Chairperson of the House, Ministers and Deputy Ministers - they all seem to have left - MECs - I'm not quite sure - hon members of Parliament, members of this House, it is really a great honour for me to be here and have the opportunity to open the debate on the occasion of the celebration of the 47th Africa Day celebration.
It was on 25 May 1963 that the leaders of 32 independent African states signed this charter on the establishment of the Organisation for African Unity. All these years later, Africa Day celebrations present us with an opportunity to take stock of the continent's pursuit of the realisation of a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa captured in today's theme.
As you would all know, the vision of African unity was championed from as early as the 19th century, and many great African leaders expanded on this vision in the ensuing years. It is important for us to remember this history and the importance of what Africa Day is now within the context of African unity and its contribution to the liberation struggle of the countries of the continent, and in particular, our own country, South Africa.
It is a well-documented fact now how the Organisation for African Unity, OAU, the precursor to the African Union, prioritised the decolonisation of Africa as its main objective. The OAU had, all those years ago, decided to establish the African Liberation Support Committee, ALSC. The people of Africa, within the framework of the OAU Charter, took a conscious and deliberate decision to wage a united struggle against colonialism and apartheid. Our fellow Africans, in collaboration with progressive forces throughout the world, steadfastly supported our liberation movements as we fought to end the abhorrent system of apartheid in our country. It was in the pursuit of African unity that apartheid in South Africa became internationally isolated from the 1960s until its demise in the 1990s.
We recall with pride and gratitude the role of the frontline states, whose leaders and people were at the forefront of this campaign. These frontline states subsequently went on to form, as you will recall, the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference, SADCC, which then transformed into the Southern African Development Community, SADC, the regional organisation as we know it today.
It was against this background that the ANC was granted observer status in the OAU. President Zuma reminded us during his closing remarks at the assembly of the 13th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit in Libya in July last year, when he said:
South Africa, guided by the oldest liberation movement in Africa, the ANC, has a long and a proud tradition of working for African unity.
I'm proud to say that in 2012, this oldest liberation movement will turn 100 years old. The President went on to remind us of the role that president Mandela and the late O R Tambo played in the process of the establishment of the OAU, the launch of which was attended by none other than our ANC President, President Tambo. It will further be recalled that it was OR Tambo who was instrumental in crafting the well-known Harare Declaration which laid down a statement of principles and modalities for negotiations in South Africa which was adopted by the OAU Assembly in August 1989. This declaration paved the way for our negotiated political settlement.
The 26th Ordinary Session of the OAU Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 1990, carried out a critical review of Africa's political, social and economic situation informed by the rapidly changing international environment and further committed itself to enhancing the promotion of democracy on the continent. This was the period during which we in South Africa were undergoing our own transition through the multiparty negotiations at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, Codesa, in Kempton Park, which resulted ultimately in the establishment of our own constitutional democracy. Our path to democracy was underpinned by this change that took place in the development of the OAU when the OAU transformed into the African Union.
This brief historic account emphasises, I believe, the place of global changes in the decisions taken by African leaders at that time that the OAU be transformed into the African Union in order for the continent to address and to meet the challenges of our modern era.
In the process of the transformation from the OAU to the African Union, Nepad was conceived. South Africa was one of the initial architects of Nepad, with the primary objective to eradicate poverty and to place African countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of peace, stability, democracy and sustainable growth and development.
Since we achieved our democracy, we have committed ourselves anew to working towards the realisation of this vision of a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa. We have done so mindful of the high expectations that SADC, Africa and the world have of our emerging democratic country. South Africa has had to transform from a pariah state to a responsible global citizen. We have had also to play our role in the transformation from the OAU to the Africa Union, which was launched in Durban in July 2002, and South Africa thus took on the historic mantle to become the first chair of the African Union.
The Constitutive Act of the African Union provides for the acceleration of the African integration agenda. This agenda is predicated on the same vision of a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa. You will all recall our contribution through our people and our leadership, with other like-minded countries, to the establishment of Nepad, the continent's programme for socioeconomic development.
Through Nepad, Africa has also managed to expand development priorities and it has allowed for Africa to take ownership of its own development and success. Development and funding in critical sectors such as agriculture, ICT, science and technology, infrastructure and education have revitalised the continent in many aspects and allowed for significant improvements in the quality of life for millions of Africans. It has, we believe, unleashed a progressive renewal agenda which needs to be sustained to bring the vision of Nepad to fruition.
Linked to Nepad was the establishment of the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, in order to improve economic, corporate and political governance on the continent. This was informed by our understanding that good economic, corporate and political governance is central to the implementation of Nepad to improve the living conditions of our people. It not only sets the standard for mutual accountability, but plays a major role in accelerating political, economic and social reform on the continent.
Our country has been active in efforts to bring about peace and stability also on the continent. We have engaged in peacekeeping operations together with peace-building measures in support of the African agenda, and have also played an important mediation and facilitation role in countries such as Burundi, DRC, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cte d'Ivoire and Zimbabwe, to name a few.
We have used our own experience of reaching a negotiated settlement and creating a progressive constitutional democratic state to work with other states currently in conflict situations and share our experiences. South Africa, with its limited resources, has invested in assisting countries on the continent to set up institutions which entrench the culture and practice of democracy, such as our own Independent Electoral Commission's participation in many election observation missions; building governance capacity by assisting in the establishment of functioning civil services; and utilising South Africa's experience and expertise in postconflict reconstruction and development, PCRD, programmes on the continent. I think we can be proud of these achievements.
This we do in concert with our civil society, think-tanks and the private sector. You will recall that the statute of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, Ecosocc, which was adopted by the African Union provides for the establishment of country chapters of Ecosocc. In this regard, we continue to enhance civil society participation in the processes of the union in partnership with the Ecosocc-SA Chapter.
There have been successes and challenges which accompanied this endeavour. However, we continue to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts, knowing very well that there will be no development without peace and stability on the continent. We realise we need to maximise our collective efforts in realising Africa's vision of a peaceful continent. Thus, the Tripoli Plan of Action was adopted by the African heads of state and government and outlines specific commitments aimed at accelerating the resolution of conflict and crisis situations, as well as consolidating peace where it has been achieved.
Further to this, the African Union has declared 2010 as the year of peace and security in Africa at a special summit held in Libya last year to strengthen peace-making efforts across the continent. The year of peace and security will culminate on 21 September this year, which is the International Day of Peace and Security. We believe this provides an opportunity for all of Africa to come together and prove to the world that peace on our continent is indeed possible.
I raise all these issues to challenge you in this debate today to reflect on the continent's past and present and to map out a way forward towards African unity and prosperity. We must do a critical assessment of our role on the continent and the current status of Africa. The question we should be able to answer at the end of this debate is: How do we intend to move forward from this current situation, considering the lessons we draw from our past?
We acknowledge that much still needs to be done towards the realisation of this important vision. Having registered considerable gains in the consolidation of democracy in Africa, it is disheartening to experience the re-emergence of unconstitutional changes of government most recently. The question is: How do we start to work towards the prevention of this contradiction to our vision? It is my belief that we can bring lasting peace and stability by intensifying conflict prevention mechanisms. At times there are warning signs which alert us to a potential conflict, but in some cases we have not responded adequately. This is a serious weakness in the overall African peace and security architecture. We may also need to further strengthen the African Union's sanction regime and revisit certain mechanisms such as the Lom Declaration of 2000.
Let me conclude by reminding us all about the big theme of this year's Africa Day celebration, which is "Building and Maintaining Peace through Sport in Africa". This is happening as South Africa and the rest of Africa prepare to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup in just two weeks' time - and I see not one vuvuzela here and only one South African scarf, including my own.
This sporting event presents Africa with a unique opportunity to harness the power of sport for the promotion of peace and security in diverse communities, in environments where personal security is a challenge and in countries with conflict and postconflict situations. Let us ensure that Africa takes advantage of this opportunity to encourage a developmental legacy across the continent, speed up economic growth and halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. Ke Nako! The time is now. Thank you very much. [Applause.]