaction, as well as cooperation and support for poverty alleviation programmes. Our interaction should ensure capacity building of our ward committees and CDWs so that we are able to increase capacity at community level for the long-term management of these important projects.

During the course of the last two days, we also received presentations from the Director General of the dplg, Ms Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, language experts from different institutions, message of support from the House of Traditional Leaders and presentations with regard to the role of the media in developing a communication strategy that will aid the rollout and implementation phase. Some of the key issues that were raised by the presenters, and during our deliberations include the following:
* The implementation of guidelines for ward committees and community development workers in the area of multilingualism and capacity building
* The role of traditional leaders, communication strategy, and policy development and its implementation by various stakeholders
* The funding model for ward committees, and the role of our community structures in the integration of the foreign nationals within our communities.

I think it will be proper to launch the capacity building framework today, and to encourage all our colleagues to begin its implementation immediately. Having said that, I think it will be extremely important for all municipalities and all the stakeholders to commit themselves in supporting the rollout of the multilingualism project. We must all ensure that we make provisions in our budgets for the rollout phase of this multilingualism project in our local spaces.

Programme director, I want to emphasize that it is our duty as government to empower our citizens and to provide resources for the ward committees so as to enable them to start planning community projects that can be done to foster social cohesion and integration al local community levels. I therefore charge the dplg with the responsibility to fast track the submission of the funding model for ward committees to Cabinet for endorsement so that the ward committees will be adequately empowered to make the necessary difference.

To conclude, honourable Mayors and councillors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a number of people including our own Minister in his opening remarks raised the need for action that will be realized through a change of attitude and behaviour at the community level. I hope this conference has inspired all of us towards action that brings change in our people's lives.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the dplg for hosting this very important event. I give thanks to all of you for making this conference a success. I want to acknowledge all individuals and organizations that participated in the roundtable discussion in preparation for this multilingualism and capacity building conference. I strongly believe that as we leave today to our various municipalities and homes, we will carry with us the messages presented at this conference to our communities and share with them what we have come to learn about the importance of embracing multilingualism and diversity, including living together with people from other countries.

I look forward to continued collaboration between municipalities, private sector, ward committees, CDWS and all our strategic partners, so that we empower our people as soon as possible and create a better life for all.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
6 June 2008