Programme Director and the MEC for Health, MEC Qedani Mahlangu;
Members of the Mlangeni family - Mme Mlangeni, Seipati and children, and the Brothers;
Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature;
MMC Molwele and Councillors;
The former Mayor of the City of Joburg and representative of the Bheki Mlangeni Foundation, Mr Amos Masondo, MP;
Acting HoD, CEO and management and staff of the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital;
The People of Soweto;
The Constitution of our country enjoins us, among others, to recognise the injustices of our past; to honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land and to heal the divisions of our past.
It is clear that the video clip we have just watched evokes deep feelings of sadness and injustice. It is as if the brutal murder of our beloved People's Lawyer, Bheki Mlangeni, happened yesterday. For the family, the pain must still be difficult to bear and only time will heal.
And yet, we are called upon to do what our Constitution enjoins us to do: heal the divisions of the past. What a difficult tasks for those who carry the scars and deep wounds of injustice.
Programme Director, it is in this spirit that we have gathered here today to remember and honour a time-tested revolutionary democrat; one of the foremost thinkers and strategists of the student movement in the 1980’s - AZASO and SANSCO; a community activist; a people’s lawyer; a sports activist; an organiser of the workers, a patriot to the end and servant of the people par excellence.
I would like to call upon those of us who are public office bearers, civil servants and community leaders to understand that when we see the name Bheki Mlangeni, who remember that we are meant to be servants of the people.
The doctors, nurses, cleaners and security guards at this hospital must be a true reflection of what it means to be servants of the people. Those who are tired must retire and those who abuse patients don't in the public heath system.
Today, we gather here to memorialise the life and times of an all-round activist and an accomplished leader. Bheki, our leader, my leader was one of the best minds in the student and youth movement. He represented the best in his generation.
In particular we remember the central role he played as a student activist at Fort Hare University in mobilizing students to resist the bantustan system of the then Ciskei government.
We are reminded that as a result of his student activism he was targeted for harassment by the security forces. After his expulsion from Fort Hare, he continued his student activism when he registered at Wits University in 1984. He became a central figure in the student and youth congresses (AZASO, SANSCO and SAYCO).
Bheki campaigned actively against racist sports under the banner of SATISCO. He also led community struggles against illegitimate and puppet structures imposed by the apartheid regime on black communities.
He was also instrumental in setting up organs of people’s power in communities such as street committees and he participated in initiatives to defend communities against attacks from those opposed to progress during the early 1990’s.
He participated in the underground structures of the African National Congress and he was involved in the formation of the United Democratic Front.
After the unbanning of liberation movements, Bheki was in the forefront of the re-establishment of the ANC in the townships. He was elected the first Chairperson of the branch here in Jabulani.
At the time of his brutal and untimely death he was a practising human rights lawyer who had undertaken the important task of exposing the work of police death squads, who were still in operation even as the apartheid government had denounced white minority rule and had begun negotiations with the liberation movement.
On this special occasion where we are renaming the Zola-Jabulani Hospital, a modern health facility, to the Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital, we are acknowledging his immense contribution to our struggle for national liberation.
Our opponents likes to complain that we name everything after ANC leaders. I must state for the record that the decision to rename this hospital after Bheki Mlangeni was taken by the Provincial Cabinet after communities overwhelming voted for this name. It is in line we the clarion call: the people shall govern!
It is also in response to Constitution to honour and respect those who suffered and sacrificed for freedom and democracy.
If you want us to honour a name of someone who contributed immensely to the creation and building of a democratic society please get the community to support your idea through a transparent and accountable process of public participation.
Through this little step have taken, we have engraved Bheki's name in our nation’s collective memory; ensuring that it occupies pride of place among our heroes and heroines.
We are once again making the point that our freedom was not free; that it came at an enormous cost to martyrs such as Bheki Mlangeni; martyrs who were prepared to make supreme sacrifices in order that we can be a free and democratic society.
On this important occasion we wish to convey a special word of gratitude to the family of Bheki Mlangeni for making available your beloved son to be part of the struggle for liberation.
Those of us who knew and worked with Bheki Mlangeni shared the pain that the family felt at the time of callous murder by the apartheid death squads. We celebrate his life and commemorate his death which took place twenty four years ago.
Today, by re-naming this hospital in his honour, we are turning the tragic event of his death into a moment of eternal celebration of his life. We are also today according him the status of a hero that he truly was.
We trust that this gesture from us will contribute towards the Mlangeni family’s healing process and broadly to our nation’s healing process.
By re-naming this hospital we are taking an important step in preserving Bheki Mlangeni's legacy for current and future generations. Current and future generations must know who Bheki Mlangeni was. They must know his contribution to our society. They must draw lesson from his life. They must also draw courage and inspiration from his sacrifices.
As government we will continue to work with the Bheki Mlangeni Foundation to preserve the proud legacy and life of Bheki Mlangeni.
Programme Director, it is fitting that we are honouring Bheki Mlangeni during the month of April, which is our freedom month.
As we begin the third decade of our freedom and inspired by patriots such as Bheki Mlangeni, we must work hard to defend and deepen the gains of our liberation. This we must do by accelerating the socio-economic emancipation of our people.
In honour of Bheki Mlangeni and many like him, we must do everything necessary to create more jobs, to lift more of our people out of poverty, reduce inequality, provide quality education and health care as well as fight crime and corruption.
To do all of this we in Gauteng are currently implementing a bold programme of Radical Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation, referred to as the TMR.
Among other things, we want to build the state-of-the-art public infrastructure and social amenities in our townships inmorder to transform them into thriving hubs with regard to business, cultural and intellectual activities. The townships must be centres of excellence in the delivery of public services such as education, healthcare and housing.
As part of our modernisation of the public service, we are implementing our e-health programme which has gone a long way in reducing queuing time and generally improving the quality of health care provision.
A hospital is about good buildings and modern medical equipment. We must have professional, motivated and efficient public servants who are driven by the ethos of Batho Pele. Of course well maintained and modern infrastructure is important but the calibre of health workers is the primary differentiator in the quality of care.
We are also making policy interventions to revitalise the township economies in order to transform our townships into vibrant and sustainable nodes of economic activity where our people can live, play, work and do business.
Programme Director, one of the things we will always remember the People's Lawyer Bheki Mlangeni for is that he was a firm believer in the noble goal of building peace among the oppressed.
As a peace maker and protector of the people, who have joined or formed street committees to fight crime and xenophobia. He was never a bystander who stands and criticise without dirting his ends as part of finding solutions to people's problems.
We know therefore that if he was alive today Bheki Mlangeni would have expressed his strongest condemnation of the violence meted out against foreign nationals who have chosen to make our country their home.
He would join us in calling for an end to the killings of our brothers and sisters from our continent. He would have reminded us that we are All Africans and we are One Humanity. as Africans. He would have said "No to Xenophobia!". He would have reminded us that we are our brothers and sisters keepers.
We once more take this opportunity to say to the people of Gauteng let us isolate and expose those criminals among us who are attacking our brothers and sisters. Soweto must take the lead and say that xenophobic attacks will never take place in this area. Take charge of your communities street by street, block by block and drive out the criminals.
Let us work with the police to ensure that the perpetrators of these atrocities are brought to book. Let us say never again shall our country and province descend into violence against our brothers and sisters.
Let peace prevail! Let Africa unite!
God Bless Africa!
Thank you.
