PAN SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGE BOARD

COMMITTEE REPORT

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

REPORT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ARTS AND CULTURE ON VOTE 14 ARTS AND CULTURE, DATED 24 JUNE 2004 REPORTS AS FOLLOWS:

INTRODUCTION

The Ad hoc Committee on Arts and Culture held its budget review on the 26 and 27 May 2004 with the Minister of Arts and Culture; the Deputy Minister followed by the Director General with the various chief directors from the department representing each project undertaken by the department.

The budget was considered in line with the strategic plan of the department 2004/07. The aim of the department is to develop and preserve South African culture to ensure social cohesion and nation building.

In presenting its budget the Department in emphasized its responsibility nation building budget with an analysis of the 6 programmes. The Department of Arts and Culture’s [DAC] budget allocation for 2004/05 is R1 141 578 000 with an estimated budget of R1 202 436 000 allocation for 2005/06.

ADMINISTRATION (PROGRAMME 1)

To conduct the overall management of the department and provide centralized support services. The administration arm of Department of Arts Culture received R39, 312m which is 3,44% of the total budget. The increase can be attributed to additional posts following the separation of the former Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. The administrative programme of the DAC is subdivided into Corporate Services, responsible for communications, the financial management of the department, human resources, and legal services and information technology.

ARTS AND CULTURE IN SOCIETY (PROGRAMME 2)

To develop and promote arts and culture in South Africa and mainstream its role in social development. Also to increase and facilitate access to and broader participation in arts and culture through policy formulation, legislation and equitable funding. The budget allocated to this project is R218 153m which is19,11% of the total budget of DAC. This amount is subdivided into the following projects, Performing Arts institutions R92 243, Orchestras R9 000, Promoting Arts and Culture R36 242, Ten Years of Freedom Celebrations R35 000 and National Arts Council. At the moment theatres are located in four provinces with an understanding of the need to support other provinces. The DAC is in a process of funding two Orchestra companies as the flagship of the Orchestras.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE SERVICES (PROGRAMME 3)

To develop and promote the official languages of South Africa and enhance the linguistic diversity of the country. To develop, promote and protect the 11 official languages through policy formulation, legislation and the implementation of the language policy in order to allow South Africans to realize their language rights. The budget allocation for this project is R78 049m which is 6,84% and subdivided into four projects that are Language Planning with R41 227m, Translating and Editing with R7 002m, National Terminology with R5 143m and Pan South African Language Board with R24 677m. The National Language Services has undertaken projects with the main focus in the production of technical dictionaries for schools in a number of disciplines. This will assist with the introduction of African languages as instruction media in schools from grade one to six.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION (PROGRAMME 4)

To improve economic and other development opportunities for South African arts and culture nationally and globally through mutual beneficial partnerships, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the sector. To increase access and participation of grassroots arts practitioners in cultural industry economic activities through training, legislation and international opportunities. The programme receives R148 992m which is 13,05% of the total budget and this amount is divided into the five project the DAC undertake which are Cultural industries R16 600, Poverty Relief R75 000, Ten years of Freedom Celebration R5 000, Promote Culture Internationally R17 627 and National Film and Video Foundation R34 720. South Africa hosted the 5^TH International Network n Cultural Policy Ministerial Meeting in Cape Town, attended by 21 countries and observed by UNESCO. International outreach included study tours to Australia, Belgium, Brazil, and Chile etc.

HERITAGE PROMOTION (PROGRAMME 5)

To develop and monitor the implementation of policy, legislation and strategic direction for the identification, conservation and promotion of cultural heritage. To ensure transformation of the heritage landscape as a vehicle for nation-building and social cohesion, through the implementation of heritage policies and legislation. The budget for this programme with R593 675m which is 52% with seven projects which are National Heritage Council and Transformation with R21 867m, Declared Cultural Institutions (Museums) with R340 804m, Capital Works R175 740, South African Heritage Resource Agency R16 512m, Heritage Promotion with R30 591m, South African Geographical Names R4 661 and Heritage Day with R3 500m. Heritage promotion dominates the current budge allocation to DAC. This growth can be attributed to increase in allocations to Freedom Park and infrastructure projects under the Capital Works sub-programme. The substantial increase in the Promotion of the Heritage sub-programme over the medium term results from the allocation for the national heritage inventory audit.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES, RECORDS, META-INFORMATION AND HELDIC SERVICES (PROGRAMME 6)

To guide sustain and develop the archival, heraldic and information resources of the nation to empower citizens through full and open access to these resources. To enable transparency and evidenced-based good governance of archives, records published information and the heraldic and symbolic inheritance of the nation through institutional management, regulation and development. Programme 6 received R63 397m which is 5,55% of the total budget of DAC. The archives has four sub-programmes under its wing which are National Archives with R27 730m, Bureau of Heraldry with R1 583m, Meta-Information with R2 394m and Libraries with R31 690m which has a bigger stake in this programme. In 2002 and 2003, the National Archives Record Services of South Africa funded twenty oral history projects, including a manual for oral history practitioners and projects.

COMMENTS

The Minister acknowledged the invitation by the committee and further encouraged such meetings should be an on going process to allow and improve the relationship between the Ministry and the Committee. The Committee welcomed the allocation of more funds in the heritage sector as they felt that most of our heritage is still neglected and the history of the country does not reflect the people of the country. There were concerns on the matter of the disappearance of the books written in indigenous language in the bookshops where one can hardly find African language book. In response the Minister informed the Committee that, as the Department they had noted that and already made an appointment with the publishing company although he fully understands publishing is business. On the issue of ageing personnel in the libraries and museums, as curators are becoming a scarce resource, the museums should engage in outreach programmes bursary schemes to attract students into the field. The Committee noted the absence of libraries in the previously disadvantaged communities especially in rural areas where there are no libraries whilst others are not well equipped. The Committee welcomed the increased budget in the programme of Arts and Culture in society and expressed their concern on the crafters in the rural areas who do not have the market and skills to sell their products. The Department will pay attention to the matter of the Intellectual property rights and agreed that it has been violated in all directions.

After interaction with the presenters on the strategic plan and budget vote of Arts and Culture Vote No. 14 the committee felt that it was important and significant to call the department stakeholders and public to anticipate and to balance the effectiveness of the budget.

The following organizations took part in the Budget Hearings from the 09, 11 and 14 June 2004.

A SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE RESOURCES AGENCY [SAHRHA] BY Mrs P. MADIBA

SAHRHA was formed under the National Heritage Resources Agency Act No. …of 1999 but came into effect on 1 April 2000. Seven of the nine provincial governments have established provincial heritage resources authorities. Although these authorities lack the necessary capacity and resource to perform their responsibilities, their existence facilitates cooperative management, implementation of the Act.

A number of heritage resources have been identified within the previously neglected areas and provinces and they have been graded to assign the responsibility for their management to the relevant authority. SAHRA also mentioned that heritage is a very economical and political sector and that and one must always keep a balance.

SAHRA has the mandate to coordinate and monitor the identification of our heritage resources. SAHRA has to grade the former national monuments. Part of their duties is to identify graves of the victims of the struggle. They have an obligation to empower public participation and to conserve. They are concerned that the responsibility they have, does not match their resources therefore they are unable to carry the requirements of the act. Human resources are far less below only 50 people is employed by the Agency. Institutionally they cannot open any offices and sustain them. Their budget has increased from R12m to R16m but this amount does not cover SAHRA’s requirements. They requested the Committee to motivate more to get at least about R33m to stabilize.

COMMENTS

The Committee stressed the need for the Agency to concentrate more on the rural areas as there is a lot of wasted heritage there but people are not well informed. The Committee noted that with the reserves of R3m they used to have are no longer benefiting from them. In responding to the question of graves in Tanzania SAHRA agreed that it is their responsibility to protect them but they do not know whether to protect or to repatriate since there is no policy around that. The Committee wanted to know whether SAHRA has a database and website available and known by every citizen.

B ALL AFRICA DIASPORA AND WORLD FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE (FESTAC) By CHAIRPERSON MR M.K. MALIFANE

FESTAC does not get any funding from the DAC irrespective of the various mandates by the President to fund it. Mr Malifane felt that the attention the artists need do not get from the Department or the role the artist play is not taken seriously. FESTAC will be hosting an All Africa, Diaspora and world event celebrating and closing the 10 Years of Freedom to be held in Cape Town from the 1^st to 7^th December 2004. He also mentioned that the department finally recognized FESTAC and supports preparations for the event but they did not receive any funds.

COMMENTS

The Committee felt that such a big project and event organized should be benefiting from the NEPAD cultural projects. The Committee suggested that FESTAC should meet with the new Ministers to address the problems they have with the department and the Committee will conduct a follow up. The Committee appreciated the fact that all the crafters will be invited to display their goods in the festival.

C NATIONAL FILM AND VIDEO FOUNDATION BY MR E. MBALO CEO AND MR M.VUNDLA CHAIRPERSON.

The National Film and Video Foundation’s objectives are:

To develop and promote the film industry;

To provide and encourage the provision of opportunities for persons especially from the disadvantaged communities to get involved in the film industry;

To encourage the development and distribution of local film and video products; and

In respect of the film and video industry, to address historical imbalances in infrastructure and distribution of skills and resources

The NFVF has an example of transformation, as their chairperson is one of the black successful producers in the film industry with a long service in film (generation). NFVF has over 80 students in different universities locally and internationally the majority of them are young black people interested in the film industry. They also access some bursaries and scholarship from the Dr Lionel Ngakane Scholarship fund that were awarded to certain students. Foreign partners are funding South African Films by 40%. The NFVF are not comfortable with this because SA films should be funded from SA. NFVF intends to invest more money in creating entrepreneurs in the townships. Mr Mbalo agreed that there is a problem in marketing the indigenous languages films and script as they find it very difficult to sell them. He believed that if the National Lottery can contribute R20m for Arts and Culture to each province the progress can be visible.

COMMENTS

The Committee acknowledged the developments in the film industry; they understand the competitive nature of the industry and hope to see further development. The Committee was moved by the idea in their business plan of opening a film school and looking forward to that. The Committee also noticed that the film industry is only benefiting two provinces i.e. Gauteng and the Western Cape therefore it limits chances of talented people in other provinces. Concerns were raised on the euro centric nature of films that are running in the SABC as this does not reflect the history and culture of South Africa.

D BUSINESS ARTS SOUTH AFRICA BY CEO MS DANBY

Business Arts South Africa expressed its gratitude to the Department of Arts and Culture for its continued support;

They also felt that the interest of artists is not the priority in the DAC;

They consider that the perception of the DAC is not always positive within its constituency, the arts community. This appears to stem from:

A lack of communication or clarity as the Department’s policy on funding in some instances, it appears to duplicate the function of, for example, the National Arts Council, through funding ad hoc projects rather than existing bodies already established or governed by the DAC.

An apparent reluctance to engage directly with civil society organizations and agencies representing the arts sector.

BASA is trying very hard to convince the business sector to invest in arts as they look at it as a sector that is not efficient.

COMMENTS

The Committee felt that it is ten years down the line and the arts institutions are still struggling to make ends meet. The Committee has to look at this even if it means to revisit the legislative framework to address the issues. The Committee was disappointed and the work is made difficult by BASA and other organizations that presented their speeches without budget analysis to be able to see the loopholes. At the moment it is not easy for the Committee to know whether it is the DAC which is playing foul or the institutions.

E PERFORMING ARTS NETWORK SOUTH AFRICA BY MR M. VAN GRAAN GENERAL SECRETARY

Performing Arts Network of South Africa serves as an organized voice for performing arts workers to influence policy and strategies that directly impact on the lives of those who make their living in the performing arts.

It was launched in 2001 the year after hundreds of performing artists lost their jobs. It is a non-partisan; independent, democratic and non-profit organization with branches in 7 provinces.

The decline in arts funding impacts on the morale and activities of performing arts workers.

PANSA was excited at the formation of the new DAC but soon was disappointed at the manner, in which decisions are taken for them and without them, therefore they query the DAC’s decision-making strategy.

PANSA further explained that there is money available for arts, but the manner in which it is administered and managed reflects little respect for and understanding of the conditions under which artists work.

COMMENTS

The Committee thanked Mr Van Graan and suggested to him that may be the new Ministry will look at their grievances and know exactly the watchdog role they are playing. The Chairperson explained to them that the Committee was never quiet on the issue of the National Arts Council and their board members. The Committee invited the Director General last year to brief the Committee whereby the Director General confirmed the suspension of few members of the board including the Chief Executive Officer for mismanagement of funds. On the 08 June again the Director General briefed the Committee that the DAC has summoned an investigation into the matter and the report is with the Minister, as soon as the Minister is ready the report will be made available.

F NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SOUTH AFRICA (NSLA) BY MR JK TSEBE

The National Library of South Africa’s current budget carries an R6m deficit and therefore has not yet been approved by the National Library Board or by the DAC.

The additional R6m required to cover this deficit is essential to keep the NLSA afloat for this financial year, but is far from the actual grant the Library needs to be actively involved in South Africa’s cultural and socio –economic development.

Without this R6m the NLSA will have no other option but to close some of its programs, resulting in closure of services to the public and job losses.

For the past year the grant received from the DAC has assisted in keeping the NLSA afloat, but no new developments have been initiated nor has the Library kept up with new developments or trends in the Library and Information Services sector. The current grant from DAC is between R24 – 27m per annum. For the NLSA to be a world-class library, to be seriously involved in empowerment and transformation, and to comply fully with the Act it needs state grants of R40 – 50m per annum.

The DAC has given the library R1, 5m for transformation.

The project of distributing books in rural areas has to be terminated due to budget constraints.

COMMENTS

The Committee complained that the NLSA is concentrating more on the urban libraries rather than the rural and township libraries, Mr Tsebe explained that those libraries are run by provincial government and municipalities. Although the Committee understands the need for the increased budget the fact that the budget is not broken down does not give them exact the financial management of the library.

G ROBBEN ISLAND MUSEUM’s [RIM]

The first Cabinet of democratic South Africa decided in September 1996 that Robben Island should be developed into a national museum, national monument and World Heritage Site.

The RIM constantly focused on the following core essences

Maintaining the political and universal symbolism of Robben Island

Conserving and managing the natural and cultural heritage and resources of Robben Island

Promoting RIM as a platform for critical debate and life long learning

Managing RIM in a manner that promotes economic sustainability and development whilst maintaining its historical integrity as the symbol of the South African struggle for freedom

The RIM staff worked systematically and methodically at developing specifications for the repairs, maintenance and renovations projects in line with the policies contained in the Conservation Management Plan. These projects include

The conservation of Medium B Prison into a Learners Centre for use by the RIM education department (R7m completion date 31 March 2004)

The rehabilitation and extension of the Murray Bay harbour wall and the rehabilitation of the stone quarry (R66m over a period of two years)

Maximum Security Prison (R12m completion date December 2004)

Sobukhwe House complex (R2m complexion June 2004)

Limited upgrading of the conference facilities in the village (R2m completion date July 2003)

In order for the RIM to be a world heritage site they need an extra R18m.

RIM receives 90% of their budget from DAC

COMMENTS

The Committee congratulated the delegation for the work they are doing in the RIM. Although the RIM delegation did not exactly show the committee the break down of its budget the Committee observed the amount of work they are faced with. The Committee was concerned about the distortion of the history of Robben Island by the tour guides and wanted to know who is responsible for the empowerment of the tour guides. The Committee also acknowledges them for the marketing of RIM, as every visitor would like to visit the museums.

Mr Gasa explained that the local government employed information guides and former prisoners as tour guides.

H PAN SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGE BOARD

To provide for the recognition, implementation and furtherance of multilingualism in the republic of South Africa
To develop previously marginalized languages
To establish a Pan South African Language Board
PANSALB has a budget of R24 677m divided among its four programmes namely Provincial Lexicography Committee with R3 537, National Language Board with R2 733, National Lexicography Units R9 710 and Board and Administration
The Provincial Lexicography Committee advises the Ministry in matters pertaining to language
PANSALB used half a million in awareness campaigns in communities
The Language board is understaffed they make use of volunteers
PANSALB produced a Xhosa dictionary and can be accessed in the internet
PANSALB interacted with SABC board on the matter of usage of the marginalized languages but only a few minutes have been allocated for these programmes.

COMMENTS

The committee welcomed the production of the Xhosa dictionary but encouraged Pansalb to make more on other languages. The Committee noted a duplication of work, what Pansalb is claiming to be doing is also performed by the National language board. In responding to that Pansalb mentioned that they are planning to meet the Director General of Arts and Culture to clarify roles and responsibilities of each of them.

I IZIKO MUSEUMS BY Prof BREDENKAMP

Iziko Museums of Cape Town consists of 15 heritage sites in the Western Cape
It receives R32 256m from the department of Arts and Culture divided as follows: Cost of human resources make up 56% of total budge Operational costs make up 13% total budget, Core function cost make up 7% of total budget, core function expenditure is for collections, collection of management, conservation, research, education, public programmes, exhibitions and research publications, cost of special projects make up 24% of total budget.
The R32m they received from DAC 0% of the core functions of the museums
They requested the Committee to motivate for the Iziko to get 51m to be able to run the museum effectively, R37m will be used for the renovations of buildings

COMMENTS

The Committee noted that the conditions of the heritage sites are detoriating due to poor maintenance of the sites. The Committee will have to arrange a meeting with the Committee of Public works to discuss the matter, as the department does not own the buildings. The museums were encouraged to do more on marketing and do outreach programmes to make people aware of their importance. The Iziko Museum should also make use of the Extended Public Works Programmes

J. ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF CREATIVE ARTISTS BY MR G MPHAKATHI

The Association was formed in 1971, since its inception it has been organizing exhibitions for Artists nationally and internationally
AACA promotes the publication of African languages
AACA promotes the use of mother tongue in media related issues and encourages the use of indigenous languages in film productions
Business Arts South Africa and the National Arts Council should come to the township and rural areas theme to promote the Arts and Culture Internationally
DAC funded part of their exhibitions

COMMENTS

The Committee welcomed the presentation and expressed that the association should expand to other provinces. On the issue of languages and usage Pansalb is taking that into consideration.

K. JAMBO ARTS CENTRE BY JABU DLAMINI: DIRECTOR

It was formed by a group of women who were partially blind in Jabu’s house
Jambo’s vision is to promote African Culture by marketing the skill of craft in KwaZulu Natal Province
Jambo is currently registered as a non profit organization with an intention of re registering as a commercial entity (Jambo Arts cc)
Jambo works with 50 women from Izwi Labantu Crafters divided into four groups
The group pay an annual fee of R100 per year towards administration cost
Jambo is involved in many projects such as prisoner training programmes in crafts under NICRO, Department of Labour skills training programmes for the unemployed, Comrades marathon amabeadi beadi.
The major intention is to bring sustainability into the work of Amabeadi-beadi so that there would be income for women

COMMENTS

The Committee congratulated Mrs Dlamini with such a good initiation. The Committee also cited the issue of protecting the patency of the crafters. The Committee questioned that the presenter did not have the business plan and the budget break down to be able to know their spending and needs.

L. D’ARTS MAGAZINE By Ms C SMART

The magazine is published by the Durban Arts Association which is funded by Ethekwini municipality
The last publication was funded by Arts trust
D’arts magazine aims to cover all the arts in Kwa Zulu Natal in all their disciplines. It is updated at least three times a week and attracts in the region of 16,000 hits a week
Delays in funding from the municipality at present have meant that the year 2004 has seen an erratic number of publications.
The Arts magazine felt marginalized by the Department of Arts and Culture
Arts in the country has been neglected this is even confirmed by the President in his opening speech but the DAC seems to be less interested
D’Arts mgazine needs an operational budget of at least R23,000 a month

COMMENTS

The Committee notes that the magazine needs to be supported as its unique nature. The Committee advised the editor to look at other sister magazines and their marketing strategies. The magazine should also be circulated to all nine provinces rather than greater Ethekwini.

M. KICKSTART RESIDENT THEATRE COMPANY BY :MR G KING

Kickstart is a professional theatre company that operates as a voluntary association, committed to maintain the highest standard of dramatic art in Durban, for the benefit of audience and theatre practitioners alike
For the past two years and presently Kickstart has received company funding of R100, 000 per annum from the National Arts Council
This funding is stretched to cover the basic costs of mounting new productions, but excludes salaries
In the interest of seeing the productions materialize, the artists involved have always agreed to work on a profit share basis
Kickstart provides projects-based employment for Durban actors. These are professionals who are well-trained and wish to make use of their skills without having to move to other supposedly busier centers
A million could be alright to sustain the theatre

COMMENTS

The Committee wanted to know if Mr. King approached the private sector for partnerships, as the theatre seemed to be making a great job. Also mentioned the fact that theatres are only in the cities prohibits the community from attending such events. They need arts marketers. The business joins the organization but in return they want tax certificates.

N. NATIONAL HERITAGE COUNCIL (NHC): Mr S Mangcotywa (CEO), Ms K. Makhohliso (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER) Mr. D Tungwana (BOARD MEMBER) AND Mr V. Jarana (CHAIRMAN OF THE NELSON MANDELA MUSEUMS)

National Heritage Council was established in February 2004, it has been only three months in existence
It was formed to address the question of repatriations of South African objects
Its mandate is to advise the Minister in national policy and heritage matters
National Heritage has to ensure transformation in the heritage sector, make the citizens of the country aware of the heritage
NHC noted that the community museums are not funded by government and felt that is unfair and also there are no museums in the country that covers community except for a little information one can get
They are working with the Department of Education as Heritage will be in Curriculum 2008
The budget for NHC is R21, 8m but feels that is not enough to cover their mandated work

COMMENTS

The Committee observes the need to revisit the acts of NHC and SAHRA, to the Committee’s understanding there is overlap of work between the two heritage institutions. According to the PFMA they are not allowed to budget over the allocated amount. NHC agreed that their job is not clearly defined that is the reason for them not to grade position until the matter has been sorted out. The Committee will appreciate to have information on the development of the Council.

O. UMTATA ARTS CENTRE BY MR O NTANTISO

The Art center has only R50 in their bank account
There are no permanent employment they work on a voluntary bases, they are funded by individual workers
Artist in the Centre are grouped into small projects which produce and sell works at the spaces provided by the Centre
The Centre also let space for office of the O.R.Tambo Municipality cleaning program from which routine funds come from
In 2003/2004 financial years the Arts Centre has been told that a grant of R200 000 from poverty alleviation funds has been allocated by the National Department of Arts and Culture but they not received any funds, as the municipality does not have documents to release it.
They are also planning a Festac Festival which will need an amount of R5m
The Centre needs a budget of R2m to run the centre effectively.

COMMENTS

The committee was expecting to see the business plan of the Community Arts Centre, and its budget break down. The Committee is confused as they just received a presentation by Mr Malifane on the same issue of organizing the FESTAC Festival and is surprised to learn that Mr Ntantiso does not know Mr Malifane. Committee advised Mr Ntantiso to liaise with other provinces on exchange of products.

P. NORTHERN FLAGSHIP INSTITUTION BY MR M. MAKGOLO (CEO)

Mr Makgolo joined the NFI in August 2003.
The flagship is running 8 museums under its wing
The flagship strive to ensure sustainable management and development of South Africa’s heritage resources for the befit of present and future generations through conservation, research and public programme
They intend to attract more visitors and market the flagship
The museums have a problem in retaining staff as their salary packages are far little compared to what is offered by the private sector.
The DAC has allocated them R34m of which 88% of the budget goes to personnel and 22% for operational
The museum do have a plan of changing but due to scarce funding they are unable to do so, he made an example of a 30year old display for a frequent visitor it has no meaning at all.
The CEO feels that the museums do not reflect the history of the people of SA.

COMMENTS

It has been visible to the Committee that the museums are facing huge problem of redressing the imbalances of the past. Also the budget offered by the department is not covering their core function. Shortage of personnel has been noted and the ageing of staff with no proper replacements, in all the museums and libraries.

OVERVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee noted that all the participants without exception were concern about inadequate funding which constrained the fulfillment of their responsibilities as required by legislation.
In some cases it was felt that there is a need to review the legislation governing the statutory bodies to remove what appears to be overlaps in the carrying out of functions. Examples are Pan South African Language Board and National Language Services, National Heritage Council and the South African Heritage Resources Agency.
If problems arise in the functioning of the statutory bodies it would be wise to solve them speedily. The case of the National Arts Council is a case in point and the unnecessary publicity given to it has been due to largely to the delay in expediting a solution. The Ad Hoc Committee hopes that Minister will soon make his decision on this matter known.

The matter of policy on struggle graves particularly those outside the country should be resolved soon.
There is no doubt that Community Arts Centres need urgent attention if we are to keep up the enthusiasm of the up-and coming artists and to develop their talent – South Africa’s talent.