A cultivating history and heritage lesson
King Cetshwayo District Municipality spearheaded a Heritage Summit in Empangeni on Friday
THE King Cetshwayo District Heritage Summit held on Friday turned into a fascinating lecture on culture, jam-packed with the region’s interesting history.
Held at the Empangeni Civic Centre and headed by the district municipality and the office of the KZN Premier, the conference aimed to identify heritage sites within the region which can help build the economy.
‘We have many places under our region which can be turned into heritage sites and generate income for our people.
‘The purpose of this gathering is to take the message to the people, and ask them to come up with these areas which needs to be identified,’ said the district’s Speaker Cllr Khulani Radebe during his address.
‘We have the training ground of Shaka here as well as burial sites of many royal family members.
‘King Cetshwayo walked through this place, passing eSikhaleni and Port Durnford where he boarded a ship to Cape Town then to England. Those are our heritage sites which can be used as tourism attractions.’
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According to Radebe, the major challenge is educating youngsters and ensuring they don’t lose their identities.
‘Our past determines where we are going, and this can be used to deal with poverty and build the economy, which can create stability for this area.
‘Our efforts to rediscover, honour and protect our past heritage are imperative, but it will take the sweat of all South Africans to achieve. We need to be passionate and patriotic to realise these efforts.
‘In return, as the offspring of this land, not only do we gain financially, but most importantly we become a nation with a history which is the soul of our forefathers, and an example to future generations,’ said Radebe.
As part of the conference, community and traditional leaders as well as youth structures assembled commissions which captured the public’s information regarding heritage.
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