Welcome remarks by the Premier of Gauteng, Premier David Makhura, on the occasion of the prize giving ceremony of the African Union (AU) Summit Presidential Golf Day: Royal Johannesburg Country Club
Programme Director, Her Excellency, Fatima Haram Acyl, the African Union Commissioner of Trade and Industry,
Excellencies Heads of State and Government here present,
The Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission: His Excellency Erastus Mwencha
The African Union Foundation Council Member: Dr Asfour Excellencies Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Mr Chris Maroleng from MTN and other representatives of business here present,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow Africans.
Over the past few days, the people of our country and in particular the people of Gauteng have welcomed, with open arms, the sister people of our continent, our Heads of State and Government as well as their delegations from the rest of our continent, for the 25th African Union Summit.
We in Gauteng are indeed privileged to host our brothers and sisters for this AU Summit; the first to be hosted in our country since the formation of the African Union in Durban, in 2002.
We welcome you, fellow Africans, in the spirit of African unity and solidarity as well as the socio-economic development of our Continent. To us the occasion of the 25th African Union Summit is an event of major significance for the development and prosperity of our continent.
We have no doubt that the Summit will take forward in a meaningful way our quest to build a better Africa and through that a better and more humane world.
As we host this important Summit we wish to make the point, once more that: as South Africa we are an integral part of the African continent. We fully appreciate that our success as a country as well as our future is linked to that of the Continent.
We are indeed a proud member of the African family of nations, and we are fully committed to the success of the African Union and in particular Agenda 2063.
As one of the leading economies on the African Continent, we in Gauteng are fully cognisant of the responsibility that lies on our shoulders, to work with rest of the continent to ensure that we sustain and take to higher levels the positive stories of economic and social progress emerging out of our Continent.
As you know ours is now a continent of hope; a success story on many fronts and one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Guided by the African Union’s Agenda 2063, we must work together to achieve our continental development goals and to ensure that Africa continues to rise.
Collectively we must also assert Africa’s right to determine its own destiny. We must equally spare no effort in building an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. At the centre of our work and in line with the theme of this AU Summit, is the need to do everything necessary to achieve and advance women empowerment on our continent.
This we must do because as Africans we know too well that; to empower a woman is to empower a nation!
As I conclude I wish to thank all those who made this Golf Day possible. I trust that all our golfers today enjoyed themselves. We also trust that this event has contributed in strengthening the bonds of friendship and solidarity among ourselves as Africans.
On the behalf of the South African government, I wish to take this opportunity to assure all of you that for the remainder of the AU Summit we will continue to deliver on our mandate of creating a conducive environment for a successful Summit.
We also assure you of the continued hospitality of the people of South African and the people of Gauteng.
Congratulations to all those who will be receiving prizes this afternoon.
I wish you all a memorable stay in Gauteng and in South Africa.
Thank you!
