Date: 25/04/2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Africa Day celebrations
Address by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, honourable Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, on the occasion of the celebrations of Africa Day at Durban City Hall
It is a singular pleasure to join the people of KwaZulu-Natal, our country, the continent of Africa and the African diaspora to celebrate one of the most important days in the African calendar.
We meet here today as Africans and people of African descent living elsewhere in the world to unequivocally proclaim that: "The time for Africa's regeneration has come and we Africans will lead and safeguard this regeneration." We meet here today to re-commit ourselves to the building of an Africa that is free of disease, poverty, famine, war and hopelessness. We meet here today as Africans to re-affirm our commitment to be our own liberators.
One of the world famous sons of the soil of our continent, author Ben Okri, who hails from Nigeria speaks thus about a people's ability to turn their fortunes around.
"The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task as creative participants in the universe to re-dream our world. The fact of possessing imagination means that everything can be re-dreamed. Each reality can have it."
In the year 1963, the African visionaries who come before us took it upon themselves to re-dream the reality a continent that had been suffering under the manufactured reality of colonialism.
They formed the predecessor to the African Union (AU), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The OAU sought to re-dream Africa's reality through the promotion of unity and development; the defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of members; eradication of all forms of colonialism; promotion of international co-operation and the co-ordination of members' economic, diplomatic, educational, health, welfare, scientific and defence policies.
Some of these tasks like colonialism have been accomplished but a majority of them are still outstanding and the burden falls squarely on our shoulders to continue the process of liberation of our continent.
It is a known fact that while colonialism has been eradicated, its effects are still felt in many parts of our continent. History has therefore entrusted the present day generation with the task of ensuring that we do not bequeath to coming generations an Africa that is a basket case, an Africa that cannot stand on its own.
From afar the task looks ominous. The questions become:
* Where do we start in liberating and developing 840 million people who speak among themselves 800 languages and live in 30 244 050 square kilometres of land?
* How do we undo centuries of systematic destruction of Africa's people's values and dignity and the exploitation of African resources for the benefit of colonial masters?
Yet, the examples of bravery, selflessness and astuteness of those who led this struggle before us should give us hope that we can re-dream Africa's reality.
At the forefront of the campaign to dream Africa's reality should be daughters and sons of our continent and the diaspora bequeathed with the expertise, the brains and the experience to turn things around. Ben Okri would have referred to them as 'creative participants.
From Monday up until yesterday we hosted a groundbreaking Intellectuality Summit as part of the eighth African Renaissance Festival. Government, civil society, development and leaders from all walks of life had the opportunity to put their brains together with some of the greatest minds of our continent all with the common objective of defining the role that intellectuals can play in re-dreaming the reality of KwaZulu-Natal, our country, the continent of Africa and the diaspora. From the two-day summit of these creative participants has emerged new hope for the development of our province.
Now that we have issued a challenge to our intellectuals and they have accepted it, we expect that the pace of Africa's rebirth will quicken for we cannot afford to be lackadaisical while Africa stagnates. The measure of intellectuality in an Africa that is re-defining itself will not be about how many complex theories one can expound but how quickly we can better the lives of the people of our continent.
Again while we lead the campaign to create a better Africa we should not fall into a trap of undermining the ability of our continent to liberate themselves from the shackles of poverty, disease, ignorance and instability. Our duty particularly as government is to create conditions that are conducive for development, to encourage innovation among our people, to initiate and lead some of the development initiatives thereby ensuring that people become their own liberators.
In this vein, we should pool our efforts as people of this continent to better ourselves. This means that business should play an even bigger role in the attainment of this goal. Our province is strategically located to be the economic hub of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Yet, we do not see businesses from our country falling over each other to take advantage of the opportunities that exist while developing our communities. If our business entrepreneurs do not take the opportunities that exist then business from outside of the continent will usurp us.
However, the key to the total emancipation of Africans and the re-generation lies with each one of us as individuals. We should by word and deed banish the stereotype that Africans are lazy, violent and unimaginative. Every African should understand that whatever they engage has bearing on how Africa is viewed by the world. We should yield no quarter to those whose interests are best served by an Africa at war with herself.
The time has come to re-dream Africa's reality. The time for Africa has come!
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 May 2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Africa Day celebrations
Address by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, honourable Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, on the occasion of the celebrations of Africa Day at Durban City Hall
It is a singular pleasure to join the people of KwaZulu-Natal, our country, the continent of Africa and the African diaspora to celebrate one of the most important days in the African calendar.
We meet here today as Africans and people of African descent living elsewhere in the world to unequivocally proclaim that: "The time for Africa's regeneration has come and we Africans will lead and safeguard this regeneration." We meet here today to re-commit ourselves to the building of an Africa that is free of disease, poverty, famine, war and hopelessness. We meet here today as Africans to re-affirm our commitment to be our own liberators.
One of the world famous sons of the soil of our continent, author Ben Okri, who hails from Nigeria speaks thus about a people's ability to turn their fortunes around.
"The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task as creative participants in the universe to re-dream our world. The fact of possessing imagination means that everything can be re-dreamed. Each reality can have it."
In the year 1963, the African visionaries who come before us took it upon themselves to re-dream the reality a continent that had been suffering under the manufactured reality of colonialism.
They formed the predecessor to the African Union (AU), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The OAU sought to re-dream Africa's reality through the promotion of unity and development; the defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of members; eradication of all forms of colonialism; promotion of international co-operation and the co-ordination of members' economic, diplomatic, educational, health, welfare, scientific and defence policies.
Some of these tasks like colonialism have been accomplished but a majority of them are still outstanding and the burden falls squarely on our shoulders to continue the process of liberation of our continent.
It is a known fact that while colonialism has been eradicated, its effects are still felt in many parts of our continent. History has therefore entrusted the present day generation with the task of ensuring that we do not bequeath to coming generations an Africa that is a basket case, an Africa that cannot stand on its own.
From afar the task looks ominous. The questions become:
* Where do we start in liberating and developing 840 million people who speak among themselves 800 languages and live in 30 244 050 square kilometres of land?
* How do we undo centuries of systematic destruction of Africa's people's values and dignity and the exploitation of African resources for the benefit of colonial masters?
Yet, the examples of bravery, selflessness and astuteness of those who led this struggle before us should give us hope that we can re-dream Africa's reality.
At the forefront of the campaign to dream Africa's reality should be daughters and sons of our continent and the diaspora bequeathed with the expertise, the brains and the experience to turn things around. Ben Okri would have referred to them as 'creative participants.
From Monday up until yesterday we hosted a groundbreaking Intellectuality Summit as part of the eighth African Renaissance Festival. Government, civil society, development and leaders from all walks of life had the opportunity to put their brains together with some of the greatest minds of our continent all with the common objective of defining the role that intellectuals can play in re-dreaming the reality of KwaZulu-Natal, our country, the continent of Africa and the diaspora. From the two-day summit of these creative participants has emerged new hope for the development of our province.
Now that we have issued a challenge to our intellectuals and they have accepted it, we expect that the pace of Africa's rebirth will quicken for we cannot afford to be lackadaisical while Africa stagnates. The measure of intellectuality in an Africa that is re-defining itself will not be about how many complex theories one can expound but how quickly we can better the lives of the people of our continent.
Again while we lead the campaign to create a better Africa we should not fall into a trap of undermining the ability of our continent to liberate themselves from the shackles of poverty, disease, ignorance and instability. Our duty particularly as government is to create conditions that are conducive for development, to encourage innovation among our people, to initiate and lead some of the development initiatives thereby ensuring that people become their own liberators.
In this vein, we should pool our efforts as people of this continent to better ourselves. This means that business should play an even bigger role in the attainment of this goal. Our province is strategically located to be the economic hub of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Yet, we do not see businesses from our country falling over each other to take advantage of the opportunities that exist while developing our communities. If our business entrepreneurs do not take the opportunities that exist then business from outside of the continent will usurp us.
However, the key to the total emancipation of Africans and the re-generation lies with each one of us as individuals. We should by word and deed banish the stereotype that Africans are lazy, violent and unimaginative. Every African should understand that whatever they engage has bearing on how Africa is viewed by the world. We should yield no quarter to those whose interests are best served by an Africa at war with herself.
The time has come to re-dream Africa's reality. The time for Africa has come!
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 May 2006
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