Issued by: Gauteng Legislature
Saturday, 22 March 1997, 09h45
Your Worship the Mayor of Johannesburg, Mr Isaac Mogase,
The very distinguished Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa,
Member of the Executive Council ad Representative of the Premier of Gauteng at this event, Mr Paul Mashatile,
Members of the Public and the Media,
Comrades and Patriots,
Today represents an important moment in the history of our country. A moment in the celebration of a people's dignity, a moment of victory and pride in our nationhood, indeed, the moment for rejoicing the existence of a truly profound document, our Constitution.
A nation without a Constitution represents a gathering of a people who are lost. It is a document that bonds and identifies us a nation. It is a document that defines our history, our values and vision. It proclaims the definition by which the world and future generations will measure and judge our wisdom and civilisation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is for that reason that the effort to draft this Constitution was a democratic process that involved all political parties in our country. It is a process which involved all communities, all possible stakeholders and organisations, all ideas ad fears, as well as experiences and aspirations.
It is therefore a document which is fully representative of all South Africans, crafted under patent transparency and openness.
South Africa can validly claim to be the youngest and most recent holder of world copyright on constitutional democracy.
As the Speaker of the Gauteng Legislature, my role, and the role of your representatives in the Legislature, is to ensure that this tradition of transparency and openness, as well as accountability in the governance of the province, are entrenched in the political culture of our nation. Our other role as the Legislature is to make laws within the democratic framework of the Constitution.
In the Preamble of the Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, in all the main sections of the Constitution, the right for public participation in the processes of making laws and governing South Africa, are supreme and inviolable. The right to petition all levels of government, national, provincial and local, has been cemented into the Constitution, such that no institution, no individual or force, can ever deny South Africans their inaliable right to question and criticise the state, and its institutions.
Comrades and friends, the Gauteng Legislature prides itself as a fortress of democracy, as a bastion in the protection of the rights proclaimed in the Constitution. All meetings of our Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, as well as the Sittings of the House, are open to the public. Your do not need an appointment. You do not need to know any person who works for the Legislature. You do not need to be able-bodied, literate, rich, or male. You simply need to be interested in the running of the affairs of your country.
I hold the opinion that our democracy can only be the true and ultimate jewel of pride if it has the people at its centre. The marginalised majority, the poor, the workers and peasants, the unemployed, the very backbone of the struggle for human dignity, democracy and prosperity. Apartheid colonialism would have still been alive if the great majority of the marginalised and dispossessed had not revolted in heroic resistance against its murderous savagery. World history has shown that if political power remains the private property of the rich, the victims ultimately revolt and crush its systems and institutions.
Our constitutional democracy is the ultimate guarantee against abuse of power and statutory neglect. But a Constitution is only a popular declaration of purpose and intent, of hope and aspiration, of ideals and vision. It is not an end in itself. We therefore have a special appeal to the people of Gauteng. Our petition to you.
Your have a Legislature in your province. Use it and claim ownership over its work. Not only periodically during elections, but indeed, in its daily duties and functions. The Gauteng Legislature has a Standing Committee on Petitions and Public Participation, whose primary role is to receive petitions from the public, from individuals and civic bodies, and to ensure that people's concerns are addressed speedily ad effectively. The Committee, together with the full-time administrative department that assists it, also exists in order to involve the public in the process of making laws. It exists to promote public participation. We urge you then, to give life to the rights provided in the Constitution.
Today we will be distributing ten thousand copies of the Constitution, which has been translated into all eleven official languages of our country. It is a profound document. But it is also a simple and easy document. The Constitution is not a document for educated people alone. It is a people's charter. Written with you and I in mind. Written for South Africa. Written for all of humanity to learn from, especially about the common vision and purpose that can bind even the worst of enemies. It is or contribution to world civilisation and progress, to unity and prosperity. It is a contribution from our past to the future, because we have learned the things that nations must never repeat.
Friends and Patriots, you will all remember that only yesterday, the 21st of March, South Africa observed National Human Rights Day. Thirty seven years ago, in Sharpville and Langa, 69 people were killed, and scores of others were injured, when their only demand was for freedom and justice in the land of their birth. As we celebrate the existence of this people's charter, this Constitution, let us not forget the immeasurable sacrifices and losses we have made for our country. We must transform their deaths from statistics in the Apartheid register of brutality, to noble sacrifices in the roll call of heroes and fought against oppression and injustice.
If others gave their lives for their country, what is it that would stop us from building it into a safe, proud and prosperous nation? We believe that South Africa belongs to us, its challenges, therefore, are ours as well.
We are united by a common past, and we envisage a proud destiny. We will work, and we will not tire, because we love South Africa.
Comrades, friends and patriots, I thank you for your attention.
TREVOR G. FOWLER Speaker: Gauteng Legislature Rissik Street Piazza Saturday, 22 March 1997 Johannesburg.