Date: 17/09/2009
Source: Inkhata Freedom Party
Title: IFP: Buthelezi: Speech by the president of the Inkhata Freedom Party, in the debate on Heritage Day, National Assembly

Mr Speaker,

Our heritage and ideals, our moral code and standards - the values we
live by and pass onto our children - are magnified or diminished by
how freely we exchange ideas and feelings. So, on Heritage Day, we
sing freedom's song. In the stirring words of Abraham Lincoln: "Our
defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a
heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and
you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors".

We, in this House, by common cause, are here because we believe that
public service is a force for change. We, as the people's servants,
hearken to the voice of our heritage and ancestors. I rise to speak
for my heritage. Following the post-Anglo-Zulu War partition of the
Zulu Kingdom and the 1913 Land Act, which deprived the majority of
Zulus of their ancestral land, my nation desperately needed change.
But was it to be revolutionary or evolutionary change? How was a young
aspiring Zulu politician, like me, to help transform living conditions
and restore national dignity without eroding traditional values? I
wished to see my nation prosper and coexist peacefully with other
peoples. This is my heritage!

At the same time, I did not wish to see the resentment of the colonial
era based on race transformed into envy fuelled by material
advancement of the few at the expense of many. I viewed my people, the
Zulus, as individuals and members of strong self-reliant communities,
not as political troops in a class struggle. This is my heritage!

We are also mindful today that there is insufficient regard for South
Africa's diverse linguistic and cultural heritage which traces its
roots to the Dutch and British immigrants - white Africans - who first
graced the shores of the Cape hundreds of years ago. The legacy of the
Van der Merwes and the Mulders is my heritage, too!

With this thought in mind, I would like to recall an anecdote of
happened when I attended the national celebration of Women's Day in
Vryheid in the Zululand District last month. I was invited by the
Honourable Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with
Disabilities, Mrs Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, jointly with the Premier
of KwaZulu Natal, the Honourable Dr Zweli Mkhize. The Guest of Honour
and Guest Speaker was His Excellency Mr J.G. Zuma, President of the
Republic.

This event starkly confronted me with the question of whether we are
truly the Rainbow Nation that we market ourselves to be. I am not
going to raise the argument about whether the notion of a Rainbow
Nation is right or not. I wish we were a Rainbow Nation, but my own
view is that we are, rather, a great nation because of our dazzling
multi-cultural nation: one that is more comparable to a delectable
bowl of salad!

We are rich because we are all Africans in the sense which was so
elegantly stated by His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki in his
memorable evocation "I am an African!" We are rich because of our
diverse cultures. We own all these cultures as our own, whether we are
Africans of different ethnic groups, or English or Afrikaans, or
Coloured or Indian. And yet, in all the last fifteen years, I have
attended all these functions - so-called national events - I have been
struck by the fact that not one of them has been representative of all
our people. Only Africans attended the function in Vryheid, for
example. Less than ten whites were present. I saw two Indians, who
were officials. There was not a single coloured present.

So, I asked myself, "Where is this Rainbow Nation?" Is it the fault of
us, the African majority? Maybe we have not opened our arms wide
enough to embrace the other race groups, particularly minorities. I do
not know. I am groping around in the dark searching for the answer. It
could be that the minority groups, so far, have not accepted that we
are one nation. It could be that they simply not feel safe in the
midst of the majority. We look in a mirror dimly, but after fifteen
years, we must come face to face with this brutal question.

So I boldly assert today Mr Speaker the truth that the best way to
build a united South Africa is by cherishing and respecting all its
constituent parts. Yes, South Africa is one country and it is building
one nation, but its future will only be secured if all its constituent
traditions are respected. One way to approach the process of building
an authentic national consensus is with an open mind and with honesty.

The case for freedom, the case for our constitutional principles the
case for our heritage has to be made anew in each generation. The work
of freedom is never done! We are also mindful this week especially
that South Africa should be free to recognise our diverse religious
heritage, and doing that is not the same as creating a
government-sponsored religion. Our diversity is also reflected in the
glory of creation. It is written in the narrative, too, of South
Africa's ecology. As we approach Copenhagen, we are mindful, as
custodians of this fragile land that is the honour that you take with
you, but the heritage you leave behind. I thank you.