Hon Deputy Speaker, I would like to quote from the ANC's 1969 Morogoro conference resolution, which says:
In our country ... it is inconceivable for liberation to have meaning without a return of the wealth of the land to the people as a whole ... To allow the existing economic forces to retain their interests intact is to feed the root of racial supremacy and does not represent even the shadow of liberation itself.
On 10 May 1994 Nelson Mandela, in his inauguration as the first President of a democratic Republic of South Africa, stated the following: We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation-building, for the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all ... Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. God bless Africa.
Maipfi haya o ambiwaho nga Vho Nelson Mandela mi?wahani ya 18 yo fhiraho. O vha tshiga tsha u sumbedza u fhela ha u fhandekanywa nga muvhuso wa tshi?alula kha shango ?ashu na u thoma ha lwendo luswa lwa Maafurika Tshipembe vho?he. Gundo ?a Afurika Tshipembe kha u lwela mbofholowo na demokirasi ndi zwi?we zwa zwi?ori zwavhu?i nga tshifhinga tshashu. (Translation of Tshiven?a paragraph follows.)
[These words uttered by Comrade Nelson Mandela 18 years ago marked the end of an epoch dominated by the apartheid racist division of our country and began the dawn of a journey for all South Africans. South Africa's successful struggle for freedom and democracy is one of the most dramatic stories of our time.]
The racial tyranny of apartheid ended with a negotiated transition to a nonracial democracy. The struggle for freedom was not without the considerable personal premium of thousands of men, women and young people who were involved. Apartheid and its labyrinth of regulations were based on imposed group membership, based primarily on race and also on ethnicity, with an entire classification process legally imposed and often arbitrary.
U bva 1994, mi?waha ya 18 nga fhasi ha vhurangaphan?a ha ANC, shango ?o no swikelela zwinzhi. Hu na vhudziki vhuhulu kha zwa polotiki. Nga murahu ha khetho dza 1994, Afurika Tshipembe ?o vha ?i tshi langulwa nga Mulayotewa wa tshifhinganyana. Mulayotewa uyu wo vha u tshi khou ?o?a uri buthano ?a vhukhethoni ?i ite mvetamveto na u tendelana kha Mulayotewa wa tsho?he hu sa athu u fhira ?a 9 Shundunthule 1996. (Translation of Tshiven?a paragraph follows.)
[Since 1994, in the 18 years under the ANC leadership, the country has achieved a lot. There is greater political stability. Following the 1994 election, South Africa was governed under the interim Constitution. This Constitution required the constituent assembly to draft and approve a permanent Constitution by 9 May 1996.]
The government of national unity established in terms of the interim Constitution remained in effect until 1995. The parties, originally comprising the government of national unity, that is the ANC, the NP and the IFP, shared executive power. On 30 June 1996 the NP withdrew from the government of national unity to become part of the opposition.
Despite the withdrawal, political stability persisted and the sky did not fall down. The country and its people, under the leadership of the ANC, continued on their common journey, commonly begun on 27 April 1994.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, in its Bill of Rights, provides extensive guarantees, including equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination. It also provides for an independent and impartial judiciary. In practice, under the leadership of the ANC, these provisions are respected.
The government has reduced the budget deficit and the public debt, while the economy has been growing and continues to grow.
Naho ho vha na dzikhaedu dza masiandoitwa a muvhuso wa tshi?alula kha khethekanyo dza zwa matshilisano na ikonomi, u shaea ha mishumo, vhushai, na tshutshedzo ya HIV na Aids; zwine zwa khou tea u sedzeswa ndi zwauri Maafurika Tshipembe vho fara lwendo luthihi nga 1994 nahone vha dzula vho fulufhela uri he?i shango ?i ?o vha fhethu ha khwi?e. (Translation of Tshiven?a paragraph follows.)
[Despite the challenges of the legacy of apartheid with regard to social and economic divisions, unemployment, poverty and the threat of HIV and Aids, what needs to be focused on is that South Africans have embarked on a common journey since 1994 and remain optimistic that this country will be a better place.]
None of these achievements would have been possible had our President not had at his side a team of very able and talented colleagues and lieutenants. It was this remarkable group of men and women, comprising comrades of the calibre of J B Marks, Yusuf Dadoo, Florence Mophosho, Moses Kotane and Duma Nokwe, all of whom are no longer with us, that held together our movement during those difficult times and kept the final goal in clear focus, despite the odds.
Our movement owes a great debt of gratitude to these departed comrades and also to the other serving members of the national executive.
There are issues of concern I would like to refer to. The pressing challenge is to lift our nation out of the quicksand of despair onto the solid rock of human dignity in order to instil patriotic pride as the ANC flag flies high, glowing with an incredible amount of vision, in order to make every South African proud.
One must hasten to warn that without faith in each other, our highest dreams will pass silently into dust. I believe it is time for all of us to reflect, study, struggle forward and come up with solutions to the challenges the people of South Africa in general face in order to become pillars for victories to come.
We all know the effects of the apartheid legacy. Unfortunately, as the ANC, we attained political freedom without an economic base. We had to learn fast. Today we are a force to be reckoned with in the international arena. But a piece of economic freedom is not enough to address the political ills of our time.
As public representatives we are here on behalf of our different constituencies and we know that unlike bread, a slice of economic liberty won't satisfy hunger. Economic freedom is like hunger; it cannot be had in instalments. We have a mandate to usher in a period of economic freedom. Economic freedom is like life; it, too, cannot be had in instalments. Economic freedom is indivisible. It is either we have it or we have nothing.
The time to apportion the blame on apartheid is past. As Members of Parliament we have a personal responsibility to pursue a path to excellence through personal education, training and hard work in exercising our oversight role. If someone thinks that the ANC is too small to deliver a better life for all, that individual must try going to bed with a mosquito tonight. [Laughter.]
Our most important motives as politicians are not echoes of the past, but rather the prevailing challenges our people face on a daily basis and beckoning from the future. In our search for excellence, I can promise that there will be difficult days ahead. We all know that problems are but the challenges of life. That's why a good amount of fleas is good for a dog. It keeps it from brooding over being a dog.
Our call is therefore to everyone in this House: Give your all for the ANC for it to continue being an agent of change. Our communities are sick and tired of political steroids and slogans that are as tasteless as a mouth full of sand. Each and every member of this House has to be a headlamp, not a tail-light.
Let us be genuinely thankful for how far we have already come, but we should not rest on our previous accomplishments. Let us honour and appreciate those accomplishments by using them as a starting point for greater success. The ANC leads. It is adaptable, creative, flexible and effective at getting things done. Together we can do more. Inkomu. Ndza khensa. [I thank you.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.