S Moloto: Africa Day

25 May 2007

Programme director,
Kgoshi Seleka le Magoshi arona ka mooka,
Executive Mayor of Waterberg District,
Mayor of Lephalale Local Municipality,
MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow Africans,
Ladies and gentlemen

Theme: "Let's strengthen Africa's place in the world, through strategic
balance and responsible partnership - Countering Xenophobia and migration."

* We are gathered here to celebrate Africa Day, which is an important day in
the history of our country and the entire continent as a whole. It was on this
day 44 years ago, when leaders of the African Continent decided to establish
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) driven by a common aspiration to end
colonialism and to bring about liberation, equality, justice and progress in
the countries of Africa. Today, Africa Day is one of the most recognised days
in the calendars of African countries and was celebrated for many years in the
continent long before South Africa could attain its liberation.

* As we celebrate Africa Day, we must look back with appreciation at the
pioneering role played by such great African leaders as, Kwame Nkrumah, the
first President of Ghana, who on this day in 1963, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
founded together with other leaders, the OAU.

* Therefore, Africa Day epitomises to us, the collective will and spirit of
Africans to fight for what is theirs and to march forward in peace towards
freedom and liberation. We therefore must cherish the achievements of our
country and that of various leaders of the continent who worked very hard to
establish the African Union (AU).

* Through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), New Partnership for
Africa's Development (Nepad) and other means, our country is doing all that it
can, within its means, to foster good governance and socio economic
transformation amongst countries of the continent in an endeavour to rebuild
Africa from century-old wars, genocides, diseases, economic decline and endemic
poverty. Our national government continues to participate in a number of
peace-keeping missions across the continent in pursuance of the objectives of
Nepad. These interventions as you might know have helped to bring stability in
a number of countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola,
Burundi and the Ivory Coast.

* Our celebration of Africa Day today therefore, highlights the new path
which our country has chosen in international relations and in continental
affairs. Gone are the days when our country was known for destabilising its
neighbours and legitimately elected governments of the region. Since 1994, all
our policies embrace the spirit of solidarity with the peoples of Africa who
are our brothers and sisters. Through partnerships between government and civil
society in particular, with workers, women and the youth, we are confident that
our people can succeed to defeat the negative perception that Africa is nothing
more than "A Dark Continent," which invokes bad memories of human suffering and
degradation.

Programme director,

* It is a source of concern that, unfortunately the world has come to
understand only the negative side of our continent through the images that are
mostly shown on the mainstream media which often do not truly reflect who we
are or where we come from as peoples of Africa. This is a sad development in a
continent which, as has been proven by modern science, remains the cradle of
humanity. A continent which as we read through history has led to the very
evolution of knowledge and was a leading centre of learning, industrialisation,
technology and the arts in ancient times. Here in our own province, there are
telling examples of these illustrious civilisations which our people can attest
to, such as the Makapans gate caves were humanity existed many centuries ago
and the great Mapungubwe and Thulamela ruins which existent almost 1 000 years
ago. Very few people might know that in the pre-colonial era, Africa had its
own leaders and its own political system of governance.

* It is also a documented fact that the continent also had its own economy
and traded with the rest of the world, particularly the East. We also had our
own education system which produced metallurgists, engineers, professors,
mathematicians and architects to name but a few. Many people may not know that
the first university in the world was founded in a place called Timbuktu which
is located in the present day Mali around the 12th century. The university had
25 000 students in an area with a population of about 100 000 people.

* All of this evidence therefore suggests that Africans were never
discovered by any race and where neither barbarians nor primitives as implied
in some of the writings of Western or European scholars. However, we know that
our continent is in the state in which it is, because of the legacies of
colonialism, apartheid, the Cold War and the legacies of Structural Adjustment
Programmes (SAPs) of the 70s and 80s. We also know that what has exacerbated
our challenges over the centuries has been the fact that our continent was used
as a supplier of cheap labour and raw materials to the West and was a haven for
sporadic conflicts and civil wars sponsored by our erstwhile colonial
masters.

* Africa today remains a basket case and one of the poorest continents in
the world despite the fact that it is one of the most richly endowed regions of
the world in economic and cultural terms. However, what we usually forget is
that the continent is not only endowed with natural resources, but also rich
with a proud pre-colonial history and a tapestry of cultures.

* It was the first President of Botswana Sir Seretse Khama who once remarked
that: "A nation without a past is a lost nation. And people without a past are
a people without a soul." Nothing can best capture the importance of Africa Day
than these words which locate our past in the centre of our nation's soul and
pride. Underpinning this occasion is an understanding that Africa Day has
profound meaning both to our government and our nation, as the very act of
celebrating this day means that our nation has resolved and is committed to the
development of the continent and its entire people.

Programme director,

* Therefore, Africa Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate our Africanness
through praise poetry, song, folktale, dance, food, fashion and literature. We
must bear in mind that the borders that separate our country from its
neighbours remain only colonial borders as they were never drawn by our people.
This is why even today we still share common cultural relations, language and
family ties with peoples from Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They are a
part of us, their blood runs in our veins and we are in many ways part of
them.

* One of the objectives of our province's Provincial Growth and Development
Strategy is the promotion of regional integration with our neighbouring
countries of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In our view, this integration
must not only be about governments but must also involve people to people
relations. In this regard, the people of our province have a duty not to
discriminate against their neighbours or so-called foreigners who comes from
these countries as they are our true African brothers and sisters.

* In this regard, we also have a responsibility to engender on our youth the
spirit of patriotism and the love of the continent and its entire people. If we
do not take pride in ourselves and cherish what is ours, no one will take our
continent and its people seriously. This must start with the observance of our
national anthem, national symbols, the national flag and all our cultures and
traditions.

Researchers have produced evidence to show that there is a growing trend
amongst our young people to continue mimicking and imitating American and
European ways of life. This trend is confirmed through their accents, their
choice of music, lifestyles and fashion which have got little resemblance to
who they are as peoples of Africa. This challenge can only be symptomatic of a
deeper crisis of identity and the absence of a positive value system amongst
our youth. All of us, as Traditional Leaders, as the community and as teachers
have a responsibility to promote forms of expressions which encourage young
people to identify with the ubuntu value system while at the same time
asserting their African self-worth and identity.

Programme director,

* Africa Day must help us to reclaim our identity. It must continue to play
a major role in the renewal of Africa in advancing her renaissance and in
uniting all her people. Let's pull together all our strength and energies to
build a new Africa that is free from hunger, diseases, underdevelopment and
poverty. This is the Africa that must be inherited by our children, our
grandchildren and future generations to come.

Pula!

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
25 May 2007