OVERSIGHT AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT (Mr R J Tau): Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President of the Republic, hon Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, comrades, it is not always easy for my generation to stand up and speak of an icon that our revolution and movement produced, nurtured and put into the world to look up to.
For our generation, reading about Comrade Mandela and listening to Radio Freedom at the time were illegal acts that could land you in trouble with the apartheid regime. However, we had courage. We had no fear, because the apartheid system to us was illegitimate. We continued to listen, we continued to read, and we continued to sing the song: "UMandela wethu, sizomlandela!" [We will follow our Mandela.] We did that fully understanding that his struggle was for real democracy, and that it would not turn us into refugees of democracy.
He spent 67 years under the banner of the ANC, making the world a better place. I feel very privileged and honoured to have been offered an opportunity to look back and see the worth of the 67 years, and the fact that all of us can do our bit in only 67 minutes is thanks, of course, to the ANC. [Applause.] Whilst this is an easy challenge, it still remains fundamental that Comrade Mandela was prepared to translate those minutes into years, years characterised by pain and loss, all for the love of humanity.
The call to celebrate Nelson Mandela's birthday on 18 July as Nelson Mandela Day is reported, of course, to be gaining a lot of momentum. Parliament must, I think, be congratulated for its decision. [Applause.] This can start small, but will certainly contribute to the lives of those less fortunate than we are. It will, indeed, allow for there to be giving to a cause already nurtured by our own leaders.
When Comrade Mandela spoke of ubuntu, he meant exactly what we should be doing in those 67 minutes. To us, and many South Africans, Nelson Mandela Day is a global clarion call to all people to follow in Mr Nelson Mandela's footsteps, by doing well inside and outside their own communities.
It begins with us in this august House, where we commit ourselves to legislation that seeks to improve and better the lives of the people who have given us the platform to serve them. Amongst other things, the day that we will be celebrating should, of course, have a particular focus on human rights, and fighting hunger and poverty, poor education and illiteracy, and poor health and economic development.
Needless to say, these challenges do not differ from the challenges that were on the doorstep of South Africa during the rule of the apartheid regime. Even today, our democratic government, under the leadership of the ANC, finds itself battling to address some of these problems.
A revolutionary of the generation of Comrade Nelson Mandela, Comrade Walter Sisulu, in an essay written in prison in 1976 and published in Reflections in Prison, said:
Furthermore, in evolving solutions we should avoid that style of thinking that gravitates towards "final solutions". There are no final solutions. Solutions must always be open to modification and adjustment on the basis of experience and fresh evidence - sometimes they may even have to be discarded.
Today the world is changing, and therefore we must always strive to find creative solutions, unlike the one-size-fits-all solution the DA espoused earlier. It is in this spirit that an attempt is being made here to isolate and examine certain problems that are important to our struggle. The same approach must be applied by the opposition as we engage today, and they should not use such an important day to score political points in the name of Madiba. [Applause.]
I am reminded of the period when the imperialists were preparing to take each other on regarding the control of the world and its resources, obviously driven by greed. This was commonly known as the Second World War. At that time a group of young Africans came together and, remembering that they had a responsibility to the cause of our people in the 1940s, formed the ANC Youth League. Among them, under the leadership of Anton Lembede, were William Nkomo, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Ashby Mda, and Nelson Mandela himself. It was at this juncture that the Youth League was formed, consisting of only 60 members. It is important that young people should sustain the legacy of the likes of Comrade Nelson Mandela.
Comrade Nelson Mandela soon impressed his peers by his discipline, hard work and consistent effort and was, as a result, elected secretary and later president of the ANC Youth League. This is a lesson for our youth today to learn - to be disciplined and dedicated to the betterment of the lives of our people.
Despite the challenges, which include unemployment amongst the young, the spirit of leadership and patriotism in the country can still be enhanced so that when we meet these targets, we are able to have confidence in the leadership of our future.
It is no coincidence that this year we are talking of a "Nelson Mandela Day". The work done and commitment expressed by Comrade Mandela and his colleagues in the struggle have contributed to the freedom we celebrate and enjoy today. I am encouraged to view this freedom as a further mandate to have a positive outlook regarding the challenges presented by the global economic meltdown.
While we celebrate in action, let us use the 67 minutes to think carefully about the means to reconcile economically, socially, politically and otherwise. However bad things may look now, the life of Comrade Mandela serves as a consistent reminder that we can still do more, but only when we are united.
Based on the above, I am sure that if this icon had been in his 20s today, he would have been at the forefront of a campaign to create decent work opportunities and sustainable livelihoods. Central to that campaign would have been ensuring that measures are introduced to promote beneficiation programmes that would make sure that the natural wealth of the country was shared and developed locally and to accelerate the creation of decent job opportunities in the manufacturing services.
No doubt, with his upbringing in Qunu as a village boy and schooled and nurtured by the ANC, Comrade Mandela would have used his energy and his robustness in his early life. He would have galvanised all young people behind a programme to intensify land reform to ensure that more land was in the hands of the rural poor, and encouraged them to acquire technical skills and financial resources to use the land productively to create sustainable livelihoods for all of us.
I further believe without a shadow of doubt that as a student he would have been at the forefront of mobilising young people to register and do well in their studies. He would have ensured that he worked tirelessly in his community to wipe out illiteracy through the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign, and for the expansion of no-fee schools.
As a charming and healthy - looking young man, I am sure Comrade Rolihlahla would have made it his responsibility to motivate and encourage, irrespective of class or standing in society, the implementation of the National Health Insurance System, which in the main will ensure that all South Africans have access to better and quality health care, irrespective of where they stand socially.
Our icon laid the foundation for nation-building. He made it his responsibility to ensure that our country was saved from the racial divide that had characterised South African society for many decades.
While a lot still needs to be done, let us not forget that the struggle for greater heights is important. The poverty gap is too wide. For us to say we are a united South Africa, we need to inculcate a spirit of economic reconciliation beyond racial reconciliation.
In conclusion, allow me to pose a question to all of us gathered here this afternoon by referring to the book Long Walk to Freedom, and I quote ... [Interjections.]