I hasten to apologise for mentioning the names of some of the hon members who spoke yesterday while excluding others. I value the important comments made by other members of the National Assembly to whom I have not referred, and will take the necessary steps to respond to them.
These include the hon Sydney Opperman, who clearly has problems with the Native Club and, for whatever reason, seems to have decided, quite wrongly, that this interesting initiative of the black intelligentsia is the property of the President of the Republic.
In this regard, like the hon Koos van der Merwe, I am happy that I too am a native of South Africa. I would therefore have no problem in approaching the Native Club to seek to participate in its activities. I hope I would find in its ranks the Afrikaners to whom the hon Carol Johnson referred, who hoped that one day they would have the possibility to proclaim that they are proudly South African and African natives!
The hon Dr Buthelezi, Kader Asmal, Bantu Holomisa, Don Gumede and others took the bold step to speak to the various fractious debates and activities our country has lived through during the past 12 months or more. I thank them for their considered and elevating views in this regard.
However, I would like to make so bold as to say that the things they said have a meaning and relevance that extend beyond whatever might constitute the events and statements that evoked their own statements. What I will now say is perhaps nothing more than a declaration of faith, with no force beyond its moral force as a declaration of faith.
In this context, I am privileged to say that I am proudly South African. I am proud of the people to whom I owe my being. I am humbled by the opportunity they gave me to lead them.
I have sought to play this temporary role fully conscious of the imperative never to act in any manner that is inconsistent with what the masses of our people consider to be the soul of our nation, as defined by a particular value system that continues to reaffirm the tenets of the traditional perspective of ubuntu.
I speak here of a people, regardless of race, colour and gender, that is truly cultured. The millions of our people know what is right and what is wrong. They know what kinds of behaviour enhance our dignity as a nation and what kinds of behaviour demean all of us.
They know of the importance that all our cultures attach to the notion and practice of respect and its relevance to the building of a civilised society that honours the dignity of all persons. They know that truthfulness signifies honesty and integrity. They know too that it is not necessarily he or she who has the loudest voice that is the wisest.
Surely, all of us who claim that we lead these masses have an obligation to respect, honour and promote the values they cherish, and resist all temptations to behave as though the fact of our leadership positions entitles us to dishonour the simple goodness that our people display every day. [Applause.]
I know, as a matter of fact, that our people deeply value the democracy they brought about through struggle. I know that they are convinced that this democracy guarantees that tomorrow their life will be better than it is today. They know that it is only in a democratic and law-governed South Africa that they will realise their dreams for happiness and human fulfilment.
Because of all of this, I am certain that our democratic system is safe. Nevertheless, I believe that all of us, severally and collectively, have an obligation to speak and act in a manner that further deepens and consolidates the great gifts of democracy and peace we secured at great cost. As the Freedom Park Trust always says, "freedom was not free". I thank the hon members for their participation in a debate that demonstrated that we are indeed firmly united behind the fundamental values and perspectives so clearly defined in our Constitution. I am certain that if the hon Kofi Annan had been present in the House yesterday, he would have been reassured that his confidence in our country is not misplaced. [Applause.]
I am very pleased and honoured to thank our Deputy President, our Ministers and Deputy Ministers, the staff of the Presidency that is ably led by the Rev Frank Chikane, his fellow directors-general, my advisers and the Public Service in general for the support they have given me personally, and the things they have done that seek to give meaning to the promise we made that we have entered our age of hope. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.