South Africa is a country that has been exceedingly blessed with a rich and diverse cultural heritage – one that deserves to be celebrated, nurtured, and preserved.
This Heritage Day, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) would like to remind all South Africans that today is much more than a public holiday. It is about acknowledging our shared cultural heritage, as well as honouring those who have contributed to its preservation and recognition, within or borders, and worldwide.
The theme for this Heritage Month is “Celebrating the legacy of Solomon Linda and South Africa’s indigenous music”. 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the passing of Solomon Linda. He composed the 1939 song “Mbube”, a song which South Africans – and the rest of the world – recognise today as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.
However, South Africa’s indigenous music and creative arts are not just entertainment, they are a compilation of our National Identity. They provide a point of commonality that South Africans can rally around and claim for themselves as part of what it means to be truly – and proudly – South African.
Heritage, and particularly cultural heritage, are a clarion call to Ubuntu. They are essential for social cohesion and reconciliation. We must never forget, as per the Preamble of our Constitution, to “Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.”
Today, let us come together, and celebrate and recognise our unique identity as South Africans.
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Contact
Mkhuleko Hlengwa MP
IFP National Spokesperson
071 111 0539