Shortly before he died, French President Francois Mitterrand was asked how he thought history would judge him.  “It all depends on who is writing it” he replied.

As we celebrate our South African heritage, and acknowledge the past, let us reflect on Mitterrand’s wise observation and ensure that our history as a people is written in the name of all South Africans.

And that our past, however terrible and traumatic, humane or heroic, is an inclusive account of our story as a nation and of our place in the world.

Daar is een nalatenskap wat ons as Suid-Afrikaners almal deel as ‘n nasie.

Dit is die erfenis van ons grondwetlike demokrasie.

Ons demokrasie gee betekenis en voorsorg vir alles wat ons erf.

En hiermee saam verskaf die instellings van ons land soos onderskryf in die grondwet wigte en teenwigte wat die misbruik van mag moet hok slaan.

Ons moet alles doen om ons demokrasie te bewaar en te beskerm.

Sonder demokrasie is ons nie vry om die pragtige land te geniet was ons geerf het nie.

Sonder demokrasie is ons nie vry om ons kulturele diversiteit te vier nie.

Ons moet nooit vergeet dat ons kinders en hulle kinders nie kan kies watter soort nasie hulle van ons sal erf nie.

Next week we will be celebrating Heritage Day, many of us will be relaxing and spending the day with our families or friends and generally enjoying a day off from work or school.

In order to really undertand the true sense of this important day on our calender, we must ask ourselves the following questions and contemplate.

What are we celebrating on Heritage Day?

What does heritage day mean and what does it mean to us all as South Africans?

Heritage means tradition, birth right or legacy.

On the face of it, does that represent unity or does it represent disparity or separation?

As South Africans should we be focussing on our history or should we be looking towards the future?

I believe that today, here in South Africa, we are building a new heritage.

A history that our grandchildren can look back on and celebrate.

I believe that  Heritage Day should be a day of reconciliation, celebrating the huge steps we have made as a nation, following the example of Nelson Mandela.

This of course raises the question, what do we all have in common what we can celebrate?

Equality is something that we all aspire to, whatever our background or culture may be.

The desire for equality, strange as it may seem, could in fact be a unifying factor.  The South African constitution, praised throughout the world, was built on the premise of equality and freedom for all.

Of course, it is all well and good criticising a particular policy; the key is in finding a viable and workable alternative.

What is needed is training for young people and, at the same time, providing older people with new skills, regardsless of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation.

The Constitution of our nation is there to abide by, not to pick and choose from.

Nie baie mense verstaan ​​die ware betekenis van Erfenisdag wat jaarliks ​​gevier word nie.

Vir sommige is dit ‘n geleentheid om bymekaar te kom saam met familie en vriende vir ‘n braai. Maar neem dit in ag die menigte van kulture wat ons die reënboognasie maak?

Ons erfenis is baie uniek en kosbaar, want dit help ons om ons kulturele identiteit te definieer en dit lê dus in die hart van ons geestelike welsyn en dit het die mag om ons nasie te bou.

Daar is so baie maniere om die dag te herdenk, wat insluit om uit te hang saam met vriende wat nie van dieselfde agtergrond as jy is nie; of die voorbereiding en eet van ‘n tradisionele gereg van een van Suid-Afrika se diverse kulture wat nie jou eie is nie.

Die DA glo dat Erfenis Dag ‘n groot herinnering is van wat ons inherent maak; van die vele kulture en tradisies wat uiteindelik bymekaar gekom het en beïnvloed wat ons almal vandag is.

Dit is ‘n dag wat ons herinner om nie net mekaar se verskille te omhels nie, maar om mekaar se kulture en tradisiees te verken en ervaar wat anders is as wat ons ken.

This will become our heritage, something to really celebrate, a gift we can pass on to our children and grandchildren.

One such project that should preserve and advance our heritage is the Robben Island Museum. I’m sure that we would all agree that this is the one single place in our history that represents South Africa and the world’s memory of Madiba.

However Robben Island Museum mismanagement is an insult to this memory.

It is important that all heritage sites are properly managed. Robben Island Museum has been a problem for many years, this can no longer be tolerated: from the management through to the operations.

According to the Robben Island Museum’s annual report, revenue from tour sales decreased by R1 382 392 in the 2012/13 financial year. Furthermore, visitors to Robben Island had declined by 5% in December 2013 compared to December 2012.

Madiba, South Africa and the world deserves better.

In closing, our heritage celebrates our achievements and contributes to redressing past inequalities. It educates, it deepens our understanding of society while at the same time it encourages us to empathize with the experience of others.

Issued by the DA