30 July 2009, University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Durban-Westville Campus
Programme Director;
Provincial Chairperson of the ANC and member of the National Executive
Committee of the ANC, Dr. Zweli Mkhize;
Veterans here present including,
Mama Fatima Meer;
Academics;
Professionals and students;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
A few days ago, I visited Lilliesleaf Farm, the house in Rivonia where the ANC high command was arrested in 1961.
Walking through the place and reading the Mayibuye document, the hand-written notes of Govan Mbeki, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada; the sense of a very united and strong collective of leaders was pervasive. On the same property is a truck, with a false bottom, commissioned by comrade Joe Slovo, to ferry arms to MK cadres.
The strength of the ANC is our ability to bring together people with diverse views and talents and create a movement with a vision to transform our society.
Nelson Rohlihlala Mandela is an outstanding example of how to lead within a collective.
It is an honour and a privilege for me to be here with you today as we celebrate the legacy of our national icon and hero of our people Nelson Mandela, on the occasion and the year in which he turns 91 years of age.
Chairperson, before I speak further about Nelson Mandela and his legacy, please allow me to say a few words in honour and tribute of another veteran, stalwart and hero of our struggle and our people the late Anton "Mfenendala" Xaba who passed on this week.
Comrade Mfenendala spent a combined twenty three (23) years of his life on Robben Island for his political beliefs and for fighting against apartheid.
As the ANC we want to send our sincere condolences and sympathies to the family, friends and comrades of Comrade Anton Xaba, we dip our revolutionary banner in tribute to Bab'uMfenendala, himself a fellow prisoner with Nelson Mandela in Robben Island.
Comrade Mfenendala will be remembered for his courage and dedication to our struggle, he served two separate terms in Robben Island first when he was arrested in 1963 and had to serve ten (10) years for being a member of a banned organisation, the ANC and uMkhonto we Sizwe. He was an excellent organiser and dedicated freedom fighter.
Programme Director;
The legacy of Nelson Rohlihlahla Mandela is one of building a nation, encouraging dialogue between people whose views may differ and investing in our youth
Madiba became an internationally recognized household name and a symbol of the freedom from oppression that millions of South Africans desired. His was the face and his plight as a political prisoner highlighted the immense suffering of the people, who lived in the homelands of apartheid, the children who received inferior education, the millions of women who were oppressed and the overbearing triple discrimination against women.
The leadership collectives from 1912 and, indeed, the collective of whom Madiba was one, had a singular purpose. They focused on the eradication of poverty, the restoration of the dignity of the majority of the people of this country and the re-inculcation of a human rights ethic, which was eroded by colonization and Apartheid.
Madiba's legacy and the collective leadership of OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Chief Albert Luthuli, Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Ahmed Kathrada, Dennis Goldberg and many, many others is the bedrock upon which the ANC of today rests.
The programme of action of the ANC developed in the early 1940s resulted in the formation of uMkhonto we Sizwe and the brilliant Mandela Plan mobilized millions of South Africans into the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s.
It is this programme of action that changed and revolutionized the ANC into a mass movement that became the hope of the people in their struggle against oppression. Nelson Mandela was at the core of those developments and was instrumental in transforming the ANC into the revolutionary movement that we know today.
Our country today is a much more complex place than it was in the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed, the terrains of struggle are different, but the vision and mission to unite South Africa into a single, yet diverse nation of people; a united country: non-sexist, non-racist and where democracy is deep-rooted remains unchanged.
In the last fifteen years, we have made much progress. We have seen 3,5 million people free and subsidized homes, providing shelter to 14 million people. Today, 80% of the population have access to electricity. Today, 88% of our people haveaccess to running water. Today, the ANC has pushed back the frontiers of povertyby providing access to social grants to 12, 5 million people. Today, workers have benefited from the passing of progressive labour legislation and introduction of social security benefits.
The ANC-led government has introduced laws to protect workers, create machinery to negotiate about remuneration and working conditions.
The past 15 years have also seen the ANC leading a struggle for gender parity and a policy has been implemented wherein which the ANC will have no less than 50% women in all our representative structures. In the past fifteen years, the ANC has created an atmosphere of peace and stability in our country and ended decades of political violence under apartheid.
The transformation of our economy remains a key challenge and the inequalities that exist between those who live in a first world economy and the majority of our people, who live in an under- and undeveloped economy will remain a source of tension. The ANC has begun to address this situation through progressive legislation, policies and practices. However, we are painfully aware that the majority of our people continue to live in conditions of severe poverty.
Our commitment to accelerate basic service delivery to all the citizens of this country may in itself create new challenges as we share the existing budget in an equitable manner.
The ANC is determined to review through an audit the performance of ANC councilors as well as the capacity of municipalities to deliver on the budgets that they approved within their own councils. This is not a punitive action, it is an action to ensure an improvement in our overall capacity to hold true to our commitment for better service delivery and a better life for all.
One of Nelson Mandela's greatest contributions since his release from prison was the mobilization of every sector of society to improve education and the conditions under which our children learn.
Whilst we have succeeded in increasing the rate of participation in primary and secondary schooling, especially for girls, and reduced overcrowding in schools and made many other gains in increasing access to education, much more needs to be done in this sector.
The ANC sees education as central to all our efforts to improve the lives of our people. There is undeniably a huge backlog in infrastructure development for education, particularly in rural areas. For this reason, we have made education one of five priorities and have divided the education system to be serviced by two ministers.
The 46664 Campaign led by the Nelson Mandela Foundation represent another legacy of Madiba's; namely the fight to reduce the prevalence of HIV that causes AIDS. We are committed to reducing the rate of new HIV infections by 50% not only through an aggressive prevention campaign, but also through expanded access to appropriate treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families.
The ANC is concerned with the state of many of our provincial hospitals and our demand to the Health Department has been that the conditions at all hospitals and clinics must improve. 1600 new clinics and 16 new hospitals have been built since 1994. We are committed to improving the quality and access to health services for all our people.
The ANC is committed to the introduction of a National Health Insurance system, which will be phased in over the next five years. The NHI will be publicly funded and administered and provide the right for all to access quality health care. The NHI will create a situation where health care will be free at the point of service.
Crime is a problem in our country. It is useful to compare our statistics with those of other countries, but the reality is that every victim of crime in our country bears trauma and loss. The ANC is determined to eradicate crime and corruption. The state bears the overall responsibility to address crime and especially, the increase in the use of illicit drugs such as tik and the adjoining criminal activities such as money laundering, drug and human trafficking. This will only happen where the state works in partnership with every single member of every single community.
On a related matter, we welcome the appointment of a no-nonsense police commissioner, who has extensive experience in dealing with issues of safety and security.
In conclusion, Madiba sought no glory and no accolades. He has been the epitomy of one who is selfless, forgiving, yet clear and resolute about what must be done to improve the lives of the people of our country. We must continue to follow his example in every way, every day.
Issued by:
African National Congress