Malibongwe! (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Ms J WITBOOI (Western Cape): Hon Chairperson, Minister, MECs of the other provinces and members of the NCOP, in the book Roll of Honour by Archie Sibeko, the reader is carried away by the events which undoubtedly contributed to the freedom struggle and the realisation of our first democratic election in 1994.
What makes the book - which deals with the heroes and heroines in the Western Cape during the period 1953 to 1963 - so remarkable, is that many of these heroes were never mentioned and could very easily be forgotten.
This year, while we wish to give acknowledgement to our heroes and heroines of the freedom struggle, it is also appropriate to give praise to these unsung heroes. Let us salute them for their contribution. Today we are enjoying the sweet fruits of a liberated South Africa.
Archie Sibeko, Chris Hani, Zola Skweyiya and others, while being committed to their studies, paved the way for other young people and made them aware that education and literacy were by far the most important weapon for total self-liberation and that the best legacy that one can leave for oneself, the community in which one functions and the organisation to which one belongs, can be acquired by studying.
But these heroes also had to overcome great obstacles. They had to thwart the apartheid government. They had to communicate accurately and timeously with one other. They had to have the ability to execute their plans, and frequently had to put their emotions aside and prioritise the task at hand.
These people were special in that they never allowed themselves to veer off course; they were dependent upon one other to reach their goals; they had to trust one other with their lives; and they would not hesitate to declare themselves prepared to lose their lives in the struggle against apartheid.
When one looks at the honours roll in Archie Sibeko's book and reads of their hardships, one realises that they were prepared to lay down their lives for one other. Moreover, they were prepared to die for the realisation of the new South Africa.
Heritage Month 2011 also gives us the opportunity to walk in the trail of the greatest leader of them all. In the famous words of our hero and icon, Nelson Mandela:
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.
That is one of the most precious legacies that we as the ANC can be proud of today. Every South African, and especially the disadvantaged, ought to cherish those words and stand by the assurance that:
Never, never and never again ...
The joyful message of the ANC ought to resound in our ears like the sound of drums in the woods -
never again ...
Never again will we have to carry passbooks. Never again do we have to be afraid of moving around freely. Never again do we have to allow forced removals or unjust retrenchments. Never again may we be discriminated against. Never again do South Africans have to be treated like second-class citizens in their own country. Never again. We have every right to celebrate in South Africa and honour every hero and heroine who made an outstanding contribution to our great legacy. Those were difficult times.
For that reason Archie Sibeko refers in his book to the fact that many of our heroes did not survive to experience the freedom for which they fought so hard. Rev Marawu, Johnny Mtini, Lindiwe Sibeko, Annie Silinga, Dora Tamana and many others paid the highest price so that we would be able to enjoy a free South Africa. No amount of money in the world can buy such freedom. Therefore we honour them with our gratitude.
However, the greatest honour that we can bestow on our heroes is to tell the tale of the freedom of South Africa to future generations. Many stories are still untold. We must not allow our children and grandchildren to take the history of our country for granted.
Our parents and our grandparents experienced apartheid and it was painful. Generations later we are still suffering the consequences. The high treason case against Nelson Mandela and the other leaders of the ANC really took place. Robben Island and the prison for political leaders are still situated in the Western Cape.
With the first democratic election in 1994 history was made in South Africa. That is something we can tell our children about.
Never, never and never again ...
... was said by our first democratically elected president during his inauguration speech. Our own President Nelson Mandela is world-famous, world renowned and beloved all over the world. The story of South Africa must always be told. From the oldest grey-haired person to the youngest child must understand how we won our freedom.
We welcome the efforts of our Minister of Arts and Culture, Minister Paul Mashatile, to make South Africans part of our heritage programmes. As the ANC in the Western Cape we will take care to ensure that your plans are carried out in the Western Cape. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Today we stand here with deference to once again commit ourselves to the one heritage promise.
Deputy Chairperson, this past week we have heard that people were removed from farms in the Western Cape, and we will not allow that.
We have to talk if, after 17 years of democracy we encounter schools in the Western Cape where there is a library with "Afrikaans fiction", English fiction and "black language" books. There are 11 official languages in the country, and not one of them is called "black language". These things only happen in the Western Cape - an island in our country. [Interjections.]
Deputy Chairperson, today the DA - and I have noticed this tendency of theirs - claim our great icon and leader for themselves.