Address by Jeff Radebe, Minister in the Presidency for Planning,
Monitoring and Evaluation and Chairperson of the IMC for the Nelson Mandela
Centenary; Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, Houghton
Thank you Programme
Director, Ms Unathi Msengana
Our keynote speaker
this evening, General Bantu Holomisa
The CEO of the Nelson
Mandela Foundation, Sello Hatang
Board Chairperson, Prof
Njabulo Ndebele and other Board Members of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
present here
Graca Machel, Ndileka
Mandela and other representatives of the Mandela Family
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are gathered here at
the tail end of what was declared and celebrated as the Year of OR Tambo. We
used this period to reflect on the legacy of this gallant leader of our
liberation struggle. I had the singular honour of chairing the
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on the OR Tambo Centenary celebrations.
It is almost impossible
to speak of OR Tambo without mentioning his close friend and comrade, Nelson
Mandela. Tambo and Mandela met on the soccer field as students at the
University of Fort Hare in 1940. They struck a friendship that would last a
lifetime. They joined the African National Congress (ANC) and played an
instrumental role in the founding of the ANC Youth League in 1944. Outside the
political arena, they were also the pioneers in the legal field as they
established the first black-owned legal firm in South Africa in 1952.
Tambo was succeeded by
Nelson Mandela as the President of the ANC in 1991. It is such a coincidence
that these close companions succeed each other even in their years of birth. As
we conclude the OR Tambo centenary, we begin the Nelson Mandela centenary. The
whole world has been celebrating Nelson Mandela Day for a number of years, but
next year’s installment has to be something special, as the 18th of
July 2018 marks what would have been Madiba’s 100th birthday. It is
an honour and a privilege that I have been appointed by President Jacob Zuma to
serve as the chairperson of the IMC for the centenary of the late President
Mandela.
When President Mandela
ceased to breathe on this day — the 5th of December 2013, he left
indelible footprints in his wake. Madiba left us a legacy of selflessness,
resilience and devotion. Although the popular revolutionary song, “Akekho
ofana naye”, intimates that there is no one like him, it also implores
us to emulate his selflessness.
As the government of
South Africa, we are committed to upholding the legacy, the principles and
values that President Mandela cherished as the founding father of our
democratic society. Those of us who had the privilege of working closely with
Madiba know that he always insisted that as a leader he was part of a
collective — his successes were the successes of the people. When we celebrate
his legacy, we must reflect on his different dimensions as truthfully as
possible. In 1998, Madiba made one of the most profound observations about the
distortion of his life and legacy:
“One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image that I
unwittingly projected to the outside world: of being regarded as a saint. I
never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a
sinner who keeps trying.”
I was privileged to
serve as a Minister in the first cabinet that Madiba appointed as the first
President of a democratic South Africa in 1994. Under President Mandela’s
stewardship, South Africa adopted one of the best constitutions in the history
of humanity. We owe it to President Mandela’s visionary leadership that today
South Africa is a constitutional democracy well into twenty-three years of
freedom and democracy.
I trust that as we
honour the Nelson Mandela centenary in 2018, the whole world will join hands
with us in celebrating this global icon. This will present us with a wonderful
opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Nelson Mandela. We will use this
opportunity to promote peace, deepen democracy and fight to protect human
rights as some of the values that Madiba espoused.
Madiba meant different
things to different people, and we would like to reflect on the various aspects
that Madiba represented. The Nelson Mandela centenary IMC will be responsible
for planning and coordinating the centenary programme befitting the legacy and
heritage of President Mandela. The IMC is comprised of Ministers from relevant
government departments including:
Arts and Culture
- Basic Education
- Communications
- Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
- Defense and Military Veterans
- Higher Education and Training
- International Relations and Cooperation
- Police
- Public Works
- Sport and Recreation
- Water and Sanitation
These Ministers will be
supported by senior officials from the respective departments as well as the
Technical Committee chaired by the Director General in the Presidency, Dr.
Cassius Lubisi. The IMC will be working in close collaboration with the Nelson
Mandela Foundation to ensure that we develop a programme appropriate for
someone of Madiba’s stature. We have begun with our engagements with the
Foundation and I must say the programme is indeed promising to be a great one.
As you can see, Ladies
and Gentlemen, we have quite a comprehensive plan for the centenary. Madiba
belonged to all of us and it is our objective to ensure that the national
programme is as inclusive as possible. The plans for the launch of the Nelson
Mandela centenary as well as the details of the programme will be announced in
due course.
As I conclude,
Programme Director, the ancients say when a big tree falls the earth is bound
to shake. This rings true of what we witnessed on that fateful day, four years
ago. The passing of Nelson Mandela four years ago shook South Africa, the
African continent and the whole world. It is fitting that as we reflect on the
legacy of Madiba, the whole world joins us in honouring this global icon. This
is a clarion call to all South Africans and the world over to honour Madiba in
his centenary.
The celebration of
Madiba’s legacy is the celebration of the triumph of the human spirit over the
greatest travesties served on humanity. Let us make 2018 the Year of Nelson
Mandela.
Thank you.
Enquiries: Tshegofatso.Modubu@dpme.gov.za / 083 276 0786 or
Mmabatho Ramompi on 076 4803513 or Mmabatho.Ramompi@dpme.gov.za
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Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Issued by the Department of Planning,
Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME)
5 December 2017
