SPEECH BY DR MATHOLE MOTSHEKGA DURING SONA DEBATE, February 14 2012
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF SELFLESS STRUGGLE AND INTENSIFY THE FIGHT AGAINST THE TRIPLE CHALLENGES OF INEQUALITY, POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Introduction
Honourable President, we wish to commend you for yet another inspiring and visionary State of the Nation Address. Your speech, which was followed by millions of our people across the country, was characterised by clarity and conviction, and indeed gave South Africans the reason to believe, to hope, to be optimistic that a better life for all is possible. It raised confidence in the future of this country, and gave an encouraging picture of a government that is sensitive and alive to the urgent needs of the people. It demonstrated a nation at work - holding hands to eradicate unemployment, inequality and poverty. Thank you, Honourable President, for giving this nation the reason to believe that indeed a better future is possible, that a better South Africa is here!
Your speech was indeed a fitting tribute to the 100 years of the glorious liberation struggle, which South Africans, united in their diversity, are celebrating this year. It made the transition from one hundred years into another century palpable.
Honourable President, on Saturday South Africa and the world recalled and celebrated the release of our icon, Nelson Mandela, from prison marking the beginning of a negotiated settlement that produced our constitutional democracy. We congratulate your government and the Reserve Bank for the honour bestowed upon the Father of the Nation, Nelson Mandela, on Saturday by using his face on all bank notes. As Parliament we shall celebrate his release and that of other political prisoners, together with Media Monitoring Africa and other stakeholders when we celebrate our constitution and declare the 20-25th February as constitution week.
The release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners makes February the South African history month worthy of annual celebration. This would assist our youth and children not to forget where they come from and the sacrifices which were made to give us the freedom we enjoy today. We want to use this opportunity to once again assure the Father of the Nation that, in the African National Congress, our constitutional democracy continues to be in good hands.
The ANC is the author and guardian of this constitution. We shall continue to safeguard fundamental freedom of all South Africans, both black and white. Constitutions the world over are dynamic and subject to review. It is in recognition of this fact that this Parliament established the Constitutional Review Committee. This does not derogate from the commitment of Parliament and the Executive to uphold and enforce the Constitution. The ANC fully support the foundation that Madiba laid for Nation building and social cohesion. At the 10th Anniversary of the Sowetan's Nation-Building initiative, Madiba awakened us to the challenges ahead in definite and emphatic terms:
"Our nation building efforts must undo the effects of three centuries and more of colonialism and racism. Many years will be needed to achieve equitable redistribution of wealth to which we aspire. But having made a good start, the challenge now is to increase the pace of delivery to further better the lives of the people. We can face that challenge with confidence derived from the fact that by joining hands south Africans have overcome problems others thought would forever haunt us. As we destroyed apartheid so too can we defeat poverty and discrimination if we are united. Our confidence derives from the fact that south Africa is a country rich not only in natural resources but above all its people (1998).
Since your inaguration in May 2009, Hon President, you have always had a clear vision and mission informed by the wisdom of the founders of our democracy. Your 2012 state of the nation address provides the road map for the country and a comprehensive plan to address the tof inequality poverty and unemployment. This is the product of a disciplined mind, consistent work and adherence to revolutionary values and principles.
On progress made
This journey began in 2009 when the ANC decided to focus on five priorities. These are education, health, rural development and agrarian reform, taking forward the fight against crime and creating decent work. Although the ANC did well on these priorities, it remained concerned with poverty and unemployment, hence it declared 2011 a year of job creation through meaningful economic transformation and inclusive growth.
Your administration introduced a New Growth Path that guided its work in achieving these goals. Working within the premise that creation of decent work is at the centre of your economic policies, you directed government departments, including the provincial and local government spheres, to align their programmes with the job creation imperative. You also embraced research findings which say that jobs could be created in six priority areas including infrastructure development, agriculture, mining and beneficiation manufacturing, the green economy, and tourism.
From the outset you recognised that colonial oppression and apartheid degraded and dehumanised black people in general and Africans in particular. Thus in June 2009 you told this house that recovery of the humanity of all people has been a guiding tenet of the ANC for the many decades of its existence. You went on to say:
"It will be central the feature of our shared efforts over the term of this government because we know that working together we can do more to build a great South Africa. Decent work and a steadily improving quality of life are essential for the humanity of all people.
So too is empowerment through access to quality education and skills development, safe water, affordable energy, decent shelter and cohesive, secure and vibrant communities are similarly all important for this recovery is also the need for access to economic opportunities and to earn a living."
Your linkage of the recovery of the humanity of all people and the five priorities of government demonstrated that your administration is rooted in the revolutionary morality of the founders of our movement.
The 2009 decision to establish the National Planning Commission revealed a desire for a holistic approach to the triple challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment. The release of the National Development plan coincides with and reinforces the National infrastructure development plan which is a roadmap for the country and the plans outlined in the state of the Nation Address. This provides further evidence of your vision and resolve to make this country work.
Honourable President, the ANC agrees with you that despite the progress made, the triple challenge of inequality, poverty and unemployment persists.
On the roots of the triple challenge
The seeds of this triple challenge could be traced back to the forcible dispossession of land and its natural resources by colonialism and the introduction of racially discriminatory laws in both state and church institutions after the establishment of the racist white supremacist Union of South Africa in 1910. The ANC was established by intellectuals, traditional and religious leaders on 8 January 1912 to respond to this colonial onslaught against African people. The dispossession of African people of their land was consolidated by the 1913 Land Act which allocated 87% of the land to the white minority.
The confinement of African people in Native reserves under this law, adulteration of the institution of traditional leadership and Christianity, followed by the creation of Bantustans during the 1970's entrenched inequalities, poverty and structural unemployment that the ANC inherited in 1994. Soon after your inauguration in 2009 your government made a correct determination that the challenges facing the country could not be overcome through piecemeal planning and tdecision to establish the National Planning Commission that has just produced a National Development plan informed by our constitution. The ANC welcomes this National Development plan which also singles out the triple challenges of inequality, poverty, and unemployment for consideration. Your determination Mr President, that higher growth and job creation is the solution is spot on.
Since your inauguration in 2009, you adopted a holistic approach to the challenges inherited from the apartheid colonial system. This approach is consistent with the character of a developmental state that has a responsibility to lead and guide the economy and to intervene in the interest of the poor. Informed by this responsibility, your administration launched the New Growth Path Framework that identified job drivers as infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, mining, manufacturing and the green economy.
Pursuant to this plan you declared 2011 the year of job creation and transformation of the economy and mobilized social partners including business, labour and the community sector to work with in implementing the new growth path. This confirmed your commitment to the recovery of the humanity of all South Africans and the creation of a prosperous society .The ANC fully agrees with you that by mainstreaming job creation and strengthening social dialogue and cooperation between government, business, labour and the community sector, you laid a sound basis for Nation building and social cohesion.
The announcement of a massive infrastructure development plan and the invitation of the nation to partner government in this drive will effectively address the triple challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment.
The drive to develop a knowledge economy will enhance the efficiency of your infrastructure development plan by producing the skills necessary for government to work harder, faster and smarter
On co-ordination and Implementation of Programmes
The coordination and integration of plans inherent in the Presidential Infrastructure Coordination Commission (PICC) calls upon parliament and political parties to ensure that it is driven as a National Project worthy of support by all of us .This plan is a national issue that requires co-ordination and integration of multi-party oversight work. In this regard, we are happy to announce that the Parliamentary Oversight Authority has agreed to strengthen and resource the Multiparty Chief Whips Forum as an integral organ of parliament. This will enhance the oversight role of parliament and ensure the successful implementation of the presidential infrastructure development plan.
The Multiparty Chief Whips Forum will also establish inter-Parliamentary Chief's whips forums, which will bring together provincial legislatures and councils, to ensure co-coordinated and integrated oversight on government. For our part, the ANC will capacitate its one stop centre parliamentary constituency offices to enable them to drive regional and local people's assemblies. This new approach to constituency work will strengthen and entrench social dialogue and co-operation between government, business labour and the community sector.
The Presidential infrastructure development plan, including its social infrastructure project, will benefit the poorest of the poor and bring them into the mainstream economy. In terms of this plan, government could renovate unutilised and underutilised buildings in towns and townships and make them available for skills development, cultural industries and cultural tourism.
This local economy development imitative could be strengthened by government support for the development of marginalized and diminished heritage, languages and indigenous knowledge systems to unlock the full potential of historically disadvantaged communities. The plan could also enable cultural industrialists and small businesses to gain access to the markets.
On the African cultural Renaissance
The development of the African heritage and IKS could position South Africa as one of the motive foIn this regard the Maphungubwe cultural landscape connecting South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and other SADC countries could contribute to NEPAD'S regional and infrastructure Integration agenda through the proposed Maphungubwe Heritage route connecting SADC Countries.
The inter-cultural regional integration through Maphungubwe Heritage route would combat tribalism, xenophobia, Afrophobia, regionalism and enhance African unity and co-operation .The improvement of the infrastructure at Maphungubwe Heritage site and support by SADC governments and Parliaments of annual cultural festivals at Maphungubwe and related heritage sites is critical for the advancement of the African Cultural renaissance and NEPAD`s regional integration agenda.
The ANC welcomes the convening of a presidential infrastructure summit and the proposed social pact and dialogue. We trust that the community sectors, especially organized inter-faith bodies, the institution of traditional leadership and organized traditional health practitioners will be invited. The newly established National Interfaith Council of SA (NICSA) has already began preparations for the desired national dialogue.
On recognition of the wars of resistance and the role of women in them
The undertaking on heritage projects is critical for Nation building and social cohesion. Therefore the prioritisation of memorial sites, including the Pondo Revolt, the sites of the Frontier wars the 1913 revolt by African Women in the Free State, the 1957 anti- pass revolt by women in Zeerust, will reshape our history and correct the distortion of the past. Women and traditional leaders indeed should be recognised for their role in the context of our selfless struggle for equality, freedom and justice for all, both black and white, South Africans
The prioritisation of memorial sites in recognition of women, in particular, today deals a deadly blow to the perspective in our society today, that there has always been inequality between women and men, and that women have always been subjects and were led by men. This perspective is a product of the rise of patriarchal society, which seeks to project women as subordinates of men.
In Southern Africa we have examples to the contrary. We have Queen Nzinga of Angola, Nehanda of Zimbabwe, Mma Ntatise and Mudjadji of South Africa. The Mudjadji dynasty ruled from 1800 to date and participated in the wars of resistance and the Anglo Boer (now South African) war (1899-1902)
Women like Charlette Makgomo Mannya (married to Maxeke) played an active role in the formation of the ANC and attended the founding conference of the ANC. But as you correctly observed Honourable President, little is said about these great women in the form of acknowledging their role and contribution in advancing the struggle of our people in general and women's struggle in particular. Charlotte and her husband established the Wilberforce Institute named after Wilberforce University in the USA. The building, dated 1892, remains neglected and dilapidated in Evaton.
We thank you for reawakening us to the value of our identity and heritage because a people without identity history and heritage loose their self -knowledge, self-worth, self-esteem, a culture of self-help and self-rellance and the will for development and progress. The recovery of these values is what South Africa needs for character building of our youth and creation of a productive and prosperous nation. On the Institution of Traditional Leadership and Diminished heritages
On the Institution of Traditional Leadership and Diminished heritages
The Khoisan people were the most brutalised by colonialists who tried to exterminate them, and undermined their language and identity. The democratic government has introduced the National Traditional Affairs Bill which makes provision for the recognition of the Khoisan communities.
The destruction of the Khoisan institution of traditional leadership was followed by attempts to obliterate their cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge systems. The knowledge of the Khoialso been stolen because of lack of protection of the intellectual property rights.
The recognition of the Khoisan institution of traditional leadership is a step in the right direction which must be followed by the development of their language and protection of their heritage and intellectual property rights.
Issued by Office of the ANC Chief Whip, February 14 2012
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