BLOEMFONTEIN 27 APRIL 2000
Vice President Abubakar of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
Madame Abubakar,
Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Mrs. Zuma,
Minister Lekota,
Minister Ngubane,
Minister Sigcau,
Deputy Minister Madlala-Routledge,
Premier Direko,
General Nyanda,
Members of the SANDF:
I am pleased to welcome our eminent guests and the members of the Department of Defence present here today. Today we are here in Bloemfontein to celebrate the 6th founding anniversary of the SANDF.
It is also my privilege to welcome into the Defence family our new Minister of Defence, Mr Mosiuoa Lekota, his deputy Ms Madlala-Routledge and our recently appointed Secretary for Defence, Mr J. Masilela. They have already started to make and will continue to make substantive contributions to the efficiency of the Department of Defence and the security of our country.
This year not only marks the 6th anniversary of the SANDF, but it is also the 80th birthday year of the South African Air Force (SAAF) and the Golden Jubilee of the Military Academy. Congratulations to these important national institutions on their respective birthdays. Today is also our Freedom Day, one on which we should renew our resolve to realise the goals for which we fought, a day on which we should further commit ourselves to meet the objectives set out in our constitution.
As ordered by the South African Development Community (SADC), together with Botswana we committed our forces to bring normality and stability in our neighbouring country, Lesotho. Having obtained their given objectives, the bulk of these forces have already withdrawn to their respective bases. One combined Botswana Defence Force - SANDF Company remains to complete the restructuring and retraining of the Lesotho Defence Force under the banner of Operation Maluti.
As part of the transformation of our society, important developments have taken place in the SANDF. These include the publication and adoption of the Codes of Conduct for the uniformed members of the SANDF and for the Public Service Act personnel serving with the Department of Defence. These Codes evolved from the Constitution, the White Paper on Defence and the principles of International Law.
For the SANDF, these Codes capture its core values and provide a vision of military professionalism in a democratic South Africa. For all members of the Department of Defence, the Codes provide the essential ethical values that contribute to a firm foundation of discipline, morale and commitment that underpins the fulfillment of our Constitutional and legal obligations.
The Codes were a product of the transformation process with contributions from all Departments, NGOs and members of the public. They reflect, therefore, the values of each and every member tasked with serving the interests of South Africa and its people. On 15 February of this year, the top structure of the military and the public servants demonstrated their commitment by signing the codes.
I am pleased to learn that the transformation process within the Department of Defence is proceeding, with the staffing of the posts within the new structure taking place, giving many members security of tenure. The former territorial commands have been replaced by five new Regional Joint Task Forces and the establishment of type formations as intermediate structures covering the main user systems such as Infantry, Armour, Air Fighter Groups and the Fleet as part of ensuring more efficiency and less duplication.
However, much remains to be done to speed up rationalization, representativity and gender equity. While there has been a marked improvement in the representative nature of the top structure, more effort has to be devoted to the transformation of middle management. The continued application of our Equal Opportunity and Affirmation Action programmes is making its mark and will be the basis of continuous modernization until all main objectives have been achieved.
In our efforts to streamline the SANDF into a leaner, yet more effective organisation, there has been a reduction in personnel. But it is clear that more needs to be done in this regard including finalisation of such packages as would be offered. Sports and Recreation are given every encouragement within the SANDF as part of the Training Schedule. We recognize fully that a healthy mind and body is essential to the building of a combat-ready soldier.
In this regard, I commend the members who represented the SANDF at the Second World Military Games in ZAGREB, Croatia. They all tried their utmost to excel in their various disciplines and the nation can be proud of them. As the current leader of the East and Southern African Liaison Office (ESALO), we will strive to uphold the fine traditions of the international body, the International Military Sport Council (CISM), and promote friendship through sport amongst the military formations in the region.
The SANDF is as always combat-ready for any assignment. However, the emphasis at the moment is on training for peace support operations. This entails combined and joint training with our regional allies. This is in preparation for mandated missions by the United Nations, the Organisation of African unity or the Southern African Development Community. Military Liaison Officers and Military Observers have already been trained and are ready for deployment. A contingent of SANDF troops is on stand-by to join the larger UN force if so requested.
Today, on our Freedom Day, we are also gathered here to unveil yet another symbol of our national identity, our new Coat of Arms that now stands before us for the very first time.
It is both South African and African. It is both African and universal.
It serves to evoke our distant past, our living present and our future as it unfolds before us. It represents the permanent yet evolving identity of the South African people as it shapes itself through time and space.
Through this new coat of arms, we pay homage to our past. We seek to embrace the indigenous belief systems of our people, by demonstrating our respect for the relationship between people and nature, which for millions of years has been fundamental to our self-understanding of our African condition.
It recollects the times when our people believed that there was a force permeating nature which linked the living with the dead. It pays tribute to our land and our continent as the cradle of humanity, as the place where human life first began.
A central image of our new coat of arms is the legendary Secretary Bird with its uplifted wings. This over-arching protector is a bird which slays serpents and thus protects us against those who would do us harm.
Above the bird is the rising sun, a force that gives life while it represents the flight of darkness and the triumph of discovery, knowledge, the understanding of things that have been hidden, illuminating also the new life that is coming into being - our new nation as it is born and evolves.
Below the bird, is the protea, an indigenous flower of our land which represents beauty, the aesthetic harmony of our cultures, our flowering as a nation as we grow towards the sun. The ears of wheat are emblems of the fertility of our land which has provided sustenance to our people for millennia as it will do in perpetuity.
The tusks of the African elephant, reproduced in pairs to represent men and women, symbolise wisdom, steadfastness and strength.
At the centre stands a shield which signifies the protection of our being from one generation to the other. Above it repose a spear and a knobkierie. Together, this ensemble asserts the defence of peace rather than a posture of war.
This shield of peace, that also suggests an African drum, thus, simultaneously, conveys the message of a people imbued with love for culture, its upper part as a shield being imaginatively represented by the protea.
Contained within the shield are some of the earliest representations of the human person in the world.
Those depicted, who were the very first inhabitants of our land, the Khoisan people, speak to our commitment to celebrate humanity and to advance the cause of the fulfillment of all human beings in our country and throughout the world.
These figures are derived from images on the Linton Stone, a world famous example of South African Rock Art. They are depicted in an attitude of greeting, demonstrating the transformation of the individual into a social being who belongs to a collective and interdependent humanity.
The motto of our new Coat of Arms, written in the Khoisan language of the /xam people, means: diverse people unite or people who are different join together.
We have chosen an ancient language of our people. This language is now extinct as no one lives who speaks it as his or her mother-tongue.
This emphasises the tragedy of the millions of human beings who, through the ages, have perished and even ceased to exist as peoples, because of peoples inhumanity to others.
It also says that we, ourselves, can never be fully human if any people is wiped off the face of the earth, because each one of us is a particle of the complete whole.
By inscribing these words on our Coat of Arms - !ke e: /xarra //ke - we make a commitment to value life, to respect all languages and cultures and to oppose racism, sexism, chauvinism and genocide.
Thus do we pledge to respect the obligation which human evolution has imposed on us - to honour the fact that in this country that we have inherited together is to be found one of the birthplaces of humanity itself.
Here in the language of our ancient past, we speak to present generations and those who are still to come about the importance of human solidarity and unity.
We say that in the heart of every individual resides an inner necessity, an essential humanity that compels each person, each people, to unite with another. This impulse and this conscious action makes us who we are and tells us where we as a South African people want to go.
The design carries within it images of the egg, symbolising the eternal reproduction of life. It is this forward movement that must take us to the African Century and the victory of the African Renaissance.
I ask you all who are gathered here today to embrace this Coat of Arms as your own, to own it as a common possession, representing the aspirations of a winning nation that is conscious of the challenges that lie ahead and is confident of its capacity to overcome its difficulties.
We thank the Ministry and Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for leading us in the search for the new Coat of Arms. We extend special thanks to Mr. Iaan Bekker, the designer of this Coat of Arms, whose creativity and patriotism have given all of us a priceless and everlasting gift.
As our flag flies proudly on its mast, evoking an intense spirit of an inclusive national identity, so must this Coat of Arms, which exemplifies the extraordinary creativity of our people through the ages, inspire our united and diverse nation to strive to shine as brightly as the sun.
I thank you.
Tasneem Carrim
Private Bag X1000
Pretoria
0001
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)12 319 1500
Fax: +27 (0)12 323 8246
Cellular: +27 (0)83 650 7119
e-mail: tasneem@po.gov.za
e-mail: tcarrim@mweb.co.za