Department to invest in heritage route
The MEC for culture, sports and recreation, Thandi Shongwe, said her department will continue to invest in the transformation of the heritage landscape in the province through the support of the provincial geographic names committee.
She said in the previous financial year, five geographical names and features were reviewed and successfully changed. Shongwe said in Mkhondo Local Municipality, Driehoek and Ishelo changed to Uhlelo, Donkerhoek to Entababusuku and Kransbank to eKaluka. “In eMalahleni Local Municipality, Piet Koornhof Building has been proposed to be renamed Solly Moroape.
These name changes were submitted to the minister of sport, arts and culture for approval. “We are also pleased by the recent announcement by the honourable premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, to standardise the naming of the KwaMhlanga Government Complex and its various buildings, as it was done in the provincial government buildings.
“This decision followed a broad consultative process and will go a long way to promote tourism through flora and fauna and immortalise heroes and heroines who are significant in the history and heritage of Nkangala District,” said Shongwe.
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Shongwe was speaking during the tabling of her department’s policy and budget last Wednesday. She continued saying that in the current financial year, her department will finalise the feasibility studies and conceptualise designs for the development of the Lowveld Massacre and Saul Mkhize legacy sites as part of the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route project through the budget allocated by the national Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
“This year marks the 35th commemoration of the Mbuzini Tragedy where Samora Machel and 33 of his countrymen perished during a plane crash that took place on the night of October 19, 1986. It is envisaged that both presidents of South Africa and Mozambique will grace the event during the major commemoration coordinated by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation,” she announced.
She said the department was able to conclude maintenance and restoration work at the Digging Site in Pilgrim’s Rest and Fernlea House Museum in Barberton, respectively. “There was a silver lining, in that our museums and heritage sites managed to attract at least more than 3 000 local patrons during the 2020/21 financial year. “In the current financial year we will continue maintenance and restoration of both provincial and municipal museums, Mashishing and Nomoya Masilela.”
