Hon Speaker, when asked to define who an African is at the Unisa Africa Speaks lecture series in February 2012, renowned Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, said: An African is not only someone born on this continent, but someone whose goals and desires are to ensure the development and growth of this continent.
While addressing the Namibia Business School in Windhoek on 24 April 2012, former President Thabo Mbeki said:
When we speak of an African Renaissance, we speak of the rebirth and renewal of our continent.
He went on to say that the principal economic tasks of the African Renaissance were, firstly, "achieving sustainable economic development that results in the continuous improvement of the standards of living and the quality of life of the masses of the people"; and, secondly, "qualitatively changing Africa's place in the world economy so that it is free of the yoke of the international debt burden, and is no longer a supplier of raw materials and an importer of manufactured goods". He then suggested that one of the central tasks the African Business School should set itself is to train leaders who would help our continent to achieve these objectives.
The ACDP is of the opinion that leaders who would be able to change the unimpressive reputation that Africa has in the international community are not only those who are committed to democracy, good governance, peace and security, and economic growth. They are also those who work tirelessly for unity, who fight corruption and greed, and are humble enough to acknowledge our desperate need for the help and intervention of the Almighty God.
We have not gone far enough in our pursuit of the dream of the African Renaissance and African unity. I believe one of the reasons is that we have pushed God aside because of the self-deceit that we can succeed without Him. Evidence proves otherwise.
When the Organisation of African Unity was dissolved and replaced by the African Union, hope was rekindled in the hearts of millions of Africans who were yearning for the dawn of a new day for Africa. I wish to submit to this House that one of the causes of the delay of this new dawn is a missing piece called the God-factor.
We should also heed the words of caution uttered by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who, at the 15th African Renaissance Conference in Durban last month, reportedly said African renewal must not render Africa resistant to useful lessons from other parts of the world, including Europe. He said:
We do not have to reinvent the wheel or repeat the errors of others. All we need is an open mind and attention to history. What this means for the notion of African agency is that while we are essentially in the saddle in terms of our future, we also have to build on the best historical experience from around the world. After all, cross-pollination of ideas has always been the motor of human history.
The Acting Head of the Institute for African Renaissance Studies, Prof Phalandwa Mulaudzi spoke of "how African countries can open their doors to western capitalism, on the one hand, and keep out the cultural baggage that comes with capitalism and consumerism, remaining true to ourselves, retaining our identity, our culture, our values and concepts." Thank you.