The activities of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology are divided into the following 5 programmes:

This branch aims to –

• Ensure equal opportunities to all South Africans for artistic and cultural participation and expression.
• Conserve and promote the heritage of all people of the country and the South African film industry.
• Promote cultural relations internationally.

A synopsis of the objectives identified by the Arts and Culture Branch:

• To develop the economic potential of arts and culture and in that way alleviating poverty.
• To promote multilingualism and language development and manage language diversity through language policy and planning activities.
• To develop a standardised operational framework for the Boards of performing arts institutions.
• To ensure South Africa’s presence in the international arena of arts and culture.

The following processes and initiatives that were undertaken by the department over the past 2 years deserve special mention:

• The South African Music Week.
• Identifying strategic opportunities for exporting craft products in Burkina Faso and Celebrate South Africa in London.
• The Music Industry Task Team process.
• Laying the foundation for the development of export councils in the cultural industries.

Spending on arts and culture and science, technology and meta-information dominates the department’s budget. These 2 programmes comprise an average of 38,6% and 53,6%, respectively, of the budget over the medium term. The 2001 Budget allocations have been revised upwards by R145,2 million in 2002/03 and R312,5 million in 2003/04. The additional allocations in 2002/03 and 2003/04 will focus on:

• Infrastructure development at cultural institutions and the construction of Freedom Park – R 70 million and R180 million.
• Additional funding for supporting cultural industries, transforming of cultural institutions and the Pan South African Language Board (Pansalb) - R37 million and R53 million.
• Funding for the National Biotechnology Strategy - R30 million and R50 million.
• The Moral Regeneration Summit in 2002 – R5 million in 2002/03.

Because of the additional allocations, the overall budget growth increased from an annual average of 12,6% between 1998/99 and 2001/02 to 15,1% over the medium term. Science, technology and meta-information expenditure grows by an average of almost 10% annually over the medium term. National Language Services also show strong growth, mainly due to improved capacity for translating and editing, the provision for implementing a new language policy and support for Pansalb.

The budget shows a strong increase in capital transfers over the medium term. Allocations from the special allocation for poverty relief stand at R48 million in 2002/03 and R64 million in 2003/04.

The year 2000 was characterised by progress with the practical implementation and legal interpretation of the legislative framework of the department. The National Film, Video and Sound Archives were important instruments in refining the Legal Deposit Act and the Regulations Act. South Africa’s national archives focus on the provision of the following services:

• Repositories and record centres are responsible for preserving public records with enduring value in 6 different cities. Due to space and other constraints, a proposal for a major expansion of the National Archives Repository in Pretoria is currently under consideration. Funds for its construction have been requested for 2001/02.
• The Archives Educational Kit aims to introduce high school learners to our National Archives. In the course of 2000, the educational kit was given a pilot run in schools in 2 provinces and is currently a joint project with the Department of Education.
• National automated registers aim to maintain national automated registers. In 2000, 8 new guides for the national registers, 4 gravestone guides and 9 lists of books were finalised, which improve the reference services and record retrieval.
• The National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS) is a new web site which will serve as the portal for access to the national archives. NAAIRS was web-enabled in a major project in March 2001. This site will be officially launched this year.
• The provincialisation of archives is of particular concern to the department. The National Archives lack the capacity to implement effective records management at provincial and local levels. This necessitates capacity-building for provinces.

Since the readmission of the National Archives to the International Council of Archives, the National Archives have played an active role in the international archival community. International links are promoted with particularly the Eastern and Southern African archives community. Departmental staff interacted with archival staff from Australia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, the USA, while professionals from Botswana, China, Malawi, Swaziland, the United Kingdom and the USA visited our country. In addition, the National Archives participated in a joint South Africa-US Partnership programme designed to support heritage endeavours in South Africa. The South African National Archives also provided professional archival training in the form of internships to staff from archives in the eastern and southern African region.

The Bureau of Heraldry succeeded in creating a distinctive South African heraldic idiom. It incorporated many symbols from our culturally diverse society and has become a hallmark for international heraldic development. The bureau’s activities cover the fields of the registration of coats of arms and badges, as well as emblems such as flags, medals and the names and uniforms of universities, clubs and schools. During the past financial year, the bureau proceeded with research focused on the development of a distinctive South African heraldic idiom.

In comparison to the average annual growth of 7,5% over the period 1998/99 to 2001/02, expenditure growth on the National Archives of South Africa moderated over the medium term. At least 70% of the funds required by this programme go towards personnel expenditure.

This programme mainly focuses its attention on a language policy and plan for South Africa and to facilitate individual and national empowerment by promoting the use of all the official languages to ensure that South Africans have the freedom of using the official language of their choice.

An important steppingstone in achieving this ideal was the appointment of an advisory panel to prepare a final draft of the Language Policy and Plan for South Africa. In March 2000, the plan was presented to stakeholders at the Second Language Indaba in Durban. This was followed by a presentation of the Language and Policy Plan to the Cabinet Committee for the Social Sector. A comprehensive study was conducted in national government departments and the provinces to determine the status of available language infrastructure. These exciting developments in the field of language facilitation were followed by the South African Language Practitioners Council Draft Bill, which was prepared in collaboration with Pansalb by the SA Language Practitioners’ Council.

A significant landmark in language development was the collaboration of the national language service subdirectorate with the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment of the University of the Free State in producing a booklet on social security issues in all the official languages.

The average growth of this programme from 1998/99 to 2001/02 was 16,4%, compared to 26,1% over the medium term. Growth over the medium term is mainly because of the expanded translating and editing services and the increased allocation to Pansalb.

This branch of the department strives towards introducing measures that employs science and technology towards growth and development in a sustainable manner and in areas that matter to all South Africans. This goal is underpinned by development and resourcing strategies for the formation of science, engineering, the democratisation of the state and society, the promotion of an information society and to ensure environmental sustainability in development programmes. This poses the challenge of maintaining an adequate science base and translating this base into jobs and growth.

In November 2000, this branch started to review the performance and strategic vision of each of the directorates that currently exist within the branch in order to meet its broad target.

The Science Vote amounts to R1,5 billion of parliamentary grant funding for disbursement to institutions such as the Africa Institute, Agricultural Research Council, Council for Geoscience, Council for Medical Research, CSIR, HSRC and the Innovation Fund.

The Directorate: Science and Society aims to bring science, engineering and technology (SET) to society. This directorate promotes public awareness, appreciation, critical evaluation and understanding of science, engineering and technology through systematic, coherent and co-ordinated projects.

The Meta-Information Subdirectorate of the department focuses its attention on legislative and regulatory interventions to facilitate the achievement of the goals defined for meta-information systems and management. The subdirectorate was involved in activities such as bringing into effect the South African Library for the Blind Act, which acknowledges the right of access to information for the visually disabled, the amendment of the Regulations of the Legal Deposit Act and a progress report on library and information services in South Africa. In addition, the subdirectorate publishes an in-house journal, the Meta-info bulletin, quarterly, which disseminates information on its activities and meta-information in general.

Current and capital transfer payment to science, engineering and technology institutions and projects within the National System of Innovation takes up 96% of programme expenditure of the medium term.

The average annual growth of the amount allocated to this branch was 18,1% between 1998/99 and 2001/02. Core funding to Science Councils was more stable and provided impetus for competitive bids to the Innovation Fund and for greater reliance on contract earnings.

The 2001 budget allocations increased by R27,7 million in 2002/03 and R104 million in 2003/04. These increases are mainly the result of additional allocations for the National Biotechnology Strategy. Over the medium term, growth in core funding to Science Councils reporting to the department will increase at an annual rate of 5,5%. Growth in competitive funding is more rapid, at almost 13% per year.

1. Has the department given effect to some presidential priorities (such as catering for SMMEs, improving the plight of the rural poor, capacity development and skills transfer)?
2. What was the expenditure on poverty relief programmes?
3. Was progress made in terms of implementation of the PFMA and is the department meeting the reporting obligations of the Act?
4. Is an affirmative action/gender representative programme in place and has it met its stated targets?
5. Does an implementation programme exist for access to information, unfair discrimination and a preferential procurement policy?
6. In line with Batho Pele, does the department have a service delivery improvement programme in place?

The budget overview and activities of the department should be viewed against the backdrop of the Minister’s contention that for the department it has been important to define its role in terms of how it harnesses the best from our past to inform a prosperous future in improving the quality of life and fostering excellence in industry and society.

Media briefing, 14 February 2002 by Minister Ben Ngubane.

The Estimates of Expenditure, 2002, pp 287-316.

The Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology: Annual Report 2000/01.

The Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, "A new Millennium, a new Beginning"