Date: 26/06/2005
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Shilowa: Freedom Charter celebration
Address by Premier Mbhazima Shilowa at the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter and the opening of the Walter Sisulu Square of dedication, Kliptown
President of the Republic
Deputy President of the Republic
President Mandela
Mama Sisulu
Mama Tambo
Our special guests - delegates to the Congress of the People Representatives of the families of the 1st recipients of Isithwalandwe - Chief Albert Luthuli, Yusuf Dadoo and Father Trevor Huddleston Leaders of political parties Members of the cabinet Premiers Members of the Executive Council from across the country Executive mayors Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners Mr Anand Sharma of India Members of parliament Members of the provincial legislatures Veterans of our struggle for freedom Representatives of civil society Representatives of the Greater Kliptown Development Forum and other civil society organisations Distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen Comrades and friends
Today's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter is also a celebration of the generation of the 1950s who defied apartheid oppression and injustices and dared to speak of freedom.
We are indeed privileged to have with us today as our special guests, representatives of this generation. We have with us a couple of hundred of the determined and visionary men and women who were delegates to the Congress of the People or involved in the collection of demands which eventually formed part of the Freedom Charter adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 25 and 26 June 1955.
To this generation we say, you hold a special place among all the pioneers of democracy in our country. It is you who rallied to Chief Albert Luthuli's call for all the people of South Africa to contribute to a Charter of Freedom that would truly express the will of the people. It was your hopes and dreams that were encapsulated in the Freedom Charter. It was your vision which inspired millions of South Africans in subsequent decades as they took forward the struggle for freedom, eventually bringing apartheid to its knees. It was your ideals and aspirations which left us a lasting legacy of freedom and democracy and which laid the foundations for the constitution of our democracy. It is your vision which guides the continued reconstruction and development of our country today and which continues to inspire us as we take further the struggle to build a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa which truly belongs to all.
It is you who unequivocally rejected apartheid and refused to accept the minority regime's denial of the birthright of the people. It is you who cast in stone the principles that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people; that only a democratic state based on the will of all the people can secure to all their birthright, without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief.
At a time when black people were denied the vote, you asserted that "The People Shall Govern!", that every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws and that the rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex.
In the face of enforced racial segregation and deepening discrimination and injustices against black people, you declared that "All National Groups shall have Equal Rights!", "All Shall be Equal before the Law!" and "All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!".
At a time when black workers were subjected to merciless exploitation, unequal pay and denied the most basic rights, you declared that "There Shall be Work and Security".
When the people's wealth and land had been usurped by the minority and black people could participate in the apartheid economy only as workers in the mines, kitchens, farms and factories of the minority, you declared that "The People Shall Share in the Country's Wealth" and "The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!".
In the face of attempts to entrench Bantu education, the condemnation of black people to a life as "hewers of wood and drawers of water" in line with Verwoerdian ideology and the suppression of our cultural heritage, you declared that "The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened".
At a time of forced removals, enforced racial segregation of residential areas, an absence of social services and attempts to confine black people to poverty-stricken bantustans, you declared that "There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort".
While the system of apartheid flew in the face of world opinion, you declared "There shall be Peace and Friendship".
We owe you a great debt of gratitude for this legacy of the Freedom Charter that you left us and against which we can judge our progress today.
I want to use this opportunity to share with the people gathered here, some of the views of our veterans today.
Amina Cachalia has this to say: "The Freedom Charter is the basis of our new Constitution and it is wonderful to realise that what happened 50 years ago - which had to happen - and what people aspired to then is now the basis and is what drives most of government's programmes today. I personally believe that we still have a lot of challenges, especially where reconciliation is concerned, but we are getting there and we must all push to ensure that all the aspirations or ideals that were registered then are all achieved."
Dr Ike Moosa, said, "We had so many items and principles that we laid down on that day and I feel we have achieved a lot, although much still needs to be done. Our objectives at the time were education, health, housing and equality, including the question of gender equality. I believe we have gone quite a distance there and you can see that by the number of women occupying top government positions. But one of the challenges I can say is on housing where I feel we can still do better considering we did not have so many squatter settlements then."
Adelaide Tambo, wife of the late ANC president, Oliver Tambo, recalled the Congress of the People on 26 June 1955: "It was a beautiful day. It was bright and it was winter and it was not cold. My husband, my fianc
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Shilowa: Freedom Charter celebration
Address by Premier Mbhazima Shilowa at the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter and the opening of the Walter Sisulu Square of dedication, Kliptown
President of the Republic
Deputy President of the Republic
President Mandela
Mama Sisulu
Mama Tambo
Our special guests - delegates to the Congress of the People Representatives of the families of the 1st recipients of Isithwalandwe - Chief Albert Luthuli, Yusuf Dadoo and Father Trevor Huddleston Leaders of political parties Members of the cabinet Premiers Members of the Executive Council from across the country Executive mayors Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners Mr Anand Sharma of India Members of parliament Members of the provincial legislatures Veterans of our struggle for freedom Representatives of civil society Representatives of the Greater Kliptown Development Forum and other civil society organisations Distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen Comrades and friends
Today's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter is also a celebration of the generation of the 1950s who defied apartheid oppression and injustices and dared to speak of freedom.
We are indeed privileged to have with us today as our special guests, representatives of this generation. We have with us a couple of hundred of the determined and visionary men and women who were delegates to the Congress of the People or involved in the collection of demands which eventually formed part of the Freedom Charter adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 25 and 26 June 1955.
To this generation we say, you hold a special place among all the pioneers of democracy in our country. It is you who rallied to Chief Albert Luthuli's call for all the people of South Africa to contribute to a Charter of Freedom that would truly express the will of the people. It was your hopes and dreams that were encapsulated in the Freedom Charter. It was your vision which inspired millions of South Africans in subsequent decades as they took forward the struggle for freedom, eventually bringing apartheid to its knees. It was your ideals and aspirations which left us a lasting legacy of freedom and democracy and which laid the foundations for the constitution of our democracy. It is your vision which guides the continued reconstruction and development of our country today and which continues to inspire us as we take further the struggle to build a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa which truly belongs to all.
It is you who unequivocally rejected apartheid and refused to accept the minority regime's denial of the birthright of the people. It is you who cast in stone the principles that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people; that only a democratic state based on the will of all the people can secure to all their birthright, without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief.
At a time when black people were denied the vote, you asserted that "The People Shall Govern!", that every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws and that the rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex.
In the face of enforced racial segregation and deepening discrimination and injustices against black people, you declared that "All National Groups shall have Equal Rights!", "All Shall be Equal before the Law!" and "All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!".
At a time when black workers were subjected to merciless exploitation, unequal pay and denied the most basic rights, you declared that "There Shall be Work and Security".
When the people's wealth and land had been usurped by the minority and black people could participate in the apartheid economy only as workers in the mines, kitchens, farms and factories of the minority, you declared that "The People Shall Share in the Country's Wealth" and "The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!".
In the face of attempts to entrench Bantu education, the condemnation of black people to a life as "hewers of wood and drawers of water" in line with Verwoerdian ideology and the suppression of our cultural heritage, you declared that "The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened".
At a time of forced removals, enforced racial segregation of residential areas, an absence of social services and attempts to confine black people to poverty-stricken bantustans, you declared that "There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort".
While the system of apartheid flew in the face of world opinion, you declared "There shall be Peace and Friendship".
We owe you a great debt of gratitude for this legacy of the Freedom Charter that you left us and against which we can judge our progress today.
I want to use this opportunity to share with the people gathered here, some of the views of our veterans today.
Amina Cachalia has this to say: "The Freedom Charter is the basis of our new Constitution and it is wonderful to realise that what happened 50 years ago - which had to happen - and what people aspired to then is now the basis and is what drives most of government's programmes today. I personally believe that we still have a lot of challenges, especially where reconciliation is concerned, but we are getting there and we must all push to ensure that all the aspirations or ideals that were registered then are all achieved."
Dr Ike Moosa, said, "We had so many items and principles that we laid down on that day and I feel we have achieved a lot, although much still needs to be done. Our objectives at the time were education, health, housing and equality, including the question of gender equality. I believe we have gone quite a distance there and you can see that by the number of women occupying top government positions. But one of the challenges I can say is on housing where I feel we can still do better considering we did not have so many squatter settlements then."
Adelaide Tambo, wife of the late ANC president, Oliver Tambo, recalled the Congress of the People on 26 June 1955: "It was a beautiful day. It was bright and it was winter and it was not cold. My husband, my fianc
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
