“The Ties that bind: Creating a shared Past and Future”

Our Host, the Mayor of EThekwini, His Worship Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda;

Members of the Executive Council of KwaZulu-Natal;

The Director-General of KZN, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize;

Heads of Departments and Senior Government Officials;

Leadership of the Community of Chesterville;

Social Partners;

Members of the Media;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Sanibonani! Namaste! Salaam!

INTRODUCTION

We would like to thank the organisers of this wonderful event for this opportunity to make a few remarks as we witness the launch of the Chesterville Heritage and Arts Festival.

We welcome this initiative which will culminate in a series of events that will be rolled out during 2022. 

FROM BLACKHURST CHESTERVILLE

From its birth as the “Blackhurst Location”(eBlekese) in 1946, Chesterville has evolved over time into one of the most important townships which define the culture and history of South Africa. 

The history of this tiny township is written large in the annals of South Africa, having been at the forefront in the bloody and deadly war against apartheid.   

We were reminded of this truth early this year when we laid to rest the remains of one of Chesterville’s own heroines, ANC and struggle stalwart, Mama Thandi Cecilia Memela. 

Mama Memela was one of the last in her generation of MK, ANC, ANCWL, Veterans League and UDF activists who paid with their blood losing her son, an MK soldier, so that South Africa could be free. 

We were reminded of the many generations of political activists from Chesterville who were killed by the old South African Police, South African Defence Force, the Special Bracnch and their agents including the infamous A-Team. 

According to accounts before the TRC, some like Mama Mary Thipe had their houses torched, some were stabbed to death while many others were shot dead for taking up arms or merely being part of the liberation struggle. 

Many volunteers were ambushed as far away as in the old Limpopo town of Musina, already within distance of crossing the border to exile. 

Chesterville embodies the story of a people born from the same cloth as former ANC Deputy Chair and Premier Willies Mchunu,  AWG Champion (Umahlathi amnyama), Political Activists Mary Thipe, Thandi Memela, Grace Khuzwayo, Albert Dlomo, Eric Vezi,  Business guru Don Mkhwanazi, Welcome Msomi of Mabatha fame, soccer wizard Selby “Scara” Wanda, Sugar Ray Xulu and many others.

Chesterville also tells the story of the younger generation like Elections Chief Mawethu Mosery, Boxer Irvin Buhlalu, Opera singer Linda Bukhosini, Journalist Bareng Batho Kortjaas (BBK) and others. 

Here we must also mention Sifiso Kunene and the Ngobese brothers Sabelo and Blessing whom Cde. Castro Ngobese can speak more about. Theirs are stories of heroism, but also of pain, abandoned relationships and shattered hopes. 

When Mfaniseni “Baps” Mdlalose of Rd 13 left the country in 1983 together with fellow activist Lucky Mthembu to join MK, he left behind his partner Busisiwe Nkomo and young daughter Xolile of Road 5 Chesterville. He disappeared, so a daughter grew up without her father, for no reason apart from the fact that he dared to dream of freedom. Together with the Ngobese brothers, Cde Mdlalose fell under the command of Dr Zweli Mkhize, Muzi Thusi and Kevin Qhobosheane. 

These are just some of the stories. As we piece together the tales of Chesterville, we are therefore piecing together the bigger strands of South Africa’s story and liberation heritage. Today we start the journey of documenting the people of Chesterville as they impacted the world around them. 

We are inspired by the gallantry  of our young guerrillas and veterans, but also businesspeople, artists, journalists, sportsmen and sportswomen, doctors, lawyers, teachers, musicians, church and community leaders who defied their conditions and excelled in their chosen fields. 

In this manner they were recognised not for the colour of their skins, but their human characters. The achievements of others from these restricted economic surroundings embolden us to believe that we too can conquer our own fears.   

Here we refer to Nat Nakasa, a son of Chesterville whose reburial in South Africa in 2014 was covered by global media such as Al Jazeera, CNN, the New York Times and countless others. Indeed, we refer to the living heritage that is “BBK” Kortjaas who is followed by millions not only in South Africa, but in the rest of our continent as he speaks the beautiful language of the game of football. 

Today we extol the place of Chesterville in our history and psyche, for playing its role in helping us to remember. This township today holds a very special place in KwaZulu-Natal because it hosts the Heroes Acre. 

Many of our heroes are buried here for the people of Chesterville to guard the legacy of our struggle and our victory against injustice.  Each day, we must remember that our struggle is also a struggle against the erasure of the historical record and against forgetting. The duty of a people is to remember so that we do not return to our dark past.

Apart from Nat Nakasa, in the Heroes acre lies the remains of Senzo Meyiwa who was Captain of Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana when he passed away in 2014. Across generations, the families of Nakasa and Meyiwa are united by grief and grievance. We are yet to close the stories of how they really died, who was responsible and why.

Heroes Acre is thus the resting place of Soccer Players, Performing Artists, Political Activists, Businesspeople and many people who made a difference in South Africa and the world. It is also the point from which we rise to meet the challenges of our present.

MOVING FROM ARTS AND HERITAGE INTO NATION-BUILDING AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

The Chesterville Heritage and Arts Festival will no doubt contribute to KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism output by encouraging sustainable cultural and heritage tourism.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) defines cultural tourism as:“a type of tourism activity in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the tangible and intangible cultural attractions/ products in a tourism destination.”

This includes “arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, creative industries and the living cultures with their lifestyles, value systems, beliefs and traditions.”

The UNTWO also encourages communities to invest in tourism "that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.

In our efforts to preserve this rich heritage, consideration must be given to long term sustainability. In this regard, sustainability principles ought to encompass the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. This is about promoting responsible tourism where a suitable balance must be established between these dimensions to guarantee long-term sustainability of the heritage-tourism sector.

Promoting Heritage and Arts gives us an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past but also to build a new nation from the ashes of our painful past.

It is an opportunity to break barriers, open new inroads and construct bridges across communities and to build our common, rich and diverse art and heritage into the future.

As you declare in your theme for the Festival, your success lies in reawakening and connecting “The Ties that bind: Creating a shared Past and Future”.

ON BOOKS AS HERITAGE

Ladies and Gentlemen, a key activity of preserving heritage and arts is documentation and defining ourselves on our own terms. We must therefore encourage the promotion of our languages whether it is English, IsiZulu and indeed the township slang because language transmits culture from generation to generation. Language can also improve access. 

In this regard, economic success should not always be linked to the adoption of Europe as the standard bearer. The Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Germans, Russians and Japanese use their own languages, and these are among the top performing economies in the world. 

Globally, indigenous languages have never been proven to hold back growth and development. What lies at the heart of this is the promotion of our languages and culture to add to the colourful history of our nation and its diversity. 

In this regard, through the South African Book Development Council, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture availed a number of strategic interventions to create publishing opportunities for aspiring writers and achievers.

This includes the establishment of the National Book Week and the annual South African Literary Awards. There is further support for national literary events through the Mzansi Golden Economy.

The Department further supports activities of book clubs including the Funda Mzansi together with National Library of South Africa. Other DAC supported initiatives include the Abantu Book Festival (Soweto), the Open Book Fair(Cape Town), the Time of the Writer(Durban) and the SA Children’s Book Fair(East London). 

As the Chesterville Foundation and Festival, I am certain that as we move towards fewer Covid-19 restrictions, we will work closely with the above festivals and many others in future. It is imperative that we expose learners, especially the aspirant youth writers to the richness of our country’s past so they can lead in weaving it into the future.

Compatriots, it is important that cultural heritage tourism development in South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal should align with the sustainable rural tourism. Just as the village has a lot to learn from the cities, the cities too are poorer without the resilient, traditional knowledge in our rural areas. As we refine and finalise product development, let us do more research on the needs and our potential visitors because ultimately it is tourists who often demand a combination of experiences which can include rural and township tourism.

Critical success factors identified by academics Akama and Kieti to be observed when promoting economic development are as follows:

creation of clear opportunities for local and self-employment;

supporting collaboration amongst local actors, namely private and public sectors, not for profit organisations, and local population;

improving socio-cultural impacts of tourism;

allowing local access to services and infrastructure being provided for tourists;

enabling local population participation; and

fostering continuous institutional capacity-building to support locals’ active participation. 

Covid-19 has reminded us of the urgent need to build SMART cities. SMART cities harness the capacity of technology in a big way but also adopt green energy initiatives to power the future. 

Events like the Chesterville Heritage and Arts Festival must be encouraged to use Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to drive innovation that will broaden access for many more people, even under the restricted conditions of Covid-19. We hope that it will also adopt green technologies to make its contribution to saving the environment.

SEGREGATION, DESEGREGATION AND RETURNING TO CHESTERVILLE

Ladies and Gentlemen, in her research titled “Segregation, desegregation, and re-segregation and the return to Black Townships: A case study of Chesterville Township, Durban”,  Mbalenhle Roxanne Masinga records how residents of Chesterville left the township during the 80s and after liberation in 1994 for the surburbs.

Masinga’s work illustrates the unbroken links that forever tie those in the township with their origins in Chesterville. Like in townships and rural areas, Black people’s exodus into the suburbs was for many different reasons. 

Masinga states that it is for personal safety and security considerations, privacy, affordability, location in relation to workplace, status and kinship linkages.

Some left for the suburb to escape the political violence, to be closer to economic opportunities or to be free to exercise their sexuality.

As evidenced by today’s launch, whatever the reason we may all have left the township or rural areas, we remain linked to the heartbeat of those places of origin. 

We may leave the township, but the township will forever remain in us. We may leave the rural area for the suburbs, but the rural area remains in us. Today marks a return to Chesterville in order re-examine, revisit and reshape our history.

We see this launch as a call to all stakeholders of this historic community to continue coming here to build the economy and livelihoods of the people from Centerville. It’s a call to turn the rich history and heritage into a treasure that can benefit all its residents while it shapes its future.

AS WE RISE FROM COVID-19 INTO THE FUTURE

Compatriots, as we emerge from Covid-19 and the recent civil unrest we are fully aware of the need in post conflict situations for employment creation to achieve short term stability, socio-economic progress and sustainable peace.

Government remains fully committed to the transformation and revival of the township and rural economies and to reset our provincial economy to respond to the urgent challenges of our time. Jobs cannot only come from government, but from initiatives such as this one of the Chesterville Heritage and Arts Festival.

The Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal has formulated the Economic Recovery, Reconstruction and Transformation Plan which is aimed at recalibrating the economic growth trajectory of the province following the Covid-19 induced economic crisis. 

Our plan is aligned with the national Economic Reconstruction and Recovery plan and covers:

Agriculture, agro-processing and land Reform;

Industrial Development/ Manufacturing with great focus on Automotive sector, pharmaceuticals and Clothing and Textile;

Oceans economy with Durban/Ethekwini positioned as maritime hub of the African Continent

Infrastructure development (Economic, Roads, rail, social, housing, hospitals and schools); 

Renewable Energy;

A thriving Small and Micro Enterprises;

 Tourism and support Creative Industries, Sports and Culture. Such initiatives emphasize the link between arts, sport, culture, heritage as drivers of tourism and creators of employment up and down the value chain.

HERITAGE AND ARTS FESTIVAL AND THE MOULDING OF A MODEL CITIZEN

This festival is also an opportunity to promote social cohesion and nation-building in the province of KwaZulu-Natal towards the realisation of a model citizen and a model society. To become sustainable, our Recovery, Rebuilding and Transformation Plan must also help in the moulding of a Model Citizen that we can all be proud of. 

Aware of his or her past, the Model Citizen understands their role in shaping the future. As indicated before, this event is about looking to our dark and divided past in order to create a shared and brighter future. The model citizen we speak about does not loot and does not buy stolen goods. The model citizen holds the highest moral and ethical standards. The model citizen has a sense of belonging and ownership of community assets and does not seek to destroy them to be heard or to resolve disputes.

At the centre of this rebuilding the model citizen must drive the programme for unity, social cohesion, a non-racist, non-sexist and prosperous KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.

The Chesterville Heritage and Arts Festival is one step in the direction of creating these model citizens by focussing on the good of the whole before focusing on oneself.

We expect that beyond the launch of the concept today, the rest of the programme including the Book Fair, Souvenir Books, Business Expo, Food Market, Mzukwana Music Concerts and the Ibambeni Memorial Plaques will all add to the tourism assets of Chesterville and our province.

By shining the spotlight on the Culture, Cuisine, Costume and Culture, Heritage and Arts, the festival will contribute significantly to the growth of the Mzansi Golden economy and significantly boost township tourism into Chesterville and other townships.

To end, allow me to borrow from Madiba’s well of wisdom to express our appreciation of this initiative. This project is driven by the organic leadership of the people of Chesterville as described by Madiba and I quote: “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”

Madiba was referring to the initiators of this important project when he said, and I quote:“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward”.

Finally, said Madiba, “It is so easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.” 

There are better days ahead!

Let us join hands and rebuild our beautiful province.

Together Growing KwaZulu-Natal