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Date
: 08/04/2006
Source: The Presidency
Title: Mlambo-Ngcuka: Commemoration and unveiling of stone of
Inkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau
Address delivered by the Deputy President, Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the 10th commemoration and unveiling of the stone
of Inkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau, Tabankulu
Premier of the Eastern Cape, Nosimo Balindlela,
Minister of Public Works, Inkosazana Stella Sigcau,
Chairperson of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA),
Patrice Motsepe,
Traditional Leaders,
Religious Leaders,
The Ama Mpondomise Community,
It is really a pleasure and a privilege for me to be here with you
today as we honour and commemorate the 10th Anniversary since
Inkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau passed on to the world of our ancestors
thus joining the Great Kings of the Ama Mpondo people like his
great great, grandfather iKumkani u Faku, and many others.
King Faku holds a special place in the hearts of the Ama Mpondo
nation as one of the greatest kings and as the nation builder of
Ama Mpondo. Many African nations also hold him in high esteem and
hold his name in awe as one of the great kings to have graced the
African continent. He is regarded as one of the unifiers of the
Pondo people and those who were his subjects.
I Nkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau belonged to the Royal Reigning Line of
the Ama Mpondo Kingdom. I Nkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau exhibited in all
his life the legacy that was left by his forefathers, the Great
Pondo Kings, as he always reflected a strong leadership capacity,
bravery and sense of identity.
He committed himself to fighting for the liberation of all of South
Africa at all costs. This further endeared him to his people who,
despite the fact that he was a King, was also an elected
representative of his people in the Eastern Cape Legislature from
1994 until his death in 1996. He dedicated his life to ensuring
that African people are freed from mental slavery, poverty,
colonisation, of the mind and any form of oppression. In him we had
a King who embraced both traditional leadership as well as modern
democratic principles.
It is important as well that while we honour and remember Inkosi
Ntsikayezwe Sigcau we also pay a special tribute to the heroes of
the struggle like Chief Bhambatha ka Mancinza Zondi, who a hundred
years ago was at the head of a struggle of enormous proportions
when he led the Bhambatha Rebellion against the Poll Tax that was
imposed on Africans.
Preparations are well under way to mark the centenary of the
Bhambata Rebellion, which took place in April 1906. This process
will initiate celebrations in recognition of the bravery of the
African people in fighting colonialism and its various forms of
repression such as land and other dispossession and unjust tax
laws. The anniversary also serves as an injunction for us to speed
up comprehensive land reform, including the implementation of the
resolutions of the Land Summit.
When traditional leaders led their people against the poll tax,
they demanded Africans’ sovereignty over their land. In
commemorating Chief Bhambata’s heroic deeds, we pay tribute
to the leadership of 1906 for their valiant struggle for land
rights in South Africa. We know that Chief Bhambatha also solicited
help from other African kings in order to wage this struggle.
As government we are calling on the nation as a whole in all its
sectors to celebrate the leaders of 1906 and to commit ourselves to
ensuring that the land rights protected by our democratic
Constitution are enjoyed by all.
Although the poll tax uprisings were suppressed by military force,
resistance to oppression continued as new forms of struggle
emerged, among them satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi of which the
centenary is also marked this year, and the formation in 1912 of
the African National Congress which united all African ethnic
groups after the call made by Pixley Isaka Ka Seme at the opening
of the Conference when he said: “We have called you,
therefore, to this conference, so that we can together devise ways
and means of forming our national union for the purposes of
creating national unity and defending our rights and
privileges”.
Our country’s Constitution affirms and protects land rights
as fundamental human rights that the generation of 1906 fought for.
Democracy has ensured tenure for those previously denied this
right; but much still needs to be done to eradicate
apartheid’s legacy in the distribution of land and to make
the constitutional rights a reality for all.
As we celebrate the achievements of the past and the advances
democracy has brought in the distribution of land, government calls
on all sectors of society to join in a national effort to
ensure:
* faster implementation of the programme of comprehensive land
reform, including the implementation of the resolutions of the Land
Summit
* effective implementation of programmes to support the sustainable
use of land for agricultural purposes by small farmers
* implementation of programmes using the land and its products as
part of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South
Africa (AsgiSA) to facilitate faster and shared growth.
Government is embarking on processes to empower rural traditional
communities as part of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development
Programmes. We are targeting these communities for specific
projects that will both develop them and also build strong
economies in rural areas so that we can curb the skills flight from
these communities to urban areas.
It is encouraging to see a rural and traditional community today
launching such important projects. The Lwandlolubomvu Rural
Development Project, Ntsikayezwe Lama Mpondo Cultural Day and the
Ntsikayezwe Soccer Tournament, which are being launched today give
us hope and inspiration that our fight to eradicate poverty and
create a better life for all will soon be a reality even in the
most rural areas.
We hope that by launching these projects you will also contribute
to ensuring that the memory of Inkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau will
always be cherished and celebrated, that, through these living
monuments, his beliefs and ideals will continue to be with us and
his legacy restored.
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