Programme Director
Member of the Executive Council
Programme Director:
Executive Mayor of John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality
Mayor of Joe Morolong Municipality
Speaker of John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality
Members of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
Community Members
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentleman
Good Morning, Goeie More , Dumelang , Molo
I am honoured to address the Community of Mapoteng ,in fact this is the first time I am addressing any community as the newly elected MEC for Sport , Arts and Culture. A position entrusted to me by the people’s organisation, the African National Congress.
On behalf of Government, I want to convey my warmest greetings to all of you and once again welcome this occasion.
However ladies and gentleman, before I can continue, I will be failing in my duties as an elected leader if I do not remind you to firstly register for the forthcoming local government elections and most importantly for you to vote on the day of the elections and have your say in who leads you.
If you have not registered as yet, do so on the 09 and 10 April 2016 at the voting station within your ward. The time is now for you to decide who must lead you in your respective community.
As you may well know, today, the 21 March, we celebrate a very special and meaningful day in the history of South Africa, Human Rights Day. The celebration of Human Rights Day is no ordinary celebration.
We are this year celebrating the National Human Rights Day under the theme “ Racism . Not in my Name”
This year’s commemoration coincides with the 20th anniversary of the signing of the final draft of the Constitution into law, the 40th anniversary of the 1976 June 16th Student Uprising and the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Women's march to the Union Building.
The clarion call of those brave women was premised on the powerful slogan “Wathint’abafazi Wathint’imbokodo” which still resonates today.
Ladies and Gentleman
The signing of the Constitution took place in Sharpeville on 10 December 1996. The Constitution laid the foundation for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people.
Human Rights Day is a national day that is commemorated annually to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa.
South Africans worked tirelessly for the transformation of our country to an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law.
The massacres in Sharpville and Langa continue to serve as a historical reminder to all of us to make efforts towards protecting human rights and human dignity.
Human Rights Day seeks to educate all South Africans about their human rights and obligations and make citizens aware of government services and programmes which will give effect to ensuring that their human rights become a lived reality.
Programme Director
Since the dawn of the new democracy, government programmes have ensured that backlogs which were created as a result of apartheid, are addressed and that access to basic services has become a priority.
The Gamagara Local Municipality, where we find ourselves today, is one of the top 10 best run municipalities in the country , especially on the provision of basic services to our people. They are doing a sterling job in providing quality services to the residents of Kathu and surrounding towns. And this ladies and gentleman is an ANC Led municipality.
The municipality is providing high level services to all our people to formalised areas and even at the informal area where we are in the process of providing temporary services of water and sanitation.
As the ANC government, we know that we are faced with the challenges around the battle of land grab that was led by community forums. As a caring and transparent we are in the process of finding a common ground with the land grabbers so that this burning issue can be resolved amicably.
We are also fully aware that the mines in Gamagara want to retrench more than 2500 workers. We do not agree with this, but we understand the situation of the mines and we are deeply concerned about what is going to happen to the workers who lose their jobs. Not only are they affected but also their families (wives and children), die njatsies moet maar eers eenkant staan.
But on serious note, as government we will work with organised labour and the mining sector in our Province. We want to ensure and work towards an outcome where job losses are minimised and that alternative measures are put in place other than retrenchments.
Ladies and Gentleman
Despite all the challenges we are faced with and which we will overcome, our biggest challenge that we are faced with today as South Africans , is the issue of racism that has stuck out its long ugly neck once again.
Racism is complex and is a form of oppression. It stems from discrimination against a group of people based on the belief or idea that they are inferior because of their race or ethnicity. It goes against what we have fought for which is the principle of equality and the right to be treated without discrimination and be given equal opportunities.
Human Rights month therefore is an opportunity for all South Africans to improve their understanding on what constitutes racism and to have a constructive dialogue on how to address it. South Africans need to be united on all fronts to address the scourge of racism.
Many of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic are based on the Freedom Charter which states that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. The anniversary provides us an opportunity to reflect how far we have come as a nation in inculcating a culture of human rights and building of a democratic society based on the principles of non-racialism and non-sexism.
It is the plea of the African National Congress to all the community members of Kathu , Mapotong , Dibeng , Dingleton and all surroundings areas that together we must eradicate racism. We must not allow racism to be a threat to our democracy and it cannot be that 22 years after freedom that it is still weakening the moral fabric of our society.
Racism is eroding the trust and optimism on which our economic growth depends. We need to address racism with the seriousness it deserves and we should have a constructive dialogue to heal our nation and foster unity, understanding and strive towards non-racialism. As the community of Gamagara we must do more to guarantee that South Africa belongs to all who live in it black and white and that we are united in our diversity.
Ladies and Gentlemen
As the ruling party and as the party that is governing South Africa , we are indeed proud that since the beginning of the political transformation in the early 1990s, our government has made concerted efforts to build a South Africa that respects and values the rights of its citizens.
We have moved decisively to dismantle all apartheid legislation that sought to divide our people on the basis of their race, gender, social status and location. We have decisively moved to redress the social imbalances that were created by apartheid.
During Human Rights Month we call on all South Africans to celebrate living in a country that guarantees that never again will our humanity be taken from any South African, irrespective of their race, gender, creed or sexual orientation.
I thank you!
Ke a leboha!
Baie dankie!
