Speaker's notes for Limpopo Premier Mr Sello Moloto during the celebration of Africa Day, Ga-seleka, Lephalale, Waterberg District

Programme director,
Kgoshi Seleka le Magoshi arona ka mooka,
Executive Mayor of Waterberg District,
Mayor of Lephalale Local Municipality,
MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Distinguished guests,
Fellow Africans,
Ladies and gentlemen

Theme: "Let's strengthen Africa's place in the world, through strategic balance and responsible partnership - Countering Xenophobia and migration."

* We are gathered here to celebrate Africa Day, which is an important day in the history of our country and the entire continent as a whole. It was on this day 44 years ago, when leaders of the African Continent decided to establish the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) driven by a common aspiration to end colonialism and to bring about liberation, equality, justice and progress in the countries of Africa. Today, Africa Day is one of the most recognised days in the calendars of African countries and was celebrated for many years in the continent long before South Africa could attain its liberation.

* As we celebrate Africa Day, we must look back with appreciation at the pioneering role played by such great African leaders as, Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, who on this day in 1963, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, founded together with other leaders, the OAU.

* Therefore, Africa Day epitomises to us, the collective will and spirit of Africans to fight for what is theirs and to march forward in peace towards freedom and liberation. We therefore must cherish the achievements of our country and that of various leaders of the continent who worked very hard to establish the African Union (AU).

* Through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) and other means, our country is doing all that it can, within its means, to foster good governance and socio economic transformation amongst countries of the continent in an endeavour to rebuild Africa from century-old wars, genocides, diseases, economic decline and endemic poverty. Our national government continues to participate in a number of peace-keeping missions across the continent in pursuance of the objectives of Nepad. These interventions as you might know have helped to bring stability in a number of countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, Burundi and the Ivory Coast.

* Our celebration of Africa Day today therefore, highlights the new path which our country has chosen in international relations and in continental affairs. Gone are the days when our country was known for destabilising its neighbours and legitimately elected governments of the region. Since 1994, all our policies embrace the spirit of solidarity with the peoples of Africa who are our brothers and sisters. Through partnerships between government and civil society in particular, with workers, women and the youth, we are confident that our people can succeed to defeat the negative perception that Africa is nothing more than "A Dark Continent," which invokes bad memories of human suffering and degradation.

Programme director,

* It is a source of concern that, unfortunately the world has come to understand only the negative side of our continent through the images that are mostly shown on the mainstream media which often do not truly reflect who we are or where we come from as peoples of Africa. This is a sad development in a continent which, as has been proven by modern science, remains the cradle of humanity. A continent which as we read through history has led to the very evolution of knowledge and was a leading centre of learning, industrialisation, technology and the arts in ancient times. Here in our own province, there are telling examples of these illustrious civilisations which our people can attest to, such as the Makapans gate caves were humanity existed many centuries ago and the great Mapungubwe and Thulamela ruins which existent almost 1 000 years ago. Very few people might know that in the pre-colonial era, Africa had its own leaders and its own political system of governance.

* It is also a documented fact that the continent also had its own economy and traded with the rest of the world, particularly the East. We also had our own education system which produced metallurgists, engineers, professors, mathematicians and architects to name but a few. Many people may not know that the first university in the world was founded in a place called Timbuktu which is located in the present day Mali around the 12th century. The university had 25 000 students in an area with a population of about 100 000 people.

* All of this evidence therefore suggests that Africans were never discovered by any race and where neither barbarians nor primitives as implied in some of the writings of Western or European scholars. However, we know that our continent is in the state in which it is, because of the legacies of colonialism, apartheid, the Cold War and the legacies of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 70s and 80s. We also know that what has exacerbated our challenges over the centuries has been the fact that our continent was used as a supplier of cheap labour and raw materials to the West and was a haven for sporadic conflicts and civil wars sponsored by our erstwhile colonial masters.

* Africa today remains a basket case and one of the poorest continents in the world despite the fact that it is one of the most richly endowed regions of the world in economic and cultural terms. However, what we usually forget is that the continent is not only endowed with natural resources, but also rich with a proud pre-colonial history and a tapestry of cultures.

* It was the first President of Botswana Sir Seretse Khama who once remarked that: "A nation without a past is a lost nation. And people without a past are a people without a soul." Nothing can best capture the importance of Africa Day than these words which locate our past in the centre of our nation's soul and pride. Underpinning this occasion is an understanding that Africa Day has profound meaning both to our government and our nation, as the very act of celebrating this day means that our nation has resolved and is committed to the development of the continent and its entire people.

Programme director,

* Therefore, Africa Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate our Africanness through praise poetry, song, folktale, dance, food, fashion and literature. We must bear in mind that the borders that separate our country from its neighbours remain only colonial borders as they were never drawn by our people. This is why even today we still share common cultural relations, language and family ties with peoples from Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They are a part of us, their blood runs in our veins and we are in many ways part of them.

* One of the objectives of our province's Provincial Growth and Development Strategy is the promotion of regional integration with our neighbouring countries of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In our view, this integration must not only be about governments but must also involve people to people relations. In this regard, the people of our province have a duty not to discriminate against their neighbours or so-called foreigners who comes from these countries as they are our true African brothers and sisters.

* In this regard, we also have a responsibility to engender on our youth the spirit of patriotism and the love of the continent and its entire people. If we do not take pride in ourselves and cherish what is ours, no one will take our continent and its people seriously. This must start with the observance of our national anthem, national symbols, the national flag and all our cultures and traditions.

Researchers have produced evidence to show that there is a growing trend amongst our young people to continue mimicking and imitating American and European ways of life. This trend is confirmed through their accents, their choice of music, lifestyles and fashion which have got little resemblance to who they are as peoples of Africa. This challenge can only be symptomatic of a deeper crisis of identity and the absence of a positive value system amongst our youth. All of us, as Traditional Leaders, as the community and as teachers have a responsibility to promote forms of expressions which encourage young people to identify with the ubuntu value system while at the same time asserting their African self-worth and identity.

Programme director,

* Africa Day must help us to reclaim our identity. It must continue to play a major role in the renewal of Africa in advancing her renaissance and in uniting all her people. Let's pull together all our strength and energies to build a new Africa that is free from hunger, diseases, underdevelopment and poverty. This is the Africa that must be inherited by our children, our grandchildren and future generations to come.

Pula!

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
25 May 2007