Deputy Speaker and hon members, the freedom and independence of Ghana in 1957 inspired the leaders and people of Africa in the noblest ways any African historian can bring to mind.
The Conference of Independent African States called by Kwame Nkrumah had begun to deliberate on the political and the economic future of a free and independent African continent. The conference focused on the contribution of Africa to world peace, the total eradication of colonialism and racism, co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of good relations among free and sovereign nations, the promotion of continental peace and security, and the promotion of the political, cultural and economic wellbeing of all the people of Africa.
These were some of the salient principles that later influenced the establishment of the geo-political African entities, first the Organisation of African Unity, the OAU, and today the African Union, the AU, and its economic arm, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad.
It was the same spirit that motivated the Nigerian leader Nnamdi Azikiwe to illuminate on the renascent Africa, which must embody the fundamental basis of the philosophy of the new African, characterised by, inter alia, spiritual balance, social regeneration, economic determinism, mental emancipation, and political resurgence.
It is this philosophical base that, among other positive factors, motivated President Thabo Mbeki to re-introduce in this Parliament the debate on the African Renaissance. Regrettably, the debate could neither be deepened nor sustained in this House, including civil society. There were those who perceived that as a clarion call for the rise of black nationalism, while others feared an endless criticism of the historic failures of foreign ideologies. This attitude is delaying the true psychic, cultural and economic emancipation of the black majority in this country. Without this transformation, and unlike the people of Ghana and other independent African states, the black man in South Africa is in danger of forever remaining a dispensable participant in a process of modern-day enslavement of himself and his children.
President Mbeki summed it up well when he said: "We rarely speak about change or the absence of change in our minds." Thank you very much. [Applause.]