Programme director, Ms Geraldine Pillay
The Premier of Gauteng, Mme Nomvula Mokonyane
The Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation South Mr Gert Oosthuizen
Members of Provincial Executive Legislature
The Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni Mondli Gungubele
Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr Molefi Oliphant
The South Africa Football Association (SAFA) President, Mr Kirsten Nematandani
Chairperson of the of the African Women Championship Organising Committee, Ms Nomsa Mahlangu
The players, officials, referees and the coaches, you are the reason why we here tonight!
Fellow South Africans
Good evening, Sanibonani, Dumelang! Malibongwe!
It is our singular honour to deliver to this auspicious event full of solemn splendor and dignity what is coined in the programme, ‘keynote address’. A very intimidating phrase considering that today marks exactly 12 days since the President of the Republic commanded us to take over the reigns of leadership in the Ministry of Sport and Recreation South Africa.
So if the address does not live up to the phrase keynote please accept our apology in anticipation as we are novices and still wet behind ear! But please do not be misled into believing that we are daunted or intimidated; we have gathered all the ammunition and artillery necessary for us to launch an all-round offensive on the vestiges of colonialism, gender and racially based inequalities.
This weekend marks the end of yet another successful and exhilarating championship in 2010 on the South African soil. Driven by the burning desire and love for the game of football you came from Ghana, from Mali, from Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, unbeaten in this championship, to join our the own women national side, Banyana Banyana. Together you produced spectacular tournament that kept millions around the continent glued to their television sets and itching to attend the next games live from two of the FIFA World Cup legacy stadiums, Makhulong and Sinaba.
We are looking forward to a scintillating final of the tournament this Sunday and we say in the same vein, may the best team win. It is a hard cold fact of life that in any contest, that only one team can lift the trophy! We salute all the participating teams that have made this tournament a success that it is. You have made us proud. Keep it up! You have all played a big role in putting Africa and African women on the world stage. Today Africa is the winner. The Women of Africa are winners!
It feels like yesterday when our department, the Gauteng government, Ekurhuleni Metro and the Confederations for African Football warmly welcomed you to our shores on 14 October 2010. As we mentioned on the occasion of the opening of the African Women Championships that you have bestowed honour on us by choosing South Africa as your host and for that South Africa owes you a depth of gratitude.
In this connection we areduty-bound to double our efforts living no stone unturned in our pursuit for the total emancipation of women and the creation of an equal society in which women freely participate in society in any given area including sport.
This is not utopia. It’s not a pipe-dream. In Africa there is a progressive, resurgent movement against patriarchy, inequality and for the promotion of women equality and participation. We see the positive outcomes of such movements in South Africa and Rwanda where we have capable women driving and running big institutions and organisations.
For an example the Premier of Gauteng Mme Mokonyane and CAF Championship organiser Ms Nomsa Mahlangu to mention but a few, are amongst leading women demonstrating to Africa and the world that women power in Africa is alive with possibilities. This is just but few examples of principles and practices that are becoming wildly accepted and are gradually becoming integral to our nascent democratic, non-racial and non-sexist to many African societies.
As indicated in the beginning that 2010 has been the defining decade in many decades for African progress and success. We hosted a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. Just so that you are clear, I am talking about the one played by men in only South Africa in June 2010!
The successful hosting of these events have engendered a new sense of Pan-African optimism and opened a plethora of vistas that will lift Africa from the abyss of poverty to development and growth. In order to continue enjoying the privileged position bestowed on us by the football fraternity.
We must maintain the momentum of the two big events in the football calendar we have had in 2010, the FIFA 2010 World Cup tournament and now the African Women Championship. These events have demonstrated that not only are they able to bring both South African as a country but also Africa as a continent, on the global map but they also go a long way to unite us as Africans. We shall continue to build on that and intensify even further.
We must intensify our campaigns aimed at increasing women participation in sport and bolster global competitiveness. No force on earth can stand in way of women empowerment’. As we say in South Africa ‘wathint' abafazi wathint’ imbokotho’!
We must build vibrant community clubs! Starting with our schools and local clubs, which must form part of our strategic priority in our development initiatives. To this end, we must bring back the winter camps for the young people and instill the culture of sport and recreation. We should remember that idle minds and bodies are the devil’s playing field and sport and recreation can play a meaningful role in constructively channeling this youthful exuberance with!
We must rejuvenate the culture of tournaments and competitions in our townships and villages and cities and dorpies. The corporate bodies have a responsibility of equally ploughing back to the townships and villages as they choose to socially invest in the cosmopolitan and metropolitan parts of our nation. Part of the workload that remain cut out ahead of us is to engage the private sector around the Corporate Social Investments and impress upon them the need to join us in prioritising the rural and township areas.
We have arrived in sport, sesifikile bazobaleka bonke ooguluva abatya imali yezemidlalo. We are to stop monopoly, poor governance and corruption.
Yesterday, in the media briefing that we held to outline our vision, we unequivocally said that we need to increase our pace in respect of transformation. This will include among others, adopting a fresh perspective around our conceptual and contextual approach to transformation. We need to once more reiterate that and spell it out clearly that we are not going to negotiate transformation for ever. We need to transform the status quo as it currently obtains in our sporting sector. This, we will do, even if it means raffling feathers!
To our sisters who came from beyond the borderlines of South Africa to form part of this prestigious tournament, we wish you well as you will be traveling back home. Convey our regards to our brothers and sisters back home and tell them of this beautiful part our continent; we have come to call South Africa. Tell them about its beautiful people and their generous spirit of Ubuntu. Tell them that we are looking forward to collaborating with your respective governments and share some experiences on how we can take our country and Africa on a developmental trajectory with capability to respond to local needs whilst maintaining her global competitive edge. That must be the game plan of all African countries.
In conclusion, programme director it would be befitting as Africans tonight to take this opportunity to wish the two teams, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, which will represent Africa in Germany for the FIFA Women Championship.
I thank you!
