Programme Director
Excellencies Heads of State and Governments
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Excellencies Members of the Diplomatic Corps 
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen:
 
Let me take this opportunity to thank the African Union for organizing this event in support of the African World Heritage Fund.
 
The Government of the Republic of South Africa is proud to have been hosting the African World Heritage Fund since its inception in 2006, on behalf of the African continent.
 
We note with appreciation that the Fund has received endorsement from UNESCO, which has classified it as a Category II Centre.
 
Since the establishment of the Fund, our continent has benefitted immensely from activities initiated by the Fund to promote the conservation and management of African World Heritage sites.

These include capacity building initiatives, and initiatives aimed at unlocking the socio-economic potential of our heritage places, many of which have not been tapped for many decades.
 
The work of the Fund has been made possible largely by the support and collaboration between and among African Governments and the private sector. 
 
Your Excellences, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen; let me take this opportunity to thank all our partners for their continued support of the Fund.
 
We are especially encouraged by the increasing number of the African countries coming forth to support the Fund.
 
In order to continue its work the Fund needs sustainable financial resources.
 
As a host country, the Government of South Africa has committed itself to providing the necessary resources for the administration and proper functioning of the Fund on behalf of the African continent.
 
My government has been supporting the operational costs of the Fund on an annual basis in line with the agreement we signed with UNESCO in 2010.
 
We are currently in the process of signing new agreements that will form the basis of our continued support of the Fund.
 
In spite of this support, it is still very crucial that as a continent we strengthen our support for the Fund in order to allow it to help address the enormous challenges faced by a number of our heritage places.
 
These include challenges experienced in Timbuktu, Mali, at the Kasumbi Tombs in Uganda and the Royal Palaces of Abomey in Benin.
 
Equally the resource exploitations in the rainforests of Gabon, Madagascar and the   Democratic Republic of Congo all require our collective action to ensure that the cultural and natural heritage, found in these areas, are preserved for the benefit of current and future generations of our continent.
 
Today we have an opportunity to make a difference on our continent by investing in the preservation of our heritage places.
 
Your investment will go a long way towards building good practices for heritage resources.
 
Without your generous financial support, the Fund will be unable to meet its objective which will defeat the purpose for which it was established.
 
I would also like to thank the Development Bank of Southern Africa for hosting the Africa World Heritage Fund and for all the support they have been providing to ensure that the Fund meets its objectives.
 
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce that the government of South Africa will this year contribute an additional 1 million US dollars to the African World Heritage Endowment Fund.

We are doing this as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that the Fund succeeds in its work of preserving and promoting heritage places on our beloved continent, which is the cradle of humankind.

I thank you.