Hon Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, special guests of the President in this House, distinguished members and guests of this Parliament, it was Madiba himself who said, in his 100-day speech to Parliament in 1994, that:
Down the years, human society has pitted itself against the pestilences of poverty, disease and ignorance. Progress has been achieved while reverses have also been sustained. It is incumbent on South Africa to be in the company of those who have recorded more success than failure.
Thus, in this debate, where we stand as public representatives to debate the budget of the Presidency, we do so in the public interest and by the mandate given to us by the millions of our people who want us to work towards the goal of a better life for all South Africans and contribute to the creation of a better South Africa and Africa.
From the outset, the ANC-led government identified nation-building and land restitution as part of the national agenda. When we gained freedom in 1994, we found a country that was divided into a black and white South Africa, where the black part was divided into ethnic groups which were arbitrarily defined and put into native reserves or Bantustans or homelands.
We also found black people who were de-Africanised and depersonalised to such an extent that they lost their self-respect, self-worth and self- esteem, culture of self-help and self-reliance, and the will for development and progress.
Right at the beginning of your term, hon President, you realised and acknowledged that the degradation and dehumanisation of our people was rooted in our dark and unjust colonial and apartheid past. You recalled that the recovery of the humanity of all South Africans, both black and white, has always been the cornerstone of ANC policy.
Hon President, you called on all South Africans to work together to build a South Africa based on the values and principles of our common humanity, ubuntu/botho. You also made the philosophy of ubuntu a pillar of our international relations and co-operation with other countries. The worldwide recognition that Africa is the cradle of humanity provides us with a unique opportunity to be a major role-player in nation-building and promotion of unity in diversity on the continent.
Hon President, you have already led the way when you pointed out the importance of the African heritage and indigenous knowledge system in nation-building and social cohesion. As you correctly observed, our society is made up of the African, Asian and European streams of history and culture, and all three streams must be protected and respected. Colonial oppression and exploitation caused underdevelopment and wounded the African psyche.
The democratic breakthrough of 1994 liberated the African body, not his/her mind and soul. Thus, our icon, Nelson Mandela, spoke of spiritual transformation as a prerequisite for social and economic transformation and defined spiritual transformation as the reconstruction and development programme of the soul.
The social ills, such as drug and alcohol abuse, the murder and rape of the elderly and teenagers, as well as teenage pregnancies, are a manifestation of the wounds of the psyche of black people in particular, which still need to be healed. The Moral Regeneration Movement that you launched in 2002, which is ably led by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, is an important part of nation-building.
Moral decay is rooted in our dark and unjust past and it is exacerbated by the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. As you correctly observed in your keynote address to the Summit on Social Cohesion and Nation-building held in Kliptown on 4 to 5 July 2012:
The challenges of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, landlessness and the divisions around race, class and gender make it difficult to arrive at a socially cohesive and united society as fast as we would want to. Our responsibility as government is to lead the South African people towards a national democratic society that is united, nonracial, democratic and prosperous. It is a society with a value system that is based on human solidarity and ubuntu which promotes a society which prioritises caring and respecting others.
Hon President, here you gave the country the clearest definition of the national democratic society that all of us must work hard to build.
Speaking at the same summit, Comrade Gwede Mantashe, the Secretary-General of the ANC, emphasised the importance of social cohesion and social solidarity in the following words:
Our "South Africanness", which we celebrate through our Constitution, is the glue which contributes to and binds social cohesion and nation- building, and therefore it is an important pillar in our unity in diversity.
Land dispossession has played a major role in creating the divisions and injustices of the past. The decision of your administration to accelerate land restitution and to reopen the process to enable those who failed to lodge claims by the cut-off date to do so will be a major contribution to social cohesion and nation-building. It will give meaning to the commemoration of the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913.
Chief Albert Luthuli correctly observed that the treatment of women as minors and the restriction of their access to land is not part and parcel of African culture. It is one of the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Women participated and led wars of resistance against colonialism and apartheid. Names that come to mind include Mbuya Nehanda of Zimbabwe, Queen Nzinga of Angola, Queen Mother Ntombi of Swaziland, Queen Manthatisi of Batlokwa and Queen Modjadji of Balovedu of Limpopo province.
The female leaders waged wars of resistance in defence of their land and sovereignty. [Applause.] As Parliament, we shall celebrate the lives and contribution of female leaders to the struggle for land and freedom. [Applause.] The contestation of our history has recently been taking centre stage, most notably because many would have us believe that our history began in 1652, when in fact our history goes back millions of years to the cradle of humankind, which is what Africa is.
Our story is told by those who could record it, not by those who lived it. The recent contestation of our beloved icon, Nelson Mandela, whose image with a fellow South African was appropriated by the DA to give legitimacy to their diluted and fragmented party history is a case in point. [Applause.] We find it distasteful to watch the vultures circle and opportunistically grab what they believe would make them shine whilst selectively airbrushing and in the process distorting our history. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
This fourth administration that you lead, hon President, has notched up many deliverables and improved on those since 1994. These are ensuring that access to primary and secondary education has been expanded to include almost the entire age cohort. A reception year has been introduced. Ten million people have been accommodated in formal housing. Primary health care has been expanded. Access to electricity and water has been significantly expanded. Enrolment in higher education has almost doubled. The economy has grown and is more diverse today than in 1993 and public revenues have increased.
Though divisions of race, gender and class remain, reflected in inequality across these lines, the ANC government's policies are ensuring that we steadfastly work to remove such inequalities. The acceleration of land restitution and the reopening of the land claims process are important steps in building a better life for all our people and a better Africa.
The recognition of Africa as the cradle of humanity provides us with a sound basis for the recovery of our common humanity and advancement of Pan- Africanism and the African Renaissance. The acceleration of land restitution and the reopening of the land claims process will go a long way towards healing the wounds caused by colonial land dispossession, colonial oppression and exploitation, and will thus contribute to the creation of a better life for all.
Hon President, your vigorous pursuit of progressive Pan-Africanism has yielded results. [Applause.] Today, we have a daughter of the soil, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, at the helm of the African Union Commission. [Applause.] Hardly a year after her elevation to the leadership of the Commission, the AU declared 2013 the "Year of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance".
Even the traditional naysayers in this House cannot deny that it was our own Pixley Isaka ka Seme who kindled the spirit of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance in South Africa, Africa and the diaspora. As South Africans and Africans, both black and white, we must celebrate this achievement in word and deed. We must join and light the flame of hope, and work together with Africa and her diaspora to create a better Africa and a better world.
We trust that the institutionalisation of the African Renaissance in the last 15 years by the former Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, hon Sibusiso Ndebele, will be emulated by other provinces and co-ordinated at the national level. As Parliament, we have instructed the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, the PGIR, to develop a year-long programme to celebrate Pan- African nationalism and the African Renaissance. We trust that Minister Ndebele will be an important player in this regard.
This morning, the multiparty Chief Whips' Forum agreed to the development of a year-long programme of dialogue and celebration of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance.
Hon President, your constructive engagement with traditional and religious institutions, and their involvement in Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance programme, will enhance your nation-building agenda and help to deepen and entrench democracy and the culture of human rights.
On the African continent, South Africa has become increasingly drawn into the resolution of conflicts and the promotion of peace and stability on the wider African continent, for instance, in Burundi; Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, and the Central African Republic, CAR.
The South African government should continue to play a positive and constructive role in conflict resolution, peace-building and deepening and entrenching democracy on the African continent, guided by the vision of an African continent that is peaceful, prosperous and democratic. Our foreign policy is premised on the principles of ubuntu, and the White Paper on South Africa's Foreign Policy that states:
This philosophy translates into an approach to international relations that respects all nations, peoples and cultures. It recognises that it is in our national interest to promote and support the positive development of others. Similarly, national security would therefore depend on the centrality of human security as a universal goal, based on the principle of Batho Pele. In the modern world of globalisation, a constant element is and has to be our common humanity. We therefore champion collaboration, co-operation and building partnerships over conflict. This recognition of our interconnectedness and interdependency, and the infusion of ubuntu into the South African identity, shapes our foreign policy.
The declaration of the recent 50th anniversary of the AU/OAU shares with us the commitment to accelerate the African Renaissance, a deepening and entrenchment of the principles of Pan-Africanism. It states that:
Our common destiny, our shared values and the affirmation of the African identity, the celebration of unity in diversity and the institution of the African citizenship ...
... must be aimed at -
... reviving our cultural identity, heritage and history.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary has called on the Pan-African Parliament and local and national legislatures to celebrate the Year of Pan- Africanism and the African Renaissance to enhance awareness of the new generation of Africans about the ideals of Pan-Africanism. This urges the public to be involved in the activities so that the gap between the people of Africa and the AU can be bridged with a view to sharing, rallying and uniting all behind common objectives and views.
Hon President, you have often spoken about an activist Parliament and government and about ensuring that the people are heard and that they actively participate. You stated, and I quote:
Government can't operate in isolation. It has to link up with the people and the people should also understand that this is their government. They must not be shy to take initiative, to interact with government in various ways and must be able to talk and say that things are not going right.
In your various visits to communities across the length and breadth of this country, hon President, you have demonstrated the critical importance of listening to the people. The visits to the Sunnyside Police Station during a busy weekday morning, your acknowledgement and visit in response to a plea from a concerned community member in Eldorado Park, the launch of the Presidential Anti-Rape Campaign in Mitchells Plain, your visit with musicians to address their issues, your Siyahlola Monitoring visit to Mpumalanga, your meetings with religious leaders and traditional leaders, and various engagements with communities by hon Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, eloquently testify to a Presidency that knows where the people live, what their fears and aspirations are, and responds to the people's needs. [Applause.]
The current debates over service delivery challenges brings the role of legislatures into sharp focus. As the governing party, the ANC has the responsibility to develop an active citizenry through ensuring that active representation and participation by our people take place. It does this by having them gain access to and input into our policy processes through our legislatures, strengthening our interactions on the ground with communities, taking cognisance of our people's concerns and addressing them via legislative amendments, and welcoming the participation of civil society organisations, advocacy groups and other interest groups in our legislative process. This is what we mean by an activist Parliament and legislatures.
As I conclude, since the beginning of this parliamentary term in 2009, this administration has been focused on building an activist Parliament, legislatures and local councils. The need to ensure that these legislatures are people-centred and people-driven is situated in our capacity to lead a common national and African agenda and to mobilise all of society to take part in this implementation.
As we approach our 20th year of democratic rule, let us heed the words of one of the greatest proponents of peace in our lifetime, Nelson Mandela, who said:
At the end of the day, the yardstick that we shall all be judged by is one and one only. And that is, are we, through our endeavours here, creating the basis to better the lives of South Africans? This is not because the people have some subjective expectations fanned during an election campaign. Neither is it because there is a magic wand that they see in the new government. Millions have suffered deprivation for decades and they have the right to seek redress.
Thank you, hon Speaker. [Time expired.] [Applause.]