Joint Klopse Statement for immediate release

 05 January 2014

The Cape Town minstrels definitively hereby reject the accusation by the City of Cape Town officials. 

The arrogant and defeatist media releases churned out on behalf of the City of Cape Town echoes of sour grapes which are bound to place a damper on a very successful event. 

Councillor Grant Pascoe suffers from self-inflicted ills as the team he leads in the city has repeatedly shot itself in the foot and is obsessed with conspiracy theories and unhealthy suspicions.

In fact, the minstrels repeatedly cautioned the city officials of trying too hard to constrict a cultural and heritage occasion that is community driven. The minstrels are not the city's guests at their own celebrations. 

The officials must again be reminded that any city in the world would be proud to have such a unique and a colourful street parade staged within its precincts. Further to that the city and its infrastructure is co-owned by the residents and ratepayers and this is not a trump card with which to strangle the minstrels at every occasion. The officials are merely temporary custodians and administrators on behalf of the people.

The minstrels therefore want to publicly declare that they are fed up with the mess the city has made of negotiations and the attempts to hold at ransom the thousands of participants with a spoil sport attitude of take it or leave it as well as the patronising and excessive bullying of the clubs and their representatives by the people that are supposed to serve and support.

The minstrels also wants to highlight that the said officials do not have time for ordinary people as was displayed when councillor Pascoe refused the chance to interact with the spectators during the parade as he claimed it to be a waste of time.

It is therefore beyond comprehension why councillor Pascoe now complains about other role players from another sphere of government who indeed made time to interact with the crowd.

Perhaps councillor Pascoe could do better if he in fact practised inclusiveness and stops pretending that Cape Town is an enclave or the exclusive domain of him and his political party.

Pascoe is more worried about his political party's narrative of the electioneering leaflet, the so-called Cape Town story. He should also realise by now that he cannot in a silo market the annual Minstrel March spectacle in Cape Town or the Western Cape as an exclusive or personal asset of the city or his own political party, as this unique event is indeed a national and world cultural, religious and historic heritage legacy.

Councillor Pascoe is the last one that can randomly point finger as he is in fact standing behind the door on many issues where party-political interference and even over stepping the line is concerned. 

One issue to look into is the way in which the city seemingly disregards the national flag act and demeans our national symbol by putting it on the same staff as the city emblem and pass it out at our event as if this is accepted protocol. This matter ought to be investigated as a priority and not the digression we see on lesser issues of petty party political nature.

The minstrels are also immensely grateful for the intervention of national government and the interest shown to recognise the rights and value of the minstrel celebrations to the extent that the series of events surrounding the traditional celebrations of the emancipation of slaves in the Cape and the street march with all the other competitions and happenings could get full acknowledgment and be declared as part of a cultural route/experience that may bring in more international tourists to the region and possibly see more public displays. Working together at all levels this celebration could become better and a bigger institution. In this regard we are thankful for the work done by our patron international relation and cooperation deputy minister Marius Fransman and arts and culture minister Paul Mashatile who attended the street spectacle yesterday.

The minstrels are looking forward to engage on the bigger issues and dealing with the broader picture of our festival season in a way that will be amicable and in the interest of our future to the satisfaction of all involved.

Statement issued by Ghalieb Essop and Kevin Momberg, Cape Town Minstrels, January 5 2013

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