SPEECH BY PREMIER TSP MAKWETLA AT THE MPUMALANGA PREMIER'S YOUTH
SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS FUNCTION
Secunda, Thursday 21 October 2004
Programme Director
Members of the Provincial Executive
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Gert Sibande District Mayor Councillor Linda Shabalala
Mayor of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, Councillor Mdibanisi Tsheke
Sponsors
Youth Commissioners
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is indeed an honour to speak at awards ceremonies such as this wonderful occasion where we recognise and celebrate the tangible results of the hard work of our young men and women who did not sit back waiting for someone to give them a hand-out.
Today much of the negativity regarding our circumstances is blamed on our lack of opportunities or chances given to us by others. Instead of changing our circumstances, we too often find a scapegoat for the conditions we find ourselves in.
It was Mahatma Ghandi who called on us to "be the change that you want to see
in the world". In order to "be the change" it is imperative that we live, act,
think, and speak, the way that we would like our world to be. The recipients of
these youth awards have consciously applied themselves to achieving excellence
by being motivated about their environment and their future.
By receiving your rewards today you have made the choice of excellence over mediocrity. You will carry that choice into your future as you help shape this remarkable province of ours. Allow me therefore to congratulate all the finalists and their families and friends for supporting them in their service to the community.
Programme Director, as we enter the second decade of freedom, it is important that we remember that throughout the decades, the insatiable passion of the youth was driven by a genuine quest for political and economic freedom. That freedom came to pass in 1994 with the first democratic elections.
Ten years on, the dream of the youth no longer seem as elusive as it was those decades ago when the package of involvement in the struggle included detention, torture, exile and death. Today's youth yearn for a different form of liberation - a liberation that guarantees a secure future in an environment that has abundant opportunities for growth and development.
It is true that the emancipation of the youth has taken many forms and expressions, be it in the field of the arts, science and technology or in the socio-economic field. But what must never elude us is the fact that a truly emancipated nation can be measured through the successes of its youth.
Allow me to recall the words of Anton Lembede when he wrote: "We are not called to peace, comfort, enjoyment, but to hard work, struggle and sweat. We need young men and women of high moral stamina and integrity, of courage and vision. In short we need warriors. This means that we have to develop a new type of youth - young men and women of stoical discipline, trained to endure suffering and difficulties. It is only this type of youth that will achieve the national liberation of African people."
Today I echo that call to the youth of this province. The new type of youth that this visionary leader was talking about is what will take South Africa from an era of political victory to that of social and economic emancipation.
A great challenge awaits today's generations of youth in the province, to mobilise, organise and educate their peers to act as footsoldiers in the advancement of the creation of work and the final defeat of the scourge of poverty.
The youth should embrace the current challenges facing the nation and they must position themselves as champions of all processes that give forward momentum to their emancipation. This means that the youth must take responsibility for its own development and empowerment without waiting for handouts. The youth must be catalysts of the dawn of the new frontiers working hard for a better tomorrow that will create work and fight poverty.
Today's youth must have a grasp of the challenges facing South Africa's young men and women in the coming decade. The youth must also have a clear roadmap of where the young men and women in the province would be in the next decade in terms of development, capacity and socio-economic affluence. They must know what to do in order to mobilise the social forces to better the lives of the many millions of young people in the years to come, particularly those trapped at the margins of the mainstream economy.
Today's youth must seize the opportunities of democracy and assume responsibility to raise the level of the struggle. To seize opportunities of democracy will demand of the youth that they improve their competencies in all fields in which they are involved; social, economic and cultural, including science and technology.
Programme Director, let us now turn our attention to the young men and women who made it possible for us to gather here today. It is you, our guests of honour, who are making Mpumalanga such an extraordinary place to live in. It is you who live up to our province's motto: "Omnia Labor Vincit: Work conquers all"
You were chosen for this award, the highest honour youth in our province may
receive, because you put that extra effort and passion into your lives each and
every day. You each have an ethic of excellence - a passion for performance. You
really care about the people you serve, and it shines through in everything you
do.
Some of you dedicate your entire day to helping others. Others help to prevent
pain and suffering in others. Some of you use your minds to create better ways
to do business. I could go on with dozens of example of what you have done, and
how you have done it. But your stories speak for themselves. All of you have
achieved the high standards that this ceremony honours.
I know everyone in this room will share my joy at the dedication and commitment of tonight's winners. I know your families are very proud of you; your co-workers and your communities are very proud of you. And as your Premier, I am extremely proud of you. Through your services, you have blessed many lives. Today we thank you; and we urge each of you to continue being extraordinary inspirations to others.
But you must know that what you do in each moment is an opportunity to spread light and hope. Every time you help another, you will bring hope to the province and to the country. Even though you have accomplished a great deal by getting to this incredibly important point in your life, I urge you not to wait for opportunities to come your way, but go out and find them. Seek them out.
And while you are setting the world on fire, remember the words of the poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said,
"If you find your life is empty, try putting something into it…such as kindness.
Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear. You can never
do a kindness too soon because you never know when it will be too late."
Spread goodwill wherever you go. Illuminate the places and people that you touch. No deed is too small, and every moment is an opportunity.
This is the passion that stirred the late chairperson of the Mpumalanga Youth
Commission, Mxolisi Dladla, to introduce these awards. As a visionary leader he
knew that there were hundreds of young men and women who in their everyday lives
spread compassion to those less fortunate than we.
Let us rise and observe a moment of silence for this selfless leader.
Thank You.
Finally, let me once again offer my congratulations and, as your Premier, my
gratitude to all of you for your commitment, for challenges conquered, for
projects completed, for goals reached and even surpassed.
So I would say to you, be bold in your dreaming, be bold in your living, be
bold in your caring, your compassion and your humanity.
Thank you.
.