MEC BJ TOLO'S ADDRESS
Thank You
Master of Ceremonies
His worship the Mayor of Middelburg Mr Sydney Choma
Deputy Mayor Mrs. Jeanet Mgedeza
Mr Windvoel, Member of the Provincial Legislature
The pretty ambassador of this province Megan du Preez
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
Let me from the outset thank you for inviting me to this august gathering of distinguished sportspeople and lovers of sports. To MEC Siphosezwe Masango and his staff, thank you for having made it possible for us to meet with our Province's sports ambassadors.
We meet here today a few days after the 21 st anniversary of the willful murder of one of South Africa's greatest patriots – a son of the soil and keen sportsperson Solomon “Kalushi” Mahlangu. We owe it to people like “Kalushi” and millions like him – black and white – that we can gather as patriots to celebrate our freedom.
Ladies and gentlemen, most of us have met in the past, but our encounters were at places where pleasure could not be mixed with business. We met at places were we were held up in discussions. Discussing about development in this province. Talking about working for a better life for all our people - black and white. At times we met as business, as homeboys, as members of the ANC and so forth.
Today we meet as people, as patriots, as a nation confident of itself, aware of its immense possibilities and prepared to do extra-ordinary things to attain the goal that comes from creating a better quality of life for all.
We come from a past where a section of the community had everything they needed regarding sports development. On the other hand a section of the community had nothing. I appeal to business to help us address that imbalance.
There are tremendous opportunities for the expansion of our Province's partnership with business and with communities in the initiation and development of sport projects in our province. Such partnership will ensure that all our sportspeople, regardless of race, have the potential to develop to the full.
The potential for such partnership will make a significant contribution to addressing a variety of problems facing our society and ensuring the total development in our youth is considerable.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we move into the African Century our priorities must bring an end to the poverty of our people. Our century must be one in which the divisions of the past must truly cease to exist. As we reconstruct South Africa and reclaim the whole country for all, we break down all the divisions and attitudes of the past.
We do so while freeing everyone from the last vestiges of oppression. Freeing everyone from hunger, disease and want.
It is our task to make the most of our freedom, to entrench it in our new epoch as a fundamental and a permanent feature of our very existence.
Ladies and gentlemen, the challenges facing all of us are to contribute to a complete and rounded picture of this celebration and others we will hold. Certainly that complete and rounded perspective cannot be contained only in political speeches, song, dance, poetry and in the construction of monuments.
An integral element of the celebration is that we should feel the greater need, now more than before, to educate ourselves and the world about what amalgam of historical events has given birth to our collective human experience.
It is only by understanding this that we can be forewarned and forearmed about the challenges that lie ahead in our effort to construct a better world. These games carry my full support and I look forward to seeing the participation of more athletes from across the province.
This initiative represent a bright opportunities for all of us to join hands in a constructive effort to expand the opportunities available to our youth, under circumstances that are removed from the immediate challenges facing us.
We urge every citizen of Mpumalanga to support this event as a tangible proof of the people of this Province to this worthy cause, and thereby to the development of our province and our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should never under-estimate the influence, importance and potential of sport development on the development of society. That is why sport stars are increasingly becoming role model for our youth. Games such as we had today are essential for the healthy and safe development of the leaders and citizen of tomorrow.
We often refer, very glibly, to the potential of sport to build the nation. If sport can in fact fulfil such a role, and I believe that it can, then this is one of the many examples we are able to point to today.
Today when we cheered you on we did not look at you as black or white athletes, but as South Africans who will never again allow their diversity to be used to divide and tear them apart. As young men and women you have, in your own way, contributed to the reconciliation processes so necessary in the building of a nation.
That is why I emphasise that sports, more than anything, has the power to unite people and diverse cultures, something that is quiet critical in a period where we are building a nation.
All over South Africa and the Province unity is emerging through such organised activities. These activities focus on specific themes that seek to enhance the achievement of government objectives of democracy, the attainment of peace, crime reduction and prevention, reconstruction and empowerment.
Let me conclude by saying we wish Bafana Bafana well in their game against Lesotho. But allow me to add that it is sad that the majority of the people in our country are excluded from seeing our teams play as they do not own decoders or satellite dishes.
If sport is going to contribute to building the nation, everybody must be able to see our national teams perform.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, in partnership with all sectors of society, we must continue to give absolute priority to HIV/AIDS programmes.
We must continue to mobilise popular awareness of the seriousness of the epidemic. All of us must realise that the epidemic is not only a health issue, but also an economic one. It is an epidemic which we ignore at our peril.
Let me also appeal to you to join “Operation Mpimpa”. In the past it was wrong to be an impimpi. But today we can be proud mpimpis of our democratic government. If we know of somebody in government who is stealing your money. Mpimpe.
If you know of a car thief, a robber, a killer, a wife-beater, Mpimpe. In conclusion: I am sure that all of you will join me in congratulating the sportsmen and women of this province who have done us proud today and in the past.
We also salute those tireless warriors who give so much of their time and energy, sometimes without any reward, for their efforts at ensuring that sport and recreation is delivered from the lowest levels of participation to the pinnacle of international competition.
I am speaking, of course, about coaches, officials, technical assistants and volunteers. Without your dedication, sport and recreation as we know it, will not be possible in South Africa.
I salute you!
These games carry my full support and I look forward to seeing the participation of more athletes from across the province. Our thanks are due to the organisers of this games. All the staff in Mr Masango's office, thank you. And everyone else involved.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we thank you for your support and for your investment in the future of our province. To the sportspeople I am sure you did remember that the main important thing was to enjoy. To enjoy what you are doing. Remember that as a people – black and white – we are united behind you. We came here today to spur you on.
We wish all of you all the success. But remember, even if you don't win, the essence of the games is to enjoy.
I am glad that you went out there and enjoyed yourselves.
Thank You.