12 May 2002
The Executive Mayor of Tshwane,
Pastor Adams and colleagues in Harvestime Ministries,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Brothers and sisters,
Let me begin by wishing all mothers here today and throughout the country a Happy Mother's Day!
I am in indeed privileged to be part of this occasion, which takes the Moral Regeneration campaign to the people.
During the launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement in Pretoria on 18 April last month, it was emphasised that for the movement to come alive, it needed to be owned by all South Africans and that each and everyone of us should be able to do something to further the cause.
Today's event is already an implementation of that principle by Harvestime Ministries. In this regard, let me begin by congratulating Pastor Adams and his colleagues for organising this event to take forward this nation building campaign.
The theme for today's service, "Women Arise," is quite appropriate. In wishing mothers well throughout the country, we also need to remind ourselves of the responsibility we all have, of ridding our communities of the scourge of abuse of women and children.
Mother's Day should serve to remind men of the role they should play in their families and communities, as protectors of their loved ones, and in working to strengthen families and households.
Almost all breakaway groups in the Moral Regeneration Summit in Pretoria stressed the importance of strengthening the institution of the family; which is a cornerstone in the foundation of our communities and the whole of society. We need to commit ourselves to working harder to build stronger family units, which would mould children to become responsible citizens of this country.
As part of our commitment to moral regeneration, let us in our homes, give our children a sound beginning, and teach them the enduring values of honesty, hard work, discipline, respect for self and others, responsibility, obligations and of doing unto others as they would have done unto themselves.
We need to lay a strong basis for a society that cares for those less fortunate, a society that values human life, a society that is guided by respect and all the values that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution.
In striving to reach that goal, we need to start from basics such as one of the themes of today's rally, the campaign against the buying of stolen goods.
If we want to nip crime in the bud, people must close the taps to criminals by ceasing to buy goods from criminals. We cannot say we are fighting crime as communities while we remain in thriving market for criminals. If there is no viable market for criminals, we will see a decline in crimes such as theft, armed robbery, burglaries and hijacking of cars.
Most importantly, those who buy stolen goods should always think of the possibility that the goods are dripping with blood, as someone may have lost his or her life when criminals acquired the goods.
Brothers and sisters, allow me to also remind you of the responsibility we all have to report criminal activity to the police, even if the criminals are our own flesh and blood. Let us, in working towards moral renewal of our nation, send a powerful message to criminals that there will be no place to hide.
We can do this by bringing to justice those who kill, abuse children, steal, rob and maim. That is the only way in which we can build safety neighbourhoods and build on the foundations we have already made to stabilize crime levels in our country.
Brothers and sisters, I am inspired by the gathering here today because it reminds us that the moral regeneration campaign should start from the grassroots. As we have said before, it is our belief that this campaign needs to be essentially, a civil society driven initiative, supported by government.
The launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement last month should be seen as a step in the right direction in terms of addressing problems that as South African we are faced with.
It is also clear, ladies and gentlemen, that the message of doing things differently is filtering through in our communities. For example, we are encouraged by the numbers of people who have needed the call made by the President earlier this year for people to volunteer their services for the general upliftment of our country.
We have seen business people making various contributions towards specific development projects. We have also witnessed ordinary citizens going out in the streets to help police in fighting crime, to help teachers in educating our children, and in many other areas.
The church has also not been left out in this process. The church is one of the most important stakeholders in the campaign to rebuild the moral fibre of our society.
It is through institutions such as the church and other religious formations that most people find their connection with God. We therefore welcome the active involvement of Harvestime Ministries in the moral regeneration campaign.
My dear brothers and sisters, let me also take this opportunity to appeal to you all to join hands in providing care and support to those who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. let us assist child-headed households, volunteer in hospices and home based care, and provide any kind of material and emotional support to affected families.
In building a caring nation, we need to work together to fight the stigmatisation of those living with the disease and confront negative stereotypes and fear.
The moral regeneration movement is founded on the principles of a nation working together to address the challenges it faces. Our belief as government is that to manage, reduce and eventually defeat the disease, we need a strong partnership of all sectors of society with government.
As we appeal to our people to lend a hand for the betterment of the lives of those affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic, we also want to make a call to all South Africans to behave in a manner that would not endanger their lives.
President Mbeki made a call a few weeks ago for people to change their lifestyles. In the absence of a cure for AIDS, preventing infection remains critical. We want to appeal to each and every person in our country that they must exercise their individual and collective responsibility to take care of their own lives.
In conclusion, brothers and sisters, let me once again welcome Harvestime Ministries as a partner in the moral regeneration campaign.
I also congratulate you on the launch of the Holistic Centre, which will provide much needed facilities for our youth, particularly sports facilities.
Sport is always a critical factor in society because it bridges all kinds of barriers and has the potential to promote tolerance, trust, respect and social cohesion. An investment in sports facilities therefore is a wise one indeed.
We believe that the step that Harvestime Ministries has taken, in proactively engaging issues that face the nation, will contribute to the betterment of the lives of ordinary South Africans.
I thank you.