MBOMBELA – People should fill up the stadium for the rugby test on Saturday, urged Ms Norah Mahlangu-Mabena, new MEC for culture, sport and recreation (DCSR) on Wednesday.
“Let’s turn Mbombela into Bok Town in support of the Springbok match against Wales this weekend.”
Part of her mandate, as decreed by the ANC, is to promote patriotism. Not only are children learning the national anthem and what the colours of the South African flag means in school, but the department is also targeting older people on how to be a good citizen.
As Mahlangu-Mabena’s head of department (HOD), Ms Sindi Xulu explained, people don’t understand the importance of the anthem and colours and lack pride and patriotism. Xulu forms part of Mahlangu-Mabena tight team running the department.
“This department is working, working. I am working closely with the HOD and senior staff. We do everything as a team,” the new MEC said.
Aside from Xulu, the team includes the communications manager Ms Sibongile Nkosi and Mr Kgomotso Madihlaba, head of the MEC’s office.
Mahlangu-Mabena is new to provincial government, but no stranger to politics. She joined the ANC Youth League (Ancyl) in 1993 and became the regional chairman of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) in 2007.
After being sworn in as MEC on Friday May 30, she hit the ground running on the Sunday and her schedule has been jam-packed ever since, and is set to get even busier.
Innibos, taking place early next month, is supported by the DCSR, which uses it as a showcase for the work of the entrepreneurs supported by its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). “It is an economic vehicle for our crafters to make money,” Xulu explained.
The programme supports about 200 crafters to grow their businesses large enough to be able to stand alone in order to both employ and train additional people as well as leave the programme and make way for other entrepreneurs.
Celebrating the arts through a festival like Innibos also fosters social cohesion, as does the changing of place names, says the department who welcomed the High Court’s recent decision to reject the application to have Nelspruit’s name change to Mbombela set aside.
“The rationale is to reconcile people in our democracy. Issues surrounding name changes tie in with patriotism. It is a give and take. We keep and celebrate all aspects of our history, even in museums,” Mahlangu-Mabena explained.
Xulu said it was hard to exactly translate the spirit of the meaning of Mbombela to English, which roughly comes down to “many (people) mixed together in a small unit”.
This further ties in with the department’s educational mandate, as does the libraries it builds, a lesser known fact. The DCSR has 110 libraries, of which 25 located in rural areas offer Internet and computer facilities.
“They are all connected. It makes a big difference in people’s lives, even where two villages share a library. It is fulfilling, seeing that you are making a difference. Recreational activities also make a big difference. Offering specifically youths sports activities helps keep them off the street, out of shebeens and away from teen pregnancy.”
Hence, they aim to offer facilities and employ sports coordinators in each local municipality. Yet, the MEC anticipated her biggest frustration to be the availability of sports facilities.
This is a municipal responsibility and the DCSR’s strategy will be to pressure municipal committees to commit 15 per cent of their municipal infrastructure grants to the maintenance and building of facilities where residents can practice sports for fun.
