Members of the Mandela family;
CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Mr Sello Hatang;
Members of the Board of Trustees of the Nelson Mandela Foundation here present;
Senior managers from government;
Employees of the Nelson Mandela Foundation;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;

Good morning!

5 December 2014 marks the first anniversary of President Nelson Mandela’s passing.  On this day, government, working hand-in-hand with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will hold an official ceremony to remember Madiba.

We will use the first anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s passing to make a call to all South Africans, and the world, to keep his memory alive by living his values and continuing with efforts aimed at ensuring that all humanity lives in a society where peace, tolerance, the rule of law, justice and human rights form the cornerstone of our daily lives.

This is also a society envisioned in the National Development Plan – Vision 2030, which states:

“Citizens have the right to expect government to deliver certain basic services, and to hold leaders accountable for their actions. They also have responsibilities to other citizens, including mutual respect, tolerance and abiding by the laws of the land. Leaders throughout society have to balance the power they hold with responsibility, including listening to and tolerating different and diverse views, promoting social cohesion and working together to resolve problems.”

Government departments, public service institutions, private sector organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals are requested to commit to programmes in their respective fields of endeavour aimed at advancing Mandela’s values and keeping his memory alive.  These activities will be over and above the annual commemoration of International Mandela Day on July 18.

In order to honour Madiba, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will run a “Buy-A-Book” campaign aimed at encouraging organisations and individuals to buy and donate books to their local library, especially in formerly disadvantaged areas.  Mr Sello Hatang will expand on this.

Building on the “Buy-A-Book” campaign, the Department of Social Development requests South Africans to buy and donate books to their local early childhood development centres, in line with Mandela’s vision for the nurturing and development of children.

The December 5 commemoration will unfold as follows:

·         A wreath laying ceremony will take place at the Mandela statue in the Union Buildings lawns at 08h00.  Veterans of the struggle for freedom and those who fought side-by-side with Madiba against apartheid will be invited to lead the wreath laying.  This ceremony will be open to the all South Africans and members of the public are invited also to visit the site throughout the day to lay wreaths.

·         An official commemorative ceremony will take place at Freedom Park, Pretoria, attended by invited guests.  The Deputy President of the Republic, the Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa, will give a key note address.  This ceremony will be open to the members of the media.

During the morning of December 5, at 3 minutes and 7 seconds to 10h00, we request churches, schools, factories, mosques, etcetera, to ring their bells and sirens or use their loud hailers to call the country to attention for the observation of a moment of silence, starting at 10h00 until 10h03.

You will notice that the time lapse from the ringing of the bells to the end of the moment of silence is 6 minutes, 7 seconds.  This is symbolic of the 67 years Madiba spent in the service of humanity. The moment of silence will be broken by the singing of the National Anthem at 10h03 across the country and anywhere that South Africans will be gathered. Provincial governments will also hold commemorative ceremonies during the 5th or thereafter, taking their lead from the national commemorative event.

A social media campaign will be activated using #RememberMandela.  We urge all South Africans to use the hashtag to share their memories of Madiba.  This will include a “Where were you?” social media campaign through which South Africans will be invited to share where they were and how they felt during key milestones in Madiba’s life, including, for example, his arrest in 1964, his release from prison in 1990 and his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of the country.

We also urge South Africans to wear their favourite Mandela t-shirt, shirt or other memorabilia on December 5 in his remembrance.

All of these activities will be done in order to:
·         promote social cohesion in the country through joint remembrance of Madiba;
·         encourage South Africans, and the world, to continue living Madiba’s values;
·         engender a culture of giving as exemplified by Madiba throughout his life; and
·         nurture nation building by promoting Madiba’s vision – and the vision envisaged in the National Development Plan – of a united nation working together to build a better South Africa.

I thank you.