SPEECH DELIVERED BY CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, CHAIRPERSON OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY, AT SHARPEVILLE, 10 DECEMBER 1996, AT THE SIGNING OF THE CONSTITUTION
When we were elected in April 1994, we were given a mandate - to draft a new Constitution for our country. Today, as chairperson and on behalf of all 490 members of the Constitutional Assembly, I am able to report that we are delivering on that mandate.
Today marks the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. It's the end of two years of work by the Constitutional Assembly, and the end of a much longer phase of negotiation and transition. But, more than that, it's the end of a 350-year struggle for national unity, for real "vereeniging" between our people as South Africans.
Now, we can all take our rightful place in a South Africa free from the tyranny of one group over another. As we celebrate a new beginning, it is fitting to look back and consider how far we have come. At Vereeniging in 1902, a treaty between the British and the Boers effectively disenfranchised the black majority. And here, at Sharpeville, tragic events revealed starkly how far removed we were from a human rights culture.
Here, at Sharpeville, in Vereeniging, both powerful symbols of past relationships between South Africans, we are making a break with the past. A break with the pain, a break with betrayal. We are starting a new chapter.
Today marks the legal transition to a Constitution that represents the will of the overwhelming majority of the people of this country. It's one law for one nation, a document that commits not only the government but every single one of us to the values that have been disregarded in the past - to human rights, fair, decent treatment for all, to democracy and government that is accountable to the people, to tolerance of our differences and appreciation of our common humanity.
In the spirit of the Constitution itself, the process over the last two years has reached out to every corner of our country. It has been as democratic, open and transparent as it has been possible to make it. A public participation programme has reached millions of people, including many of the most disadvantaged in rural areas. Over two million of you sent in submissions, we consulted widely with civil society and stakeholders and tried to reach as broad a consensus amongst the political negotiators as was possible in a spirit of mutual respect and co-operation.
The writing of our Constitution has become an international reference point in law-making and an example to the world of what participatory democracy should be. It is undeniably a document that has legitimacy and credibility. I would like to thank all those of you who were part of this great national undertaking.
In the process, a new vision of what it means to be a constitutional state has begun to take hold. When the Constitutional Court returned eight sections of the Constitution to the Constitutional Assembly because they did not comply with the Constitutional Principles we had set for ourselves, it was hailed as a victory. And it was a victory. For this reason, that it showed how fundamentally different this new South Africa is from the old one. Never again will courts rubber stamp or stand helplessly by while unjust laws are made to take away peoples' rights, to detain and torture and deny them their dignity. Now judges are champions of the people, testing the actions of the legislatures and the executive against the fine standards we have set ourselves in this Constitution.
This Constitution is a magnificent document. In keeping with the spirit of the nation that has so often been called a "miracle" one, it is a testament to nation-building. It has high ambitions. It sets us a formidable test. These hopes and ideals for our nation must become more than words on a page, they must become a reality in the lives of all our people. We must take this Constitution to our hearts, we must get to know it intimately and we must learn to live by its tenets.
Only by doing this can we honour the sacrifices made by so many millions of our people on this 350-year road to true democracy and empowerment. Only by doing so can we meet the challenges that confront our newly united nation.
Today marks the end of the constitution-making process. The work of the Constitutional Assembly is complete. But there remains one last job to be done. That is to take this Constitution to the people. With the generous funding of the private sector and foreign donors - including the Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch and Swiss governments - the Constitutional Assembly will distribute six million copies of the Constitution in all 11 languages free of charge to the people of this country. As we speak, production is underway. The distribution is scheduled to take place in a National Constitution Week in March next year.
But the real legacy of the Constitutional Assembly is not merely in the books that will be distributed, it lies in the growing awareness of what a Constitution means. I appeal to you all to nurture this, to claim the Constitution as your own. We have a Constitution we can be proud of, now let's make it work.
I have one last task to perform as Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly. Mr President, it is my honour and privilege to present to you the Constitution for your signature. I call on all of you here today - and all South Africans watching at home - to bear witness. May this moment be remembered as a milestone in the struggle for a just and free South Africa.
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