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Colleagues
Members of the Diplomatic corps
Ladies and gentlemen of the media

INTRODUCTION

On this very day (14 February 2002) the National Assembly of Parliament in France is considering the unanimous approval by the Senate of returning Saartjie Baartman to South Africa - we await the outcome eagerly.

This is a fitting development that strengthens our sense of nationhood. On my mind also is the recovery of the now famous "little foot" skeleton, which dates back approximately 3 million years. Yet again, there has been a remarkable find: 28 fine bone tools, which have been excavated at the Blombos Caves in the southern Cape. This suggests that there has been an industry dating from the Middle Ages in our part of the world. This, off course, has implications for human behaviour, symbolism and language. Certainly, the claim that this is an African century is not unjustified.

For the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, it has been important to define our role in terms of how we harness the best from our past to inform a prosperous future in improving the quality of life and fostering excellence in industry and society. The briefing week is an opportunity for us to focus on some key projects, which ensure that we deliver appropriately.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

SOUTH AFRICAN LARGE TELESCOPE

Over the next several years, South Africa and its German, Polish, American, New Zealand and United Kingdom partners will build the largest single telescope in the southern hemisphere, with a hexagonal mirror array 11 meters across. The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) will be able to record distant stars, galaxies and quasars a billion times too faint to be seen with the unaided eye - as faint as a candle flame at the distance of the moon.

A trial assembly of the telescope structure will take place in the workshops of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa this year. By mid to late 2003, it is expected that engineering tests will begin, where light is collected by a subset of the mirrors. The full delivery of all 91 segments used in the telescope, plus the spares, will take about 3 years. Final integration of all sub-systems will be completed in 2004.

HIGH ENERGY GAMMA RAY FACILITY

South Africa has in the last few years collaborated with Namibia on the establishment of a high-energy gamma ray telescope at Gamsberg in Namibia. This is a world-class observation facility that offers a great opportunity for the subcontinent to contribute to world science. Test observations will start in April this year and the official opening is scheduled for 1 July.

The large telescope and the gamma ray facility form part of an overall strategy to position Southern Africa as a premier astronomy destination.

HIV/AIDS VACCINE

The development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine by the Medical Research Council and other collaborators has reached the stage where trials on humans will be started in the near future. This project is known as the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative and is conducted with close links to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. In addition to this work the MRC and its partners are conducting epidemiological studies, development of vaginal microbicides to reduce transmission. Science and technology institutions such as the MRC and the CSIR and their collaborators, are driving public understanding interventions at community level among other initiatives to reduce the spread of HIV infection. The programme is receiving world-wide accolades as exemplified by South African scientists that worked on the project being awarded the 2001 World Technology Award for Health and Medicine.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

There is a serious need to ensure that we utilise all the opportunities that science and technology offer us to grow and become more competitive. International trends in new technologies are exposing this country to severe risk both from considerations of competitiveness as well as a threatening the stability of the building blocks we need to develop society. If African countries are to make an appropriate mark in the world it is insufficient to adopt an intelligent buyer or fast follower approach to technology. Original work in key areas is essential.

Government has therefore embarked on developing a national technology, research and development strategy to address the new challenges that have emerged in this area over the past 5 years as a matter of urgency. The strategy will address concerns with respect to funding, strategic research, research in the private sector, human resources, intellectual property and governance. It will further outline the co-ordinated development of an appropriate national portfolio of technology platforms (biotechnology, information technology, minerals beneficiation etc) as well as making recommendations regarding the management of the science and technology portfolio.

TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION FACILITIES

Creating an array of technology diffusion instruments is a key component of our science and technology strategy. It serves to provide better access to modern technology for the business community, especially Small and Medium Enterprises. A partnership between DACST, DTI and the European Union is rolling out a range of centres, such as technology incubators and technology information centres to achieve this. Ten additional centres will open their doors in the near future and more are on the drawing boards.

BIOTECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

Developing our capacity to utilise modern biotechnology is going to be crucial for our future socio-economic development. The implementation of the biotechnology strategy that was developed last year will start gaining momentum this year. The envisaged National Bioinformatics Facility will come into operation. A number of regional facilities specialising in important science and technology fields are being planned, the first of which will come into operation this year.

ARTS AND CULTURE:

CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

Last year, cultural industries were singled out as one of the sectors with the potential to contribute to higher growth rate and job creation. Therefore, there will be a significant increase in our budget for this sector in the next three years. Independent studies have shown that the cultural industry, that is film, music, design and craft are source of enormous economic activity. However, as much as scrutinise this sector to find avenues it is also important to address issues that have hamper the industries to reach their full potential. For example funds have been earmarked to make legal aid accessible to musicians. This will go a long way to creating stability within the music industry.

FREEDOM PARK

Freedom Park Project was one of a set of Legacy Projects approved by Cabinet in 1998. Others include the Nelson Mandela Museum, the Ncome (Blood River) Museum and Memorial and the Memorial in honour of the late Samora Machel, all of which have been completed.

Freedom Park entails the development of commemorative structures at the Salvokop site in Pretoria. The aim of the Freedom Park project is to establish visible cultural structures that celebrate and commemorate the rich tapestry of events that have taken place on South African soil, from the "Cradle of Humanity" through pre-history to colonisation to the struggle for democracy and stretching beyond to a vision for the future. We believe in the necessity of creating something that will have meaning still in 500 years time.

The Project is the physical manifestation of reparation not only to those who suffered as a result of the Anti-Apartheid struggle, but all South Africans.

The following physical elements are proposed:

Garden of Remembrance

A landscaped garden interspersed with monuments, statues and sculptures which pay tribute to ordinary South Africans who contributed positively to the country's development in different fields.

Memorial

A permanent and enduring national memorial seeking to acknowledge the victims of conflict who died in the liberation struggle and preserve their memory as heroes of the struggle, serving as a constant reminder of the dangers of intolerance and greed.

Museum

Freedom Park Museum's role is the acknowledgement, preservation and presentation of South Africa's history for present and future generations. Acknowledgement of our heritage is a crucial part of the process of national reconciliation and nation building. Preservation is important to prevent the loss of historical memory, without which a nation cannot be said to truly exist. Presentation for past and future generations is a catalyst for individual understanding and assimilation of our common heritage. The museum also will incorporate indigenous forms of expression, which were hitherto ignored in the South African heritage landscape.

Commercial facilities

The following commercial facilities have been proposed:

* Specialised Bookshop(s) Curio shop(s) Restaurant(s) Conference/Indoor theatrical facilities.
* To ensure that this Project will be properly resourced, an amount totalling R350m, has been approved over the medium term to execute it.

TELEPHONE INTERPRETING SERVICE FOR SOUTH AFRICA (TISSA)

Some of the exciting developments in the area of language and making implementation of multilingualism concrete in our country are the following:

My Department in collaboration with the Pan South African Language Board and the Unit will launch a Telephone Interpreting Service for South Africa (TISSA) in March for Language Facilitation and Empowerment of the University of the Free State.

We are pleased to report that this pilot project will target 60 sites across the country in partnership with the Departments of Health, Labour, Land Affairs and the SAPS. I sincerely believe that this project has tremendous potential in our multilingual society to facilitate equitable service delivery irrespective of language barriers.

Not only will this be a first for South Africa, it will also be a first for the continent!

SPELLCHECKERS FOR ALL OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

Another project where the use of our official languages empowers our country's citizens is the development of spellcheckers for all official languages. Products from the first phase, namely spellcheckers for the Sotho languages, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and Afrikaans will be launched at the end of February.

This project falls in the field of Human Language Technologies and my department is particularly proud that it manages to combine its two - seemingly opposing - legs, namely technology and culture. I have appointed an Advisory Panel to develop and investigate a strategic plan for the development of Human Language Technologies for South Africa.

CONCLUSION

In closing please allow me to explain the procedures for naming of public entities. According to the South African Geographical Names Council Act (Act No. 118 of 1998) I, as Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, am responsible for the approval of geographical names after receiving recommendations from the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC).

Provincial governments together with Provincial Geographical Names Committees (PGNC) are responsible for processing requests from communities for name changing. After they have consulted all stakeholders and received submissions, they will then present their recommendations to the SAGNC, which will finally seek my approval.

The SAGNC is responsible for geographical features of national concern including, but not limited to, towns/cities, suburbs and any form of human settlement, post offices, stations, highways and government dams. The SAGNC is also responsible for natural landforms like mountains, hills, rivers, streams, bays, headlands and islands.

All juristic names fall outside the mandate of the SAGNC. Juristic names are those of the country, the names of provinces and names of the local authorities. All names of features under the control of local authorities e.g. streets, municipal buildings, squares, parks and cemeteries fall outside the mandate of the SAGNC including privately owned buildings and farms. The other category of names that fall outside the mandate of the SAGNC is cadastral names, which are names of geographical areas used for the registration of land ownership. The SAGNC and Provincial Geographical Names Committees in these instances can only be used for reference purposes on matters of policy to be followed. For example with regard to the change of the names of the Northern Province and Eastern Cape, the only role the SAGNC can play is to provide guidance on policy matters if requested to do so by any party involved in the process.

There is nothing wrong with MECs in the provinces or any other person initiating the process of name change for towns/cities (which is one of the features falling within the jurisdiction of the SAGNC or a feature of national competence) and embarking on consultation process for that purpose. After consultation it is expected that the MEC, the local authority or the individuals concerned apply to the SAGNC for the name to be approved. Then all names that are approved or rejected by are published in the government gazette. There is also an opportunity to challenge the decision within 30 days of the decision being made or on publication in the government gazette.

Thank you.

Contact Mack Lewele at 082370 5336/ 012 337 817

Issued by of Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science, and Technology

14 February 2002