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.]