PREMIER'S ADDRESS
Master of ceremonies
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
WE meet here today on this wintry day to mark the 25th anniversary of the June 16 uprising. And as we do so we are filled with vivid memories of our youth fleeing from trigger-happy men firing life ammunition and teargas at children armed with stones.
Memories of our youth lying lifeless and silent in alleys and streets as the wailing of mothers and sisters filled the atmosphere.
These memories are a stark and painful reminder of a terrible past us of the terrible past. But they also infuse us with pride in the selfless sacrifices of our gallant youth.
More importantly these memories should say to all of us: Never again shall the guns of the state guns be turned on the youth or anyone else simply because they want a better education and a better life.
As we mark this 25 th anniversary, let us say as one: Thank you for the gallant role you played in advancing freedom and dignity to all the people of South Africa.
Many of you never tasted youth. As was said, “When freedom beckoned, you faced death and bullets and did not flinch; you responded to the call to build the underground and the mass democratic movement; you swelled the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe and acquitted yourselves with distinction in the battlefield”.
This you did for yourselves and for the nation. You did not ask for special favours. And you do not ask for special favours today.
But we owe it to you and those who perished in struggle on June 16 and in the many years that followed, to ensure that we achieve what we have set for ourselves; to build a better life for all South Africans.
Siyabonga.
But a word of caution: We should not be complacent and bask in our past achievements. Important as our victory over apartheid may be, the challengers facing this country are enormous.
During the dark days of apartheid, when the packages of being involved in the struggle included death, you never abdicated your responsibilities.
I know that even now we shall always find you willing to be in the forefront of our struggle, the struggle to transform our society to a true democracy.
The struggle to better living conditions of our people, the struggle to provide quality education, the struggle for affordable and proper health care. And indeed, the struggle against corruption and crime will always rely on your willingness to confront these challenges head on.
This year's theme for the Celebration is “Non Racialism The Vision Of The Youth In the 21 st Century”.
Our main challenge today is to establish a real true non- racial, non-sexist democratic South Africa where these will be no hunger and starvation. We need to create a South Africa where all of us with no exception will feel proud to be South Africans.
South Africa must be proud to be a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-faith society. We must celebrate and draw strength from our diversity. . We must shed our petty prejudices and open our hearts and minds to people different than ourselves.
If you are a white South African, you are most likely to have welcomed the changes that have occurred in our country with a certain degree of unease.
On the eve of democracy some would have wondered whether they, their families and properties were safe from black hordes that might go on the rampage.
These would have thought that, among other things, the blacks might seek to inflict revenge for the wrongs that previous white minority governments and the white population in general might have caused them.
People fear what they don't know. We have to find ways to reaffirm what you have in common, and that's the way you can let go of whatever fear you have.
The central work of citizenship in a democratic society is finding ways to respect other people and their differences and even celebrate the differences. But we can only celebrate the differences if we believe that what you have in common with them is more important than what separates you.
The central challenge is to prevent shared ideals from being smothered by fear. It is understandable. As white parents you were bound to be scared. You were worried about your future and that of your children.
Let me say this to you: Whether our ancestors came here on the Dromedaries, Whether they came yesterday or walked this land a thousand years ago, our great challenge for the 21 st century is to find a way to be one South Africa.
We can meet all the other challenges if we can go forward as one South Africa. So let it be said of us then that on the 25 th anniversary of June 16 we were thinking not only of our time, but also of the time of those who will come after us.
That we reached as high as our ideas; that we put aside our divisions and found a new hour of healing and hopefulness.
The problem of the 19 th and the 20 th century is one of the colour line. The practice of racism is both anti-human and constitutes a gross violation of human rights.
The first step we must take towards the realization of a non-racial society is the common recognition by all of us, black and white, that racism exists and that it is indeed a very serious problem, without whose solution it is idle to speak of a new South Africa.
We must abandon any nation that the problem of racism has nothing to do with me and is the responsibility of another. We have to treat racism as a problem that challenge the black people. We must treat racism as a problem that challenges white people.
When those millions of people compiled their submission to be presented at Kliptown in 1955, they did so with a deep love of their country.
At that time they declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people.
Yes, they declared that the People Shall Govern! What's wrong with that?
Surely no one here finds fault with our pronouncement then that the rights of people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex.
It made sense then, and still makes sense today, to declare that all people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs; And that all national groups shall be protected by law against insults to their race and national pride;
That is why it is important to create a great sense of patriotism, which is in short supply in many sections of our society. For us to succeed as a country and a Nation it is important that we share a common vision of a real non- racial South Africa. Without this common vision all our policies about the South Africa we want, will vanish like mist in the morning sun.
Most of the problems of today mainly affect our young people. The high rate of unemployment affects mostly the youth.
Homelessness, high drop out rate, substance and drug abuse, HIV/Aids, crime etc affects the youth.
The point I am making is that if our economy and developmental programmes do not prioritize these young people, they are bound to fail.
Setting up the Youth Commission in my office must be a clear indication of the high value and premium we in the Mpumalanga government place on the youth.
That is why I am glad to announce the establishment of the Youth Awards for Achievement and Excellence. In doing so let me thank all those companies that heeded the call to support the awards.
These awards will be dedicated to all people of the Province who dedicated their line energy and resources and have excelled in their contribution to Youth development.
The Mpumalanga Youth Awards for Excellence and Achievement will focus on the following categories:-
- Entrepreneurship and job creation
- Education and Academic Achievement
- Health, Safety and Security
- Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture
The intention is to acknowledge and recognize initiatives drawn from individual young women and men, youth organizations, groups, NGO's, Community-based organizations that contribute towards excellence.
Competition will be held at three level viz. Local, District and Provincial Level.
If the pilot phase of the project proves to be successful, the project may be linked to other national youth awards competitions such as the annual Youth Leader of the Year Awards.
The greatest challenge facing our nation is to conquer poverty, homelessness, illiteracy and ignorance. This challenge more so faces the youth - black and white.
We must broaden the nation's skills base; improve our productivity; and make our goods more competitive in a world that is growing increasingly smaller.
We can only lay claim to progress when the bulk of our engineers, physicists, economists and other scientists emerge from the villages and townships; from Verena, Lotsaba, Mganduzweni, Tshotshotsho, Moteti, Mathanjana and Rebone.
You must grab the opportunities that are being brought about by the new order with both hands. The working youth is critical to our future. The economy depends on you. With your hard work and efforts at improving your skills, you can make ours one of the most prosperous nations in the world.
Hand-in-hand with the many able professionals in all sectors, you have the energy to lead the nation in achieving this goal.
I call on the unemployed youth not to despair. Use the opportunities that are starting to open up in big and small businesses. But don't rely merely on others.
Create the opportunities yourselves, and take advantage of government programmes to assist small businesses, including small farmers.
On Tuesday I will be launching the Provincial Skills Development Strategy in Secunda. For the Strategy to succeed, it requires the full participation of the youth of the country. As we remember our gallant youth we should not lose sight of the heroism that was the hallmark of our struggle.
We should take pride in the epic struggles that were fought by the youth and others in the villages and towns of the Northern Province and other parts of the country.
That heroism is required in even greater measure today; the heroism to build, to learn, to improve skills, and to unite the nation.
The future is in your hands. Build it through hard work today.
I thank you.