Address by Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Mr Sibusiso Ndebele during the African Renaissance banquet and Tuskegee University/KwaZulu-Natal Memorandum of Understanding function, ICC, Durban

During the Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development Summit held from 29 to 30 January in Ethiopia this year Chairman of the African Union Commission Alpha Konare called for an Africa which sought to be more self-reliant and shied away from reliance on aid.

Professor Konare said and I quote: "An Africa that takes responsibility for itself can forge ahead with development. We are a rich continent with enormous potential. We should struggle for self-reliance as we struggled against apartheid in South Africa with the same sense of commitment and solidarity. Then we shall achieve our development goals," he said.

During the same conference, Chairman of the African Union President Sassou-Ngueso of the Congo Brazzaville reminded delegates that 500 million of Africa's 900 million people were 18 years or younger. The United Nations defines individuals as children if they are 18 years or younger. According to this definition out of KwaZulu-Natal's population of 9,4 million some 4,2 million are children.

Speaking at the United Nations University in New York in 1998, President Thabo Mbeki outlined some of the steps we must follow to achieve an African Renaissance. First President Mbeki said we must succeed to strengthen and entrench democracy in our country and inculcate a culture of human rights among all our people.

Secondly, he said we must reconstruct our economies, achieve high and sustained rates of growth, reduce unemployment and provide a better life for the people. President Mbeki also said we should meet the needs of our people to end poverty and improve the quality of life. This we should do through access to good education, adequate healthcare, decent homes, clean water and modern sanitation.

President Mbeki also called on us to take decisive steps to challenge the spread of HIV and AIDS. The empowerment of women and the protection of children remains one of the critical steps we have to take to create a non racial and non-sexist country. Lessons from the Tuskegee Institute and John L Dube, sometimes referred to as the Booker T Washington of Africa; John Dube is remembered in South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal as one of the founders of the African National Congress and the Ohlange Institute. Like Dube, Booker T Washington played an important role as a civil rights leader, a writer and an educator. Both these men fought against sharp racial inequalities in their respective nations.

It is thanks to the association with the Tuskegee University and Oberlin College in the United States that John Dube modelled an industrial school which was later to be known as Ohlange. Said to be have been inspired in no small measure by the motto of Oberlin College where he studied, Dube believed in the combination of "Learning and Labour." Oberlin and Tuskegee collaborated on many projects especially around industrial education.

Booker T Washington pushed the boundaries of an industrial education. During his time at Oberlin, the curriculum included agriculture, printing, shoemaking and blacksmithing. The founding philosophy of Tuskegee University was also to empower Africans in American with the ability to improve the quality of their own lives and to be self sufficient.

Dube was inspired by Washington's initiatives, and after meeting Washington in 1897, he returned to South Africa and founded the Zulu Christian Industrial Institute (1901), later renamed the Ohlange Institute. Like Tuskegee, Dube's Ohlange focused on improving blacks' labour efficiency and increasing the skills of black youth.

In signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between KwaZulu-Natal and the Tuskegee University which we are officially honouring today, we are recalling collaboration between the Africans in America and our province which dates back to the late 19th century. In a way we are also confirming the unbroken link between our sisters and brothers in the Diaspora who are today scattered all over the world, but whose roots remain in Africa. We must acknowledge also the spirit of self-reliance which we want to rekindle in KwaZulu-Natal today without which we have no future as Africans on the continent and everywhere else.

In taking lessons for John Dube and President Mbeki, in KwaZulu-Natal we have charted our own path in Africa's struggle for self reliance. First we have as President Mbeki said secured peace and put an end to the violence that regularly erupted in this province.

We did this because we believe that no development can take place in conditions of political anarchy. Peace has allowed us to forge ahead towards the socio-economic development of our province. We have identified the provision of education as a key requirement if our people are to be ready to take part in the renaissance of KwaZulu-Natal.

Investment in infrastructure, which is led by the government, gives investors the confidence to invest in the broader economy. We have therefore ourselves invested more than R7 billion in the construction of basic and high-end infrastructure such as roads, an airport, a stadium and the Dube Trade Port.

We have identified agriculture, the arts, heritage, culture and technology as the basis on which we will kick-start and sustain the growth of our economy.

These are some of the initiatives in terms of which we are seeking to grow KwaZulu-Natal into a Singapore of Africa. We are in a position to do this because we have a long coastline which serves variously as a holiday attraction, a harbour and a source of fishing. We are in a position to grow our economy because our province boasts the Big Five and a natural landscape which rivals any in the world.

What stands between now and the achievement of our dream might be the lack of sufficient critical skill to drive these thrusts towards a higher growth path. There is no country in the world that has won the battle against poverty and unemployment simply through wishing it away.

There is no country in the world that has beaten poverty and unemployment by allowing its people to wallow in pre information technology ignorance. No country or province has ever been able to transcend the barrier of economic deprivation by letting its people remain illiterate. We are doing everything in our power to ensure that all our people are moved from illiteracy to literacy.

The relative youthfulness of our population means that our future is bright. The energies of young people of Africa must be harnessed in the direction of building themselves and rebuilding their country. The energies of our young people in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere in the world must be directed towards the reconstruction of the moral fibre of our communities.

Let us all dream of an Africa which is truly free. Let us bring up a new generation that is HIV and AIDS free. Let us bring up a generation that seeks opportunities in the world but believes in the project of building Africa. Let us raise children whose dreams are only limited by their imagination. Let us like Nelson Mandela dream big dreams and know as he said that: "There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 May 2007