South African History Online

Speech at the African Renaissance Festival

27 March 1999

Master of Ceremonies
Cabinet Ministers and Members of Provincial
Executives
Friends

It gives me a sense of personal renewal to share in these African Renaissance
celebrations. Too often we converge to discuss our differences, or to organise
against one other. Today we celebrate what we share and we affirm our community
of interests.

The presence of our American friends bears witness to the fact that the
renewal of our continent is a dream that we have shared for generations.

We have drawn from the deep well of the Afro-American struggle for equality.
The dream which Martin Luther King dreamed is also ours. We are therefore
heartened that Corretta King is with us tonight as we celebrate our African
destiny, as she was with us on that night five years ago when the votes of South
Africans in their millions allowed us to proclaim that we too were free at last.

We take this opportunity to thank you, as we can never do too often, our
friends indeed and friends in need, for your support in our struggle for
freedom. Tonight, we celebrate your solidarity. We are proud that you who gave
us hope, today find hope in a country rising from the ashes of apartheid and a
continent being reborn.

In our celebrations we pay homage to the fallen heroes and heroines who
walked the soil of this province, who fought and died in pursuit of freedom for
all. We pay tribute to iNkosi yasOndini, uMagwegwana ngoba ugwegwe abakayise,
iSilo uCetshwayo; Bishop Colenso, uSobantu; Dr John Langalibalele Dube,
uMafukuzela; Chief Albert Lutuli; Mahatma Ghandi and M.P. Naicker.

We pay tribute to our people in their millions, who in their magnificent
diversity rose as one to defeat the inhuman system of apartheid.

Friends

The African Renaissance campaign is also a call to action, to bring about
that regeneration of our continent and its countries which liberation has made
possible.

Four South Africans it is a call to continue the fight for a better life for
all. It is a call to join hands against crime, corruption and AIDS; a call to
create jobs, to house those who are still homeless; to bring the sweet taste of
clean water to more of our rural people beyond the three million who have gained
access to it in the first years of our freedom; to bring communications and
light to millions more.

It is also a call to destroy political violence once and for all, and
especially in KwaZulu-Natal. It does no credit to a country that is seen by the
world as having valuable experience in the peaceful resolution of conflicts,
that there are still areas of political violence in our own South Africa.

To bring lasting peace is the fundamental task for all people of goodwill in
this province. It is my firm belief that there are sufficient such people within
the ANC and IFP to achieve this prize.

I use this opportunity to call upon the leadership of this province to leave
no stone unturned in the search for peace, especially as we approach our second
democratic elections. For its part, government is resolved that those who refuse
to break from their violent past, shall feel the might of the law.

Reconstruction brings even greater challenges than defeating apartheid. Out
of the destructive divisions of the past we must build a new nation, united in
its diversity, and which affirms the human dignity of every woman, man and
child. From the degradation of racial discrimination and domination we are
making a society in which all have the right to self-development and equality of
opportunity.

To achieve these goals we must also mend the moral fabric of our society,
corroded and torn by the inhumanity of apartheid. We must restore respect for
human life, for one another and for the dignity of all.

Along with peace, partnership is one of our most powerful weapons in this
renewal. What gives me great joy is the knowledge that throughout our country,
including this province of KwaZulu-Natal, people from every background and
community, from every party and walk of life, are increasingly joining hands in
recognition of the fact that we are one nation with one destiny.

In the actions of business leaders who are sharing their resources with
disadvantaged communities; in the initiative of our trade union federations and
organised business to join with government in mobilising funds for job-creation;
in the national partnership against AIDS; in the partnership of communities,
police and business, including farmers, to fight crime - in all these
initiatives we see the practical workings of the New Patriotism that is taking
root as we together overcome the legacy of our past.

As we work with one another to rebuild our country, so we join hands with our
neighbours and the peoples of Africa to work for development and peace; for
democracy and human rights. Whatever happens in any one country has an impact on
all of us. None of us can enjoy lasting peace and security while millions of our
compatriots live in poverty. No country can enjoy sustained growth and
development while any of its neighbours are troubled by conflict and
instability.

That is as true of our continent as it is of our nation. And it is true of a
world which is still divided between rich and poor, developed and developing
nations.

As we celebrate the rebirth of Africa, let us join hands as citizens of the
world, united for democracy, peace and prosperity.

Afrika, Mayibuye! Mayibuye, iAfrika!