Address by Deputy President Ramaphosa on the occasion of the Official Provincial Funeral of the late Mrs Epainette Nomaka Mbeki, Eastern Cape, June 14 2014

Programme Director, Adv. Marumo Moerane

Presiding Bishops, Bishop Matyumza and Bishop Mpumlwana

Former President Thabo Mbeki and members of the bereaved Mbeki family

Current and former Heads of State and Government present here today

Premier of the Eastern Cape, Mr Phumulo Masualle

Ministers and Deputy Ministers

Former Ministers

MECs

Mayors

Leaders of various organisations

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Fellow South Africans,

It is my distinct honour to represent President Jacob Zuma, he is not able to be with us, but he has asked me to represent him.

Our national Constitution, the heritage of all our people, enjoins all of us to "honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land and respect those who have worked to build and develop our country" for the betterment of all who live in it.

Our presence here today bears testimony to this injunction of our Constitution to honour our mother, leader Ma-Mbeki who among other heroes and heroines of our people spent her life in the trenches of the just struggle for peace, freedom and democracy in our country.

Ma-Mbeki belongs to that generation of our people who knew none other than the life of selfless sacrifice in the struggle to rid our country of the demon of apartheid colonialism in all its manifestation. They did so without seeking personal glory, distinction or material gain.

For them the struggle against apartheid was inherently a struggle to reclaim our birth right as a people, our citizenship, dignity and identity denied to the majority of our people by successive racist regimes.

It was a struggle that necessarily resulted in deaths in detention, execution of some of the best sons and daughters of our country, assassinations, imprisonment, forced exile, banishment and outright murder for those who dared stand up to challenge the status quo.  She was one of those who stood up to challenge the status quo.

Yet hers was a generation ready to sacrifice whatever comfort they could have enjoyed sparing neither strength nor effort to bring about an end to what the world proclaimed to be a crime against humanity.

It was a struggle that was to impose a heavy burden on her personal and her family directly with the apple of her eye, Oom Gov, the death of her son in the hands of apartheid security forces in Lesotho and the exile of her two sons, Thabo and Moeletsi in far away lands was some of the hardships she endured.

Despite these trying moments of her life, she remained steadfast in her belief that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people. Ma-Mbeki understood that in spite of the daunting challenges of the time, only a people united in the cause of freedom and justice would ultimately triumph over an oppressive system of apartheid.

Her generation understood too well the nexus between apartheid South Africa and other vested economic interests in certain capitals of the world that stood to benefit materially from the super-exploitation and oppression of our people. It is a generation that appreciated that unless South Africa is free, the continent of Africa would not be fully liberated.

Accordingly, they comprehended the need to mobilise progressive humanity around the world behind the banner of the just struggle for peace, freedom and justice. They appreciated the need to mobilise Africa and the diaspora behind the struggle for emancipation.

Yet they also knew that despite the critical support of Africa, the diaspora and the international community, our people still had to become their own liberators.

This required mass mobilisation, international solidarity and political underground complimented by armed action that would leave the regime with no option but to negotiate the transfer of power to the people under the leadership of the tried and tested national liberation movement of our people, the African National Congress (ANC).

Today, as we celebrate 20 years of our democracy, we pay homage to those like Ma-Mbeki who gave their lives for the emancipation of all our people. We will forever remain indebted to the selfless sacrifices that she and her generation made to the liberation of all our people.

We remain convinced that she would have been proud of the great achievements that our democratic government had made since 1994 in its endeavour to create a better life for all our people, in all their formations; and wherever they may be - in urban and rural centres of our country.

She would have been delighted to bear witness to efforts that our democratic government makes daily to create a better life for all our people in spite of the formidable challenges imposed by the current global economic situation.

She would indeed have been happy to witness that the democratic government for which she has sacrificed her life for continues to move South Africa forward.

She would have been overjoyed that this democratic government continues to take its rightful place as an equal and reliable partner in global political and economic governance.

She would have been ecstatic to watch as our government remains steadfast in its determination to meaningfully contribute to the political and economic renewal of our continent as part of efforts to create a better South Africa in a better Africa and indeed in a better world.

Ma-Mbeki has joined a distinguished gallery of extraordinary South Africans who inspired our liberation struggle and were with us in body and spirit when freedom dawned, but who have, in recent years, progressively traded their prominence and influence on our lives for their final resting place.

Without seeking the affirmation or recognition of others, Ma-Mbeki justly attracted a range of richly deserved accolades and awards and doctorates throughout her life, with the pinnacle of the nation's recognition - the National Order of the Baobab in Gold for her "exceptional contribution to the economic upliftment of the underprivileged communities of the Eastern Cape and her commitment to the fight against apartheid."

Yet she lived as we are meant to live: "full of grace full of truth and full of humanity". She worked not for herself but for those who had "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness". Today, those of us who remain on this earth bear witness to her selflessness, her steadfastness and indeed her endurance.

Since her departure the nation has been united in her remembrance in its condolences to the Moerane and Mbeki family as yet another treasured member of a unique echelon of patriots and struggle veterans who took leave of us. True to her calling as a teacher, Ma-Mbeki taught us many valuable life lessons, among them being to be humble and humble servants of our people, and the positive impact that one individual can have on a community.

Ma-Mbeki may have passed on but her rich legacy lives on and her contribution to her community and our country will never be forgotten. We are greatly indebted to you, Ma-Mbeki "Gogo", for what you gave to our nation, selflessly, from your heart and through the family you nurtured, comforted and mentored during decades of a bitter struggle for a better life.

As Pablo Neruda wrote to his party in his Canto General, we can also say of you:

"You have given me the freedom that the loner cannot have.

You taught me to kindle kindness, like fire...

You taught me to see the unity and the difference among mankind.

You showed me how one being's pain has perished in the victory of all...

You have made me build on reality as on a rock...

You have made me see the world's clarity and the possibility of happiness.

You have made me indestructible because with you I do not end in myself."

Ma-Mbeki, We therefore pledge today that we will continue your hard work to better the lives of people living in rural areas especially rural women who you so dedicated your life to.

Ma-Mbeki was an inspiration to generations past and her dedication to improving the lives of those around her is an inspiration to our generation today. Let us harness our collective power and continue to make South Africa, our beloved continent Africa and the world even a better place for all who live in it.

The sacrifices of Ma-Mbeki and others have brought us this far, yet more still needs to be done. Our struggle to defeat the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment needs the spirit, tenacity and endurance of Ma-Mbeki.  

In this time of great sadness, the thoughts and prayers of our people reach out to the entire Mbeki and Moerane family. The most fitting tribute for us is to make the spirit of Ma-Mbeki live on in our beliefs, work and actions as we move South Africa forward by:

• improving the quality of our education;

• providing good health-care to all our people;

• accelerating rural development; 

• intensifying the fight against crime in all its manifestations and; 

• creating decent work and sustainable livelihoods.

Ma-Mbeki, as we commit your body to the soil that you so loved and worked throughout your life, we are proud to claim you as ours - a mother, a grandmother - and to declare for the world to know that yours was a life well lived  so eloquently captured in the writings of Nikolai Ostrovsky that:

"Man's dearest possession is life, it is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past, so live that dying he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world - the fight for the liberation of mankind", the fight to improve other people's lives.

On behalf of President Jacob Zuma, the government and people of our country, and indeed on my own behalf we join the Mbeki and Moerane family in thought and prayer during these trying moments of your lives. 

Yet we are of the conviction that you will continue to draw inspiration from the knowledge that your pain and sorrow is indeed shared by millions of our people across the length and breadth of our country.

For us Ma-Mbeki is a flower that will forever blossom in the hearts of millions of our people across the whole country.

May her soul rest in peace!

Robala ka kgotso Mofokeng!

Aluhlanga lungehlanga!

Issued by The Presidency, June 14 2014

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