Address by President Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa and President of the African National Congress on the occasion of celebrating his birthday and accepting the support of the people of the Cape Flats for the ANC

Vygieskraal Stadium

ANC Chairperson Comrade Marius Fransman,

ANC NEC Members

ANC Western Cape leadership and leadership of Cosatu, SACP and Sanco,

There can be no better place to be on my birthday than on the Cape Flats! 

To see this support for the ANC makes me very happy, it isa wonderful birthday present for me. Tata Madiba, who loved the ANC until the end of his days, must be smiling today in his resting place!

Dis duidelik! Ons gaan stem en ons gaan wen.

The ANC is your home. 

You don't need to be afraid. Some are using swart gevaar tactics and are distorting government policies and programmes as they are desperate for your support. 

You must listen to the truth.

Coloureds, just like Africans, must also get jobs. 

The ANC is very much aware of that and is committed to ensuring that all who were disadvantaged during the apartheid era get jobs and all opportunities that were denied to them.

Affirmative action is designed to protect and promote Coloureds as well, not just Africans. We will make sure more Coloureds are promoted especially in this province.

I am happy that you have brought your problems to our leadership in the province. You have alerted us to all the problems that the provincial government here in the Western Cape is not prepared to solve.

This provincial government fails to support the Minstrels, Klopse and Malay Choirs and refusing to agree to the historical right to march. 

The history of the minstrels speaks directly to the history of the people of the Western Cape. Tweede Nuwe was the only day of the year that the slaves were allowed to be free for the day; celebrating their day of freedom.

They kept the tradition because it was the day that they were baas. 

It was their day, they organised the activities, they said who must march when and where, they celebrated and they awarded the prizes. 

They were the organisers themselves. 

The ancestry of the people of the Cape Flats is like a "mixed-breedie". "Mix-breedie" because they have blood from the Khoi, the San, Griqwa, the slaves from the east, from Europeans from the other indigenous people of the country.

In August 2011, I met with the Griqwa people and I am in constant contact with Comrade Marius who briefs me on what developments have taken place since then and what we should do going forward.

The majority of the participants of the minstrel festival are Coloureds. We must recognise, respect their culture, their heritage and their history because it is our culture, our heritage and our history as South Africans.

We are concerned that in the recent past when you wanted to organise the Tweede Nuwe Jaar some challenges were experienced in this province.

It is for this reason that the minstrels associations have asked national government to intervene; to declare the minstrels route is a heritage route. They are working closely with Minister Paul Mashatile, the Minister of Arts and Culture. 

We know that the minstrels are one of the biggest development platforms on the Cape Flats and in the Western Cape. There are now even Troupes in the Boland. 

We know that during certain periods of the year, when our youth are in the kamers, practising to play their bangos, their trumpets and their saxophones, crime decreases. 

The youth needs something to channel their creativity and energies on.

Ladies and gentlemen

We want to encourage the people of the Cape Flats to continue to take education seriously. We want you to ensure that your children benefit from the many skills development programmes government.

You fought hard to keep 27 schools open and as a community you won. Now you must make use of government support such as no-fee schools.

Already eight million children nationwide from poor households attend school without paying school fees.

We now want to focus more on early childhood education and Grade R.Make sure that you fight to keep crèches open in this province. The ANC will continue to support you. 

The national ANC government subsidises each child at R15 a day at the early childhood development centres or crèches to ensure that children get a good start in life.

We see in this province that school children are too scared to go to school because of gang activities. Many children are still out of school because of no place in schools. We must work together to fight this scourge within our communities.

The ANC government remains ready to assist in this regard working with communities.

The ANC in the Western Cape is very concerned about the crime, the gangsterism and the drugs.

We called a high-level meeting in Manenberg on Wednesday. 

Ministers Patel and Davies were there. Deputy-Ministers Zou and Marius were there.

The ANC wants to work with communities to fight gangsterism, drugs and crime.

The ANC has listened and has shown that we can work together to solve problems. We can take Western Cape forward.

Children on farms do not have transport to get to school.

Housing is another big issue. 

People are evicted from their homes, given pink letters, water meters and no houses for backyarders. 

As the ANC we want to say: give us a chance and we will stop these evils. Make the ANC the government of the Western Cape again so that this province can experience a better life like the rest of South Africa. The Western Cape is not only the richer suburbs.

The Western Cape needs a government that will treat the people of the Western Cape equally. 

Enough is enough with the neglect of predominantly coloured and African areas in this province.

The ANC is also clear on its position on Palestine.

There is nothing to fear. The ANC is your family. Some people say the ANC is just for Africans - let them look at this place today.

The very ones telling lies about the ANC don't promote the people from the Cape Flats.

The ANC is a non-racial organisation.

It is a home for you and me. It is a home for all of us as Madiba taught us.

Let's vote ANC on 7 May.

Remember that other parties are dying parties. Top leaders like Grant Pascoe are leaving them and joining the ANC. They want to be part of the future. They want to move South Africa forward.

The ANC cares. 

We care about the Klopse, we care about the education of our children, we care about those who are evicted and don't have houses. We care about ensuring that Affirmative action brings better opportunities and jobs for those who were excluded during the apartheid era, Coloureds, Africans and Indians.

We are ready to take Western Cape forward together. 

We are ready to bring a better life for all in the Western Cape.

It depends on you and me.

Kom Mense! Ons moet stem en dan SAL ONS WEN!

Thank you very much for your support thus far. Let us move South Africa forward!

Issued by ANC, April 12 2014

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