Nelspruit — Recommendations regarding the preservation of African culture have been received during the Heritage Transformation Charter public consultations currently taking place in the country.

A panel of delegates at the second of the nine provincial Heritage Transformation Charter public consultations which was held in Nelspruit Tuesday, raised their concerns with the National Heritage Council.

The heritage consultations are held in all the nine provinces and will culminate in a draft Heritage Transformation Charter which will be published in October 2007 before it is submitted to the Department of Arts and Culture.

The Charter will provide a framework to bring the sector on par with national imperatives of skills, job creation, accessibility, African cultural values and using heritage to contribute directly to economic development.

Sonwabile Mancotywa, Chief Executive Officer of the NHC, said: "I am happy that Traditional Leaders in this province feel that their role in reclaiming the heritage of African culture is undermined. "The Heritage Charter will need to clarify roles of roles of each heritage stakeholder.

"We welcome the view and encourage the public to own the process of developing a Heritage Transformation Charter that will be sensitive to these issues raised by the public."

Some of the recommendations for the Heritage Transformation Charter should ensure that:

•  South Africans should have preferred access rates to heritage which at present favours only those who can afford;

•  indigenous people, including traditional leaders, should own and exhibit their culture without being exploited by established companies who commercialise heritage;

•  cultural practices should be taught at schools to retain the values that African cultures advocate for nation building and identity; and

•  that heritage or cultural names of people, places and public objects should take precedence over what is called, Christian or colonial names.

Mr Mancotywa is concerned about the absence of a coherent, focused, high-profile and sector-wide strategy for transforming the heritage sector which is the main reason for developing the Charter.

Mpumalanga was also acknowledged as one of the leading provinces in developing its cultural and natural heritage for social as well as economic development in the past thirteen years of democracy.

The NHC was established through an Act of Parliament (NHC Act 11 of 1999) to coordinate, transform, fund the heritage sector, raise awareness and advise on policy.

The next consultation will be held in Polokwane, Limpopo on 4 August 2007.