Allow me to express my gratitude at being part of this very noble occasion. I know that this event is marked by the mixed feelings of parting ways with the Deputy Minister Andries Nel, while at the same time wishing him well in his new assignment in the Executive of our Republic, this being so as per the mandate bestowed on him by our President. Deepening the mixed feelings is the fact that we also take opportunity of this occasion to welcome the new Deputy Minister John Jeffries.
Very briefly, I will take this opportunity to speak about the subject of loyalty. It is indeed a subject that great minds such as philosophers and Heads of States have pondered on. This is important because any family, institution, government, political party or even a nation, cannot thrive unless integral to its existence is loyalty as its bedrock. Often when we speak of loyalty, we speak of decisively aligning ourselves with the noble course of a collective. Thus the worth of any loyalty can be gauged not only in terms of the commitment that we make, but the value of the mission by the collective.
I therefore here invoke loyalty as a virtuous and profound commitment to the broader course of the struggle of our people to extricate themselves from the ugly past of apartheid domination to that of a democratic, non-sexist, equal and prosperous society. In this sense I do not speak of loyalty to lies, innuendos, mediocrity and the likes, but I speak of a virtuous loyalty that former President Mandela spoke of at the dock 50 years ago; a loyalty for which he declared he hoped to live and strive for but if need be; one for which he was prepared to die.
I take part in this special occasion with pride, because Deputy Minister Andries Nel demonstrated this supremely noble loyalty to the course of the department’s objectives as we together thrived to ensure we contribute to the broad national objectives that I have here alluded to.
Just as the second President of the US, President John Adams, had this to say on the importance of loyalty as the Americans went about building a new society from the ruins of the American Civil War, and I quote: “It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them a habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue.”
This is the kind of loyalty that has defined Deputy Minister Andries Nel’s tenure in the department in the years that we have been together. Together we sought to spearhead transformation as a mandate arising out of our common loyalty to building a South Africa that must truly mirror the letter and spirit of our Constitution.
Likewise, the Hall of Fame Basketball Player and Rhodes Scholar, Bill Bradley, seemed to have had Deputy Minister Andries Nel’s tenure in this department in mind when he said, and I quote: “Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it.”
I speak with pride because today we can say it without any fear of contradiction that working together we achieved many of the goals that we had set for ourselves! Key amongst those were attaining an unqualified audit and I hope the DG will in time expatiate on that point! All our achievements were because together with the Deputy Minister, the DG and all other senior officials supporting here, were all loyally pulling in one direction.
I chose to speak of loyalty today not only because the subject is very important, but because in reflecting on the role that Deputy Minister Nel played in this department, loyalty is the one word that I found to sum it all as the golden thread of his immense contribution towards the affairs of the department. With loyalty as virtue, we were able to plan with confidence into the future and the results as exemplified by the audit and even more, by the progress on deliverables that we highlighted in the budget vote, speak for themselves.
Some of us are fortunate because we will continue to serve with Deputy Minister Nel in the Executive, therefore he is not absolutely lost to our common work towards ensuring a better life for all our people. The sphere of local Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is critical as the first point of contact in delivering all sorts of services to improve the lives of our people and I wish you well Deputy Minister as you will be seized with this huge new responsibility.
This occasion also marks the arrival of the new Deputy Minister John Jeffries. To the senior management here, Deputy Minister Jeffries need no introduction as he has been a familiar face and key in the Justice and Constitutional Development Portfolio Committee’s work. As an outstanding legislator, he has tirelessly worked to ensure that the work of the department is dealt with optimally in Parliament. I am certain that his arrival will help contribute to our ongoing work in ensuring accessible justice to all our people.
Deputy Minister Jeffries, you are welcome in this department because we know your passion for a just order will indeed rub on all of us to ensure we move a gear higher towards achieving the departmental goals!
Allow me also to thank the Director-General and all the Senior Managers present, for helping to attain an unqualified audit for the past financial year. As a sign-off, allow me to quote yet another motivational writer on the subject of loyalty, one Stephen R. Covey, and I quote: “You can buy a person's hands but you can't buy his heart. His heart is where his enthusiasm, his loyalty is. ”
As government, we can indeed buy your hands by employing you, and only hope your loyalty is indeed in serving the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. But today, as the late Vuyo Mbuli would often say as his sign-off in IsiTsonga “Mintiro iyabulabula!”, that is, actions speak for themselves!
I thank you!
