Address by the Minister of Communications Ms Ayanda Dlodlo at the False Bay TVET College on Africa Day Lecture
Programme Director,
Our host, The Principal of the College
Representative from the Metro Youth Council (MYC),
Representative from Agency for Refugee Education, Skills Training and Advocacy (ARESTA),
Representative from various organisations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to be here today to speak to all of you on this important topic “What role our history plays in the building of a better Africa and a better World”. This topic is close to my heart, firstly because I am passionate about Africa and its history.
Today, is Africa Day.
Many of you might be wondering, why does this matter?
That Africa has its own day?
Please walk with me on this journey because if we do not know where we come from, we will never know where we are going.
Let us go back to that on the 25 May 1963 when independent African Heads of State met in Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia for the historic meeting which launched the Organisation of African Unity.
Close your eyes and think back.
Many were Heads of States of newly independent countries like Ghana, Algeria, Congo, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. Dar es – Salaam in Tanzania was chosen as the Headquarters and this Liberation Committee of Africa was established to make better the human condition of the African people.
Today, due to their sterling sacrifices and efforts we are able to say we have gained our political independence from our former oppressors.
However, we must also note, what is the point of having political independence and freedom when many Africans on our continent do not enjoy economic independence?
This morning alone, I watched a programme on Al – Jazeera reporting that once again, many young people have perished in the treacherous Mediterrenean waters of the coast of Libya enroute to the Port – of Spain, looking for green pastures.
Programme Director
It is now 54 years later.
Many of those founding fathers are no longer around, yet the situation and the condition of the African child has not fundamentally improved.
Many young people from many parts of our continent still leave the safety of their homes, the familiarity of their surroundings, the smiles of their families and loved ones to eke out a living in our region and in European countries
Many, even with their academic qualifications may not get jobs even in the countries where they migrate to.
Programme Director
We learnt early this week that General Motors was disinvesting from South Africa.
Many in this room, might have cast their hopes in entering the automotive sector so that they can utilise the skills from institutions such as False Bay TVET to give back to society through artisan training, yet they may be unable to do so.
We were told by Minister Rob Davies that 589 people at the first count would lose their jobs. We all know so well that the first victims will be young people, using the Last In – First Out Labour principle ( LIFO)
Programme Director,
I am glad to see that the majority of the audience here today are young. As I look at you, I see the multitude of future leaders of this country and the continent. In fact, currently you lead many of your organisations, look at Councillor Xolisa Peter here and many of her colleagues.
They are a living example and embodiment of the changing face of Africa, young, vibrant, confident and prepared to run with the baton that has been handed over to them.
Secondly it is because today is the celebration of Africa day! This celebration happens against the bedrock of the Centenary of OR Tambo, the late President of the African National Congress. In my address today I will highlight the importance of history and the role our country is playing in building a better Africa and better world.
President OR Tambo was spot on when he advised as follows; ‘’The children of any nation are its future. A country, a movement, a people that does not value its youth and children does not deserve its future”.
The youth signify the future of any nation. It goes without saying that if any nation wants to be strong it has to invests massively in the development of its youth.
Look at the French and the Canadian people.
They have young Presidents and we all know so well what injecting young blood can do to the vibrancy and agility of any country.
Programme Director
Our country is one of those on the continent that has massively invested in young people’s leadership in politics, in academia, in the economy, in local government leadership by deploying the best of its best to lead these institutions.
Here at home, President Jacob Zuma appointed a new team of Cabinet Ministers to inject young blood into the anatomy of our country, so that we may be more agile in radically transforming our country for the better.
In the area of research and development many young South Africans can stand up , walk tall and proud as equal citizens with many research counterparts in the world.
Here next door at the University of Cape Team, exciting research on a TB and malaria vaccine is being led by a global team of researches under the tutelage of Professor Bongani Mayosi.
Part of his outstanding research has contributed only last month to isolate a gene that causes many athletes especially those involved in high performance sports like Ironman to go into cardiac arrest. None with early diagnosis we may be able to save the lives of many African patriots as well as greater humanity across the world.
Programme Director
Developing young people requires that we inculcate in them a sense history, a sense of belonging and a sense of geography because if we do not know Geography we cannot master History.
Programme Director
As Africans, we have a rich cultured history.
It was here in Africa, where the roots of modern scholarship in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and musicality were founded.
Think the Pythogoras theorem, the wonderful architecture of the Egyptian pyramids, the artistic sculptures found throughout the length and breadth of our continent.
Programme Director
I urge you to learn - make learning of our past an integral part of your life’s journey. Many in my generation never had this opportunity because we were never openly taught our history except in camps when I was outside the country.
We need a generation of courageous leaders who will take the baton of leadership and build on the foundations of our founding fathers. To succeed we need to learn from our past and those who have gone before us.
I am thus openly making a call to you and the youth in general to be champions of change by empowering our communities with information on government programmes of action.
Programme Director,
Fifty-four years ago, on this day those representatives from 33 independent African countries who met in Ethiopia to form the Organisation of African Unity knew that they had a historic mission to fulfil.
Today, we need more of those Kwame Nkrumahs of Ghana, Kenneth Kaundas of Zambia , Julius Nyereres and Oliver Tambos of South Africa.
The spirit of Pan Africanism and unity must be re- imagined anew.
We must continue to emphasize that the primary objective of our existence as Africans carrying over from their rich legacy should be to bring about economic independence and freedom of African people in our lifetime and to unite African people.
My challenge to you today is what is your own Responsibility as an African young person sitting here in Khayelitsha in this audience?
What is your own response to a spate of xenophobic attacks that sporadically raise their ugly head in some parts of South Africa?
Are you one of those young people who vilify others because they speak a different foreign language, dress differently and call Kinshasa, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Accra and Lagos home?
Do you also become part of the vigilante groups that proclaim that ‘ Africans are here to take our jobs and women’?
Programme Director
We as South Africans have an umbilical cord with many of our sister countries on the continent.
South Africa is a product of the struggles of international solidarity and as recipients we have a historic obligation to ensure that the cries of the people of Western Sahara do not fall on deaf ears.
We who benefitted from the generosity of the world, especially African countries have a responsibility to ensure that the Saharawi people are free from the bondages of colonial occupiers such as Morocco.
We who benefitted from African solidarity as well as international solidarity have a responsibility to do likewise for the people of Palestine.
Programme Director
My own personal experiences in this regard speak volumes about international solidarity.
When I left South Africa at the age of 17, to receive military training in Angola and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) , we knew so well what the power of a united people can do to free others.
I know this for a fact because I was younger than many of you here when I left the country to join Umkhonto we Sizwe in Angola in 1980. I was, just like many other freedom fighters forced to drop out of school and to go live a life I was not ready for. We sacrificed our livelihoods and joined the armed movement to live in bushes, carrying a rifle for protection.
People from most of these countries welcomed us with open arms and they provided resources to sustain our fight against apartheid. Some of these leaders suffered at the hands of the apartheid regime for supporting our liberation but they never stopped helping the people of South Africa achieve their freedom.
Who could forget what happened to the founding father and President of Mozambique Samora Machel and the Matola raid in Mozambique?
There is no doubt that our march to freedom and democracy would have taken longer had it not been for the sacrifices and assistance of these leaders and many others in the diaspora. We remain grateful for their assistance and commitment to help us defeat apartheid.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In South Africa we not only commemorate Africa Day but dedicate the entire month of May as Africa Month for South Africans to celebrate their African identity, culture and heritage. It also provides us with an opportunity to reconnect with Africa and recommit ourselves in support of all government interventions to develop a better Africa as reflected in the Agenda 2063.
Agenda 2063 is a guiding vision for the socio-economic transformation of the continent. It builds on, and seeks to accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable development. South Africa has also played its part in building the continent and continues to support operations and implementation of AU plans.
We are the host of the Pan African Parliament and in May this year we hosted the 2017 World Economic Forum on Africa. The forum brought together leaders from across all stakeholder groups to develop and refine strategies towards a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive growth in the region. This year’s theme focused on driving economic transformation in Africa through inclusive growth models.
The outcomes of the forum included agreements on closer cooperation between public and private sectors and investing more in infrastructure, empowering smallholder farmers to operate as entrepreneurs and to provide entrepreneurs with all the resources required such as knowledge, business support, and finance.
Our country also remains involved in promoting democracy, human rights and good governance on the continent. For instance, South Africa continues to be involved in mediation and peacekeeping operations in countries such as Lesotho, Burundi, Mozambique, Somalia, Libya and South Sudan.
South Africa’s willingness to help broker peace is based on our foreign policy position which is informed by our history and the Pan African ideas. It is built on the premise that a stable continent is the only way to ensure prosperity for our region and the rest of Africa. In other words peace and security is a prerequisite for sustainable development on the continent.
Ladies and Gentleman,
As we commemorate Africa Day, we pay tribute to one of South Africa’s greatest freedom fighters, namely Oliver Reginald Tambo. This year our nation celebrates the centenary of OR Tambo’s birth; a momentous occasion in our calendar.
OR Tambo is one of the key founding fathers of South Africa’s liberation and constitutional democracy and the former President of the African National Congress. He is to us what Nkwame Nkruma is to Ghana, Samora Machel is to Mozambique and Fidel Castro is to Cuba.
The only difference is that when he returned from exile he could not take any position or become a president because the struggle had taken its toll on him. He returned a frail and sick man and died one year before former president Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of the country.
Born in the Eastern Cape in 1927, Tambo graduated with a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and physics from Fort Hare. He later studied law and went on to become one of the greatest jurists in our nation's history. He used his legal knowledge to fight against injustices committed against our people.
He was later forced into exile and began a 30 year journey to mobilise independent African countries to support the fight for freedom and democracy. He later approached the United Nations for support, urging the international community to unite in their opposition against apartheid and its injustices.
Through his meticulous negotiation skills, he convinced the United Nations to pass a resolution condemning the actions of the apartheid government. The resolution marked the beginning of the isolation of the apartheid government and eventually led to its collapse.
Tambo may be gone but his ideals which he sacrificed his life for are still intact. These include having a vibrant and robust constitutional democracy and regular successful national and local elections. Our government remains committed to build on his legacy; working with business, labour and civil society we continue to find ways to promote inclusive growth and create jobs for our people with the sole aim to improve their lives.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we commemorate Africa Day, let us use the opportunity to broaden our knowledge about our leaders who lived and died for this continent. In particular our children must be informed from an early age who the founding fathers are so that they can emulate them.
Tambo and many other African leaders are a reminder that Africa has never been short of courageous leaders whose Pan Africanist vision was to unite African people. They had the best interest of our people at heart and also wanted to ensure they benefit from the continent’s rich mineral wealth.
They belong to a generation of leaders who refused to be ignorant of the suffering of the masses or who turned a blind eye to injustices. I hope I am looking at the next cadre of leaders who will step forward and take the fight forward.
Do you have what it takes? I think you do!
In closing,
May I also take this opportunity to invite you to follow my budget vote speech that I will deliver in Parliament tomorrow. The Department of Communications, GCIS and the various entities such as Brand SA, Film and Publication Board (FPB); Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA); Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) play an important role in communicating with all South Africans.
In closing, we all face many challenges yet in the words of W.E.B Du Bois, a little less complaint and whining, and a little more dogged striving would do us more credit than a thousand civil rights bill.
I thank you!
