Policy Documents

I. Preamble

Arts and culture policy deals with custom and tradition, belief, religion, language, identity, popular history, crafts, as well as all the art forms, including music, theatre, dance, creative writing, the fine arts, the plastic arts, photography, film, and, in general is the sum of the results of human endeavour.

Culture is an integral component of the processes of development, in that it contributes to such processes, but also that it can play a facilitative or destructive role in the unfolding of the developmental process. Culture also seeks to inform and contribute to nation-building efforts. These two processes are of the highest priority in our country at present, and culture has a central role to play in the successful unfolding of these.

Colonialism and apartheid neglected, distorted and suppressed the culture of the majority of South Africans. The freedom of expression was destroyed and systematic efforts were made at stifling creativity. Communities were denied resources and facilities to develop their own cultural expressions, unless they coincided with the aims of the colonial masters. The absence of an effective educational system, high rates of illiteracy and extreme poverty compounded the cultural deprivation of the majority.

In response, the culture of the majority of South Africans became one of resistance to colonialism and apartheid, which became a major instrument in the achievement of political democracy in our country. The priorities of nation building and development determine that the energies of the culture of resistance be re-channelled, in order to promote and sustain a culture of democracy, development and human rights, based on the fulfilment of the entire range of socio-economic aspirations of the country’s people.

II Objectives:

The objectives of this draft national cultural policy will be to:

• affirm and promote the rich and diverse expressions of South African culture. All people must be guaranteed the right to practice their culture, language, beliefs and customs. The freedom of creativity without interference, as well as the freedom of expression, must be guaranteed.
• promote the development of a unifying national culture, representing the aspirations of all South Africa’s people. This cannot be imposed; it requires educating people in principles of non-racialism, non-sexism, human rights and democracy. While it is recognised that the cultures of South Africa are derived from African, European and Asian strands, it will become necessary to give particular attention to the promotion and development of the African strand, which, more than any other, has borne the brunt of official and social repression in the past.
• ensure that resources and facilities for both the production and the appreciation of arts and culture are made available and accessible to all. Priority must be given to those people and communities who have previously been denied access to these resources.
• preserve, revitalise and promote our national cultural heritage. Historical and cultural collections, resources and sites should fully reflect the many components of our cultural heritage, and should be accessible to all communities. In particular, efforts must be made to conserve neglected and suppressed aspects of our people’s culture.
• place arts education firmly within the national educational curricula, as well as in non-formal educational efforts.
• establish a language policy that encourages the growth of all of our people’s languages within a multi-linguistic framework. This must include the rehabilitation and development of all indigenous languages.
• develop the human resources pool available to cultural life by emphasising training in the art forms, management and administration of the arts and culture, and heritage preservation.
• launch and sustain a national literacy campaign, with clear targets, through which the art forms, broadcasting, radio and the printed media will contribute to the development of our people.
• link culture firmly to areas of national priority, such as health, housing, tourism, town planning, architecture, etc. to ensure that culture is entrenched as a fundamental component of development, but also to ensure that a strong link is forged with the traditional art forms.
• ensure the implementation of cultural research to promote those histories which have been marginalised, with specific emphasis on popular history.
• encourage the establishment of a well-organised and systematic administration, which should not exist at the expense of creativity.
• promote specific cultures within the traditions, as well as the careful selection of aspects of culture that fit into national priorities.
• mobilise people active in culture into society, thereby resulting in their employment and the creation of institutions which strengthen the economy. promote professionalism and artistic excellence.
• in general, promote South African culture, the three strands from which it is derived, and the sub-cultures within those.

III. The role of the state

The role of the state in fulfilling these objectives applies to the following areas, namely:

1. facilitating legislation
2. the creation of the statutory instruments required for the implementation process
3. funding of the arts and culture, as well as making the necessary adjustments to the tax and economic structure which will enhance the possibilities of fulfilling the objectives
4. protecting the social and economic status of people active in culture
5. ensuring adherence, participation and input to international conventions and recommendations
6. mobilising parastatals and statutory bodies to actively promote the fulfilment of the objectives.

The organisation of a Ministry of Culture will facilitate and encourage the organisation of other cultural structures at national and provincial levels.

The state will be responsible for the provision and creation of libraries, (1) at the level of schools, and (2) at the level of communities, which will be linked to documentary services in general.

Legislation will be necessary for the promotion of cultural programmes for radio, television and newspapers.

The promotion and development of languages must penetrate all aspects of South African life, including, inter alia, the media, education, labour, the civil service, the provision of primary health, and so forth, in a manner which is meaningful to ordinary people.

The state will encourage non-governmental organisations and the private sector in the funding of culture, through tax rebates and incentives, and in general, through ensuring a positive return on investment.

The state has the resources to create linkages with traditional institutions such as the chieftainship, as well as to promote the institution of the family, through culture.

The marketing of products of culture can only be undertaken on the basis of a coherent, national strategy.

The state is the only structure capable of promoting parastatals, statutory bodies, mass cultural organisations and specific cultural institutions in pursuit of the fulfilment of the objectives.

The state, also, has the capacity, facilities and resources to improve the educational levels of society, and the ability of ordinary people to understand and direct their own lives, through, inter alia, the introduction of arts education at all levels.

IV. Discipline-based activities

1. Research

A need exists for comprehensive, non-partisan research into culture, history, oratory, and a number of related spheres, including language – which, in both spoken and written forms, informs and contributes to all of the above. It is especially necessary to encourage all levels of the institutes of learning to engage in this, in order to promote and stimulate South African culture. In addition, government has the role of disseminating information at the international, continental and national levels.

2. Education and training

Training needs can only be comprehensively determined through the collaboration of institutions based inside of government and those outside of government. Across the disciplines and art forms, training needs exist in the areas of:

1. the art forms themselves
2. management and administration of the arts and culture
3. the technologies associated with the arts and culture, and (iv) marketing and promotion of national products.

Moving from the premise that the arts and culture will form part of the core curriculum in education, the following need urgent attention, namely

1. the training of art educators and trainers, and
2. assistance of artists who have experience but lack the required entrance certificates to higher learning.

Mobile units for film and video must be used to serve communities. A library copy of all programming should be donated to the state film and video archives. This should include inter-active video computer educational programming. The training of communities at the grassroots level must be structured so that a link with the mainstream is ensured. All associations, professional bodies and national broadcasters must have educational outreach programmes.

Music education should be compulsory and introduced at all levels into the mainstream curriculum and prison system. Tertiary institutions should be open to awarding academic accreditation. The reconstructed music education system should take into account the diverse aesthetic backgrounds and training systems of all South African music traditions. It should teach music as culture and promote the understanding and learning of different musics within their cultural, social and historical contexts.

Government commits itself to developing a new curricula for art education, which

1. is rooted in and reflects the many strands of South African culture, and teaches appreciation of these strands;
2. uses available and accessible materials and techniques;
3. incorporates training in functional and non-functional art techniques, including the crafts, “high art” skills such as painting and sculpture, production skills such as layout and design, and architecture and town planning; and
4. gives due recognition to South African culture. Teacher training programmes need to be developed urgently, to equip teachers to present this new art curriculum effectively.

Skilled and professional tertiary courses need to be expanded and developed, with a strong commitment to training members of communities previously denied access to professional art courses. Specifically, this requires an urgent review of entrance standards, because the matric art requirement bars all individuals who had no art in secondary schools. National exhibitions and competitions run through the schools should be developed for school children.

Resource materials for schools should be developed, including library materials, slides and video material and art-making equipment. All art education should be provided free, including the provision of materials for that education, up to and including tertiary level.

Dance/creative movement should be part of the universal primary education curriculum – part of an integrated approach where it would be used not only as a form of cultural activity, but also as a tool in broader education to enrich and help teach other subjects which are already in the curriculum. The culture of the students at the school, with its dances, traditions and history should be taught at primary school level in consultation with the relevant teacher/parent body.

Specific dance forms, such as African dance with its customs, traditions and long history, require teachers steeped in these different dances to be preserved and valued. Courses must be developed in colleges and training institutions to equip teachers of dance to contribute to specific cultural programmes as well as to general education. The training of teachers and their accreditation should come about as a result of consultation and research between educators and regional/local education bodies. Performers also need re-training as teachers.

The high school dance syllabi should be reevaluated. Community art centres should be part of a network through which people can be reached, especially in areas where there are no facilities or training.

Access to photographic education should be increased at a formal and non-formal level. Visual literacy should be an integral part of the core curriculum from a primary school level, and be accorded equal status with literacy and numeracy. Photography should be offered as an option in all schools at secondary level, both as a vocational option and as part of the art course. Career guidance in schools and guidance centres should offer information on photography as a career.

Community colleges should be established that offer courses on photography, including courses such as curating, taking photographs, technical aspects, etc. The establishment of photographic courses at such colleges should be through the Association of Community Art Centres, educationalists and a photographic forum. Certificates should be offered for such courses. Criteria for such certificates must be devised in consultation with community, technikon/university, and representatives of photographers. such colleges should act as bridging institutions, allowing students to move on from the community college to a technikon or university. These colleges should be accessible to the community in terms of location and cost. Such colleges should be state-funded, but run with community representation on decision-making structures.

Other innovative forms of education, such as mentorships, should be investigated. Structures should be established for the training of photographic educators from the community. The initiative for the training of these should come from the community. Additional educational facilities, such as community art centres, workshops on wheels, distance education, especially through the electronic media) and books appropriate to the South African situation should be developed and created. Central resource units can be developed that could be used by several schools, and/or community art centres and/or community colleges, providing such facilities as darkrooms and equipment. Such facilities can also be available on hire to community photographers for a low fee.

The review of admission requirements into higher learning institutions should also apply to the accreditation and qualification of drama teachers.

3. Publishing industry

The publishing industry has an important role to play in both the development and promotion of culture, and in the enhancement of the quality of life of ordinary South Africans. It, especially, has a key role to play in the literacy campaigns of the government and society as a whole, not only in the provision of textbooks and study material, but also in the promotion of South African writers, and through them, the values associated with nation-building, unification, democracy and development.

4. Cultural industries

The industries associated with cultural products permeate every aspect of the daily lives of our people. From the management of national (and publicly owned) radio and television to the production of artefacts (such as CDs, cassettes, albums, musical instruments, etc.), there is a need to give the market an indigenous content and programme.

Cultural industries also refer to the use made by people of cultural products in their efforts to analyse and understand life as a whole. The institution of the church, with the tremendous political weight it carries in South Africa, is but one example. This also includes the use of art as therapy, the “entertainment” industry, and other ways in which culture contributes to the economy.

It is the duty of the state to ensure that the cultural industry – on both the practical and theoretical levels – actually benefits the lives of ordinary people living in this country.

5. Media:

The media is recognised as a cultural carrier, because it not only conveys information, but also imparts people with the ability to analyse events in a systematic manner, which gives life as a whole a meaning. The media – today consists of the print media, electronic media and cinema. In general, though, it is necessary to elaborate on the principle of freedom of information, and the critical role which the media plays in conveying information. Since the media also conveys values, there is a need to ensure the balanced introduction of values that will assist in the establishment of a new society, such as democracy, human rights, peace, justice, and also second-generation rights, and in general, a systematic shift from values of repression, racism, exploitation and so forth. Values also need to reinforce the place of South Africa in the subcontinent, its role in the continent, and its role internationally, and locally to strive for a positive portrayal of South African life.

It is also necessary to regulate on the improvement of the social and economic status of workers in this sphere.

In terms of broadcasting, per se, as well as the print media, these are areas of work falling within the ambit of the DIP. This paper is concerned with the cultural implications relevant to the area of the media.

An Independent Broadcasting Authority should be guided by the principles of,

1. the promotion of diversity and the stimulation of competition in the broadcasting industry;
2. the creation of a broadcasting industry free from censorship, political control and excessive regulation;
3. the active redressing of the imbalances of race, class and gender in relation to ownership, control and access to the broadcasting industry and airwaves;
4. consultation with democratic structures in the broadcasting industry to develop and implement specific guidelines on affirmative action, education and training, local content and independent production; and
5. the empowerment of the IBA to establish and implement affirmative action guidelines which will allow for the promotion of historically disadvantaged people to top and middle management positions and to ensure the resources of the broadcasters are used for education and training in addressing historical imbalances.

In specific regard to cinema and the film industry, it is suggested that,

1. an independent, publicly-funded film institute should be established, the functions of which will be:
   • to restructure the film and video industry in accordance with the ideals of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa;
   • to stimulate the growth and development of a vibrant South African film and video culture;
   • to support and regulate the production, distribution and exhibition of films and videos, for the benefit of the majority of the South African population; and
   • to support education and training initiatives aimed at redressing the historical imbalances created by apartheid in the film and video industries.
2. Initiatives to research into ways of restructuring the industry and to make funds available for the purposes of affirmative action, education and training programmes, in the period before the GNU be taken.
3. The creation of an incentive-oriented funding policy, to encourage investors in the funding of cinema.

6. Theatre:

Theatre practice and management should invite the participation of the majority so as to maximise the creative potential of all our people. Theatre should have a community focus and existing structures should be democratised. Facilities and resources need to be redistributed.

7. Dance:

The government will recognise the important role of dance in the transitional period of a post-apartheid society, but also in the future South Africa. Due to the centrality of motion to dance, the art form is in a unique position to challenge and change perceptions. Dance also reflects the diversity of cultures.

There should be a recognition of the value of each dance form on an equal basis, with specific emphasis on redressing the imbalances of the past.

8. Photography:

Visual literacy is not a luxury, but an essential ingredient of modern life, affecting every member of society. Photography should therefore be popularised as an art form, and should be placed higher on the agenda of the arts.

A process must be instituted to build a national, representative, non-sectarian body of photographers, which must include both individuals and organisations. The process should be as inclusive as possible, and the government should facilitate this process.

9. Visual Arts:

The definition of the visual arts should become inclusive and should be extended to the arts of layout, design, illustration, cartooning and all other means used to enhance the pages of the print media, and that advertising be included alongside these forms.

10. Crafts:

Craft workers, especially in rural areas and amongst women, are highly exploited at present, both through lack of recognition of their work, and through lack of organised marketing for their products. The democratic state will therefore establish a Craft Development Agency, which will ensure (i) that craft workers can sell their products at a reasonable price; (ii) that craft enterprises pay living wages to their workers; (iii) that markets are developed for such crafts, both inside South Africa and internationally; (iv) that standards and levels of quality for such work be set; and (v) training programmes are developed, both to improve the quality of craft work, and to train craft producers in basic business and management skills.

11. Music:

The state will ensure that the rich traditions and diversity of our country’s music is promoted, in order to promote music as a national resource, through inter alia, lending support to the establishment of a music conservatory.

12. Cultural Heritage:

The approach of the state towards monumentalisation is a holistic one, concerned not only with building statues, but with the cultural environment in its broadest sense. Memorials and monuments must have a meaning to people and therefore their character should be left to communities so that they can be appropriate to the time and place. At the local level, individual institutions will be managed by boards of trustees selected from and democratically accountable to their communities.

National symbols should derive from a constitution which embodies the guiding principles of the new nation. The over-hasty creation of symbols should be guarded against, and at the same time the state will ensure a democratic process for the creation of new symbols.

The state will establish mechanisms such as courts and tribunals to ensure public access overrides privacy provisions (e.g. regarding environmental and international commercial matters) in relation to the vast amounts of privately owned information which is of public interest.

The state will also accord recognition to non-establishment historical and cultural projects in its efforts to (i) promote culture and recover the ‘lost” history of South Africa; (ii) make historical and cultural resources accessible to disadvantaged communities; (iii) implement affirmative action; and (iv) strengthen and empower such projects.

The environment is a physical and cultural expression of a nation and therefore should be planned and continuously improved. There will be a continuous preservation of the landscape, through protecting indigenous flora and fauna, the restoration of wasted land, the provision of empty spaces for beauty, the protection of architectural designs and the promotion of important buildings which are compatible with aesthetic needs.

Government will establish a Heroes Acre for the burial of heroes who died for the struggle. Efforts be made to identify victims of past conflicts and their graves and to make appropriate arrangements for the restoration thereof. Efforts will also be made for the care of graves outside of South Africa, and these will be maintained as symbols of solidarity with those nations with whom South Africans have in the past been allied and who have in particular supported South Africans through the liberation struggle. In situations where the geographical location of graves makes maintenance problematic or where the graves are under threat from natural forces, the remains will re-interred.

Existing memorials will be re-assessed to ensure that they foster reconstruction and reconciliation. A national memorial commemorating the liberation struggle will be erected.

13. Creative Writing:

Government commits itself to stimulating and developing traditional literature, modern literature and oratory, and suggests that one vehicle for such is the use of South African books in a national literacy campaign.

Government policy will provide the necessary resources, and ensure freedom of expression and the protection of writers’ creativity. Creative production will be respected as work, and therefore worthy of appropriate compensation. Writers must be encouraged to develop on a par with international standards of excellence, and their work will be protected against exploitation, imposition and infringement of any kind.

The development of literature for and from special interest groups, such as children, youth, women, the disabled, and so forth will be promoted.

Oral art forms such as poetry, ballads and story-telling will be accorded the same validity as other art forms, and the diverse histories and traditions of South Africa will be accorded full status and will become proper fields of study within the education structures.

14. International Cooperation:

There is a need for South Africa to return to the international fold, across all disciplines and art forms, by seeking membership to such institutions as UNESCO, the OAU, the International Theatre Institute, and so forth, also with the purpose of ensuring that the country subscribes to international conventions on the protection of artists and people active in culture.

The purpose of international cooperation will be to ensure that South African cultural expressions are promoted abroad, in a manner which will facilitate it to become universal, eclectic and open. The flow of international products into South Africa must be regulated in a manner that will benefit the people of this country, and specifically artists and those active in culture. The state will therefore encourage cultural exchanges with other peoples.

The beneficial impact of tourism on culture and vice versa will be recognised and encouraged, but steps will also be taken to protect against the commercialisation and commodification which can result without proper protection, planning and regulation.

15. National Institutions:

It will be the role of the state to create, encourage and promote national institutions which promote different aspects of cultural activities, such as the National Arts Council, the National Gallery, Archives, Monuments and Museums, a standing body to administer and arbitrate the enforcement of copyright in South Africa, the Pan South African Languages Board, and the Independent Film Board which should derive funding from government in their work and promotion of culture.

16. Social status of artists and people active in culture:

The government will promote the establishment of the National Arts Council, it will render material support and resources to community art centres, and will, in general, support institutions through which artists and people active in culture can be empowered.

Legislation to protect the social and economic status of such people will be promulgated.

17. Community-based activities:

Government will encourage and strengthen community art centres, as these play a crucial role in making culture and the arts accessible and available to all, and also act as a primary vehicle in arts education. Such strengthening will take the form of (i) rendering financial support; (ii) training of administrators and tutors; (iii) instilling the practice of accountability, while encouraging both financial and intellectual independence; (iv) ensuring exposure through the print and electronic media; and (v) organising exchange programmes.

V. Funding of culture

Government will seek to enhance the contribution of the private sector to the funding of culture and the arts, through such mechanisms as tax rebates, incentives, and so forth. Levies will also be introduced on returns from the performances of international artists in South Africa. Funding derived from government should be equally disbursed among the disciplines.

Publicly-funded cultural bodies should be exempt from taxation, including VAT on theatre tickets. Funds should be made available by the state for the publication of photographic books, including textbooks and publications of portfolios. The duties on photographic equipment/material should be reduced, and a percentage of this funding should go directly to the promotion and development of photography at community level and there should be accountability in the use of this money.

Regional agencies accountable to dance representatives should be established to screen applications for funding, to make information available on what funds are accessible, supply help in compiling motivations for funding, possibly produce a standardised form to help applicants and to monitor the funding.

The recording industry and corporations deriving a direct income from music should be levied on a sliding scale to establish a development fund for circulation of materials and conscientisation of a South African music culture.

Government will facilitate in the creation of a transitional development fund which will allow alternative or non-establishment historical and cultural conservation projects to be funded.

Contributions from communities towards community-based activities will be matched by a certain percentage with funding from government.

It is therefore proposed that funding for culture and the arts should be based on a partnership between government, business, communities and nongovernmental organisations.

There should also be an awareness generated with regard to an over-dependence on funding from international donors.

VI. Structure and functions of the Ministry of Culture

1. The proposed Ministry of Culture should have three main sectors (a more suitable name can still be found), according to which its activities will be structured. These are:

1.1 Art Forms:

1.1.1 Performing Arts: theatre, dance and music

1.1.2 Visual Arts: plastic arts, photography, fine arts, arts and crafts

1.1.3 Heritage: monuments, museums, historical buildings and sites, archives, place names, symbols.

1.2 Statutory Bodies:

1.2.1 The Pan-South African Languages Institute

1.2.2 The Independent Film Board

1.2.3 At present there are a number of statutory bodies in existence. According to the RDP, the GNU should form a commission to review all of these structures, and recommend on their future.

1.3 Administration

1.3.1 Legislation, Policy and Legal

1.3.2 Liaison: civil society, international, business, other ministries

1.3.3 Finance: budget, subsidisation, accounting to cabinet and parliament

1.4 Reconstruction and Development Unit:

It was agreed that, because

1. monitoring and evaluation is a built-in part of the policy process,
2. of the commitment of the ANC to lean government,
3. the ANC does have the CREATE, and
4. the RDP will have an overall monitoring mechanism, it will not be necessary to create a special unit within the ministry to carry out the task of overseeing and evaluating development within the ministry. The aims of redressing apartheid imbalances and the development of culture should rather be located within the policies of each sector of the ministry.

The work of each sector will be guided by the following essential tasks:

1. relations with civil society structures
2. integrating the three pillars of South African culture (African, Asian and European)
3. Creating common platforms for creative activity
4. Budgets and Legislation
5. Training and accreditation.

Each structure that has a task, will have a Head of Department, who will also represent that sector in the ministerial cabinet. Each head of a department will be responsible for relations with organs of civil society operative in that sector.

The recommendations were guided also by the DAC draft document on restructuring, which spoke of the following needs existing in the operations of the Ministry:

1. liaison with local and regional structures
2. monitoring policy implementation, feedback and evaluation
3. international liaison
4. coordinating activities at national level
5. specialists familiar with the different art disciplines
6. public relations
7. legal staff
8. parliamentary lobbying
9. personnel working at the local and regional levels
10. liaison with other relevant ministries
11. liaison with business.

The same structure will also apply at regional and local levels, but there is a need to study the Interim Constitution, in order to fully elaborate the functions at those levels. This will ensure a balance between the national and regional levels.

2. The top five positions within the civil service are those of Director General, Deputy Director-General, Chief Director, Director and Deputy Director. In most current departments and ministries, there is one Director-General, generally deputised by two or three deputy D-G’s.

The proposal that we will put forward will recommend that we have one Director-General in the Ministry, deputised by two Deputy D-G’s, each responsible for one sector of the work of the Ministry (i.e. Administration and Art Forms). Each of these will have a further line staff, made up as per the breakdown in tasks.

The Director-General and two Deputy D-G’s, together with the Minister (and Deputy Ministers, if any) will constitute the Ministerial Cabinet, a consultative body which will act to advise the Minister on matters of policy (the formulation of, the legislative framework, the budget and its allocation, implementation of, and evaluation of). It will also be responsible for receiving annual reports from the various sectors, and ensuring that the ministry as a whole is accountable to parliament.

It was expressed that the Chairpersons of the Statutory Bodies should relate directly to the Director-General, who would represent them in the Ministerial Cabinet. This would also serve as the channel for taking forward their suggestions on legislation, etc. It will be necessary to create mechanisms to ensure that their interests are not marginalised or glossed over by the Ministerial Cabinet.

Within the “administration” sector, we propose one Director responsible for Policy and Legislation, one for Liaison and one for Finance. The Director for Policy and Legislation will be responsible for two branches, namely

1. Policy, and
2. Legislation and Legal.

The Director for Finance will be responsible for the two branches of

1. Subsidies and
2. Budget and Accounts.

The Director for Liaison will be responsible for the three branches of

1. Civil Society and Business,
2. Related Ministries (Domestic) and
3. International.

Overall direction for each branch will be articulated at “Director” level, and it is at this level where negotiations will take place. The Director will also take responsibility for public announcements relevant to the work of the sector.

The sector on civil society and business has the political function of ensuring a balance between civil society and the state in implementation. The sector on related ministries (domestic) will ensure that cultural concerns are addressed in relevant ministries and structures, such as in arts education (education), town planning (local government), the therapeutic use of the arts and culture (health), job creation (trade and industry) and tourism.

The sector on international will be responsible for liaising with the Ministry of Foreign affairs on

1. representation abroad,
2. the cultural content of bilateral agreements and treaties,
3. South Africa’s participation in international cultural programmes, through UNESCO, UNICEF, the OAU, etc., and
4. receiving international guests.

Within the sector of the Art forms, we propose three Directors, one each to be responsible for the structures of the Performing Arts, the Visual Arts and Heritage. Within the Performing Arts structure will be Managers responsible for the three sectors of Music, Theatre and Dance. Within the Heritage structure will be three Managers responsible for the sectors of

1. Monuments, Museums, Historical buildings and Sites,
2. Archives, and
3. National Symbols.

Finally, within the Visual Arts structure will be two Managers, responsible respectively for the sectors of

1. the Visual Arts, and
2. Arts and Crafts.

Altogether then, we propose one Director-General, two Deputy Directors General, six Directors and fifteen Managers (the position of “Manager” is equivalent to “Head of Department”). It was felt that the level of “Chief Director” is not required in the ministry, and that the term “Director” should be abandoned in favour of that of “Manager”. We feel that the term “Manager” is more appropriate to the fulfilment of the tasks envisaged than that of “Director”.

VII. Legislative requirements

It will be incumbent on government, in pursuit of the general promotion of a national unifying culture, to introduce legislation which:

• protects artists and people active in culture against exploitation, and which also secures their social and economic status through pensions, insurance, medical benefits and taxation, in compliance with universally accepted labour law and practices
• stipulates the requirements for international artists to perform in South Africa, and which regulates the flow of international products into the country
• defines the extent of business involvement in funding the arts and culture
• makes provision for the encouragement of the arts and culture through mechanisms such as tax concessions
• introduces local content quotas in public and private broadcasting
• ensures against distribution monopolies locally and internationally in the film industry
• ensures that broadcasting frequencies are not monopolised by the National Broadcaster and/or commercial stations, and guarantees local, community and regional access
• introduces freedom of information, through which maximum openness and accessibility, without interfering with the rights of individuals, can be implemented (archives)
• recognises the professional status of musicians
• amends tax legislation to encourage corporate investment in music, which will incorporate sliding scales to ensure equitable distribution of such funds
• amends the copyright laws to serve the interests of musicians from all traditions
• creates the statutory bodies mentioned elsewhere in this document
• commits a certain percentage of state building project budgets to the incorporation of aesthetic components
• ensures that all art education is provided free, including the provision of materials for that education, up to and including tertiary level
• ensures that no theatres paid for or subsidised by tax-payers money should be privatised
• ensures that only a specified percentage of funds allocated to performing arts structures can be spent on administrative purposes, to ensure that the majority of funds is spent on creative production
• ensures that publicly-funded cultural bodies be exempt from taxation, including VAT on theatre tickets ensures that municipal laws and regulations promote and protect the rights of artists in the informal sector, e.g. huskers and street performers.

In addition, there is a need to review all current legislation concerning the arts and culture, with a view towards amending or repealing where applicable. Such legislation includes The Heraldry Act, The Public Holidays Act, The Cultural Institutions Act, the National Monuments Act and the Archives Act.