First ten years bode well for next decade: Mbeki

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Published: 28 Apr 2004

First ten years bode well for next decade: Mbeki

South Africa's first 10 years of democracy have paved the way for solving many of the country's remaining problems in the next decade, President Thabo Mbeki said after his inauguration on Tuesday for a second term in office.

“We are convinced that what has been achieved during the first (decade of democracy) demonstrates that as Africans we can and will solve our problems,” he told thousands who had gathered at the Union Buildings for his induction and the simultaneous celebration of South Africa's freedom.

The work has begun, he said, to transform South Africa into a democratic, peaceful, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous country committed to the noble vision of human solidarity.

“That work will continue during our second decade of freedom.

That struggle continues and victory is certain.” For too long, South Africa represented much that was ugly and repulsive in human society, Mbeki said.

It was a place in which to be born black was to inherit a lifelong curse, he said. To be born white was to carry a permanent burden of fear and hidden rage.

He lamented at length the evils associated with apartheid, including poverty, racism, sexism and the many lives lost in the struggle for equality.

What has been achieved to date would not have been possible without the majority of South Africans having opted for a path of national unity reconciliation rather than continued division.

Nobody in South Africa today viewed democracy as a threat to their interests and their future, he said.

“We chose what seemed impossible because to have done otherwise would have condemned all our people, black and white, to a bloody and catastrophic conflict,” Mbeki said.

“We are proud that every day now, black and white South Africans discover that they are, after all, one another's keeper." Where South Africa was in the past a terrible exemplar of racist bigotry, the country was now determined to testify to the possibility of building a stable and viable non-racial society.

“We are greatly encouraged that our general elections a fortnight ago confirmed the determination of all our people, regardless of race, colour and ethnicity, to work together to build a South Africa defined by a common dream.

“Despite the fact that we are a mere ten years removed from the period of racist dictatorship, it is today impossible to imagine a South Africa that is not a democratic South Africa.” He stressed, however, the need for eradicating poverty and boost job creation.

It would be impossible to say that the dignity of all South Africans had been fully restored as long as the current situation prevailed.

Necessarily, the journey to the future was also about redressing the harm caused to all Africans, the president added.

“It is about overcoming the consequences of the assault that was made on our sense of pride, our identity and confidence in ourselves,” he said. “Through our efforts, we must achieve the outcome that we cease to be beggars and deny others the possibility to sustain racial prejudices that dehumanize even those who consider themselves superior.” Mbeki committed the country to strengthened ties with the rest of the continent and to ensuring the success of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Much of Tuesday's joy, he added, was tempered by the reality of a troubled world. He referred to ongoing violence in countries in the Middle East, including Palestine, Israel, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as recent acts of terrorism in Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, New York and Madrid.

He also referred to the problems of growing impoverishment, the negative outcomes of globalization and the failure of multilateral institutions like the United Nations to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of those without political or economic power.

As South Africa entered its second decade of freedom, it was certain the rest of the continent would record new advances in pursuing the goal of a better life for all, Mbeki said.

“She (Africa) will do what she can to encourage a more equitable and human new world order.” - Sapa