All African Students Conference, Bloemfontein
16 June 2006
Programme Director,
The Dean and Deputy Dean of studentâs affairs
The All African Students Secretariat
Ladies and gentlemen
I wish to express my gratitude to the University of the Free State for
inviting me to this important and historic conference. The All African Students
Conference (AASC) is indeed critical and imperative in that it provides a
platform for the peoples of this continent and the Diaspora to engage and
deliberate on pertinent issues on Africans throughout the world.
Our continent is currently faced with numerous challenges that include
underdevelopment, poverty, conflicts, disease and illiteracy. It is these and
other inherent challenges that made it necessary for the creation first of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and later in 1994 the African Union (AU).
The creation of the AU came about as a result of the realisation by governments
and people in Africa that we have a common future and that now more than ever
our progress and development depends on our ability to work in a united manner
towards our common goals.
Whilst our continent continues to make great strides in reasserting itself
among the community of nations, we remain cognisant of the challenges we must
still overcome.
On the economic front we continue to face challenges of economies that are
not integrated. Economic activity and development remains largely in the hands
of the state and there is also limited economic interaction in terms of
intra-African trade investment into each otherâs economy convertibility of
currencies and the complementary of economies.
On the social front the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment are
worsened by unstable political states that are yet to embrace a culture of
democratic governance and human rights.
Our articulation of the African Renaissance is therefore not a mere
philosophical exercise but a call to action and a strategic objective.
Our collective aspirations of economically developed, politically stable and
socially viable continent are represented through the New Partnership for
Africaâs Development (NEPAD), which has become a charter for the future of our
continent. In its founding document NEPAD calls on African leaders to share a
common vision that as Africans we have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and
to place our countries on the path to sustainable growth and development.
Our continent is rich with resources we have notable mineral and
agricultural resources that are crucial for economic development. Yet because
of all the obstacles we are faced with many of our people continue to live in
abject poverty. It was therefore relevant that in an effort to overcome the
challenges confronting us on the economic, political and social fronts the AU
established structures such as the Pan African Parliament (PAP), NEPAD and the
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
The APRM as a self monitoring tool acceded to by all member states of the AU
is premised on the promotion of good and accountable governance in all African
states. As Africans we should be committed to the policies and principles that
promote political stability, economic growth and sustainable continental
development.
One of the key areas facing Africa in the 20th century is education. Though
the efforts by government leaders to ensure access to quality education should
be commended, much more still needs to be done to elevate our education systems
and structures to international standards. It is critical that we engage our
intelligentsia both in Africa and the diaspora in debates aimed at improving
our standards of education from the primary up to tertiary levels. It is within
this context that I view this conference as critical in that it encourages
discussion around these very issues.
The concept of the re-awakening or re-birth of Africa took root at the turn
of the 20th century after a number of Africans in Africa and the diaspora
gained sufficient education to begin to interact with each other intellectually
and politically. The early writers compared Africa to a "sleeping giant waiting
for her children to wake her up." The entire 20th century bears testimony to
the attempts by leading African intellectuals and politicians to bring about
the re-generation and development of this continent.
Great African leaders in the diaspora such as George Padmore, du Bois,
Marcus Garvey and others on the continent like Kwameh Nkrumah, Abdel Nasser,
Jomo Kenyatta, Mwalimu Nyerere grappled with the concept and practical
applications of the African Renaissance. The resurgence of interest in the
concept of an African Renaissance in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has
breathed a new life into the desire by all Africans to end the misery that
appears to be our lot.
But it will still require each one of us especially our institutions of
higher learning to translate policy into programmes that would bring about
tangible change to the lives of individual Africans. Dedicating the 21st
century towards Africa's development will come to nothing unless we take
cognisance of the fact that it will require greater effort and dedication from
us all to restore Africa to her pristine glory.
We need an African leadership that is capable and committed to the
development of great African engineers and architects, builders of bridges and
houses, scholars who will develop programmes and projects for modernising our
economies and our societies and bring science and technology into the life of
every African. It is only through Africa's people that we can address not
simply poverty alleviation, but also its root causes to ensure that we also
reap the benefits of technological advancement.
It also important that we create an environment that will make it possible
to retain the educated and skilled professionals in order to avoid the brain
drain we continue to experience throughout the continent. It is indeed
unfortunate that many professionals leave our continent to seek better pastures
in Asia and the west. These are the very people whom we should rely on to
tackle to numerous challenges we face. The realities of our peoples, our
countries and our continent are what must propel us in our effort to promote
African progress and prosperity. But these wishes and ideals will never be
realised without the education of the African people especially within the
context of higher education.
One of the roles of the higher education and further education and training
systems is the development of skilled graduates who will be able to respond to
the challenges of the 21st century. The issue of high and intermediate level
skills and their application in society and the economy needs to be addressed
if we are to achieve the human resource development needs of the continent.
Conferences and platforms such as this one should therefore address and find
viable solutions to these and other issues.
The hosting of the 18th All Africa Students Conference here in South Africa
coincides with the 30th commemoration of 1976 students uprising. The uprising
of young people in Soweto against Bantu education on this day in 1976, helped
to further define the South African youth as a distinct and independent
formation in the struggle against apartheid.
For the two decades that followed that uprising both in terms of its mass
character as well as its impact served as a point of reference in the conduct
of struggle by all anti-apartheid democratic forces.
The political significance of the day reached beyond the borders of our
country and helped to draw the attention of the international community to the
plight of you young people.
Today we have many reasons for celebrating with the South African youth.
Of course the most significant of those victories is the establishment of a
national political order in 1994. The youth of South Africa played an
indispensable role in that political victory. That development opened the way
for a process of social transformation, reconstruction and development at all
levels of our society.
Despite our democratic achievements our youth today are faced new challenges
that include unemployment, HIV and AIDS, crime and drug and alcohol abuse. In
an attempt to confront these challenges government has initiated programmes and
projects in order to ensure effective youth development in this country. The
establishment of structures such as the Youth Commission, the South African
Youth Council and the Umsobomvu Fund are a case in point. One of the main
objectives of these structures is to streamline and consolidate governmentâs
youth development initiatives and their work thus far should be commended.
It is imperative that we commit ourselves to finding innovative solutions
and forging strategic partnerships that will ensure effective youth
development. We should work as a collective to ensure that young people are
empowered in order to become progressive, responsible and therefore contribute
meaningfully towards socio economic development in our country and throughout
the continent.
Your responsibility as Africaâs intelligentsia is to embrace your
Africanness with pride and inspire confidence to fellow Africans about a
meaningful future. We have to undermine the brain drain currently facing our
continent and initiate socio economic developmental programmes intended to:
* eradicate poverty,
* place Africa on a path of sustainable growth and development,
* stop the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process,
* enhance Africaâs integration into the global economy,
* accelerate the empowerment of women.
I want to extend an invitation to all of you to join us in the 30th
anniversary celebration of 16 June today. I say this mindful of the sacrifices
your countries have made in the liberation of our own countries. When scores of
our youth fled this country as a result of the 1976 aftermath, they were
welcomed with open arms by our neighbouring countries and made to feel that
they are as much the youth of Africa as they are the youth of South Africa. It
is this belief that must guide your interactions as we strengthen our bond of
solidarity and common brotherhood and sisterhood.
I am confident that the deliberations emanating from this conference will
assist in finding solutions that will bring hope and improve the lives of our
people in Africa and the diaspora for the better.
I wish you all the best and I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Free State Provincial Government
16 June 2006
