Durban, 16 June 2006
ANC Provincial Chairperson and Premier of the Province, Sbu Ndebele, ANC NEC members, SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande COSATU General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi And the entire Alliance leadership, ANC YL President, Fikile Mbalula ANCYL NEC Members and the entire youth formations, ANCWL Secretary General, Bathabile Dlamini Representatives for Ujosari from Western Sahari, Deplomatic core present, Comrades and Friends
We meet during one of the most important days on the calendar of our country, a day on which we remember and celebrate the determination, heroism and bravery of our youth. Each year when we remember the heroes and heroines, who fell in Soweto on 16 June 1976, we emerge with renewed vigor and a deeper sense of purpose, to achieve all the goals they had in mind when they risked their lives for the freedom of our land.
We have come a long way since that fateful day, when children stood up against the apartheid security forces and made it clear that they would chart their own future.
On such a day we recall and appreciate that the freedoms we now enjoy did not come about through some goodness of the hearts of the oppressor, but the blood, sweat, tears and supreme sacrifice of our people. We are today drawing strength from the life of Hector Peterson and all the children and youth who lie buried throughout our country, as young soldiers and innocent victims who fell in the struggle for the liberation of our country.
We take our hats off in memory of those who disappeared, such as Mbuyisa Makhubu known to all as the young man carrying the lifeless body of Hector Petersen in the famous picture shot by photographer Sam Nzima. Their families should find peace and solace in the fact that the masses of our people acknowledge and deeply appreciate the role they played in liberating our land.
Comrades, I am reminded of the statement that the ANC issued in exile on the 26 August 1976, inspired by the heroism of the youth of our country.
We said and I quote:
"Demonstrations and acts of resistance in Soweto and other parts of the country are, therefore, not riots by anti-social elements but blows for liberation by an oppressed people. They are not passing disturbances by adventurous and misguided students but an integral part of the continuing and irrepressible liberation struggle of our people. Our youth have raised this struggle to new heights. They have enriched our revolution. The struggle continues.'' end quote.
Comrades and Young Lions, this is a special year because we commemorate a number of important historical milestones. You will recall comrades that we said in our January 8 Statement that we will mark these anniversaries in order to re-emphasise the continuity of our struggle and underline the founding principles of our movement that must continue to inform our strategy and tactics during the current phase of the national democratic revolution.
These historic milestones include the Centenary of the anti-poll tax war, led by Inkosi Bhambatha kaMancinza in April 1906. The successful posthumous reinstallation of Inkosi Bhambatha to his throne this past Sunday, the 11th of June has restored dignity and rekindled the memories of this giant's bravery and officially confirmed his contribution to the fight against colonialism.
We also mark the 50th anniversary of the historic march by the women of our country on the Union Buildings. We also commemorate amongst others the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Joe Gqabi by agents of the apartheid regime in Harare Zimbabwe in 1981, the 25th anniversary of the Matola Massacre of 1981, during which the apartheid forces invaded Mozambique and attacked unarmed cadres of the ANC and MK, killing 16 of them and a Portuguese passer-by and the 20th anniversary of the death of President Samora Machel and 24 others in a still mysterious plane crash at Mbuzini in Mpumalanga.
We are also, comrades marking the centenary of the Mahatma Gandhi's civil disobedience campaign, Satyagraha. In April 1997 Cde Nelson Mandela led our country in restoring dignity to Mahatma Gandhi when the freedom of Pietermaritzburg was conferred upon the outstanding leader.
The anniversaries underline the fact that we are a people who have a rich history and traditions of struggle. A people with a history never lose direction or focus, and do not invent new missions and visions as they go along. They are guided by longstanding traditions. This history therefore guides us as we march forward to confront the challenges that face our country.
Cde Nelson Mandela reminded us of this important task in his address in Pietermaritzburg at the Gandhi freedom event in 1997 when he said and I quote: "As our people were the agents of their own liberation, defying oppression and deprivation, they are now critical to the programme of reconstruction and development, both as beneficiary and driving force'', end of quote.
These words, from an icon of our struggle, underline that as young people living in a country with such a rich history, you have a huge responsibility to make the freedom that your forebears fought for, to succeed. This you will achieve by working tirelessly to contribute to the national task of bringing about a better life and improved socio-economic conditions for all our people, especially the poorest of the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable.
There are a number of areas in which our youth can assist to take this new struggle forward. These include first of all building and strengthening the people's movement, the ANC in all corners of the country, as a stronger ANC means stronger and better programmes and delivery for our people.
Our youth must also participate actively in building a strong local government, fight crime and other social ills; priorities education and skills development and of course not lose sight of the fact that we are part of the African continent, through working with other progressive youth formations in the continent.
Strengthening governance In March this year we held a successful local government elections, and the task of rebuilding local government and community structures remains paramount. ANC municipal councilors cannot work in isolation from ANC branches, including those of the Youth League.
Our youth should therefore play an active role in ensuring the success of this sector. There are also simple measures and activities that may sound small, but which can immensely change the lives of the vulnerable in our communities.
For example, our youth can play a critical role in identifying and assisting the elderly who qualify for relief measures as allowed for in government's indigent policy. Many are not able to reach municipalities to fill in these forms, and are illiterate. As a result they may be affected by power and water cuts which could have been easily averted.
Our youth should also assist ANC local councilors in the executing the imperative of reporting back to communities. We saw many street battles between communities and councils in the past year and the common theme was the lack of report-back and interaction between the elected local government representatives and the people.
Most importantly, we urge our Youth to lead the fight against crime in our communities. Serious crimes such as hijackings and murder, violence against women and children, rampant common criminality such as burglaries - all continue to plague many communities regardless of colour, class or creed.
The community-police forums and other structures will succeed even more with the vigorous participation of our youth branches, to ensure the protection of communities from ruthless criminals.
Education The future is now. And now means our youth should not even for one minute undermine the importance of learning and education. We have set ourselves very serious development goals which require that our youth prepare themselves to manage the economy and development of this country.
Whilst, protests and activism will always be part of youth activity, but this should never be at the expense of education.
Let us also urge members of the Youth League who are at tertiary institutions to tutor younger ones at matric level and below. Let me re-emphasize that we pride ourselves in continuity, history and tradition. As we shouted "each one, teach one'' many decades ago, we repeat the call during this critical period of reconstruction and development.
Economic Growth and Development We emphasized on January 8 that we needed to achieve higher rates of economic growth in order to create the wealth and resources that will enable us to eradicate poverty and joblessness. We need to create opportunities, as we cannot continue with a situation where our youth graduate from tertiary institutions but stay in street corners due to the lack of jobs. Where breadwinners also stand in street corners waiting to be picked up by trucks as casual day workers.
While initiatives of assisting the youth exist, such as the Msobomvu Youth Fund, there are scores of young people who still fall between the cracks. This is therefore work in progress for both the Youth League and the entire Alliance. We must continue engaging each other on these questions to come out with strategies that can provide sustainable solutions.
Most importantly, we need to continue engaging one another on our country's empowerment model. The empowerment model that allows the few who are able to buy shares to be the only active participants in the economy amongst the historically disadvantaged of our country cannot be sustained. Our empowerment model must include diversification elements and must be mass based and driven and benefit all communities, as opposed to a few individuals. It must also create jobs and contribute to the common good of all.
Health Lifestyle Comrades, the struggle against HIV and AIDS continues in our country. Our country has one of the most comprehensive programmes of HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, support and research. I have campaigned and advocated for prevention, care, treatment and support for those infected and affected by HIV for many years, and will continue to do so, especially having learnt from my own recent error in this regard. I reiterate the message I had given to the youth of our country over the years. I urge you to heed the prevention messages, and protect yourselves from the disease, while also supporting those living with the disease, and fighting the stigma attached to it.
Let us heed the A.B.C prevention message. And I would like to add to these letters, letter T' for testing so that we can know our status. The disease can be defeated if we take the prevention messages to heart. I urge you to lead this struggle. As young soldiers, you cannot afford to fall in this battle. You are our hope and future.
Building the ANC
Comrades, we commemorate the sacrifices of our youth during a period when political commentators tell us that our movement is facing a crisis. We are bombarded by analysts telling us what is wrong with the ANC and how we should fix it. The ANC has always been able to analyse itself and find solutions to any challenges that confront it.
Some newspapers carry alarming headlines without fail, especially during weekends, sounding the death knell of this or that individual in the ANC.
Let me draw your attention again to this year's January 8 statement in which we highlighted three outstanding features of our struggle and movement, which must continue to guide us as we pursue our revolutionary struggle. These are that: · the conscious and organised masses are, and must continue to be, the makers of history; · historical reality demands that these masses should unite across race, class, gender and age divides to wage a united struggle on the basis of a common programme to achieve specified national democratic objectives; and, · Our movement for national liberation must continue to play its role as a leader of these masses, continuing to inspire their confidence because of the quality and commitment of its cadres and leaders and its loyalty to the people.
Therefore the task of building the ANC remains a standing obligation of all of us as members of the ANC and the entire Alliance. I would like to urge the youth to treat this milestone 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising as a clarion call to intensify efforts to build the ANC at all levels. Let us all work even harder to swell the ranks of our branches, to ensure that we have a strong membership properly politised to lead the revolutionary people's movement. An ANC that will continue to produce cadres from which people's leaders will emerge. Also important is that, the young lions should always remain mindful of the need to carry through the traditions and principles that have kept this movement together for the last 94 years.
As said earlier, we are a people with a rich history and traditions.
One of the fundamental principles that have defined the nature of the ANC is unity. It is the rock upon which this movement was founded, uniting all South Africans. As the history will show, our movement is the only political formation in this country that has carried out this task continuously and consistently with major successes during our struggle and also since the establishment of democracy more than a decade ago in our country.
We are proud of the fact that the movement remains non-racial and fiercely anti-tribalist and anti-factionalist, and has inherent mechanisms within it that enables it to survive other negative influences and practices such as factionalism.
Let us remain united and decisive in strengthening these values within our movement as they have stood the test of time, and will see this movement through for the next 100 years and more.
This movement continues to unite all in the pursuance of a better life, from the illiterate to eminent scholars, and from the poorest of the poor to the magnates.
What enables the ANC to successfully maintain such a diverse character is the principle of equality. All are, and should remain equal within the ANC. The ANC does not discriminate people interms of what they are, whether in their cultural background or customs, religious beliefs, gender, race, or ethnicity. On the contrary it promotes unity in diversity. This is what makes the ANC to be different from all political organizations and a real political home for all South Africans a real parliament of the poeple. These are the principles that our youth must take into the future.
Another principle we should guard at all cost is that of collective leadership. Our movement has never been about individuals. Historically the ANC has always managed to confront issues and overcome them and continue to lead, because it operates within the principle of collective leadership.
We also should once again rededicate ourselves to strengthening the Alliance. The struggle for freedom in South Africa has been a long and hard one, gallantly fought by our people ably led by their organizations in alliance with each other, the African National Congress at the centre, the South African Communist Party and the progressive labour movement from SACTU to COSATU.
The alliance therefore is not important for its sake but for the greater society for the role that it has played and which it continues to play in balancing the interests between the poor and the haves, within the context of the economic interests.
It is the alliance that must continue to promote healthy debate as one of the leading political forces in the country, which will help us to continuously defend and consolidate our democracy.
Comrades, in marking the Soweto uprising we also recall that our struggle was fought in many corners of our land and the world. We should also remember the solidarity, and friendship we received from our brothers and sisters in the continent and all over the world.
We will be reminded of this closely as we recall the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Joe Gqabi in Harare Zimbabwe, the cadres who fell at Matola in Maputo Mozambique, as well as the outstanding African patriot, Samora Machel, who fell in mysterious circumstances in Mbuzini in Mpumalanga province. Many sacrifices were made by the people of Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria and many other countries, as well as the Anti-Apartheid Movement abroad.
As Oliver Tambo pointed out in an address at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 16 December 1990, "the failure of these countries in anything would have been our failure. They hold our ground, and we are grateful.'' We urge the Youth League to deepen ties with the progressive youth movement in the continent, so that we move forward in a common direction. This is critical for the future. For example, stronger linkages between ANC and Frelimo youth, ANC and MPLA youth and others are an investment in the future of the progressive movement in this region and continent.
As the ANC we will continue to support the struggle for peace and renewal in the continent. Let us therefore wish the young people of the Democratic Republic of Congo the very best when they go through their first democratic election in many years, which will take place in July this year.
We must also as the Youth League salute the people of Burundi who will be receiving a Peace Award here at the Durban City Hall on the 25th of June. Peace in Burundi means a better future for the children and youth of that country.
In closing, I would like to again borrow from Cde Tambo, who strongly emphasized the unity and resilience of our movement at the 48th congress of our movement held in Durban in July 1991, where he handed over the Presidency of the ANC to Comrade Madiba. A Presidency that had been defined by crucial and critical moments as well as some of the most difficult challenges in the history of our movement, where the youth of our country organised under the ANC always played key and decisive roles.
Providing a report back to the people of South Africa on the movement's period in exile, this national hero said: "We did not tear ourselves apart because of lack of progress at times. We were always ready to accept our mistakes and to correct them. Above all we succeeded to foster and defend the unity of the ANC and the unity of our people in general. Even in bleak moments, we were never in doubt regarding the winning of freedom. We have never been in doubt that the people's cause shall triumph."
You must know that it is a fact we cannot deny that the ANC Youth League since its formation in early forties has always played a vital role in the life of the ANC in many different ways, from influencing policies and programmes in their formulations and implementation stages including the arm struggle. It has always vigorously defended these policies and programmes.
The youth of our country has historically and consistently played a role in every key moment of our struggle, when the ANC called for the defiance of the unjust laws in the fifties the youth of this country which was called 'Ovukayibambe' was there, when we engaged in the door to door campaign which led to the congress of the people that adopted the freedom Charter, the youth of this country was there, when we engaged in the National campaigns of boycotts and stay aways, the youth of this country was there, when we engaged in the arms struggle the highest forms of our liberation struggle our youth was there, when we called on the people of this country to make the country ungovernable and structures of apartheid unworkable, the youth of this country which Comrade OR' called the young lions was there.
The youth of this country has always played an effective role to advance the course of our people. You must continue to be at the cutting edge of our current struggle of deepening at the same time defending our freedom and democracy, which is appropriately articulated in our country's constitution. But always remember that to carry out this noble task, you must strengthen the peoples organization the ANC' without fear or favour for it is the ANC that can guarantee the future of our freedom and democracy.
Therefore, Comrades, the ANC of Dube, Gumede, Seme, Luthuli, Tambo and others, will lead and live long after each one of us is gone because of the legacy upon which it is built, which gives it its unique characteristics and strength. It will triumph as it has always done for the last 94 years.
Our youth will also triumph in all endeavors to build a brighter future for themselves and all future generations, in memory of the gallant fighters of June 16, 1976! Amandla!