Hon House Chairperson, it was A K Soga, the editor of the small-town newspaper Izwi Labantu, who said, and I quote:
Equal rights for all south of the Zambezi is the motto that will yet float at the masthead of this new ship of state which has been launched under the Union, and no other will be permanently substituted while there is one black or coloured man of any consequence or self-respect in the country or any white man who respects tradition of free government. So help us God.
Upon the Union of South Africa in 1910, Soga warned that until all South Africans of different races, identities and cultures were recognised as citizens and shared in the development of the country, and until all could vote, there would be no peace and no unity in the country.
At the time, it seemed that equal rights for all were an impossible dream. Even after the birth of the ANC, in 1912, it would take some 50 years to begin to break the stranglehold of legalised racism, segregation and separate development. Throughout the various struggles for freedom endured by the majority of the people of this country the overriding principles and values of the ANC and its founding fathers and mothers remained ever relevant. As articulated by Pixley ka Isaka Seme in October 1911, I quote:
The demon of racialism, the aberration of the Xhosa-Fingo feud, the animosity that exists between the Zulus and the Tongas, between the BaSothos and every other native must be buried and forgotten. It has shed among us sufficient blood. We are one people.
This focus on unity, peace and reconciliation and its attainment has consistently been at the forefront of our journey towards freedom, led by the ANC. It is not surprising that the leaders who emerged out of this glorious movement claimed the vacant space in this country during the dark days of apartheid and beyond - of unifiers, bringers of freedom, soldiers of reconciliation and preachers of forgiveness.
One such man, who embodied all of these, was our iconic leader, Nelson Mandela. His "uncommon humility", as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, called it, provided us with a leader whose story we all know so well; a true servant of the people, in word and in deed.
The "uncommon humility" we have all come to recognise in him is in the oft- repeated assertion that all that was accomplished was because of many countless others and not him. He believed it was the collective who should be given the credit and lauded, not him. However, he acceded to being the face of the democratic struggle when called upon to do so. As he knew, it was necessary to rally the troops, internally and externally, to strengthen the fight against apartheid.
In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, he states that he never much cared for personal prizes. He said:
A man does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards, but when I was notified that I had won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize ... I was deeply moved. The award was a tribute to all South Africans, and especially to those who had fought in the struggle; I would accept it on their behalf.
He was amazingly practical and forthright. Upon criticisms of his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize together with apartheid's last President, F W de Klerk, he countered the accusations by simply stating that, and I quote: "I never sought to undermine Mr De Klerk for the practical reason that the weaker he was, the weaker the negotiation process." He further added, and I quote: "To make peace with an enemy, one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes your partner."
On the election campaign trail in 1994, he believed it was important to ensure that people understood the realities of what it would take to transform and develop the country and that it could not be done overnight. He challenged blacks to understand and have patience, and he was clear that he would not patronise them. He was adamant that the government could not do all for the people, but that they would have to join hands in their own development. He also reassured whites that they were South Africans too and that this was their land as well - although sometimes they don't listen.
When he saw the election process being derailed, he knew it needed every bit of strength he could muster to get it back on track. He stated at a rally in March 1994, and I quote: "I will go down on my knees to beg those who want to drag our country into bloodshed."
His belief in ubuntu was present in all his actions and deeds. In 2006, Madiba explained his view of the African spiritual ethic, ubuntu, in an interview with a South African journalist, and I quote:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
He was a great believer in the power of the human spirit and that of the community and while he supported self-enrichment, his view was that enrichment should be for the benefit of one's community and fellow man. Ubuntu helped to shape Madiba during each of the significant stages in his spiritual development: his Xhosa childhood; during his formative years at various stages of his education and profession; his political development before and during his incarceration; and his embracing of his oppressors.
Madiba's vision, shaped by his African heritage, his missionary education, the oppression of his people in the land of their birth and his incarceration on Robben Island, moulded the man and his singular vision. He articulated this in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, and I quote:
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken away from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
Madiba often stated that he joined the struggle with no illusions. He knew what the ultimate price was and was willing to pay it. His integrity and honour were such that when in January 1985 he was offered his conditional freedom - the condition being that he unconditionally rejected violence as a political instrument - he rejected the offer with no hesitation. He then stated, and I quote:
I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. Too many have died since I went to prison. Too many have suffered for the love of freedom. I owe it to their widows, to their orphans, to their mothers and to their fathers, who have grieved and wept for them ... But I cannot sell my birthright, nor am I prepared to sell the birthright of the people to be free. Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts ... I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. I will return.
Once more, his calling on his belief in ubuntu demonstrates the axiom of "I am because we are".
His vision of a country belonging to all who live in it surpassed the idea of national liberty, and people from across South Africa's religious and racial divides gravitated towards his visionary leadership.
A further influence in his idea of racial harmony for the country was the Satyagraha, loosely translated as "insistence on truth", the belief of Mahatma Gandhi, which freed India in 1947. Since Gandhi also lived and worked in South Africa for many years, from 1893 to 1914, his emancipatory vision greatly influenced Madiba.
Madiba also paid tribute to the Methodist Church and its role in his life. He credited the Methodist Church for their record of commitment to the development of Africa's sons and daughters in more areas than one. The great institutions of learning, which spread from the Rev William Shaw's chain of mission stations in this region, shaped the minds and characters of generations of our people, as well as many of our present leaders. Mandela believed that the religious community played a central role in the founding and evolution of the ANC, and particularly leaders such as Calata, Mahabane and Maphikela, as well as Abdullah Abdurrahman and Mahatma Gandhi.
In December 1999, Madiba declined going on a visit to the United States because he wanted to address the World Parliament of Religions. He acknowledged the contributions of the various religions in the country to the freedom that we enjoy today. It is therefore fitting that we should take this opportunity to give Madiba credit for the formation of the National Interfaith Council of SA, which brings together all religious people in this country. It is even more fitting that we should take this opportunity to credit Madiba for the adoption of the Bill of Responsibilities by the Department of Basic Education and also the campaign that Legal Education and Development, Lead SA, has embarked on together with the department to ensure that the morality of our people is restored from the school level to community level.
In conclusion, in this paper I brought to the fore the values that Madiba stood for. We must heed the words of Seaparankwe Andrew Motlokoa Mlangeni, who said on 18 July that we can become a great country only if we can emulate our Isithwalandwe Nelson Mandela. I hope that this is the way we will go to ensure that we entrench and deepen this democracy. I thank you, hon House Chairperson, for the opportunity to address this august House. [Applause.]
Hon House Chairperson, hon members, President Nelson Mandela is a giant of our nation, both in standing and in character. By honouring him, we honour the deepest well of our national character. He led us through triumphs and tragedies, disasters and setbacks. In his public life, he also bore down on the platitudes of society. His knowledge of human tragedy, fortified by the sacrifice of years of imprisonment, shielded him from self-deception and hollow praise.
This is something we should all reflect on. If he were here today, I believe former President Mandela would be disappointed that we have not done more to solve the problems that he highlighted in his last speech to this Parliament in May 2004. He opened his address with a question:
What do I wish for our democracy in this second decade that we have entered?
We are only two years from completing this second decade of democracy. The challenges, Mr Mandela said, were unmistakably clear: poverty, preventable disease and ill health, and other forms of social deprivation. It was significant that Mr Mandela placed these problems directly within the context of the work of this Parliament. Democracy, he insisted, "must bring its material fruits to all, particularly the poor, the marginalised and vulnerable". He went on: "Our belief in the common good ultimately translates into a deep concern for those that suffer want and deprivation of any kind."
On this occasion, Mr Mandela also said:
Let us never be unmindful of the terrible past from which we came - that memory not as a means to keep us shackled to the past in a negative manner, but rather as a joyous reminder of how far we have come and how much we have achieved.
Yet, too frequently, we open up the divisions of the past and seek to use them against each other.
In order to protect and promote Mr Mandela's vision, Parliament must play a bigger role and work to a much higher standard. His legacy is greater and more profound than the political contestation between the parties represented here. Despite our partisan differences, we have an obligation to work towards common objectives.
It is easy for us to stand here and deliver honeyed words, yet "sincerity is subject to proof". Why hold this debate here today if we do not heed President Mandela's injunction and his call to service? There can be no better tribute to him than if we take our task of representation and public service seriously. President Mandela elegantly said of the work of this Parliament: "Yours is the almost sacred duty to ensure government by the people under the Constitution."
Perhaps this is the time for each one of us to ask if we need to reacquaint ourselves with Mr Mandela's vision. When we weigh the gravity of each sentence of his speech, it is hard not to conclude that we, in many respects, have regressed.
The theme of constitutional democracy was woven into every line of Mr Mandela's 2004 address. It was based on the understanding that economic and social progress could not be made without being attuned to the content and spirit of democracy.
Last month, South Africans put aside 67 minutes to honour Mr Mandela's example of public service. We, in this House, however, are held to a much higher standard. We are expected to work unceasingly, every day and every hour, to make manifest the promises contained in the Constitution and to build our democracy.
Our former President did not allow power to use him; rather, he used power. Power especially corrupts those who think they deserve it. Yet, while power tends to corrupt, Mr Mandela's legacy demonstrates that public service cleanses. Every day, he observed, the opportunity to exercise leadership presents itself. He used the power of his office to challenge the frontiers of the mind, and of institutions. He questioned the difference between people's words and actions. Mr Mandela asked friends and strangers alike to face up to tough choices.
If we were fortunate enough to have President Mandela leading us today, I believe he would say that we cannot have reconciliation without education and jobs for the first generation of young people who have come of age since 1994. I have no doubt that getting the nation to work would be Mr Mandela's first priority today, and that job creation would be the overarching template of his administration.
President Mandela would, if he were in office today, seek to change hearts and minds so that South Africans, especially young people, start to ask what they can do to help create more opportunities for more people. He believed education and innovation would bring lasting change. Let this, and not self-congratulation, be the touchstone by which we measure our endeavours in this Parliament. I reaffirm the DA's commitment to upholding President Mandela's legacy in word and deed.
On behalf of the DA, it is my great honour to wish him a happy 94th birthday, here in the Parliament that he did so much to help build.
Veels geluk, Tata, met u verjaarsdag. [Congratulations on your birthday, Tata.] Mahlatse le mahlogonolo, Ntate Madiba. [We wish you all the best, Madiba.]
Mpilo nde, Tata. [May you have a long life, Tata.]
Unwele olude Kuwe, Tata. [May you have many more years to come, Tata.]
I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, today we say, "Take action, inspire change and make every day Mandela Day." Nelson Mandela continues to rally the people of our rainbow nation, as he termed us, like no one else. He has been the great reconciler and outstanding nation-builder for our country. During his inaugural address, he implored us to "act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation-building, for the birth of a new world."
The foundation he laid for national unity is one that we have to build on to achieve a common national identity. In his inaugural address, he also laid out the roadmap for the nation:
Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for glorious life for all. All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world.
The task he envisioned for himself and for us requires continuous attention, belief and commitment. Therefore, the renewed call to take action, inspire change and make every day Mandela Day deserves our lifelong and wholehearted support.
However, what does this mean? In Cope, we believe that to make every day Mandela Day we have to commit to actions that celebrate all our cultures and are moral, selfless and decent so that we inhabit the moral plane that Nelson Mandela occupied. The outcome of making each day Mandela Day has to be fully regenerative for our society.
Our own history of struggle shows that when good people commit themselves to a worthy cause, the impossible is made possible. We can also learn valuable lessons from the histories of other people. In this regard, I wish to refer to the rule of Chinese Emperor Ch'eng T'ang, founder of the Shang Dynasty in the 18th century BC. On his bathtub were inscribed the words, "Day by day, make it new." For Mandela Day to be a meaningful initiative, we too have to adopt the adage, "Day by day, make it new".
The shine of the Mandela presidency is endangered now. As a country, we are regressing in many ways from those halcyon days. The need to protect all the gains of our constitutional democracy and the human rights that go with them must therefore be made into a high priority for all of us.
From ancient texts we learn that a Tang dynasty arose in ancient China and was characterised by such astute statecraft that it stands out in the annals of history. The civil service examination of the Tang dynasty, 3 800 years ago, was so refined that its basic form was used up to the 20th century. In later years, however, Hsan-tsung succeeded to the throne. Unfortunately, he was so besotted with a woman that he neglected his duties. In a short while, the woman's friends and family members were appointed to government. Government then became a family thing. One of the woman's brothers quarrelled with the general, An Lu-shan, and this led to a war and the rapid collapse of the state.
Leaders of government must serve as role models so that the legacy of Nelson Mandela, which is now under threat, lives on in the lives of every one of us. Let us, day by day, keep the gloss on those values so cherished by Nelson Mandela. Thus, through our actions, we too will inspire change among ourselves, our fellow citizens and everyone else in the world.
Siyakhahlela Madiba, Ngqolomsila, Vela babenjalo. Enkosi. [We salute you Madiba, Ngqolomsila, Vela bebenjalo.] Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon members, on 18 July, universally referred to as Mandela Day, the citizens of South Africa of all races, from different cultures and backgrounds, men and women, young and old, came out in great numbers to perform good deeds within communities. They did so to mark this occasion and celebrate the magnanimous leadership that Mr Mandela provided with his contemporaries, including Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and the hon Andrew Mlangeni, to mention a few. They also did so to honour the sacrifices he made and the suffering he endured, with his contemporaries, during the liberation struggle of the black people from the yoke of repressive apartheid rule in South Africa.
There may well be those of our citizens and political leaders who remembered this day with prayers, meditation, simple well-wishes and even fond memories. Here I have in mind Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who once courageously and selflessly campaigned for the release of Mr Nelson Mandela and his colleagues from prison. I also include the leadership of the PAC - then it was Mr Zephania Mothopeng - at a time when it was treason just to utter the name of Mandela.
We would have rejoiced further if ours was a case of a reconciled people, individually and collectively building an equal, peaceful and morally just society and state. The courageous volunteerism on the part of South Africans will no doubt have given rise to other perspectives. For instance, there must have been those in our society who pondered that we have made an error of political judgement in allowing Mr Mandela to serve only one five- year term as the first President of a liberated South Africa, primarily because he introduced the unique but fundamental idea of reconciliation and nation-building. To this day, this remains a categorical imperative for the peaceful coexistence of the different races and peoples of South Africa. Unfortunately, the successive Presidents did not find this idea a priority to be pursued with the necessary vigour it required.
There must also have been those who argued that the demons of colonialism and apartheid were so deeply entrenched in the South African psyche that even more than one term of a Mandela administration would not have made absolute the exorcism of this legacy of demons.
At present, the South African society is faced with menacing social, political and economic challenges threatening to derail peace and stability. Of note is the formidable resurgence of racial animosities and discrimination hiding behind the cloak of some form of expression or another. [Time expired.]
Hon Chairperson, Madiba's life and the values he fought for have inspired not only South Africans but, in fact, the entire world. We can see this every year in the actions that people take to celebrate his selfless devotion to bettering the lives of those living in poverty. Unfortunately, the only people who do not seem to be inspired by his legacy are this present government. The stark failings in our education system and the inability of this government to ensure that all young people have opportunities to take up jobs in this economy are a sad betrayal of everything that Madiba fought for.
As we stand here today, on the verge of destroying the dreams and the legacy of our former President Nelson Mandela, I am reminded of the words of journalist Amanda Ngudle when she wrote: "Perhaps this is what diminished the Mandela legacy: He planted the seeds, but his successors didn't water the trees."
Chairperson, what can I say in one minute about this great man? The eighteenth of July is a very special day on our national calendar. It is the day when the first democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa, our struggle icon, Tata Nelson Mandela, celebrates his birthday.
In this parliamentary debate on Dr Mandela, I take this opportunity to belatedly wish Madiba a happy 94th birthday. Possibly one of the greatest moral and political leaders of our time, Madiba championed reconciliation among South Africa's deeply divided races with considerable ease. He premised our young rainbow nation on the principles of respect, selfless service to others and ubuntu.
Madiba was generous in spirit and he tried to give back as much as possible. To honour him, we should lead our people with integrity and work together to change South Africa for the better. Dr John Maxwell explains the principle of integrity, adherence to which would make every day Mandela Day, as follows: "Integrity commits itself to character; our personal gain ..." [Time expired.]
House Chairperson, long live Madiba! Long live! It is an honour for me today - I thank God - to speak about a great freedom fighter, a volunteer-in-chief, a commander-in-chief, a political strategist and a revolutionary. It is an honour for me to speak about Madiba, a man that I knew through a song sung by Miriam Makheba, entitled Nongqongqo (To Those We Love), a banned song that my father played for me. I want to say today that Madiba was known as a terrorist until 1990. That was when people realised that Madiba was a person. He was a terrorist to those who today praise him like he is their own.
I want to say that it is time for this Parliament to honour Madiba. I believe it is time for us to have a statue of Madiba outside Parliament, at the entrance there, because he is the man who brought this freedom that we speak about in the democratic Parliament. There is still space for Gen Louis Botha, perhaps next to Queen Victoria on the side, but it is time for Madiba to represent the real Parliament. I pray for these processes that are happening through the Minister of Arts and Culture to start so that when Heritage Day comes ...
... uMadiba sakube singena emnyango sijonge yena, hayi lo singamaziyo [... we can see Madiba when we enter through the door, not this one, whom we do not even know.]
I am reminding this House, because we should not lose sight of the fact that this country has a history - a very painful history - and deep scars that still show. Today, there are those who wish to appropriate the name of Mandela and claim that they are the true proponents of his legacy. This has more to do with political parties struggling to have an identity or whose philosophy is the replica of the deep-seated conservatism, which claims history and even relates the importance of their party to something that rewrites and distorts their history.
I want to quote Mandela as a strategist and as a negotiator when he, responding to P W Botha's killing of the children of Soweto in 1985 by sending his daughter Zinzi to the rally in Orlando Stadium - that was my first experience of a rally then - said:
What freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned?
Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.
Out of that pain, we must build a new society that Mandela had a vision of long before he was incarcerated on Robben Island as the leader of the ANC and the oppressed masses. [Interjections.] I wish you would listen because I am giving you a political education here. Madiba directed us to move in that direction in his inauguration address in 1994, when he declared that -
out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
We are speaking of a President who, at the time, brought the issues of women, the youth and children under the Presidency, to nurture and support them. Mandela was a freedom fighter. The role that Madiba played in the Defiance Campaign was depicted in how he carried himself as the chief volunteer. He was a founding member of the ANC Youth League in 1944, something that brought change and led to the Defiance Campaign. The strategy was to be repeated for decades to follow in the liberation struggle.
Madiba was also instrumental in the preparations for the drafting and adoption of the Freedom Charter by the Congress of the People - the real one - in 1955. This resulted in him being requested to author the M-Plan by the ANC leadership, a strategy document on how the ANC could operate underground, given the repression. Dubbed the M-Plan, Madiba's strategy proposed the reorganisation of ANC branches into small cells to enable the leadership to maintain dynamic contact with the membership without calling meetings.
Madiba moved up to the north and joined the military wing of the ANC, uMkhonto weSizwe. The rules were clearly defined: sabotage strategic outposts to scare away foreign capital and weaken the economy so as to force the government into talks. Madiba was the first commander-in-chief of uMkhonto weSizwe. He left the country illegally and visited Ethiopia and Algeria. He received his military training in Algeria.
When it was launched, MK issued its historic manifesto with these timeless words:
The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom.
The first meeting between President Mandela and the National Party government took place in 1985, when he met the then Minister of Justice, Kobie Coetsee, in the Volks Hospital while Madiba was recovering from surgery. Over the next four years, a series of tentative meetings took place, laying the ground for further contact and further negotiations. It was Madiba who demanded the release of four political prisoners from Robben Island: Mr Matthew Meyiwa, Mr Elphas Mdlalose, Mr Anthony Xaba, and Mr John Nene. They had been left behind when Comrades Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and the others were released.
After a lot of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, on 2 February 1990, President De Klerk announced Madiba's release in Parliament. It was a massive victory for the ANC and its allies. The release of Mandela in 1990, the freeing of other prisoners, and the unbanning of the organisation was not a miracle, as is commonly believed, but the product of strategies and revolution. It was a day of joy in South Africa. The black messiah was out to save his own people.
As the first President of the democratically elected government, President Mandela was an exceptional President for both the ANC and the government. He carried the values and policies of the ANC to his task in government, promoting national reconciliation, forgiveness and national unity. He was truly the President South Africa needed during that fragile transition period. We are also grateful to Madiba for laying a firm foundation for the transformation of our country during the first 10 years of democracy, five of which were under his leadership. A total of 789 laws or amendments aimed at reconfiguring South African society by removing apartheid laws were approved by this Parliament.
In conclusion, I want to say happy birthday, Tata uMadiba, on your 94th year, and we pray that God may keep you for many more years. On this day, we are called upon to display the same selfless characteristics of dedication, commitment and loyalty to Madiba that he has shown to the nation. Madiba was made by the ANC; he will always remain a member of the ANC, and let us make the 67 minutes not only a July month issue but a daily issue.
House Chairperson, from the beginning the ACDP has been one of the parties that called on everybody for every day to be Mandela Day; where helping others would become a way of life, because we all agree that Mandela's exemplary leadership of caring for others should spur us all on to do more. We should also move away from greed, selfishness, nepotism, corruption and the temptation to care only for our own communities while neglecting others.
It is in light of the above that I find plans to spend more than R1 billion of taxpayers' money on building a new town in Nkandla to be reckless and insensitive to the suffering of our people. Millions of South Africans still do not have access to basic services, such as water, proper sanitation and electricity, and thousands of schoolchildren still do not have textbooks and school buildings. Former President Mandela cared for all the people of this country and not just for those from Qunu or the Eastern Cape. Therefore, the ACDP calls on this government - which is planning to do something that, I believe, Mr Mandela would not want us to do - to stop the plan that they are trying to implement and rather use that money to build more much-needed schools and houses for the homeless and to give all our people access to clean water, proper sanitation and electricity.
House Chairperson, this is one the few debates that I absolutely enjoy taking part in, and I enjoy listening to many of my colleagues' inputs. This is because, even if for just one day, this is a day when we all try to make a concerted effort to be nice and positive. There is little or no bickering at all on this day, as we all acknowledge the magnificent, larger-than-life Dr Nelson Mandela.
Today I particularly like the chosen theme of taking action, inspiring change and making every day Mandela Day. This choice of words on its own befits his legacy. He indeed continues to inspire the world to change the status quo on suffering. True to the theme, I would like to challenge myself and the House by quoting Maria Robinson:
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. I say we need to start today, making each and every day Mandela Day for ourselves, for our children and for our generations to come. I believe that South Africans are most privileged to be able to claim Madiba, a world- renowned, outstanding leader, a pioneer for peace and forgiveness, a principled statesman, as one of our own. The many ideas of maintaining his legacy, that is to say the 67 minutes on Mandela Day, the 46664 concerts, etc, are all wonderful ideas that not only preserve his legacy but propel us to be better human beings, to be co-caring citizens and to lead our lives with conscience. The many initiatives that have sprung up across the country, where ordinary individuals have taken the time, effort and resources to contribute to change, signify how far we have been inspired by this noble man into being better citizens and better individuals. We are a nation that continues to grow and to move forward. Even when we stumble, we are still moving forward. [Applause.]
Mohl Modulasetulo, mokgatlo wa PAC o re go Mna Mandela: O gole o kake tlou, t?hukudu go wena e be mo?imanyana. Re leboga ge o t?ama o re ruta ditaola leetong la go ya bagologolong; o re ruta gore let?at?ing le lengwe le le lengwe re ?omele set?haba ka potego le boikgafo, ka lerato le mafolofolo le ka boikokobet?o le hlompho. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Mr L M MPHAHLELE: Hon Chairperson, the members of PAC would like to say to Mr Mandela: May you live for many more years to come. We appreciate what we are learning from you; you are teaching us to always serve the nation with honesty, dedication, love, humility and respect.]
Heroes like Madiba are not meant just to be honoured. More importantly, heroes and heroines should be emulated because even scoundrels can honour their great heroes. Yet only the upright citizens emulate our heroes. Let our heroes be the nation's moral compass.
Ukhule kodwa ungakhokhobi Ngqolomsila, Zondwa ziintshaba zingenakwenza nto, Vela bembhentsele. Enkosi. [May you have many more happy returns, Ngqolomsila, Zondwa ziintshaba zingenakwenza nto, Vela bembhentsele. Thank you.]
Hon House Chair, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, it is my most singular honour to participate in the debate to celebrate the father of our nation, the world-renowned statesman, Isithwalandwe, Seapara nkwe [the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird], former President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
This debate takes place two days after we marked the arrest of President Mandela in 1962 by the then apartheid government. The arrest of President Mandela was seen as a victory by those who were opposed to the ideals of a free and democratic South Africa, which President Mandela stood for. They were of the view that the arrest of President Mandela would mark the end of our struggle against apartheid and the fight for a free and democratic South Africa.
Little did they know that all South Africans, and indeed the whole world, would embrace our struggle for national liberation - a struggle that President Mandela continues to symbolise to this day. To us, this is an indication that the struggle that President Mandela and his generation of freedom fighters symbolise was a just and noble one. It is therefore humbling that today those who at the time viewed President Mandela as a terrorist have now embraced what he and his generation of leaders have long called for.
As we honour President Mandela today, we equally honour many South African heroes and heroines, sung and unsung, and the many people of the world who stood by us in the struggle for a just, prosperous and democratic society, led by the ANC. This important debate also takes place in a month in which we celebrate the heroism and the many sacrifices of the women of our country.
As a nation, we have taken a conscious decision to celebrate the women of our country because of the historic nature of their oppression. This we have characterised as triple oppression, based on gender, class and race. Today, the women of our country continue to be burdened mostly by social and economic injustice and inequalities. We must therefore use this period to strengthen our resolve to advance gender equity and women empowerment. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!] [Interjections.]
This we must do, fully aware that, as a nation, our struggle will not be complete, our mission not accomplished and our goal not reached until we have secured the total emancipation of the women of our country. As we honour President Mandela, we must draw lessons from how this icon of our struggle for national liberation viewed the role of women in the reconstruction and development of the country.
Speaking on the occasion of Women's Day celebrations on 9 August 1996, President Mandela said:
The legacy of oppression weighs heavily on women. As long as women are bound by poverty and as long as they are looked down upon, human rights will lack substance.
President Mandela went on to say:
As long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a meaningful contribution to society, progress will be slow. As long as the nation refuses to acknowledge the equal role of more than half of itself, it is doomed to failure.
Informed by the commitment made by President Mandela, today, as the ANC, we have ensured that women are part, not only of government structures but of decision-making structures in government. We can be proud that the representation of women, even in this Parliament, increased from 27,8% in 1994 to 43,3% currently.
In provincial legislatures, it has increased from 25,4% to 42,4% over the same period. However, we are the first to admit that this is not enough. Working together with the rest of society, we must increase our efforts to ensure women's emancipation in decision-making structures in government and the broader society.
We therefore take this opportunity to also call upon the private sector to equally make a contribution to this important task of promoting gender equity and women empowerment. Together, we must not fail in this strategic task of ensuring that, as directed by President Nelson Mandela, more than half of us as a nation play an equal role in the growth and development of our society.
Last month, the people of South Africa, and indeed the people of the world, took part in activities to mark International Nelson Mandela Day. We take this opportunity to thank all South Africans who responded to the call to set aside time to be of service to fellow South Africans, especially those in need. Part of the activities undertaken to honour the legacy of former President Mandela this year were the cleaning and painting of schools, donating of books, and the handing over of houses in Zeerust in the North West. Going forward, we wish to urge South Africans not only to make every day Mandela Day but also to ensure that initiatives undertaken in honour of this icon of our people are meaningful and sustainable.
This debate also takes place after we convened a successful National Summit on Social Cohesion. Like the generation of President Mandela who convened a gathering in Kliptown in 1955 and adopted the Freedom Charter, the more than 1 000 delegates who attended the Social Cohesion Summit reaffirmed, once more, that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, united in their diversity. The summit also resolved that in order to realise the goal of a truly national democratic society, we must accelerate the pace of transformation in our society. This we must do in order to ensure that Africans in particular, and black people in general, become part of the mainstream of the economy.
In this regard, we are called upon to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities by, among other things, expanding access to employment and other economic opportunities for all the people of South Africa, especially the young people. As the ANC government we must do this in order to give meaning to the words of President Mandela, who said:
The purpose that will drive this government shall be the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, the continuous extension of the frontiers of freedom.
We must therefore renew our resolve to expand the frontiers of human fulfilment and the frontiers of freedom, so that we can realise the goal of creating a socially inclusive and prosperous society. Delegates to the National Summit on Social Cohesion agreed on a programme of action that would be implemented jointly by government, civil society, labour, business and all other stakeholders. This programme of action is aimed at assisting us as South Africans to make new and decisive advances towards the noble goal of one nation, one country, one people and a shared destiny that belongs to all.
Delegates to that historic summit also resolved to work together to build a society where there is respect, equality and human dignity for all. They resolved to promote freedom, the rule of law and democracy, to improve the material wellbeing of all citizens and to ensure economic justice. They further committed themselves to enhance sound family and community values; uphold honesty, integrity and loyalty; ensure harmony in culture, belief and conscience; show respect and concern for all people; strive for justice, fairness and peaceful coexistence; and also to protect the environment.
All of these commitments are reflective of the values that former President Nelson Mandela and his generation of leaders stood for and dedicated all their lives to. Indeed, these are the values that continue to guide the ANC, the organisation that President Mandela has made his home up to this day. This is the organisation that shaped who he is and the organisation to which he owes much of his personal growth and development as a freedom fighter. As part of preserving President Nelson Mandela's proud heritage, we are working with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory to digitally archive Madiba's life and times.
In conclusion, we believe this project will lead to greater access to the story of this great icon of our people. On this important day, I therefore want to end by saying, long live Madiba, long live!
HON MEMBERS: Long live!
Long live Nelson Mandela, long live!
HON MEMBERS: Long live!
Let us continue to make every day Nelson Mandela Day. Happy birthday, Tata Madiba! Aah! Dalibhunga! [We salute you, Dalibhunga!] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.