Remarks by Premier Nomvula Mokonyane at the Moral Regeneration Movement Conference, Birchwood Conference Centre, Boksburg

The Honourable Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe;
Chief Executive Officer of the Moral Regeneration Movement Mme Zandile Mdhladhla;
MRM Board of Directors’ members Fr. Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, Mme Ntombazana; Botha, Mr Sipho Tshabalala and Ms Chana Majake;
All board members present here;
Distinguished Leaders of various formations in our communities;
Honourable Delegates from all corners of our country present here;

Ladies and Gentlemen

Honourable Deputy President, the CEO of the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM), Mrs Mdhladhla, has given me a difficult task to introduce you to this august gathering.

At the surface of it, it seems an easy task to execute because one would assume that given your background, both in the liberation movement, labour movement as well as your current portfolio in Government, almost every delegate present here today knows and understands you.

That however is the simplistic approach which I believe would not do justice because it does not articulate the details of the enormous tasks that the Deputy President has to carry out as the second commander-in-chief of South Africa and the Leader of Government Business.

The Deputy President is also the second in command as the Deputy President of our glorious movement, the African National Congress which is marking a century of selfless struggle to build democracy, promote equality, non-racialism and non-sexism in our country in order to bring lasting unity and change.

Honourable Deputy President

We are approaching the end of July, an important month in which our Government and all the citizens of South Africa chose to dedicate to our freedom struggle icon, the first President of a democratic South Africa, Nelson Mandela.

When we talk morality, most of us would argue that we are talking about the values that are represented by our former President Nelson Mandela and that are enshrined in our constitution.  This is what all of us should strive to achieve in our country, by tirelessly working to build a just, democratic and united society which upholds the rights of all the country’s people.

As we know, the MRM can be traced back to the late 1990s, when President Mandela met with religious leaders.  He said at the time, “Our hopes and dreams, at times, seem to be overcome by cynicism, self-centredness and fear.

This spiritual malaise sows itself as a lack of good spirit, as pessimism, or lack of hope and faith. And from it emerge the problems of greed and cruelty, of laziness and egotism, of personal and family failure. It both helps fuel the problems of crime and corruption and hinders our efforts to deal with them”.

The National MRM was launched in April 2002 by the then Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma. The Gauteng Chapter was launched subsequently by a wide range of civil society formations, including civic, women’s and faith-based organisations together with local authorities and the provincial government. The approach at the time was to mobilise all sectors of society to cultivate positive values such as Ubuntu, respect for human rights as well as building national pride. Within the public service, the emphasis was, in addition, on promoting the Batho Pele principles and good governance.

Within the current term of office, moral regeneration and social cohesion remain inextricably linked to the broader political outcomes we seek to achieve as a province and a country in giving effect to the rights enshrined in our constitution.  Our priorities are focused on public education, health care, safety, rural development and food security and inclusive growth and job creation.

The systematic deprivation and abuse of human rights and human dignity by the apartheid system left deep scars and divisions across our communities that take generations to heal.

Our moral regeneration efforts must therefore include:

Firstly, intensifying our efforts to improve the material conditions and the quality of life of our people.
 Secondly, promoting social cohesion, positive values and an ethical society and

·Thirdly, developing a shared vision of the future around which to mobilise the efforts of all our people. As part of Gauteng Vision 2055, we have embarked on a widespread process of consultation with all sectors of society as part of the development of this shared vision and campaign, building on the ideals and dreams represented in the Freedom Charter and South Africa’s Constitution.

It is in this context, honourable Deputy President that the Gauteng Provincial Government has sought to mobilise all our people around efforts to build the values of morality and respect in our communities and to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

Honourable Deputy President

Our communities are currently faced with a myriad of social challenges. Among them is the apparent lack of morality which manifests itself in many ways such as disrespect for others including the elderly, lack of respect for life and other people’s dignity and the crime that some elements are using as a tool to control and terrorise our communities.

These are just some of the problems that we are facing and these have been acknowledged by all those concerned about the future of country as areas that need to be tackled with great determination.

Our Government has since 1994 put in place numerous laws and initiated programmes that seek to create a just, tolerant and moral society.  These include laws that are meant to protect women and children.

In Gauteng, we have realised that Government alone cannot succeed in dealing with the problem of moral degeneration unless it has the buy-in of people. We have established partnerships with various organisations in communities in a bid to find solutions to these challenges and rectify the situation.

Honourable delegates

I am sure you will also agree that the levels of violence in our communities are unacceptable. We have also seen here in Gauteng recently, shocking reports about gender-based violence directed at women and children. In some instances, this has also affected people with disabilities, including those that are mentally challenged.

As Government, we are playing our role, we are clamping down on criminals as shown in the decline in many categories of crime. But what is needed now is active citizenry and for civil society to play a greater role in contributing to moral regeneration and the development of caring and ethical communities.

This begins with reclaiming the streets from criminals and the rogue elements that peddle drugs in our communities. Let us respect and love each other, stand together to protect the weakest members of our society and let us instil good values among our children from an early age.

Mrs Mdhladhla, the MRM needs to assist us to mobilise our communities to actively participate in social cohesion initiatives, to root out the scourge of violence against women and children; to ensure that every learner is in school and to stop drug abuse. 

We need to work hard to ensure that all our people are safe, ensure that we live together in harmony and ensure that we respect human life as well as the rights of people especially women and children. Women and children should not lock themselves behind closed doors because they are afraid of the men who live in their neighbourhoods.

It is through such actions that we will succeed in healing our country which for many decades saw its moral fibre being slowly eaten away under the rule of the apartheid government.

As noted by the delegates who attended the Social Cohesion Summit in Soweto recently, if we work together, we can create a caring and proud society. This is also in line with the call by MRM which implores all South Africans to work together to explore ways to live the values that will help us sustain and consolidate our democracy so that our children can have peace, prosperity and enjoy a better life.

Dankie Ngiyabonga.