S Moloto: Freedom Day celebration

27 April 2007

Programme director
Kgoshi Sekororo
Members of Executive Council
Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislature
MP and MPLs
Executive Mayor of Mopani District Municipality and other Executive
Mayors
Mayor of Maruleng Local Municipality Cllr Mafogo and other local Mayors
Honourable Councillors
Our esteemed Traditional Leaders
Veterans of our liberation struggle
Community, Labour and Business Leaders
Comrades and compatriots

It was on this day 13 years ago that the people of South Africa went to the
polls to vote for the government of their choice. Today's celebrations take
place 40 years since the death of Chief Albert Luthuli, the first African to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961 and one of the most outstanding leaders
of our people. Today's celebrations also coincide with the commemoration of the
28 anniversary of the death of one of the greatest heroes of our people,
comrade Solomon Mahlangu who was executed by the apartheid regime on the 6th of
April 1979. Our celebrations also take place 13 years since the murder of
comrade Chris Hani, whose death led to the setting of 27 April as the election
date on which the first democratic elections of our country were held. This
therefore makes April not just an ordinary month but a month which brings with
it memories of the first democratic elections which ushered in the freedom and
the democracy we now enjoy.

It was on 27 April 1994, that our people decided to chart a new course for
themselves and to reverse the 300 years of colonialism and apartheid that
preceded us. Through the votes cast on this day, South Africans succeeded in
changing the course of history for ever. These celebrations are therefore not a
waste of time but a constant reminder of where we come from as a nation and
where we are heading to. The triumph of 27 April therefore sends a powerful
message to the entire world that South Africans are a victorious people who can
never live on their knees. It is not so long ago that we heard excruciating
testimony at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from some of those
who were tortured and brutalised by the police. Our veterans and stalwarts,
some of whom are in this gathering, carry with them lifetime bruises and scars
which symbolise our determination and commitment to fight injustice wherever it
manifests itself.

We have assembled here on these grounds to proclaim and reaffirm the freedom
for which many of us sacrificed hard and of which many perished in the line of
duty. This is a day which must make every South African proud. It is a day to
showcase the best of whom we are as a nation and who we can be. The day also
affords us the opportunity to continuously build a sense of patriotism and
nationhood which all South Africans can be proud to identify with. We must
reach a point where everyone of us start seeing Freedom Day not just as another
ordinary public holiday, but a day for recognising the very foundation on which
this nation was laid. In this regard, we must also ask ourselves whether we are
doing enough as individuals and as a collective to respect and to teach our
people about the very things that make us who we are as a nation. It is during
moments like these where it is expected of everybody to pause and reflect on
these matters including pondering about such questions related to our common
national identity and shared destiny.

This is not to ask too much from our people. Being a nation means taking
seriously some of the most common things which are the glue that bind us
together as South Africans. These relates to such things as:

* respecting and knowing how to sing the National Anthem
* respecting the national flag of South Africa
* recognition of the national symbols
* supporting all our national sporting codes and teams
* observing and respecting the laws of the country including paying for
services rendered by our municipalities.

These are civic duties which government expects every tax payer and every
citizen to observe. Our endeavour to build one common South African nation will
not be achieved by government alone. It is therefore important that all sectors
of society join forces with government in a national partnership to build
reconciliation and national unity. Programme director, looking back from where
we come, as South Africans, we cannot doubt the enormous progress that we have
made thus far. In the 13 years since 1994, the African Nation Congress (ANC)
led government has done tremendously well to bring about tangible changes in
the lives of many of our people. There is hardly an area in the entire province
of Limpopo which has not seen the sweeping changes which came with freedom and
democracy.

The area of Maruleng in which we are, has not been excluded from these
changes. Maruleng is one of the many areas in our province where a lot of
service delivery continues to happen. We are told that most if not all villages
in this area, have been electrified and the only focus now is on the extension
areas. We also know that there is a major project of tarring the road between
Trichardtsdal and The Oaks which has always been of great concern for community
members in this area, especially taxi owners and business people. The housing
programme is also continuing to give shelter to more people who need affordable
housing. This is an indication that all spheres of our government are dedicated
to work together to ensure that millions of our people have access to roads,
shelter, water, healthcare, education and social security. The apartheid regime
never cared about places such as Maruleng and other outlying areas. This is why
we are saying that all of these achievements would not have happened if we did
not vote for the ANC led government on 27 April 1994.

Programme director, as a result of what happened on 27 April, South Africans
now enjoy all the rights which all free people anywhere in the world enjoy. Our
province is particularly one of the most stable and safer provinces in the
country, which says a lot about the character and the humanity of our people.
We live in a free country with a Bill of rights and a human rights culture.
Everybody is free to express his or her opinion on any subject within the
context of the law. The media also has got all the rights under the sun to
express their views without fear. Our people have got freedom to live wherever
they like. They have got freedom to criticise or protest against the state and
they have got freedom to assembly, to associate and to vote for a government of
their choice. Our people also have the right to education and the right to
healthcare. Not least important in this democracy are the rights gained by
women in the last 13 years. Their dignity and status have been improved and
they constitute a major percentage of public representatives in our
legislatures and in municipal councils.

However, freedom like any other right has its own limitations. We can only
be free to the extent that we obey the country's laws and do not infringe upon
each other's rights. Freedom also cannot mean anarchy or chaos. With every
freedom comes a responsibility. Therefore, the notion that freedom means
recklessness and disrespect needs to be discouraged by all means. It has always
been the wish of the founding fathers and mothers of this freedom to build and
nurture a society based on human solidarity and ubuntu. They never foresaw the
possibility that others within our communities will start abusing their newly
acquired liberties to cause harm and pain on their fellow human beings. People
who abuse women and children including those who plunder public resources in
the name of entitlement must therefore know that they are dishonouring our
freedom and democracy.

The society that our forebears died for is a caring one. Being free must
mean working hard as individuals and as a collective to restore the moral fibre
of our society. Freedom has given us many choices to make. As a country, we
have always had a choice to decide whether we want to become a great nation or
to degenerate into a wasteland. South Africa has chosen to become a great
nation. This is why the world has accorded us a non-permanent seat on the
United Nations (UN) Security Council and the rights to host the Soccer World
Cup in 2010. We are the envy of the world and an environment now exists in
South Africa for everyone, especially the youth to become masters of their own
destiny.

Programme director, the theme for this year's Freedom Day celebrations
evokes the spirit of national partnership which brought about the freedom and
democracy we live in. It represents a new call to sustain the national effort
that brought about freedom, which is critical to consolidating our democracy.
In order to sustain the spirit of freedom that came with this day, all of us
must build partnerships to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment. Our
democracy will not work if citizens are passive recipients of services. This is
why all municipalities have established ward committees to enable citizens to
take part in their own local governance. School Governing Bodies (SGBs),
Hospital boards and Community Policing Forums (CPFs) have all been established
to ensure that citizens have a say in their own governance.

Being free means consciously taking the responsibility to ensure that one
participates at ward committee level in order to influence councillors to carry
the people's mandate. Our rights do not end with voting every five years but
also include participation in decision-making structures. We need to use these
platforms to determine exactly what we need in our villages and townships,
rather than folding our arms and criticising government where it fails. The
time is coming when we shall no longer blame apartheid for all our misfortunes.
Let us take advantage of the democratic space that is now available and make
the most of it while we still can. If we do not grab opportunities that now
exist, we shall not have anyone to blame except ourselves.

Programme director, lastly we wish to congratulate and salute all the
recipients of our National Orders for living up to the ideal of what it truly
means to be a South African. In this regard we wish to salute Mr Ephraim
Sibiya, a retired teacher from Tzaneen in Mopani District who received the
Honour of the Order of the Baobab in bronze, for his humble but inspiring work
in environmental justice matters and nature conservation. We are proud of what
he is doing and hope it will serve to inspire our youth and revive the
volunteering spirit in all of us. "Let us make hay when there is still
sunshine. Ri khomeni ri nga peri."

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
27 April 2007
Source: Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.limpopo.gov.za)