Programme Director
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mbulu
First President and Father of the Nation President K Kaunda
South African High Commissioner to the Republic of Zambia, High Commissioner Mji
Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Members of the Diplomatic Corp
Traditional Leaders
Former Freedom Fighters
Officials of the South African High Commission
Members of the business community
Invited guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Muli bwanji, Dumelang, Sanibonani, Good afternoon
On behalf of the President of the Republic of South Africa, HE President Jacob Zuma, it is a singular honour for me to address you on this important and historic day in the history of the struggle of the people of South Africa and the region – our 21st Independence Day.
On 27 April 1994, the people of South Africa held their first democratic elections, ending one of the worst forms of institutionalised racism, repression, divide-and-rule, and state sponsored violence.
When we celebrate this important day, we should never forget those who laid down their lives and paid the ultimate price for this freedom we enjoy today. These include among others Comrades like Solomon Mahlangu, Andrew Zondo, Cassius Maake, Hector Peterson, our late President Oliver Tambo and Chris Hani, some of our leaders buried here such as our Secretary General Duma Nokwe, Florence Moposho amongst others. Hundreds of citizens of the Frontline States, including the citizens of Zambia paid the ultimate sacrifice. The telling of the history of the South African struggle can never be told without mentioning the role of the people of Zambia and their sacrifices and hospitality.
Programme Director,
It always feels good to be back in Zambia. I am a proud product of this sister country that offered thousands of us, South Africans and other liberation movements from the region a home away from home, quality education and an opportunity to work and live amongst its people during the difficult days. Lusaka is the second home of the South African ruling party, the African National Congress that had its Head Quarters here.
Zambia’s policy and philosophy of Humanism, that is akin to our philosophy of Ubuntu, came at a very high cost to its people and government. The racist apartheid regime did not hesitate to use its economic and military might to try to intimidate them at a trade level, but also flew sorties into the country to bomb camps of liberation movements and killed hundreds of people.
I vividly remember the bombings towards the end of 1978 when hundreds of ZAPU members were killed here, in Zambia. Instead of the people of this country cowering and submitting, long queues of people where seen outside hospitals, volunteering to donate blood that was in short supply. The anger against the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zambia was palpable, and only strengthened the resolve to Zambia, the Frontline states and SADCC to support the liberation struggles of the people in the region.
Indeed, we owe the people of this great nation a great debt of gratitude for their support and the incalculable suffering its people endured in the name of freedom and human dignity for all Africans.
Long Live the Peoples of Zambia and South Africa!
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is now 21 years since our first democratic elections in South Africa. The ANC government has made great strides towards the betterment of the lives of the people of South Africa. There are challenges along the way, however, we continue to strive to do our level best to undo the injustices of the past and bring about equality and also tackle the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
In our march towards democracy and building a united democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa, we have managed to organise and hold five (5) successful elections that were also endorsed by various election observer missions. During this march to democracy, we have developed a model Constitution which includes a Bill of Rights, as well as three arms of State; that is the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature in order to ensure accountability and separation of powers.
Programme Director
As a result of this hard won democracy, millions of our people now have access to basic services that they did not have in the past. Basic services such as electricity, housing, water, healthcare and so forth. We are hard at work to improve the lives many of our people. We are doing these interventions in the light of scarce resources and ever growing migration of many people towards city centres in search for better life. These movements have a major impact on the government’s ability to plan and provide services, as well as conduct effective spatial planning. This is a global phenomenon and enjoins all of us work and coordinate our efforts across national boundaries. However, we remain unwavering in providing effective services to our people as we work to improve their lives.
Programme Director
I would like to take a moment and address the unacceptable, xenophobic attacks that took place recently in South Africa against foreign nationals, largely aimed at our fellow brothers and sisters from our beloved continent. I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones as a result of these shameful acts. Xenophobia and all other forms of exclusion should be rejected and fought with the same vigour and contempt with which we fought racially based politics in all its manifestations. We are Africa.
Our government, under the leadership and guidance of President Jacob Zuma, has embarked on a national programme to educate our people on the need to integrate into our communities our brothers and sisters from the continent, while we also seek and urge our brothers and sisters to also ensure they are registered and follow legal processes as this enables the state to plan and provide services. The struggle for scarce resources amongst our people was at the root of these outbreaks, which were mainly in the most economically depressed and marginalised areas of our cities. We will continue the work that has been done during Africa month of May as we cannot allow exclusion to take root in our country, that is an integral part of our region and continent. Job creation remains a priority for our government.
As Africa and part of the humanity, we live in a globalised world. None of us can exist as an island. For democracy to flourish, we need to jointly work together, trade and cooperate so that we can improve the lives of our people.
Programme Director,
I am also addressing this forum during the Youth month, that is in honour and recognition of the 1976 youth uprisings. Our youth are the future. We have a responsibility to ensure our youth know our history, know where we come from so as to correctly determine and take charge of their future. It is critical that the messages and work for social cohesion, the need for regional integration and a shared destiny are amongst the values that are inculcated in our youth and our young people are imbued with the spirit of no surrender.
We need to ensure our Youth understand the values of education and hard work. The future is theirs and it is our responsibility to ensure that we impart the skills, and values, and support them to the best of our ability.
South Africa has also come of age and has received the key signifying the coming of age at 21 years. We will definitely play our role as a young democracy striving for social cohesion, economic development and integration of our region so as to build a better tomorrow for all our peoples.
Long live the friendship of the peoples and governments of South Africa and Zambia.
I thank you
