Date: 30/07/2009

Source: African National Congress

Title: SA: Mantashe: Speech by the secretay-general of the ANC at the Nelson Mandela memorial lecture gala dinner, UKZN

Programme Director;
Provincial Chairperson of the ANC and member of the National Executive
Committee of the ANC, Dr. Zweli Mkhize;
Veterans here present including,
Mama Fatima Meer;
Academics;
Professionals and students;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;

A few days ago, I visited Lilliesleaf Farm, the house in Rivonia where the
ANC high
command was arrested in 1961.

Walking through the place and reading the Mayibuye document, the
hand-written
notes of Govan Mbeki, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada; the
sense of a very united and strong collective of leaders was pervasive. On
the same
property is a truck, with a false bottom, commissioned by comrade Joe Slovo,
to
ferry arms to MK cadres.

The strength of the ANC is our ability to bring together people with diverse
views
and talents and create a movement with a vision to transform our society.

Nelson Rohlihlala Mandela is an outstanding example of how to lead within a
collective.

It is an honour and a privilege for me to be here with you today as we
celebrate
the legacy of our national icon and hero of our people Nelson Mandela, on
the
occasion and the year in which he turns 91 years of age.

Chairperson, before I speak further about Nelson Mandela and his legacy,
please
allow me to say a few words in honour and tribute of another veteran,
stalwart and
hero of our struggle and our people the late Anton "Mfenendala" Xaba who
passed
on this week.

Comrade Mfenendala spent a combined twenty three (23) years of his life on
Robben Island for his political beliefs and for fighting against apartheid.

As the ANC we want to send our sincere condolences and sympathies to the
family, friends and comrades of Comrade Anton Xaba, we dip our revolutionary
banner in tribute to Bab'uMfenendala, himself a fellow prisoner with Nelson
Mandela in Robben Island.

Comrade Mfenendala will be remembered for his courage and dedication to
our struggle, he served two separate terms in Robben Island first when he
was arrested in 1963 and had to serve ten (10) years for being a member
of a banned organisation, the ANC and uMkhonto we Sizwe. He was an
excellent organiser and dedicated freedom fighter.

Programme Director;

The legacy of Nelson Rohlihlahla Mandela is one of building a nation,
encouraging dialogue between people whose views may differ and investing
in our youth

Madiba became an internationally recognized household name and a symbol
of the freedom from oppression that millions of South Africans desired. His
was the face and his plight as a political prisoner highlighted the immense
suffering of the people, who lived in the homelands of apartheid, the
children
who received inferior education, the millions of women who were oppressed
and the overbearing triple discrimination against women.

The leadership collectives from 1912 and, indeed, the collective of whom
Madiba was one, had a singular purpose. They focused on the eradication
of poverty, the restoration of the dignity of the majority of the people of
this
country and the re-inculcation of a human rights ethic, which was eroded
by colonization and Apartheid.

Madiba's legacy and the collective leadership of OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu,
Govan Mbeki, Chief Albert Luthuli, Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Ahmed
Kathrada,
Dennis Goldberg and many, many others is the bedrock upon which the ANC
of today rests.

The programme of action of the ANC developed in the early 1940s resulted in
the
formation of uMkhonto we Sizwe and the brilliant Mandela Plan mobilized
millions
of South Africans into the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s.

It is this programme of action that changed and revolutionized the ANC into
a
mass movement that became the hope of the people in their struggle against
oppression. Nelson Mandela was at the core of those developments and was
instrumental in transforming the ANC into the revolutionary movement that we
know today.

Our country today is a much more complex place than it was in the 1950s
and 1960s. Indeed, the terrains of struggle are different, but the vision
and
mission to unite South Africa into a single, yet diverse nation of people;
a
united country: non-sexist, non-racist and where democracy is deep-rooted
remains unchanged.

In the last fifteen years, we have made much progress. We have seen 3,5
million people free and subsidized homes, providing shelter to 14 million
people. Today, 80% of the population have access to electricity. Today,
88% of our people haveaccess to running water. Today, the ANC has
pushed back the frontiers of povertyby providing access to social grants
to 12, 5 million people. Today, workers have benefited from the passing
of progressive labour legislation and introduction of social security
benefits.
The ANC-led government has introduced laws to protect workers, create
machinery to negotiate about remuneration and working conditions.

The past 15 years have also seen the ANC leading a struggle for gender
parity and a policy has been implemented wherein which the ANC will have
no less than 50% women in all our representative structures. In the past
fifteen years, the ANC has created an atmosphere of peace and stability in
our country and ended decades of political violence under apartheid.

The transformation of our economy remains a key challenge and the
inequalities that exist between those who live in a first world economy and
the majority of our people, who live in an under- and undeveloped economy
will remain a source of tension. The ANC has begun to address this situation
through progressive legislation, policies and practices. However, we are
painfully aware that the majority of our people continue to live in
conditions
of severe poverty.

Our commitment to accelerate basic service delivery to all the citizens of
this
country may in itself create new challenges as we share the existing budget
in an equitable manner.

The ANC is determined to review through an audit the performance of ANC
councilors as well as the capacity of municipalities to deliver on the
budgets
that they approved within their own councils. This is not a punitive action,
it
is an action to ensure an improvement in our overall capacity to hold true
to
our commitment for better service delivery and a better life for all.

One of Nelson Mandela's greatest contributions since his release from prison
was the mobilization of every sector of society to improve education and the
conditions under which our children learn.

Whilst we have succeeded in increasing the rate of participation in primary
and secondary schooling, especially for girls, and reduced overcrowding in
schools and made many other gains in increasing access to education,
much more needs to be done in this sector.

The ANC sees education as central to all our efforts to improve the lives of
our people. There is undeniably a huge backlog in infrastructure development
for education, particularly in rural areas. For this reason, we have made
education one of five priorities and have divided the education system to be
serviced by two ministers.

The 46664 Campaign led by the Nelson Mandela Foundation represent another
legacy of Madiba's; namely the fight to reduce the prevalence of HIV that
causes
AIDS. We are committed to reducing the rate of new HIV infections by 50% not
only through an aggressive prevention campaign, but also through expanded
access to appropriate treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and their
families.

The ANC is concerned with the state of many of our provincial hospitals and
our
demand to the Health Department has been that the conditions at all
hospitals
and clinics must improve. 1600 new clinics and 16 new hospitals have been
built
since 1994. We are committed to improving the quality and access to health
services for all our people.

The ANC is committed to the introduction of a National Health Insurance
system,
which will be phased in over the next five years. The NHI will be publicly
funded
and administered and provide the right for all to access quality health
care.
The NHI will create a situation where health care will be free at the point
of service.

Crime is a problem in our country. It is useful to compare our statistics
with those
of other countries, but the reality is that every victim of crime in our
country bears
trauma and loss. The ANC is determined to eradicate crime and corruption.
The state bears the overall responsibility to address crime and especially,
the
increase in the use of illicit drugs such as tik and the adjoining criminal
activities
such as money laundering, drug and human trafficking. This will only happen
where the state works in partnership with every single member of every
single
community.

On a related matter, we welcome the appointment of a no-nonsense police
commissioner, who has extensive experience in dealing with issues of safety
and security.

In conclusion, Madiba sought no glory and no accolades. He has been the
epitomy of one who is selfless, forgiving, yet clear and resolute about what
must be done to improve the lives of the people of our country.
We must continue to follow his example in every way, every day.