Address by President Nelson Mandela North West stadium
South African History Online 
Address by President Nelson Mandela North West stadium
Welkom, 27 August 1995
1. Introduction - The Launch of the Manifesto
1.1 It is with great pleasure that I stand before you today during this
important phase in the democratisation of South Africa. This week, The ANC
launched its manifesto for local government elections, presenting the ANC's
vision for local government.
1.2 The majority of people in the Free State chose the ANC to lead the
country and this province. They did so because the ANC can make a better life
for people, where they live. With the ANC at local level you will be able to
make sure that all the bold steps that the ANC has taken at National and
Provincial levels, are implemented on the ground.
2. A Start Has Been Made
2.1 The ANC-led Government of National Unity has introduced free health care
for pregnant women and children under the age of six. The Free State Provincial
Government heeded this call. 24 mobile clinics are operating in rural areas
where communities have little or no access to health care. The ANC in the Free
State is making huge strides forward in the provision of equal services for all
citizens.
2.2 The school feeding scheme for children in need is providing nutrition for
591 000 Free State children daily. The importance of this scheme cannot be
overemphasised. All children of our land have a right to be well nourished. We
have a duty to serve these children who are victims of the pernicious apartheid
laws under which we lived for so long. Local councilors will have the duty to
ensure that all the children in their areas are taken care of and that resources
are available to them.
2.3 Thabong has been identified for an urban renewal project. This project
will designate land to house all those who are settled informally. It will
ensure that education and health infrastructures are developed and
rehabilitated. Efforts to clean and tar streets have also been initiated.
2.4 For these projects to be successful, they have to involve joint
responsibility. The government that you elected as well as your communities,
have to be committed to development. Communities have various responsibilities.
Those responsibilities relate to payment for services and looking after
amenities, as well as to vote in local elections and participate in local
government.
3. Giving a Voice to Communities
3.1 The ANC-led government in the Free State has worked hard to make sure
that local elections go ahead on 1 November. The ANC in the Free State have also
worked hard to ensure that ANC candidates elected to represent your communities
are the best equipped for the responsibilities they will have as councillors.
3.2 Choosing candidates has been a complex, but democratic process. Those
people that have been chosen by the ANC have been selected by the people who
they work with daily, and struggle with daily. They have been chosen because
they can best represent the interest of their communities. That is the way that
democracy works. That is the ANC's tradition.
3.3 By voting in Local elections, every local community will be given a voice
in government. Communities will be empowered to work with the ANC-led national
government to effect changes where they live
3.4 Delivery of the RDP has been slow in some areas. This can only be
overcome through effective and strong community councils which are directly
accountable to the communities that they represent.
3.5 The ANC has waged a long struggle against sexism in this country and in
our organisation. We believe firmly in this principle. That is why a decision
was made at our National Conference last year that almost half of our local
candidates will be women. It is unacceptable to the ANC that women have been
excluded for so long from the political terrain.
3.6 The forthcoming local elections, like last years elections, are about
giving a voice to the people. They must allow those who have been marginalised a
say in decision making. For any local government to be truly representative,
women must be involved.
4. Through unity there is strength
4.1 It is only through unity of the democratic forces of our communities that
progress can be made in advancing the development of your communities. Now, more
than ever, communities must be united. Unity is vital for the implementation of
the RDP in your locality. A divided community spends valuable time in petty
squabbles that divert attention from important issues.
4.2 The divisions in Bethlehem are disturbing to me. There are interest
groups who claim to have the same principles as the ANC. Yet, these structures
refuse to unite with the ANC to advance local elections and local government.
This makes no sense to me. Such tendencies only divide and weaken communities.
We brought down apartheid through united action and we can build this country
only through united action.
5. Conclusion - You Can Rely on the ANC
5.1 You, the communities of the Free State, together with the councilors that
you elect in the local government elections, will become the main agents of
change in your localities. Your candidates must therefore be people that you can
rely on.
5.2 And it is ANC candidates that have been selected who have a history of
working for a better life for the people of South Africa. It is the ANC
candidates who have worked side by side with communities to dismantle the
legacies of apartheid and rebuild a just and equitable society. It is the ANC
candidates who can make a difference where you live.
5.3 When you, the people of the Free State, go to the polls on 1 November,
you have a responsibility to vote for the candidates who are accountable to your
communities. And those candidates are ANC candidates. Together with the ANC, you
can make a better life where you live.
