N Balfour: Anniversary of Victoria University Australia

3 June 2006

Honourable Ministers and members of parliament present,
High Commissioner of South Africa and members of the diplomatic corps,
The Chancellor and Vice–Chancellor of Victoria University,
The Rector of the University,
The alumni of Victoria University,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am deeply honoured to receive an award from this distinguished university
as part of its recognised legends and alumni and I wish congratulate you on
your 90th anniversary as a leading progressive institution of higher
learning.

Victoria University is part of a broad and rich tradition in this country,
one which I am confident you will further develop and deepen in the years to
come.

I am humbled by the invitation I received from this University which greatly
contributed in shaping my destiny during the years I spent here as a student.
This prestigious gathering of the university’s alumni evokes great memories for
me as I reminisce about the great life I had as student in this great country I
regard as my second home.

Victoria University was my pillar of strength during the height of apartheid
repression, as I was warmly received and embraced by both the intellectual and
student community of this institution. This university provided me with a much
broader insight into life both intellectually and socially beyond the frontiers
of a then disintegrated South Africa where the majority of people were deprived
of or albeit denied intellectual opportunities and political participation in
any sphere of government as a result of racial discrimination.

As I look back at the period I spent here the words of Australian poet, Alec
Derwent Hope that resonate throughout his poem ‘Gateway’ provide me with a
perfect definition of what Australia was to me when I landed here to study.

In his poem, Hope says:
“Now the heart sings with all its thousand voices
To hear this city of cells, my body, sing.

The tree through the stiff clay at long last forces
Its thin strong roots and taps the secret spring.

And the sweet waters without intermission
Climb to the tips of its green tenement;

The breasts have borne the grace of their possession,
The lips have felt the pressure of content.

Here I come home: in this expected country
They know my name and speak it with delight.

I am the dream and you my gates of entry,
The means by which I waken into light.”

Ladies and gentlemen, Australia was indeed a gateway and gate of entry to a
brighter future because little did I know then when I landed here that the
world had great things in store for the future.

During the time I studied here I felt sense of belonging and attachment to
the generous people of Australia who treated me as their equal irrespective of
colour or creed. However it was ironic that back home in South Africa, I was
disfranchised politically and regarded as a second citizen with no freedom of
expression and political association.

The generosity, hospitality and kindness of the people of Australia,
particularly those that ensured that I felt home at this University, cannot be
overemphasised.

I will always be indebted to this institution and the scholars and
intellectuals it produced during my tenure.

The intellectual capacity that this institution unlocked in me will forever
remain part of the key institutional memories of the intellectual journey I
have traversed both as a political activist and as a politician.

Since I grew up I have always been a conscious fanatic of sports
particularly rugby and cricket because these are the most popular sports codes
in the rural area of Alice, in the Eastern Cape province where I come from.

This is the area which produced highly acclaimed anti-apartheid sports
activists, including the current Minister of Sports in South Africa, Reverend
Arnold Makhenkesi Stofile who was very instrumental in campaigning for sports
sanctions against South Africa.

The greater part of this area where I grew up also produced the likes of
current world ranked and popular South African cricket bowler, Makhaya Ntini,
who originates from a village a few kilometres from Alice. My biography would
not be complete if I fail to mention one of my mentors, also a very vocal
anti-apartheid sports campaigner and political activist during the 80s, the
late Steve Tshwete, who became South Africa’s first Minister of Sports after
the advent of democracy in 1994.

These are individuals that continue to inspire me and millions of previously
disadvantaged South Africans to have hope of a better tomorrow despite the
harsh realities of our past political history that deprived us of many
opportunities, including participation in non–racial sports, provision of
quality education and employment to mention a few. In spite of this legacy many
of us have emerged out of these peripheral areas to put our country on the
map.

This is a clear demonstration that you cannot forever suppress or pull a
determined person down. Needless to say that our successes and achievements in
dethroning the evil system of apartheid would have not materialised sooner
without the unwavering support of the people of Australia who continue to
remain friends of the people of South Africa.

The award that I have received today symbolises the historic bond that ties
our two nations, dating back to the dark days of apartheid. This is not merely
a token of appreciation accorded to and bestowed on me as an individual but to
the millions of South Africans who are indebted to the people of Australia for
their solidarity pledge to our political cause as well as their generosity and
warmth manifested by their amazing hospitality.

As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Victoria University it is with a
sense of pride that I am counted amongst the alumni and legends who are being
recognised and honoured. Whilst this honour and recognition is bestowed on me
as an individual in particular, it however belongs to the people of South
Africa. Though a number of individuals played a great part in mentoring me
there is however one particular person that stands out for his immense
influence in grooming the character that has become Ngconde Balfour.

That person is none other than the Archbishop Desmond Tutu who groomed and
nurtured me under his wing when I worked with him in the South African Council
of Churches (SACC). He was a great mentor and father to me who I so wish would
have been here today to witness the seeds of his cultivation bearing
fruits.

Ladies and gentlemen, the partnership we forged during apartheid did not end
after the advent of democracy in South Africa. The dawn of freedom symbolised
the strengthening and enhancement of the long lasting relations between our
nations as we face a much more challenge to alleviate poverty, generate
employment for our people, build intellectual capacity that is able to sustain
critical services such as health, education, science and technology, to mention
a few.

The intellectual wealth that this university possesses has to be unleashed
for the betterment of the socio economic conditions of the underdeveloped and
the developing world. Australia has been and still remains one of the major and
pivotal friends of the poor and it is against this backdrop that I make this
appeal.

Australia cannot abandon millions of poor people across the underdeveloped
and developing world that look upon it as a partner in eradicating the ills of
the past.

The Victoria University with its intellectual depth and wealth needs to
craft its own role within the context of improving the quality of education in
the neediest countries, particularly in Africa.

The international stature that this university has gained as a result of
amongst others its successful international partnerships and exchanges, has to
be tapped on so as to strengthen the capacity of our tertiary institutions.
This is another challenge that I will leave to the university’s bureaucrats to
ponder upon and conceptualise, hoping that this process will soon bear fruitful
results.

Distinguished guests, I do not stand here alone. On behalf of all my fellow
compatriots and colleagues in every part of South Africa who have devoted their
lives and in many instances risked or given their lives in the cause of freedom
and democracy this award belongs to you.

I thank the alumni, scholars, graduates and students of Victoria University
for this high honour. This would not have been possible without the sacrifice
and commitment of my family and many friends, some of whom have passed away,
who mentored, groomed and guided me. To everyone who made a contribution in my
life, I offer my most profound gratitude. This is indeed a very emotional and
historic moment that I will never ever erase from my memory, for time
immemorial.

I thank you Australia, I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
3 June 2006