Nations of the world must unite for human solidarity

When we spoke at the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony at the Union Buildings on Freedom Day, April 27, we paid tribute to the many eminent international guests who had travelled to our country to join us at the Inauguration Ceremony and the celebration of our First Decade of Democracy.

Addressing our foreign visitors we said: "Your presence among us when we confronted the apartheid crime against humanity gave freedom the possibility to emerge triumphant. Your presence among us today expands our joy that freedom's opportunities have given us the possibility to begin the long walk to a life of dignity for all our people."

The large contingent of our guests included delegations led by such leaders as the Kings of Lesotho and Swaziland, more than 20 African Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers, and almost 15 African Ministers; 3 Presidents and 1 Governor General from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Vice President of Brazil and 2 Caribbean Ministers; and 4 Ministers from the Middle East.

From the rest of Asia we had delegations led by President Gusmao of East Timor, the Vice Presidents of Iran and India, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Congress, the former Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshiro Mori, and 6 Ministers. From Australasia there were three delegations, 2 led by Governors-General and the third by a Minister.

2 of the European delegations were led by members of Royal families, one by the Prime Minister of Norway and another by the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, another by the President of the Czech Senate, another by the Deputy Chairperson of the Russian Duma, another by the Deputy Speaker of the German Parliament, another by an Archbishop representing the Holy See, and others by 10 Ministers.

The United States and Canada were also represented by delegations led by Ministers. 23 national delegations from other countries were led by their Ambassadors. Only 15 of the member states of the UN were not represented at our celebrations, these being largely small least developed countries whose presence might have been limited by budget constraints.

We were also greatly honoured to receive the heads of the executive organs of the African Union, the Commonwealth and SADC, as well as the Speaker of the Pan-African Parliament. The EU was represented by its Resident Representative in South Africa.

We were similarly privileged to host 10 members of the Executive Committee of FIFA, including President Sepp Blatter, the President of CAF, Issa Hayatou, and others drawn from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States and the Pacific.

We also had among us and in the celebrations that took place elsewhere in the world the comrades-in-arms who stood out as outstanding activists in the anti-apartheid struggle, during the long years that some thought that our conviction that we would emerge victorious was a mere pipedream.

As we have just indicated, victory celebrations also took place in many countries throughout the world. This enabled our friends across the world who could not come to our country, nevertheless to join us in rejoicing in our 10th Anniversary of Freedom.

For example, the United Nations held a special commemoration ceremony that was addressed by the President of the General Assembly, Secretary General Kofi Annan and others.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder attended a celebratory event in Stuttgart, hosted by the South African Consul General in this part of Germany and CEO of Daimler Chrysler, Jurgen Schrempp. At this occasion, Chancellor Schroeder said:

"Democratic South Africa has come closer to the ideal of a fair world because of people with courage and farsightedness.Germany supports the African continent and this is not only a question of morals. It is especially also a question of political and economic sense. Nobody can live in security if his neighbours do not live in peace and security.

"The development of Africa into a continent of peaceful development and participation within the economic possibilities of globalisation is in the interest of our One World. South Africa has achieved much and all those who have contributed can be proud of the past ten years. Germany will stand by South Africa with regard to the challenges ahead."

The US Senate also met to approve a resolution congratulating us on our 10th Anniversary. The Chair and three other leading members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tabled the resolution, these being Senators Lugar (Chair), Biden, Alexander (Chair of the Africa Subcommittee), and Feingold.

In his statement, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander said: "I rise today to recognise the 10th anniversary of majority rule in the Republic of South Africa and to commend the South African people for the momentous social and economic achievements they have made since establishing a more inclusive democracy.Today is Freedom Day in South Africa, a day to celebrate the end of apartheid, and the beginning of majority rule in that country."

British Prime Minister headed a long list of dignitaries who visited South Africa House, our High Commission, to convey their tributes. These included the Duke of Kent, representing HM the Queen, the Speaker of Parliament, the General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), over 100 MP's from all parties, religious leaders and others, all of whom wrote short messages in the Book of Celebrations.

Prime Minister Blair wrote: "To our friends in South Africa whose courage, determination and integrity inspired and still inspire us."

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "It is a great joy to be with you to celebrate this wonderful Anniversary - a new freedom won after so many years of struggle. The trade union movement was proud to have played a part in that heroic and ultimately successful endeavour."

The Moderator of the Free Churches, David Coffey said: "Your country and its people continue to inspire the World. May God bless South Africa."

The Leader of the House of Common, Peter Hain, wrote: "When the struggle was hardest, we stood together."

On behalf of the UK Jewish Community, Rabbi Barry Marcus wrote: "With best wishes for a fruitful and successful future in South Africa."

The Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "Many, many congratulations to the people of South Africa. We in the Muslim Council of Britain are proud of your achievements during the last decade. We pray for your greater success and may you be the model for tolerance, freedom and participation for all communities."

Across the Atlantic, the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim, read President Lula da Silva's speech at a gala dinner hosted by our Ambassador, Mbulelo Rakwena. In that speech, President Lula said:

"It is with enormous pleasure that I come here to celebrate the conquest of freedom and the consolidation of democracy in the Republic of South Africa. Ten years ago, the world celebrated the extraordinary victory of a fearless people, who never gave up their dreams, nor agreed to be cowed by discrimination and violence.

"During the course of the period of repression, the South Africans learnt the value of peace and human life. Today we pay homage to all those who fought and succumbed for these noble values, those who opposed tyranny and arbitrary rule. In the person of Oliver Tambo, I express acknowledgement to those who made this great victory of human dignity possible. The South African people have recovered the pride of their nationality and optimism in the future."

The rest of humanity joined us in the extraordinary way it did because the struggle against apartheid became a united struggle of the peoples of the world against racism and racial domination.

Reflecting on this, the UN Secretary General said: "When we remember the struggle against apartheid, we recall it as a struggle which galvanised the entire world community - one that rallied people and Governments behind a common objective: the objective of reaffirming the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of all peoples."

In his message at South Africa House, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, wrote: "Congratulations! London is proud to have played a small part in supporting the struggle."

President Lula said: "Today's celebration also belongs to us. We, Brazilians have special pride in having contributed, together with millions of people all over the world, so that we could be here today. In the course of decades we have supported the heroic struggle against the racist and colonialist regime."

US Senator Alexander said: "The struggle to end apartheid in South Africa captured the imagination and garnered the support of millions of peoples worldwide, including the people of the United States."

Senator Alexander was as correct as was President Lula when the latter said that South Africa's celebration "also belongs to us." The victory we scored in 1994 belongs to the whole of humanity. It was therefore right that that humanity should get together in our country and everywhere else in the world to celebrate that shared historic achievement.

But humanity came together not only to celebrate an historical event. Humanity joined hands to celebrate our First Decade of Freedom because it recognised the need for all of us once more to come together in a powerful international solidarity movement that would pursue common goals shared by the peoples of the world.

In his speech at the United Nations, Secretary general Kofi Annan said: "I am delighted to be with you on this special occasion. This is a day that is being celebrated by millions of people far beyond the borders of South Africa. For it is an anniversary that gives concrete meaning to abstract concepts: the concept of humanity, and the concept of hope."

And we can also draw on the words of President Lula who said: "I wished my election for the Presidency of Brazil to be the victory of hope over fear. I got inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela. Upon leaving prison, he said: 'Our march towards freedom is irreversible. We cannot afford to allow fear to stop us.' "

Inevitably, the question that came into all our minds across the globe as we celebrated the victory scored a decade ago, was - what about the future! We asked that question with regard to South Africa.

But we asked it with regard to the rest of the world as well because, as Kofi Annan said, our 10th Anniversary was celebrated throughout the world because that victory and what we have done in its aftermath have given "concrete meaning" to the concepts of humanity and hope, and demonstrated the victory of hope over fear.

The challenges we have faced and continue to confront are both domestic and universal. The scourges of poverty and underdevelopment with all their consequences afflict billions across the globe. Many countries are grappling with the task of building cohesive and successful multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-faith societies.

Racism and racial discrimination continue to inflict enormous harm and damage on entire peoples and societies. Half of humanity, the women of the world, carries the yoke of oppression and discrimination, simply because of differences in gender and unacceptable social practices and prejudices that have evolved over the millennia.

The struggle continues everywhere in the world to find the ways and means by which to build a global neighbourhood of universal peace, shared prosperity, equality among the peoples and celebration of the richness of the human experience born of our diversity.

Humanity joined in a global struggle to defeat the apartheid crime against humanity, thus defined because apartheid was the very antithesis of all these objectives. After the defeat of Nazism, it became the concentrated expression of everything that all humanity sought to expunge from the ordering of human relations.

It was for this reason that, as Senator Lamar Alexander said, "the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa captured the imagination and garnered the support of millions of peoples worldwide."

Fully cognisant of our responsibility to ourselves as South Africans, and the debt we owed to the rest of humanity, we have tried our best during our First Decade of Freedom to build a new society based on the humane values that the apartheid system sought to deny.

It is because of what we have done that Prime Minister Tony Blair could convey his best wishes "to our friends in South Africa whose courage, determination and integrity inspired and still inspire us."

It was for the same reason that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan could say boldly that what we have achieved, with the continued support and involvement of the peoples of the world, "gives concrete meaning to abstract concepts: the concept of humanity, and the concept of hope."

It seems obvious that the task all humanity now faces is to strengthen the bonds of global human solidarity demonstrated so visibly and joyfully when the peoples of the world came together to celebrate our First Decade of Democracy.

In the past, confronted by the apartheid crime against humanity, the nations of the world succeeded to unite in the strongest international people's solidarity movement of the 20th century, securing the defeat of apartheid in 1994.

What was done, as well as the human condition globally, constitute the clarion call that, once again, the nations of the world must unite in the strongest international people's solidarity movement of the 21st century, to "give concrete meaning to abstract concepts: the concept of humanity, and the concept of hope."

As Chancellor Schroeder said, we must combine to bring about this result because "nobody can live in security if his neighbours do not live in peace and security."

Like Nelson Mandela and Lula da Silva we must, in word and deed, say - our global march towards a humane world of hope that is free of fear for all human beings is irreversible. We cannot afford to allow fear of bold action to create a new world to stop us!

Media watch

Electoral success revives unfounded fears

The ANC's success in the recent elections has been seized upon by a number of commentators to revive the tired theme that a significant electoral majority creates a platform for authoritarian or corrupt behaviour.

In at least two articles published in South African newspapers this week, journalists have seen the ANC's decisive mandate from the people as a precursor to undemocratic behaviour, and have characterised some recent events as evidence of ANC 'arrogance' and 'abuse of power'.

These are not new themes. Prior to the April elections, some of the parties contesting the poll actually made these issues central to their electoral platform. Without any evidence, these parties claimed, among other things, that the ANC was seeking a two-third majority so that it could change the constitution to, among other things, secure a third term for ANC President Thabo Mbeki.

These claims were, of course, nonsense. As it turns out, the very parties who made these claims had themselves adopted positions in their election manifestos that would have required substantial changes to the constitution to implement.

At the ballot box, the vast majority of South Africans rejected these claims. They rejected the notion that the ANC could not be trusted with the governance of this country. They rejected the notion that the ANC was a threat to democracy.

In fact, the very opposition parties who made these claims saw a decline in their collective share of support. A clear indication that the fears these parties have sought to fuel about an 'over powerful' ANC do not have any resonance in the lived experience of most South Africans.

In an article that appeared in the Business Day newspaper this week, journalist Linda Ensor begins with the following statement: "The huge majority the African National Congress (ANC) won in last month's election, nearly 70 % of the vote, must present it with a strong temptation to use its democratic might in a dictatorial, undemocratic way."

The article doesn't explain why this "must" necessarily be the case. It doesn't explain why the organisation which led the struggle for democracy in South Africa - drafting the country's first-ever bill of rights way back in 1923 - should suddenly develop a temptation to become dictatorial. It doesn't explain why the organisation that pioneered the country's first democratic constitution and worked hard to establish the institutions of democracy in South Africa should suddenly want to exercise power in an undemocratic way.

In 1994, the ANC received 62 percent of the national vote - a huge majority in any country of the world. Five years later, it received 66 percent of the vote. Yet in the ten years that it led South Africa with these massive majorities, why did the ANC not succumb to the "strong temptation" to act in a dictatorial, undemocratic way? Why must this temptation necessarily arise simply because the ANC has increased its majority by a couple of percent? Is there an invisible 'temptation threshold' that has unwittingly been crossed?

Writing in The Star newspaper this week, Max du Preez adopts a similar line, though from a slightly different angle. He writes: "There is a real danger that the ANC establishment might slowly try to dominate all politics and all facets of our national life."

From where does this danger arise? What evidence is there for this? Both Du Preez and Ensor cite as an example of the ANC's growing authoritarianism the appointment of an ANC member of parliament to chair the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), a move which broke no law, nor any rule of Parliament.

But, they argue, this was a break with a tradition in which a member of an opposition party should occupy that seat. Whose tradition is this? And how does it qualify to become a tradition? If something is done in two successive terms of Parliament, does it become a tradition?

For the first two terms of South Africa's democratic parliament, the position of National Assembly speaker was held by a woman. At the start of the third term, another woman has been elected to this position. Is this now a tradition? Clearly not. The individuals were chosen to occupy these position because at the time they were considered by the majority of MPs as the most suitable.

"It is a widely accepted principle of parliamentary democracies that oversight of public expenditure should be exercised in a non-partisan manner " Ensor writes. Yet there is no guarantee that an opposition MP in the SCOPA chair would be any more inclined towards non-partisanship than an ANC chair. Indeed, there are numerous examples in the previous parliamentary term where opposition parties acted in a decidedly partisan fashion, by, for example, using SCOPA's examination of the arms deal more to bash the ANC than establish the true facts around the expenditure of public funds.

The Business Day article reminds us of the repeated warnings by the Democratic Alliance (DA) about "the wish of the ANC to man all the constitutionally created institutions and pillars of civil society with its own supporters". It refers to positions such as the Public Protector, National Director of Public Prosecutions, South African Revenue Service Commissioner and Secretary to Parliament, all occupied by people involved in the ANC.

What the article doesn't mention is that each of these positions was filled in accordance with the relevant procedure, consistent with the law and constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Neither the DA nor the author of the article seem to care about the competence or track-record of any of these individuals, only their politics.

The DA can't fault the process by which any of these candidates was selected Nor are they able to find fault with their performance. They simply don't like the political background of the people who fill these positions. As with the recent selection of the SABC board, the DA would have preferred people whose political views more closely reflected theirs.

Du Preez, writing in The Star, expresses fears about a "single vision for South Africa". He is worried that minority voices and groups will not be afforded a proper place in national life. Yet, the first ten years of democracy has demonstrated quite unequivocally that South Africa is home to a multitude of interests, views and political traditions, all of which are freely expressed, protected by the constitution and a strong ethos of political openness.

The expression of these various views should in no way be undermined or threatened by the ANC's electoral majority. The fact that so many South Africans agree on how to approach the many substantial challenges the country faces should be viewed with encouragement, not despondency.

An overwhelming majority have indicated their readiness to be part of the people's contract to build a better life for all South Africans. It is a people's contract that invites participation from all citizens, communities and stakeholders regardless of their political affiliation. It seeks a united nation in which there is space for everyone to make a contribution. It seeks to accommodate a diversity of views, not suppress it.

The ANC, probably more than any other party in South Africa, understands and appreciates the meaning of the decisive mandate it has been given. Those who vote for the ANC know that any power the ANC may have in government is power derived from a mandate from the people. It is exercised on behalf of the people, and it is the people who will decide at the next election whether to renew it or withdraw it.

SA Youth

Ten years of youth emancipation

Speaking during the ANC's 75th anniversary in 1987, former ANC president Oliver Tambo said: "Our glorious youth and students have continued to hold high the banner of struggle. Because they have dared to fight for and bring our emancipation so near, our youth have become eminent targets of the enemy s forces of repression." This was, of course, consistent with the agenda of apartheid regime to make black people the providers of cheap labour. Thus the black youth were regarded as the source for this unskilled, cheap, super-exploited proletariat.

By the eighties, the apartheid system had so battered the youth that they lacked the very basic means to thrive in the social and economic system, leading some commentators, to the vehement protest of young people, wrongfully to make the allegation that these youth were a "lost generation" - because they lacked education and skills, and did not have access to economic opportunities. Indeed, this is exactly what the surveys of both the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) and the Census '96 found to be the case in so far as the black youth were concerned.

The Census '96 found the situation of the South African youth to be dire. In its "The Youth South Africa" Report, the Statistics South Africa made some startling observations about the socio-economic state of the youth by then, observations that had significant implications for the paradigm of development in this country. On the one hand, it found their education levels to be quite low and found that comparatively, African youth were the most disadvantaged group as regards to educational opportunities which then implied that prospects for a life of quality, particularly in relation to job opportunities and general living standards, remained a major concern in respect of a large proportion of youth in South Africa, given their low level of education.

Furthermore, in terms of the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those who were not actively seeking employment, 40,9% youth were unemployed at the time of Census '96, and the heavy burden of unemployment was severest among the African, female and rural youth. The overall labour force participation rate for the youth (between the ages 15-35) was lower than in the 36-65 age group. Of the employed youth, most African and female youth were employed in the elementary, services and sales related jobs which did not require higher and sophisticated levels of skills. These trends also then affected income as nationally, only 4,5% of youth reported earning salaries in excess of R3 500 per month by 1996.

In conclusion, the Statistics South Africa then remarked that because of the deprivation trap' a large percentage of youth lived in poverty, which then made them, especially the female youth, vulnerable and powerless regarding the decision and choices pertaining to the quality of their own lives.

Ten years since 1994, the question is what is the situation of young people and what are the challenges that still face them! The hallmark of the previous decade was the attainment and consolidation of freedom and democracy in our country, which, whilst it ushered in enormous political and social changes, unlocked many opportunities that had not existed before. Freedom is priceless! Today, as young people, we may freely to explore and express ourselves, without concern about censure and imprisonment, through sport, arts, education, culture and others.

New opportunities have been opened for us to participate in arts, sports, culture and recreation, to enter the terrains we had never been exposed to or allowed to participate in. Today, one can watch home-grown soapies on TV, community arts in theatres, root for our township boys playing for big European soccer teams, and dance to kwaito every weekend.

At the same time, freedom created the possibilities for us to enhance our knowledge and skills, through an integrated human resources development strategy and embark on a comprehensive and integrated skills development strategy, resulting, among others, in the improvement in the quality of public education, the transformation (albeit inadequate) of higher education and the re-definition of further education and training.

This expansion of skills, together with affirmative action, provided enormous opportunities to the black youth who can now enjoy a wide spectrum of career choices and opportunities, resulting in an increasing layer of professionals amongst the black youth.

Today, 90% children between 7 and 15 years of age to attend school and conditions for matric results to improve especially in black schools has drastically improved, resulting in improving results. The availing of R850 million benefiting about 700 000 historically disadvantaged students has decisively reversed the grave effects of apartheid on the black youth, providing our youth with greater chances for education and skills attainment

The provision of water, electricity and basic services to millions of households, freed millions of youth, especially rural young women, from the burden of disease, stunted growth and danger as they walked miles on foot to forests and dams, across dangerous plains, carrying heavy water containers and loads of wood on their heads. If you always had electricity and a water pipe running into your home, you would take this for granted.

The creation of the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund raised the profile of youth needs, legitimised a youth-focused development paradigm, resulted in the integrated youth development framework, and the establishment of the equity fund to expedite skills and enterprise development among youth. Today, 88 159 young people have been empowered in one or the other UYF programme. More must and will still be done.

One of the observations of the Census '96 was that there was a high prevalence of early parenthood among, in particular the African youth because of many objective reasons. To rescue the children born of these unemployed parents from poverty, malnutrition and high infant mortality and other diseases, the government provided the child support grants.

All this means that there is an entire generation of South Africans that is growing up without knowing the oppression and injustices of the past. Gradually, the centuries of colonial and apartheid injustice are being unravelled. But, the greatest challenge that remains facing this country's youth has to do in the main with reversing their economic marginalisation, in order to integrate them into the mainstream productive economy. This requires that their skills be drastically improved, and they be engaged in the economy through job creation and entrepreneurship development programmes that would target and benefit young people. The R100 billion set aside for the expanded public works programme must target youth, especially as they constitute the largest sector of the unemployed, that is, 73.8%. This should assist permanently to reverse the effects of apartheid colonial policies, and to raise a new cadre of South African revolutionary that contributes skills, knowledge and patriotism to build our country.

** Gigaba is ANC Youth League President and a member of the ANC National Executive Committee.

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