Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile sees South Africa’s abundant arts, culture and heritage as the “new gold”.
Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile sees South Africa’s abundant arts, culture and heritage as the “new gold”.
It has created so many jobs that the arts and culture sector has since been included in the economic cluster of government departments.
At the official launch of Heritage Month on Monday 3 September in Sandton, the minister said even more money is going to be fed into this promising field.
“Through Mzansi Golden Economy, we are channelling large-scale investment into our sector, to unleash its potential to contribute even more to social cohesion, nation building and economic empowerment,” Mashatile said.
The national Heritage Day event will be held at Siza Dukashe Stadium, Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.
Mashatile said the theme for this year’s Heritage Month is 'Reclaiming, restoring and celebrating our heritage’.
Through this theme his department seeks to promote liberation heritage as an integral part of South Africa’s legacy to the youth, in particular the “born-free” generation.
The arts and culture department has identified more than new 28 heritage sites that will create more jobs in arts, culture, heritage and construction and related sectors.
The department has already made headway in transforming the heritage sector by establishing monuments, memorials and museums in honour of some of our liberation struggle icons from South Africa and the continent.
South Africa is home to eight of the world’s official heritage sites, as determined by Unesco’s World Heritage Committee.
Heritage Month comes just a few months before South Africa celebrates 20 years of freedom.
