26 November 2005

Mr. Stranger Kgampe, Secretary-General of UNESCO

Mr. Thabang Mamonyane, Historical Societies of Magaliesburg

Mr. PT Molefe, Historical Societies of Magaliesburg

Invited guests

People of Mogale City:

On this occasion of the official opening of the Living Museum and Engineerium as part of the Magaliesburg Historical Societies' initiatives, I would like to congratulate and thank the organizers for setting up a place of this nature. Our city needs places of this nature to capture our history, highlight our facilities and infrastructure, and more importantly, promote our strength in the area of tourism. We have a lot to boast about, for deepening democracy, for our commercial initiatives, the residential developments and industrial areas. It is not without reason, therefore, that Mogale City has been dubbed the "Treasure Chest of the West"! This initiative will add to that image, and as the Mogale City Local Municipality we welcome this museum and thank you for affording us the opportunity to be part of this event.

As a municipality, we would like to present a couple challenges and suggestions which we think will further enhance your efforts. These are challenges and suggestions we have identified, and we put them to you as part of accelerating our formal relationship with your society.

We think it is of critical importance that you consult very widely within the community of Magaliesburg, so that you can capture all of what makes Magaliesburg what it is. This is made more important by the historical reality of South Africa, which was based on the division of our society along racial lines. So we think it is important that your consultations are wide, with a deliberate focus on reaching out along the lines that our society was divided.

We also think it is important that your activities and efforts are based on an open door policy in terms of ensuring that you concern yourselves with cultivating a body of skill of local people, so that local people can take forward the cause for continued interest and promotion of the local history and heritage.

Programme Director, another thought that we have is that you must liaise with the local tourism body so that this museum is a significant part of what Magaliesburg offers in the area of tourism. We are aware that this has already happened. We do feel that it is an area that must receive special attention so that we increase the museum's profile within Mogale City, Gauteng and South Africa.

A few months ago, the Mogale City Local Municipality, together with the University of South Africa, held a graduation celebration for young people who had completed a learnership programme in the area of heritage and history. We believe that there is space, at least to the extent to which we can avail the learners, for these learners to participate in the museum's activities and programmes to further enhance what you do. This we will leave to you to find the space, and we encourage you to engage us in this regard. We think these young people can play a significant role in coming up with new, creative ways of formulating and presenting our history and heritage. More importantly, we think the Magaliesburg Historical Societies is an ideal platform for all of us to nurture young talent so that we can rest assured that our future is secure.

To the extent to which heritage and history forms a critical part of tourism, it is important for us to emphasize that the Mogale City Local Municipality regards the promotion of tourism in its area as one of its chief priorities. In addition to the famous World Heritage site, the Cradle of Humankind, the area is a tourists' delight with snug bed-and-breakfast facilities available, as well as a host of exciting things to do and see. The attractions include game reserves, the Lion Park, the Magaliesburg Meander, where Arts and Crafts are available, the Crocodile Ramble, the Lesedi Cultural Village, and now the Magaliesburg Living Museum and Engineerium.

Programme Director, Mogale City will be the most desirable place to live, invest and visit, where all may enjoy a sustainable quality of life. It is important that we realize that we are partners in this. We owe it to our country and our city.

Congratulations and we wish you the best.

I thank you and God Bless you all.

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