Address by President Zuma on the occasion of the Africa Day Celebrations, University of Pretoria, Mamelodi

24 May 2015

Sanibonani, dumelang, good day.

Siyajabula kakhulu ukuba nani mphakathi waseTshwane njengoba sigubha usuku olubalulekile lokwakhiwa kwenhlangano yobumbano lwama-Afrika ngo1963.

Lolusuku lwaziwa njengosuku lwe-Afrika.

We are delighted to join you to celebrate Africa Day.

On 5 April 1906, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, one of the founding fathers of Africa’s oldest liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC) published a seminal essay on the Regeneration of Africa.

He proclaimed African unity, peace and progress that early in our history.

“The African people, although not a strictly homogeneous race, possess a common fundamental sentiment which is everywhere manifest, crystallizing itself into one common controlling idea.

“Conflicts and strife are rapidly disappearing before the fusing force of this enlightened perception of the true inter-tribal relation, which relation should subsist among a people with a common destiny”.

Dr Seme’s call for the restoration of the continent’s glory was realised on 25 May 1963, when leaders of 32 African nations converged on Ethiopia‘s capital Addis Ababa and formed the Organization of African Unity, the OAU.

Another significant development connected to this date was the formation of the African Union (AU) on 25 May 2001. The AU was subsequently launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa.

Today we are gathered to celebrate that historic moment when Africa came together in the OAU to confront as a collective, the challenges facing the continent then.

The core objectives of the OAU included the promotion of unity and solidarity of the African states and acting as a collective voice for the African continent.

The OAU also sought to co-ordinate and intensify the co-operation of African states in order to achieve a better life for the people of

Africa, and to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African states.

The OAU was also dedicated to the eradication of all forms of colonialism and white minority rule since there were several African states that had not yet gained their independence.

As such, our liberation struggle against apartheid received unequivocal support from the member states of the OAU.

The illustrious leaders of our continent understood well that the entire continent had to be liberated and did not look at their own territorial boundaries only.

This was stated boldly by President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana who stated at the dawn of the independence of Ghana that; “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa”.

The OAU Liberation Committee worked tirelessly to take this vision forward, under the capable leadership of its executive secretary,

Brigadier General Hashim Mbita of Tanzania, an icon of the liberation struggles of Southern Africa.

Gen Mbita served as Executive Secretary of the OAU Liberation Committee for 20 years, providing much needed support to the liberation movements of Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

Even after retirement after South Africa’s liberation, Gen Mbita continued to work for Africa.

We worked with him on the peace process in Burundi, as he did not want to see his hard work come to waste. Gen Mbita sadly passed on last month. South Africa will bestow upon Gen Mbita posthumously at a ceremony later this year, the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo, for his contribution to our struggle for liberation, and that of other sister African countries.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family and to the Tanzanian people.

Africa Day is about recalling such selfless solidarity and friendship that we received from the African continent during our struggle for liberation.

We also at the same time celebrate the solidarity and friendship provided by South Africans in many townships and villages to African nationals who came to settle in our country in search of opportunities even at the height of apartheid colonialism.

South Africa has for decades been home to many nationals of Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Algeria, Uganda, Kenya and others. We are happy to be joined by nationals from these countries at this celebration.

We became one people, and shall remain one people, living together in peace and friendship at all times.

South Africa joined the OAU on 23 May 1994, after the attainment of our liberation.

It is in this context that Africa Day holds a special meaning to South Africa in particular and our Continent in general.

Africa Day 2015 is thus a celebration of 21 years since our reintegration into the international community and into the African continent in particular.

It is also a celebration of the strides that Africa has made since the establishment of the OAU in advancing peace and stability, democracy and sustainable development.

We are proud of our modest contribution to the success of the continent through involvement in peacemaking, peacekeeping as well as reconstruction and development, working within the ambit of the African Union with other sister countries.

We continue to work together as Africans to find solutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Mali, Sudan, the Central African Republic and other parts of the continent facing challenges such as Burundi in recent weeks.

Today we also celebrate the advancement of the continent economically, although there is still a long way to go.

Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. We have a sound socio-economic development plan in the form of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD. We have clear programmes to advance infrastructure development, industrialisation and advancement in agriculture, health and other social programmes.

The challenge is to make the growth inclusive and for it to translate into an improved quality of life for the one billion Africans who inhabit our continent.

We should therefore continue working in unity, to make Africa a continent of hope for the youth and future generations.

As South Africans we are proud of our African identity. We are proud to be part of a continent that is growing, that has a bright future.

On this 21st year of being part of the AU, we must begin a new chapter and formalise the promotion of the AU and our African identity in every aspect of life.

Starting today, every school, church or community choir and individuals, must practice the African Union anthem so that we can sing at all our important gatherings and celebrations.

We urge South African institutions and companies to begin flying the African Union flag together with the South African flag.

Government has organised a colourful Africa Month programme taking place in various areas to celebrate our songs, dance, books, poetry, fashion, food and everything that is African about our country and culture.

That is part of celebrating and reclaiming the African identity of our country and people, which had been suppressed by the racist minority regime of the apartheid era.

Sigubha ubu-Afrika bethu kulenyanga ngoba ngesikhathi sobandlululo amasiko ethu ayebukelwa phansi.

Njengabantu base-Ningizimu Afrika, ikakhulukazi abamnyama, sithi masigubhe usuku nenyanga yobu-Afrika ngokuqhakambisa ubu-Afrika bethu, amagugu, amaculo, amasiko, izilwimi nakho konke okusenza sibe ama-Afrika esiziqhenya ngakho.

Fellow Africans,

We have the honour of hosting the 25th Summit of the African Union in our country next month.

The theme of the summit is: “The Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”.

We must use this occasion to learn more about the AU, its structures, programmes and about our continent in general.

We need to understand our own country’s contribution to the work of the AU in building a better Africa and in contributing to building a better world.

On Africa Day in 2013, the African continent committed the AU to the fifty-year vision called Agenda 2063. This innovative plan outlines the vision of building effective institutions, enhancing accountability, strengthening solidarity and integration, gender equality and peace and security.

It also talks about the reform of institutions of global governance, such as the United Nations, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

We look forward to the discussions of this Plan and other issues at the Summit, to take the continent forward to sustainable development and socio-economic emancipation.

It is our expectation that this important AU Summit will also serve as the platform for African leaders to deliberate decisively on the reform of the United Nations and other institutions of global governance.

This is made urgent by the fact that we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the formation of the United Nations.

Earlier next month, on 3-5 June, we will also host the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Cape Town. Political and business leaders from all over the world will get together to discuss Africa’s future and growth prospects. We look forward to a successful WEF meeting as well.

We are honoured to host both major meetings that will discuss the future of our beautiful continent.

Fellow Africans and friends,

Africa Day is a celebration of African progress. We have a lot to celebrate and we have a lot to look forward to. It is also a day to reflect on challenges that still remain.

Africa Day is a celebration of African unity and a reminder that we should never lose sight of that noble goal of the founding leaders of the OAU.

Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, Oliver Tambo, Agostinho Neto, Samora Machel and all revolutionaries and pan-Africanists who fought for the decolonisation and liberation of our continent taught us to be one people.

We are one people and have always been one people.

In unity we shall find progress.

Let me borrow from the words of Pixley ka Isaka Seme in the 1906 essay on the Regeneration of Africa:

“The brighter day is rising upon Africa. Already I seem to see her chains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest, her Abyssinia and her Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities.

“Her Congo and her Gambia whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth the hum of business, and all her sons employed in advancing the victories of peace, greater and more abiding than the spoils of war’’.

This is the type of success we shall achieve, through unity.

Let us continue to embrace the vision of a united, prosperous, and peaceful Africa, a better Africa in a better world.

I wish you all a Happy Africa Day today and every other day!

Ngiyabonga!

Kea leboha!

Asante Sana!

Issued by The Presidency, May 24 2015