MEC Vusi Shongwe
Programme Director
Our neighbours from Mozambique and Swaziland
Our brothers and sisters from Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho
Members from the Mpumalanga Executive Council
Members of Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are greatly honoured this evening by the presence of our African brothers and sisters from the SADC region who have honoured our call to come and celebrate our own day as Africans. This epitomizes the unity that our great African leaders gallantly fought for where they had a vision of united Africa that will solely strive for improving the living conditions of Africans and our leaders together worked towards eliminating all social ills on our continent which include colonialism, poverty, disease and conflicts.
We have invited our fellow Africans to our provincial celebration of Afrika Day so that we could deepen existing friendships between ourselves and our neighbours and fellow Africans and to commemorate the historic meeting of African leaders in 1963 that led to the formation of the Organization of African Unity which played a pivotal role in creating harmonious conditions in many parts of Africa. As the norm in our province, we put aside this evening so that we could gladly welcome our visitors to our province and make them feel at home and I am indeed certain that the warmth of our people and the natural beauty of Mpumalanga has already made our visitors feel at home as our people are known to welcome visitors with open arms.
We will tomorrow together take each other down the memory lane as we evoke the spirit of togetherness that we as Africans are known for through cultural exchanges where the beating of the Africa drum will signify yet another important occasion where Africans would have gathered to celebrate their own day through song and dance and also celebrate the various successes that our continent has recorded. In every corner of the world, you find Africans hard at work to make our world a better place and we owe it to our heroes and heroines of the past to create a continent that future generations would be proud of.
I extend words of appreciation to all our fellow Africans who will grace the provincial Afrika Day celebration and assure them that this day will deepen unity among ourselves and also offer a platform for us to learn from one another. I once more welcome all our visitors and assure them that they will enjoy their stay in our province which is also known for its scenic beauty among other attractions and our visitors will bear testimony to this as we drive to Barberton in the Umjindi Municipality tomorrow.
I Thank You
MEC Vusi Shongwe
HOD's Foreword
Dear Colleagues,
Another year has come and gone. 2008 was a great year for the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation.
It was a year characterized by more highs than lows and I am confident that 2009 won’t be any different. In fact, it would be a super year. In the past year, like in any other one the department pulled out all the stops in ensuring that it put service delivery first. This, among other successes of one of the striving provincial government departments in Mpumalanga will be highlighted in the pages of the 2008 Yearbook.
The Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation Yearbook for 2008 is a wonderful memoir to keep for all our staff members and stakeholders. It is a journal that captures the moments and all departmental events through pictures. Unlike the departmental newsletter, Tibuya Emasisweni and the staff bulletin, this yearbook is a detailed journal with all the information that needs to know about Culture, Sport and Recreation and is more pictorial.
The department has been hard at working in all corners of the province with a pioneering spirit changing people’s lives through our programmes such as Fan Parks concepts, Siyadlala Mass Participation Programme, Tjhagalani Kusephuka Tidzindzi Arts and Culture Festival, COSAFA u/20 Championship, Inter-Provincial Games, opening and upgrading of libraries, Premier’s International Football Cup, COSAFA Senior Challenge, Gold Panning Championship, MACfest International and the commemoration of national days. All these programmes were implemented with one objective – to improve social standards in our communities. It was through these activities that emerging businesses got a chance to move up the corporate ladder, windows of opportunities opened for communities, we brought the world at their doorsteps, talented sportsmen got a sporting chance, we crowned new champions and we celebrated our diversity that makes South Africa the envy of other nations. It all happened in 2008.
While it is always nice to look back at the year that it was, especially if it was one filled with good memories and remarkable achievements such as the one the department had. It is, however, not wise that we should stay there. This is a time for us to redouble our efforts to ensure that we reach new heights in 2009 in terms of service delivery. Over the next 12 months we should explore new ways and mechanism of elevating our service delivery standards.
Finally, special thanks go to my management team who make the department work. And of course the biggest thanks goes to the officials. They have been an integral part and driving force behind the successful year, and you will remain vitally important in the department in 2009 and many more years to come.
You have shown what we can achieve when we work as a unit. The spirit of camaraderie that prevails in our department is the secret behind our success and we should maintain it in 2009 and beyond.
I sincerely Thank you.
HOD Ms. Sindiswa Mjwara
