DELMAS – The Mpumalanga provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on culture, recreation, and education conducted an oversight visit to the Endumbeni Cultural and Creative Centre in the Victor Khanye Municipality on Thursday, February 13, 2025. The visit aimed to assess the progress of government programmes and projects implemented at the centre.
Founded in 2010 as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Endumbeni was established by young people in response to socio-economic challenges such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, and the lack of recreational facilities in black communities. The centre has since become a cultural hub, offering programmes in event hosting, heritage promotion, language preservation, history teaching, and the Artists in Schools (AIS) programme.
The provincial department supported Endumbeni financially from 2013 to 2017, and in 2023, the organisation was appointed as an AIS implementing agency by the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture (DSAC) in Mpumalanga on a three-year contract, creating 46 full-time jobs from all districts. However, members of the centre expressed concerns about the premature withdrawal of their contract, which was initially set to expire in 2026 but is now expected to end in 2025.
“Endumbeni has been a beacon of hope for promoting indigenous languages and empowering local artists,” said Sipho Mahamba. “Our programme has not only promoted languages like IsiNdebele and SiSwati but also helped Mpumalanga province schools, with some even hiring IsiNdebele teachers. However, we’re now facing a significant challenge as the DSAC is withdrawing our three-year contract. We urge the Department of Culture, Sport, and Recreation to intervene and support our programme,” he added.
The AIS programme plays a crucial role in advocating for IsiNdebele and SiSwati, two marginalised languages. In the 2024/25 financial year, 40 schools and 46 artists, along with support staff from disadvantaged backgrounds, benefited from the programme.
Committee members raised concerns about the contract’s termination, particularly regarding skills training, gender balance, and employment for disabled individuals. In response, the centre assured the committee that most employees are women and disabled individuals are included.
Responding to the concerns raised by Endumbeni, MEC for the Department of Culture, Sport, and Recreation Leah Mabuza said, “We are on the verge of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Education. This platform gives us the opportunity to strengthen support for artistic work through the MoU, ensuring that centres such as Endumbeni do not cease to exist because the national government has withdrawn funding.”
“We would appreciate it if that matter [of Endumbeni] comes urgently to be entertained on our department lekgotla so that they don’t lose what they have started and the progress already made,” she added.
Ngemani Mahlangu, a language advisor, warned that the cancellation of the contract would be devastating. “The Mpumalanga Provincial Act No. 3 of 2014 recognises IsiNdebele and SiSwati, yet the act remains largely unimplemented. This must change.” In her address, MEC Mabuza indicated that they had requested Treasury to fund the language act for the current financial year through a phased process to allow IsiNdebele and SiSwati to be fully incorporated into schools, arts schools, and communities. “We are mandated to elevate IsiNdebele and SiSwati to the level of English and Afrikaans,” she said.
The department assured stakeholders that it would assess the three-hectare plot identified for future development. The oversight visit concluded with an on-site inspection and reinforced the importance of supporting cultural initiatives.
On the day, different legislature portfolios visited various projects and programmes across VKLM for oversight, including the R242 million Delmas Waste Water Treatment Works project. With 60% of the work completed over 35 months, the project is set to be finished by April 11, 2025. The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs portfolio expressed serious concerns about the progress of the project, which is led by the Nkangala District Municipality and funded by the National Department of Water and Sanitation. The committee committed to a site inspection upon receipt of a remedy commitment report from the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) before the legislature sitting scheduled for March 10 to 14, 2025.
