Basil Coetzee
Today is Heritage Day.
What exactly does this mean to YOU?
How do you celebrate something that is also subject to two critical aspects in our South African society where you have;
* The Celebration of Heritage
vs
* The Erasure of Heritage
Heritage is associated with the history of a particular group of people who share common values, a common origin and a common culture.
It tells a story, of people, of locations, of triumphs, of defeats, of expressions.
Since the declaration of 24 September as the day of celebration of Heritage, I have seen little if any meaningful activities demonstrating any association thereof.
How do we relate to Heritage Sites on which incidents of historical significance have occurred?
Incidents that tell OUR stories, our challenges, our presence?
Are WE even aware of such sites and its locations?
Do we know the historical significance of such sites?
Does it matter to us?
Was National Braai Day Purposely Invented to Erase Our True Heritage
Is Heritage Day just another day to fill the calender to make Government and Heritage Institutions look good when in fact it serves little or no purpose?
Does it serve no purpose because WE cannot relate to what is supposedly important to us as a people and our expressions?
Is this WHY the agendas of individuals such as JAN SCANNELL known as Jan Braai, could so easily sway a WHOLE country to ignore the very essence of Heritage and its value to Nation-building and stronger human relations in favour of accepting 24 September as a National Braai Day?
A day where fires are lit, Brands of Liquor consumed, and meat of all kinds BRAAIED with fanfare?
Jan Braai was not an accident… It is a brand with a dark objective driven from Stellenbosch hence his easy access to Visual Media and now his association with businesses.
Let us restore Heritage Day for what it can be.
A National Celebration of outreach and Nation-building.
So, Who is Jan Braai?
To receive a Worsrolletjie from Jan Braai at Food Lovers Willoughbridge or not to receive (?)
“Albeit that it turns out that the Uncle in Blue eventually did get a worsrolletjie, the real issue is about being ignored, of not being acknowledged and of Being Relegated to The Back of The Line. ummm…. What on earth is kêrriewors in any case, but I digress… The point is that Uncle in Blue was clearly made to look small and insignificant compared to those who approached Jan Braai after him but were served before him” Ryan Swano
Who is this Jan Braai?
National Braai Day is is a project run by Jan Scannell, whose efforts are funded by the Millennium Trust. This Trust by all accounts a billion Rand or more strong, is run by Michiel Lê Roux , one of the founders of Capitec and managed from Stellenbosch.
The Jan Braai Strategy to Replace Heritage Day with National Braai Day
Scannell or Jan Braai whose father was CEO of Distell, is married to the daughter of Chris Daun, one of the driving figures behind Steinhoff.
Jan Braai, is paid to organise braais and social media campaigns to USURP Heritage Day in favour of Braai Day.
Not a bad living at all especially if it’s funded as lavishly as this one.
Now, this is not surprising when you look at our communities we see people braai , share the wine and beers and not in celebration of Heritage which is a National Day of Celebration on the 24th September,
Source: Pieter du Toit, The Stellenbosch Mafia: Jonathan Ball Publishers: 2019
The attention is successfully diverted from the historic relevance of Heritage in South Africa.
What therefore transpired at Food Lovers Market is not a surprise to me… It would after all be Heritage Day within a few days.
For who?
I don’t know but the friendly and joyous free issue of Worsrolletjies to SOME is a clue.
The message from Jan Braai is clear…
And a DISGRACE!
Editor’s Note: Food Lovers Market deleted the original video (which Mavis Vannie Lavis Reposted) from their socia media and has issued a statement saying that The Uncle-in-Blue did after all get a worsrolletjie. They then posted a video showing him Eventually receiving a worsrolletjie.
The point of the outrage is however not whether he did or did not he got one, but that he was blatantly being ignored by Jan Braai in favour of some others who approached after him. It was for many just too reminiscent of the Apartheid-era practice of relegating ‘non-whites’ to the back of the line.
About The Author: Basil Coetzee is a renowned author and poet who in the early 2000’s has served for over 5 years on The Council of Heritage Western Cape which was established in October 2002 in terms of section 23 of the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999) and the regulations promulgated in terms of Provincial Notice 336 and published in the Provincial Gazette 5937 dated 25 October 2002.
