S J Ndebele, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, KwaDukuza
24 September 2006
Greetings,
His Majesty, our King, we have assembled here today on invitation by the
provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, so we can remember the day of the
passing away of King Shaka. He died on 24 September 1828. King Shaka, who had
ascended the throne in 1816 had utilised the 12 years between 1816 and 1828 to
unite all people in this region and build the Zulu nation. He wanted to lay new
foundations for the new Zulu nation, a Zulu Kingdom which functioned as a
federation of clans and willing people who co-operated under the king's new
vision.
We remember King Shaka not only because he was a local hero, but also an
African hero whom the rest of the world admires even today. He is widely
regarded globally as having been a very intelligent leader and a genius of his
time. We remember King Shaka because he stood for unity urging all people to
work together. He was adamant that only through hard work and dedication will
the new Zulu Kingdom be built. He was strong on identity and made Zulu people
famous throughout the world.
Every time we remember him, we are also reminded that he was born and
brought up by a single mother, Queen Nandi, who through dedication and focus
was able to help her son achieve his goals. We know that the Queen went through
a lot of pain, just to bring her son up and help him realise his dreams. There
are many others who contributed towards King Shaka's focused upbringing. Much
has been researched and written about him. We remember the role of Mdlaka
KaNcindi of the Ntshangase who was King Shaka's most trusted general in the
struggle for unity. We remember Ngomane of the Mdletshe and many others who
came from different clans and joined King Shaka's struggle for unity, unity at
all costs.
King Shaka was always on the move; consulting, attacking, urging for and
demanding excellence, installing amakhosi and doing anything possible in order
to bring about peace and development to his people. He always wanted the best
for his people. Yes, many wars were fought during his reign. But they were wars
which had peace as the ultimate objective. He wanted to eliminate ethnicity and
tribalism. This explains why his troops came from different tribal groups. Thus
the Amaphela Regiment came from the Ndwandwe following his defeat of Zwide in
the Battle of Umhlathuze in 1818, while the Iziyendane Regiment came from the
Drakensberg region and consisted of Amahlubi and the San. They had joined the
kingdom in 1819. Therefore, many people co-operated with King Shaka in the
struggle for unity, peace and development.
We, the living have a responsibility to nurture this history, conduct
extensive research on it and store it in our museums, libraries and archives,
so that our future generations can remember us as people who, upon seeing value
in this history, did something about it. The government of the province of
KwaZulu-Natal has decided to actively embark on heritage renewal in the
province. The project to construct statues for King Cetshwayo and Dinuzulu will
soon be finalised. Again the project to construct the gigantic statue of King
Shaka on the banks of UThukele River will soon commence. We will soon construct
multimedia centres at eMakhosini and eSandlwana.
The African Renaissance movement is gaining momentum. The colloquiums on
local heritage forums, the isiZulu Literature Heritage, KwaZulu-Natal History
Project and the KwaZulu-Natal Music Heritage Project, all of which we held
during September 2006, have re-affirmed to us that the people of the province
love their history and their heritage. We therefore need to create conditions
for KwaZulu-Natal's heritage renewal to happen.
The programmes to commemorate Inkosi Bhambatha Zondi and the 1906 Poll Tax
Uprisings as well as Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha have clearly demonstrated to
us that which can be done to revive our heritage. We have to present our
heritage in a balanced way that is guided by the Constitution. We should use
music, the arts, research and teaching to ensure that the history of all the
people of KwaZulu-Natal is renewed and preserved. That is what King Shaka would
have loved us to do.
This is why we support all private and public programmes to document,
collect, preserve and promote the heritage of KwaZulu-Natal. These may be at
universities, among the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
community-based organisations (CBOs) and among government departments and
parastatals or statutory bodies. Government needs the collective effort of
everyone to make KwaZulu-Natal heritage renewal possible.
Yesterday we were at the University of Zululand where, as the Office of the
Premier, we collaborated with KwaZulu-Natal's finest choirs as well as the KZN
Philharmonic Orchestra and the public to celebrate our heritage through the
heritage of choral music, in line with this year's national heritage theme and
agenda for heritage renewal in the country. We have unearthed new choral music
compositions on Bhambatha and Gandhi, while reviving the music of Reuben
Tholakele Caluza. We will soon be unearthing new compositions on Chief Albert
Luthuli and others.
King Shaka was bold and majestic. Born of and raised by a single mother, he
never lost focus in terms of what he wanted to achieve. His mission was unity
of all people at all costs. His reign came at a time when there had been a
period of prolonged drought � called Madlantule. His ideas of peace and unity
were much welcomed by many very powerful clans like the Mthethwas, the Ntuli's,
the Shezis and many others.
He was a strategist and a military commander par excellence .He altered the
nature of fighting and peace-making in this region. Most historical literature
regards him as one of the great military geniuses of his age. Modern research
has shown that the Kingdom of the Zulu under King Shaka was not a monolithic,
highly centralised entity .He ruled by consensus, and allowed many clans to
join the kingdom in celebration of unity .He left a framework for Zuluness,
which included decisiveness, dignity and respect, loyalty, and humility.
The government of the province of KwaZulu-Natal believes that much can be
derived from these values, in their modern forms in order to allow the legacy
of King Shaka to live on .We are moving towards an era when our cultural and
natural heritage is going to define the provincial agenda for identity,
iconicity and local economic development. As we profile our heritage we are
continuously learning about its significance in the lives of our people. "His
majesty, our King," I am positive that King Shaka's desire to build unity,
peace and development will soon be achieved in this province.
I thank you.
Issued by: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
24 September 2006
