[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

Madam Speaker, Honourable members -

With a new millennium fast approaching and the end of the first term of a democratically elected government upon us, it seems opportune to dedicate some time to assessing the impact and efficacy of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. This Department's birth and growth has proceeded in tandem with the deepening and consolidation of our democratic government and its institutions. In my capacity as the Minister serving the department in its formative years and now returning at the culmination of this phase in our democratic transition, I am able to reflect on the success of the Department in meeting the challenges, foreseen and unexpected, that shaped and established the organisation that exists today. An analysis of our budget, of how policy has been translated into hard delivery, will illustrate how this Department, in the early stages of our democracy, has made a lasting contribution to strengthening our nationhood, our competitiveness and, most importantly, our enduring faith in the ability of South Africa's democratic government to overcome the bitterness of the past and to create a united and reconciled nation, in short a winning nation.

From modest beginnings, the Department has firmly and innovatively defined its identity. Started in 1994, it has, in five years, been faced with many opportunities and challenges. These have included the building of viable systems; the task of establishing a representative, innovative and dynamic management structure; accessing and interpreting public and stakeholder opinion on a variety of issues; addressing public expectations and recommendations in terms of operations; assessing, transforming, redirecting and stimulating the arts, culture, science and technology; and operating within the larger framework of the public service, the country, the continent and the globe. I am therefore pleased to report that this Department has finished its Year 2000 project, one of the first to do so.
The Department has made great strides in such a short period of time because of the seriousness with which the social and economic context in which it exists has been recognised. This is reflected in its staff composition and its commitment to meeting the targets laid out in the White Paper on Public Service Transformation. 62% of DACST managers are black, 28% are women and 1% of the staff component are disabled people. These figures are ahead of the targets set in the White Paper on the Public Service. In terms of overall representivity, 57% of the Department's staff are women and 55% of the staff are black.

Madam Speaker, while corruption and inefficiency in the public service are highlighted daily in the media, there are men and women whose deeds and commitment bare testimony to the idea that the public service should be an institution for people with integrity and commitment. Today I would like to tell you about Mr. Deena Moodley. His story is one of struggle, sacrifice and eventually - victory. Mr. Moodley is a computer programmer in the Information Technology sub-directorate of the Department. Madam Speaker - Mr. Moodley is blind.

While dedicated, high-calibre staff operationalise administrative systems, the key instruments for success in any democracy are strong institutions. When I first took office in 1994, a set of institutions, the Performing Arts Councils (PACs), was the focal point for controversy in the arts. It accounted for 67,7% of the arts budget. To some these institutions represented the preservation of excellence and "high art"; to others they were a symbol of cultural dominance and privilege. This case study provided a living example of how radically divergent perspectives on the integrity of an institution can undermine the task of building a common nationhood. We embraced this challenge because we understood its magnitude.

The decision to create two new flagship institutions in Gauteng and the Western Cape is part of a process to give our institutions a democratic orientation. Under this system, the museums and galleries in the flagships will now operate in a more defined framework to address the national heritage in its entirety. And importantly, instead of eight boards guiding the institutional development, there will only be two. Madam Speaker, we grasped this challenge with such vigour that I am happy to report today that the four Performing Arts Councils account for 32,4% of the arts and culture budget, down from the 67,7% of 1994.

Their monopoly of the budget has been broken. For Nothembi Mkhwebane, formerly a domestic worker, this has meant that we could send her and her group of Ndebele singers and dancers to Portugal and Expo-Lisbon '98. It has meant that women at the Zizamileni Women's Forum could develop their activities and remain self-sufficient through their craft-work. It has freed money to support the Riverside Theatre Company, a national, touring children's theatre company that focuses on audience development and the Africanisation of European Fairy Tales. It enabled Prison Speak, a crime-focused project of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, to find a voice. The cut on the budgets of the four Performing Arts Councils has meant that hundreds of grants totaling R39,199 million were allocated to South African arts and culture projects that had social and economic relevance.

Cumulatively, DACST and the NAC have, since 1994, funded 1215 projects from across the spectrum of arts and culture. To foster multi-lingualism and address the past inequalities in the promotion of the country's languages, a total of R26, 023 million, 3% of the Department's budget, has been allocated to language programmes. In 1994 the government only spent about R 6m on language. This significant increase in the budget conveys our seriousness when it comes to the question of multi-lingualism.

A key component of DACST's function within government is the development and administration of South Africa's archive system to which R14, 643 million of our budget is dedicated. The archives assisted the Department of Land Affairs and the Commission for the Restitution of Land Rights with the land-claims issue. It also facilitated an internationally acclaimed agreement with the Namibian archive service for the return of records removed by South Africa from Namibia prior to Namibia's independence. The National Archives as an institution will continue to play an important role in records management, and the general transformation of our country.

But, we have also had to create new institutions. These include: - the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI), the National Arts Council (NAC), the National Archives Commission, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the National Heritage Council (NHC), the National Heritage Resources Agency (NHRC) and the National Geographical Names Council. These institutions will ensure that the sectors are well served and maintained for a long time to come.

In keeping with my belief that strong institutions form the foundation on which successful democracies are built, I would like to focus on the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), a body that was set up to fulfill the letter and the spirit of our commitment to arms-length management in the governance of the arts. Before I left the Department in 1996, I was involved in the drafting of legislation to establish the NAC. It pleases me to now see the dynamic organisation that has emerged.

In just two years, the NAC has made 628 grants worth R20 million, but its contribution can be measured in more than just the budget. The NAC, through its work and through its commitment to equity in funding, is contributing to healing this nation of the divisiveness of the past. In ensuring that the full range of South African arts is funded, the NAC is contributing to our sense of common nationhood. To illustrate this principle in action, let me briefly mention a few of the projects funded: - the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition; the Madimba Institute of African Culture and Heritage; the Soweto Community Dance Project; the Hulisane Weaving Project; the Cape Town City Ballet; and Sgila 'Ka Mazibuko Visual Arts Project are just some of the many projects allocated grants. Our country's many cultures and forms of artistic expression are, at last, given equal opportunity and promoted without the discrimination and bias that informed South Africa's past. It is my privilege to increase the budget of the NAC from R15 million last year to R25 million for 1999/2000.

Additionally, our current budget dedicates R55, 891 million to new initiatives in arts, culture and heritage, a noteworthy five-year achievement.

The skewed PAC funding allocation and its associated social dislocation detailed above has thus been redressed by the establishment of the NAC. Equally, the National Research Foundation (NRF) will give us a common purpose in science and development. We are currently finalising the establishment of the NRF. The object of this institution will be to promote, support and co-ordinate research, human resource development, infrastructure provision and capacity building in order to promote technological development in the field of science and technology, including indigenous technology. In doing so, it will contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of all of the people of South Africa. The budget of the NRF for 1999/2000 is R250, 570 million.

The Film and Video Foundation is poised to make an equally valuable contribution in affirming our national identity. With the discredited film subsidy scheme that we inherited well behind us, we are in the final stages of operationalising the National Film and Video Foundation. In the meantime, the Department, using an arms-length advisory panel, has continued to develop this important sector through focusing on key aspects of it, including script writing, training and production.

Comparative studies with foreign countries with developing film industries and an examination of the issues facing aspirant South African filmmakers indicated the need to focus on certain areas. Our film interventions were so successful that, through the Interim Film Fund, we have funded 261 new film projects since 1994 with approximately R 20m.

Our studies have shown that this industry represents a key investment in our nation and has considerable job-creation potential as well as the advantage of readily attracting foreign investment. Film and Video constitutes one of the four main sectors in the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy and has been extensively researched in this regard. Among other things, we have found that: -
* The South African entertainment industry is worth approximately R7, 4 billion.
* Within this figure, the film and television industry is worth R5, 8 billion.
* Approximately 20 525 people are currently employed in the film and television sector.
* Film and Television are rapidly growing sectors on an international level.

The new focus by government on film and its potential to create jobs, invigorate the economy and stimulate cultural expression and understanding has had a great impact. For Thandi Brewer, an actress, it created the opportunity to broaden her horizons and venture into script writing. DACST funded the script-development of her first production, given first option by M-Net, and kick started Ms Brewer's career. She continues to prove the value of our investment and already has a weekly sitcom on SABC 2.

My Department provided nearly a million Rand for training purposes alone and realised a number of different projects. For example, in an initiative with the SABC Training Department, DACST provided R250 000 for the production of eight short films by aspirant filmmakers.

The allocation of grants to potential movers in film has also had a great impact on the identity of the South African film industry. Zola Maseko, whose production, "Foreigner", tackling the pressing issue of illegal immigrants, received a grant of R30 000 from the Department, has made the most of the new opportunities in film. "Foreigner" has been accepted at the Rotterdam-Berlin Film Festival. Maseko also directed a documentary on a key figure from our heritage entitled "The Life and Times of Sara Baartman", recently screened on the SABC. The film was honoured with an award at the Amsterdam Film Festival in 1997 and for it Maseko was named Most Promising Upcoming Director in Film and Television at the International Southern African Film and Television Market (SITHENGI) Awards. In addition to kick starting many careers, seed funding from DACST has often enabled aspirant filmmakers to lobby for further financial assistance.

Thus it is obvious that DACST's film investment has multiple benefits both nationally and internationally. It is creating employment opportunities by stimulating the growth of a vibrant cultural sector with great economic potential; empowering film makers, many of whom are dedicated to addressing and documenting key issues in our society and from our past; identifying and nurturing talent in our communities; and situating South African film makers firmly in the international arena. It also has considerable potential for attracting foreign investment.

While the NAC continues to develop and promote excellence in the arts, South Africans continue to make their mark abroad, as well as at home. "The Man who drove with Mandela", a DACST-funded documentary film on the 1950's activist Cecil Williams, directed by Greta Schiller and produced by Mark Gevisser, is among the first South African films to have won an award at a major international film festival. It received the documentary Teddy Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

Numerous examples of how South African talent, stamina and vibrancy are shining forth both locally and internationally come to mind. David Kramer and Taliep Pieterson have recently been honoured with the Olivier Award for their outstanding and innovative production, "Kat and the Kings"; Brenda Fassie is showing her mettle and fast re-establishing herself in the South African music world after resiliently working through a difficult time; the Market Theatre continues to promote and initiate excellent projects and has been ranked as one of the top five theatres in the world. South African actresses are also coming to the fore, and Embeth Davidtz and Charlize Theron have grasped the popular imagination.

The new spirit of success, expression, experimentation, innovation and creativity that abounds has infused the arts, culture, science and technology sectors and revitalised these features of the South African landscape. The work of the institutions that we have set up can only broaden and continue to improve South Africa's position.

But government cannot meet the challenges alone. Who would have thought that when we established Business Arts South Africa (BASA) two years ago it's success would be such that today it boasts a membership of sixty-nine companies and that, with our initial outlay of R2 million, it would have been able to attract equal funding and back 143 projects?

Madam Speaker, the Department manages a number of heritage institutions. Robben Island, a newly established institution, is one of the biggest success stories. DACST had the daunting task of ensuring that a place designed to be inaccessible and hidden from the public, a prison, was transformed into a viable, appealing museum that captured the public interest, motivated people to journey into the legacy that it represents and provided the means for visitors to gain access to it.

I am happy to report that the Department's endeavours have proved successful. Scores of people travel to Robben Island daily. It is almost customary that visiting dignitaries, including Heads of State, place time at the Museum on their itineraries. Fidel Castro, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Yasser Arafat, and Stevie Wonder to name but a few, are some of the well-known people that the facility has attracted. DACST is proud to contribute to the functioning of this vital cultural institution by allocating R21, 965 million to the Museum. We will continue to work towards having it declared a World Heritage Site.

Last year the Auditor General commissioned a performance audit of the Department's associated institutions. To quote from the report, "the audit focused on museological and heritage conservation matters ... and covered the following aspects: administration and staff; security and physical environment; and maintenance". Madam Speaker, I would like to point out that DACST spends R110 million annually on museums and galleries and an additional R38 million on capital works.

The findings of the performance audit indicate ineffective conservation, lack of proper records, ineffectual security, unsuitable storage facilities and the lack of regular maintenance programmes with regard to the national collections housed in national museums. This points to the need to redefine the way that these institutions are managed. The obstacles that we now face can, for the most part, be attributed to the fact that previously there were no coherent national collections policies, strategies or guidelines that adequately considered all of the issues.

DACST is developing a holistic and integrated approach to the national collections policy. We will also fundamentally restructure our national museums so that resources are more effectively utilised. Our budget indicates substantial fiscal support for these institutions and emphasises our commitment to our national heritage. We must, therefore, improve the management systems within our institutions.

The National Heritage legislation currently being finalised by Parliament will go a long way to addressing the overall management of our heritage and national collections. The Bills will stimulate partnership between communities and museums and provide a cohesive and creative vision of the path ahead for cultural institutions.

Madam Speaker, in the course of a nation's history, challenges requiring great national effort arise from time to time. It is at these times that we must all step forward and be counted. As we stand at the dawn of a new millennium, criminal violence is traumatising our people and the scourge of HIV/AIDS threatens our economy and social fabric. This Department is meeting these challenges head on.

The AIDS pandemic threatens to erode the nation and has serious and destabilising economic and social ramifications. We have developed a package of programmes to combat the scourge that confronts us. Projects in the package include the following: -
* We are in partnership with the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council. An additional R5 million from the science vote was allocated to the AIDS Vaccine Programme.
* We funded the National HIV/AIDS Paper Prayers Campaign with R340 000 for 1998. The project integrated simple, technology-based, skills training in papermaking with artistic expression and effective HIV/AIDS education. Other relevant capacity-building interventions also formed part of this dynamic and innovative endeavour.
* We initiated a terminology programme on HIV/AIDS. The project continues to answer the pressing need to develop and publicise terms for HIV/AIDS and related issues in languages accessible to all. It is making a significant impact on the quality of service offered by many rural and urban AIDS-related organisations.
* In a national project that is estimated to have reached over three hundred thousand of the country's youth, 1998 was declared the Year of Science and Technology. HIV/AIDS awareness formed a vital part of the programme and a special touch-screen exhibition dedicated to HIV/AIDS issues and allowing participants to access specific and general information was developed.

Crime, too, constitutes a major threat to the growth of our democracy, our economy and the development of our communities and our country.
In this regard we have, explicitly and implicitly, undertaken a number of initiatives.

The Innovation Fund is a policy instrument to lever economic and social resources. It captures the essence of the government's focus on stimulating creativity, independence and dynamic thought processes. Last year's pilot project has produced some inspiring results that suggest that accessing the enormous innovation potential in South Africa could give us a leading edge in addressing problems that exist for communities around the world.

Our pilot project of 1997/98 aimed at science council interventions in the area of crime prevention. Following its success, the Innovation Fund, focusing on crime prevention, promotion of an information society and incorporating a value-adding drive aimed at improvements to products and processes, was officially launched to the science and technology development community in 1998/99.

The Computerised Intelligent Firearm Licensing and Authorisation Consortium Project received R5 million and is an example of the dynamic projects funded in round one. The Project seeks to develop "intelligent" and personalised firearms that can be programmed to operate for an identified user for specified time periods. A security guard's gun can, for instance, not be used against its owner or others if stolen. It can also be programmed to operate only during official working hours. Another cutting-edge aspect of the project is its ability to regulate the licensing of weapons electronically. In a country where firearm-related violence is becoming a norm, the benefits of this project are obvious.

The Innovation Fund addresses actual and not just potential crime as well, and has facilitated the development of a system of crime analysis and decision support in the South African Police Service (SAPS). The project increases the capability of the SAPS and assists in the detection and prevention of crime. Its relevance and usefulness has already been demonstrated in hard results and arrests. DACST allocated total funding of R3, 714 million to the project, now entering its second year.

Madam Speaker, in the first round of the Innovation Fund in which R30 million was invested, my Department has shown how government funding can provide the impetus and resources to develop international market-edge technology. The pilot project has produced exciting advances in socially and economically relevant areas of life and the growth of the project promises great things. The 1999/2000 budget reflects DACST's commitment to the promotion of innovation and the response of the Department to the global demand for creativity and problem solving. It gives me pleasure to note that the Innovation Fund's budget has, accordingly, grown by R45 million to R75 million.

Increasingly there is an understanding of the complex relationship between levels of crime and the environments or contexts in which crime exists. Within the broad framework of reconstruction and development, the Department was allocated R50 million to build arts and culture facilities aimed at the Stabilisation of Youth and Children. This, we believe, is a key intervention in combating crime, stimulating creative development in the country and improving the quality of life of South African citizens, particularly those in previously disadvantaged communities. In many instances, DACST found, there was little or no infrastructure from which community stabilisation and growth could occur. Madam Speaker, I am proud to report that the pioneering RDP-funded programme that we have undertaken has to date built or renovated numerous facilities around the country or is in the final phase of completing construction of such structures. In total, approximately forty-one facilities are or will be operational by the end of the year. These include numerous libraries, arts centres, multi-purpose venues, facilities that support both arts and sports in communities and even a travelling community arts centre in the Northern Cape. This culture in community project stands as a shining example of what successful planning and co-ordination at national, provincial and local levels can achieve.

The facilities constitute a major step in empowering communities in terms of economic and creative growth, job creation and access to adequate recreational facilities. The centres can play a key role in sustaining the social and economic fabric of communities and in tapping into the vast resources of potential cultural industries. They provide a sense of coherence, vibrancy and identity to otherwise barren residential areas and their unique designs often reflect the particular cultural context around them. As such, they contribute meaningfully to our sense of nationhood.

Some of the RDP projects are located within the National Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs). The Matsulu Project in Mpumalanga is on the national road to Maputo and stands as part of the Maputo Corridor Development. The Port St Johns and Umtata Art Centres are located in the Wild Coast SDI. Many of the centres are on tourist routes and have the potential to generate income through cultural tourism. This aspect of the project interfaces with another groundbreaking initiative of the Department, the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS).

We, as a Department, have dedicated ourselves to effecting a paradigm shift in understanding the role of arts and culture. Today the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labour include culture in their industrial and employment strategies. DTI is currently working with DACST in implementing the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS), in which DACST has invested R3 million. DTI have also included cultural industries in their foreign trade missions to Japan, Brazil and Korea.

CIGS is the country's first industrial development strategy for the publishing and multi-media; film and television; music; and craft industries. It successfully integrates culture, science, job creation and the economy. It's potential has been internationally recognised and DACST was honoured in winning an international competition for innovative ideas run by the World Bank.

South Africa's arts, culture and heritage is one of its richest resources. It has the vital ability to compensate for the lack of employment opportunity in the formal sector, an increasing problem globally. The cultural industries focus on the production of cultural products for commercial purposes. Stimulating growth in these industries will leverage social and economic rewards because they are knowledge intensive, labour intensive, diverse and flexible.

Cultural tourism, a theme in both the CIGS and RDP projects, plays a strong role in Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) of government. To capitalise on the vast potential of tourism as an income-generator for the country, my Department has commissioned three surveys to assess the potential benefits of cultural tourism in SDIs at Lubombo, the Wild Coast and Port St Johns. The studies focused on scoping projects that will contribute to economic empowerment and job creation in the areas. DACST also facilitated consultative meetings with the provinces, regional and district offices and implemented training programmes aimed at maximising the potential of emerging artists in the designated areas.

This year DACST is launching a two year technology transfer pilot programme, the Technology Stations Programme (TSP), aimed at increasing innovative activity amongst targeted sector specific SMMEs through technikon programmes that facilitate the strengthening and upgrading of technikon capacity and facilities to service the needs of this sector. The IDRC of Canada supported DACST in identifying appropriate technikons for participation in the pilot Technology Station Programme (TSP). The following technikons were selected in SMME sector specific areas:
* The Technikon Free State in metalworks/value-adding;
* Mangosuthu/North West two-tech in chemicals; and
* Technikon Pretoria in electronics.

The Department has also been successful in securing support from the European Union for a three-year SMME targeted technology transfer programme involving Innovation Centres, Technology Demonstration Centres and Incubators according to a R36 million business plan. It is expected that implementation of the EU supported pilots will be rolled out over the next six months within the protocols set by the EU.

The aim of the National Research and Technology Foresight project is to identify technologies and technological trends that will contribute to the economic growth and social upliftment of all South Africans over the next ten to twenty years. The Foresight process brings together government departments, industry, science councils, higher education institutions, organised labour, professional organisations and other stakeholders. Macro-scenarios were used to assist the Foresight sectors to better understand the environment in which they will be operating in ten to fifteen years' time. At present surveys are used to solicit views from a wider pool about research and technology trends. The final report for the twelve sectors will be available at the end of July 1999.

An exciting programme in high technology optics is also being developed by the Department this year. The Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC) approached us after the closure of its Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MCIS) programme in 1998. The AEC wanted a plan developed to utilize the extremely powerful collection of laser equipment effectively. Our plan involves the establishment of a national facility for laser technology that will span both industrial applications and basic research across physics, chemistry, medical and materials fields. This classic swords-to-plowshares programme will involve collaboration with the Department of Minerals and Energy, the AEC, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the French company COGEMA, as well as a number of universities, technikons and private companies.

The reluctance or inability to see African societies as sources of knowledge and ideas should be countered by deeper knowledge of African cultures, communities, production systems and technologies. Our Science and Technology institutions can do much more to investigate these phenomena, and to nourish their research programmes with better knowledge about Africa. Knowledge of Africa's cultures and indigenous technologies may also improve the way science and maths are transmitted in the education sector, helping ignite the fires of curiosity and thus increasing the pool of science students and practitioners. It is for this reason that we have increased the budget of the Africa Institute by 67,1% this year, subject to major changes in research direction which the Council is now implementing.

This leads me to the issue of indigenous knowledge and technologies. In an era where global markets and global standards prevail, particularly for countries at the periphery of the global economy, it is better to aim for niche products than to compete in heavily subscribed areas. Moreover, in a world that runs increasingly on knowledge, systems of knowledge that are less accessible to others offer a potential competitive advantage. It is for this reason that DACST, in the first cycle of the Innovation Fund, opened a window for innovations based on South Africa's indigenous bio-diversity. The South African economy has largely been built on our mineral wealth, a fortuitous local advantage we have exploited very effectively. The modern global knowledge society demands that we also regard our human capital and the knowledge it embodies in a more strategic light. Following on from the audit of indigenous technologies requested by the Portfolio Committee and performed by the CSIR last year, the National Research Foundation will give grants in the order of R3,5 million to further science-oriented indigenous knowledge.

On an international level, the United States-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) is an extremely important political instrument for the leveraging of our international policy objectives. We are pleased to report the most productive meeting to date of the Science and Technology Committee of the BNC. I am happy to announce that, among many other important goals reached, an agreement between South Africa, the United States and the National Aeronautical and Space Agency (NASA) to establish a Satellite Laser Ranging System (SLRS) in South Africa has been finalised. All equipment will be paid for by NASA. The R60 million SLRS, which will be the first of its kind on the African continent, will form part of an international network of some forty similar instruments. The SLRS will enable the extremely accurate determination of satellite altitudes, thus providing crucial geodetic data on, for example, the variation of sea levels which, in turn, are important indicators of global climatic change. South Africa's financial contribution to this project will simply be to cover the operating costs, an amount of approximately R1,5 million.

I am happy to report that the BNC also heartily endorsed the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) project, mentioned in last year's budget speech. SALT is a partnership between the South African Astronomical Observatory and McDonald Observatory in Texas and will be the largest single telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. We have almost met the funding target of obtaining 50% international support for the R100 million project.

Madam Speaker, South Africans are reaching for the stars in many ways. It is with pleasure that I note that, at the end of last month, Sunsat, South Africa's first locally designed and built satellite was successfully launched into space in a co-operative venture with NASA.

In the five-year period since 1994, DACST has, with the valued support and guidance of the Portfolio Committee, done the following and more:
* Submitted seventeen pieces of legislation
* Re-prioritised expenditure with regard to our institutions
* Established a new finance and reporting system for science councils
* Introduced multiple new programmes
* Built approximately forty-one community centres
* Transformed and revitalised the role and image of the science and technology sectors for the general public
* Strengthened and provided coherency and structure to the arts, culture and heritage sectors
* Allocated R55, 891 million to new initiatives in arts and culture
* Established approximately fourteen new institutions
* Funded approximately twenty-one museums and art galleries
* Signed twenty international science and technology bi-lateral agreements
* Signed seventeen cultural and arts-related bi-lateral agreements, bringing the total number to twenty since 1994.
* Taken culture and science back into the global economic arena.
* Participated in international forums such as the Non-Aligned Movement and the USA-SA Bi-National Commission
* Showcased South African culture and talent on an international level at major events such as Expo-Lisbon '98, the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, the XII Non-Aligned Movement Summit and others
* Reviewed and transformed twelve Science, Engineering and Technology Institutions
* Established language as a vital component of nation-building and promoted multi-lingualism
* Increased the efficiency and service-delivery of the country's National Archives
* Funded hundreds of projects ranging from micro-initiatives to projects of national and international importance
* Developed a new arts council, the NAC, to a funding level of R 25m
* Funded 261 film projects
* Introduced a new Innovation Fund.

Madam Speaker, it is also important to note that this Department's budget has grown by nearly 150% since 1994, from an initial allocation of R329,174 million to our current figure of R804,409 million. This has been achieved while keeping our overheads at only 8,3% of the budget.

Madam Speaker, Honourable members of Parliament - we have taken the unprecedented step of publishing a Budget Overview. The Budget Overview provides integrated and holistic information on the allocation of our budget. It serves as a brief record of our delivery over the last five years.

In closing I would like to thank the officials that have made the Department's work possible. The high calibre of its staff and management has been integral to the overall achievement of the last five years. They should be commended on the fact that so much was built from nothing in a comparatively short space of time.

The DG and his senior management have blazed a trail of leadership in arts and culture, science, engineering and technology, that has received international recognition and good respect. South Africa's arts, culture, science and technology is indeed on a rising trajectory.

Thank you.

<EOD>