National Assembly - 30 May 2002
THURSDAY, 30 MAY 2002 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:00.
The Chairperson of Committees took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr P A C HENDRICKSE: Chairperson, at the next sitting I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes with shock the resignation of Hennie Bester as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape and from the Western Cape Provincial Legislature;
(2) believes this resignation to be an expression of Mr Bester’s dismay and disgust at the failure of the Western Cape Premier and other implicated leaders to resign after Absa regional manager Erik Marais testified that he laundered donations to the Democratic Alliance;
(3) reminds the DA/DP that they have made loud noises about corruption and accountability but fail to hold themselves to the same standards by which they judge others; and
(4) condemns the DP/DA for their corrupt and hypocritical conduct and calls on Mr Morkel, the hon Mr Leon and the hon Mr Gibson to resign for their part in this sordid affair.
[Interjections.] [Applause.] [Laughter.]
Mr T D LEE: Chair, I hereby give notice that I shall move at the next sitting: That the House -
(1) notes that some provincial hospitals in the Eastern Cape are often without food for patients and that the condition of some hospital buildings increasingly poses a health risk to patients and staff;
(2) further notes that at the Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth -
(a) there are 232 vacancies for nurses;
(b) many senior administrative posts are vacant; and
(c) nurses regularly have to rely on the generosity of the community
to be able to feed patients; and
(3) calls on the ANC provincial government to stop playing games with people’s lives and to put delivery ahead of party loyalty.
[Applause.]
Mr B M DOUGLAS: Chairperson, I shall move on behalf of the ANC at the next sitting of this House:
That the House -
(1) notes with dismay the increase in the levels of gang violence on the Cape Flats and the effect it has on learners in these townships; and
(2) calls upon the Ministers of safety and security and social welfare to take urgent steps to address this problem because it will exacerbate if steps are not taken.
Mr H P CHAUKE: Chairperson, I shall move on behalf of the ANC at the next sitting:
That the House -
(1) notes that Project ``Nexus 2002’’ in the Swartruggens and Koster Police stations in the North West province is running very successfully;
(2) applauds community members and sixty police volunteers, who are helping the two police stations to bring down the level of crime in these areas; and
(3) calls on other communities to emulate this shining example and be volunteers to build safe and secure communities.
Mrs S M CAMERER: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House notes that -
(1) over many decades the DA and its predecessors, the Democratic Party and the Progressive Federal Party, have gone to great lengths to cultivate an image of deep-seated respect for the judiciary, of upholding due process of law and of being fighters against corruption;
(2) under the leadership of the hon Mr Leon, they have recently managed to shatter this image by their inappropriate attack on Judge Desai, as chairperson of a commission appointed under the law, in an apparent attempt to blot out the message by killing the messenger; and
(3) this action undermines the ideals and visions established by their former leaders, like the great Helen Suzman, the late Zach de Beer, Colin Eglin and Van Zyl Slabbert.
[Applause.]
Prof L M MBADI: Chairperson, I will move on behalf of the UDM at the next sitting of this House:
That the House -
(1) notes with shock that seven female teachers of the Little Flower High School in Qumbu have been charged with indecent and common assault on a 15-year-old schoolgirl for allegedly being in possession of a pornographic picture;
(2) expresses its horror and condemnation that the schoolgirl was severely beaten and sexually assaulted with a banana; (3) reaffirms its commitment to the principles of human rights as entrenched in the Constitution, and specifically related to the dignity with which children should be treated; and
(4) calls on all teachers and education stakeholders to act decisively against teachers who undermine the principles of a just and responsible democratic society.
Mr M M MASALA: Chairperson, I shall move on behalf of the ANC at the next sitting:
That the House -
(1) notes reports that the Eastern Cape Premier, Mr Arnold Stofile, is frustrated at public servants who do not perform but cannot be fired;
(2) further notes the commitment of the ANC-led Government in building a culture of service which puts the people’s interests first (Batho Pele) and a public service which is committed to building a better life for all people through having a work ethic and delivery of service to our people; and
(3) calls on the public servants in the Eastern Cape to embrace the spirit of Batho Pele and to commit themselves to building a better life for all our people in South Africa.
[Applause.]
Dr P W A MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, hiermee gee ek kennis dat ek namens die VF op die volgende sitting van die Raad sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) daarvan kennis neem dat dit môre, Vrydag 31 Mei, presies 100 jaar is sedert Afrikaners in die Transvaal en Vrystaat hulle vryheid verloor het met die beëindiging van die Anglo Boere-oorlog en die ondertekening van die Vrede van Vereeniging;
(2) kennis neem dat tydens hierdie oorlog -
(a) as deel van die Britte se verskroeide aarde beleid, 8000
boereplase afgebrand en oor 'n miljoen stuks vee vernietig is;
en
(b) aan Afrikanerkant, volgens die nuutste navorsing, ongeveer 32
000 vroue en kinders in die Britse konsentrasiekampe dood is -
hierdie syfer was 10% van die destydse Afrikanerbevolking in die
twee Boerestate en dit het beteken dat vir elke Afrikaner-Boer
wat op die slagveld dood is, sewe vroue en kinders in die
konsentrasiekampe dood is;
3) voorts kennis neem van verrigtinge wat Vrydag in Bloemfontein,
Brandfort en Pretoria plaasvind waar die einde van hierdie oorlog op
verskillende maniere herdenk sal word. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr P W A MULDER: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House - (1) takes note of the fact that tomorrow, Friday 31 May, marks exactly 100 years since Afrikaners in the Transvaal and the Free State lost their freedom with the end of the Anglo-Boer War and the signing of the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging;
(2) takes note that during this war -
(a) as part of the scorched earth policy of the British, 8000 boer
farms were burnt down and more than a million livestock were
killed; and
(b) according to the latest research, approximately 32 000 Afrikaner
women and children died in the British concentration camps -
this figure was 10% of the Afrikaner population at the time in
the two Boer states and this meant that for every Afrikaner-Boer
who died on the battlefield, seven women and children died in
the concentration camps; and
(3) furthermore takes note of the functions taking place on Friday
in Bloemfontein, Brandfort and Pretoria where the end of this
war will be commemorated in different ways.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Chair, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of Azapo:
That the House -
(1) notes the success of national elections in Lesotho and the peaceful way in which such elections took place;
(2) further notes that some opposition parties have objected to the outcome of the elections, even after the elections have been declared free and fair by SADEC;
(3) congratulates the people of Lesotho for conducting their elections without violence and intimidation; and
(4) urges all parties in Lesotho to accept the outcome of the elections after the final audit. [Applause.]
Ms P K MOTHOAGAE: I shall move on behalf of the ANC at the next meeting:
That the House -
(1) notes that the Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal’s proposals for the transformation and reconstruction of higher education have been endorsed by the Cabinet;
(2) further notes that the proposals, which will impact on every institution regardless of history, form the basis for the renewal and total transformation of the higher education system away from the shameful legacy of our apartheid past to one which meets our nation’s developmental and equity needs;
(3) believes that the implementation of these proposals will lead to the development of truly South African institutions, whose culture and ethos will reflect the values of our democracy;
(4) calls on all parties to give careful consideration to the proposals and to put their vested interests aside, by placing the aspirations of our young people, particularly those who have been denied access in the past, above all else; and
(5) further calls on all South Africans to lend their full support to Government’s transformation agenda.
Mr G B D McINTOSH: Mr Chairman, I wish to give notice that I shall move at the next sitting:
That the House -
(1) notes that in his speech resigning from public life Mr Hennie Bester paid tribute to the hon Tony Leon and expressed his full support both for his national leader and for the DA as well as his complete faith in Mr Leon’s integrity;
(2) notes further that too many good young people from all parties are being lost to public life because of the gutter level to which our politics has descended; and (3) regrets the comments by the Renier Schoemans of this world who are so politically bankrupt that they cruelly and irresponsibly exploit someone else’s pain.
Mrs L R MBUYAZI: Mr Chairman, I wish to give notice that I shall move at the next sitting:
That the House -
(1) welcomes with gratitude the German grant agreed upon by the Director- General of Minerals and Energy and the senior vice-president of the German development bank to provide solar energy panels to at least 300 000 South African households;
(2) realises that these panels will make life easier for rural and poor families of the Eastern Cape and North West and of SA as a whole who are inconvenienced by either collecting heating wood from faraway places or lack of such wood; and
(3) hopes that such a grant will extend to other poor communities. Mr I Z NCINANE: Mr Chairperson, I shall move at the next sitting of this House on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that Mr Alf Buqwana, a top South African boxing official, has been appointed as a judge for the upcoming Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson World Heavyweight Title bout;
(2) recognises Alf Buqwana’s appointment as a judge in this all-important boxing bout as an historic achievement for the South African boxing official; and
(3) congratulates Alf Buqwana on his appointment and wishes him all of the best in this very important function.
[Applause.]
Mr I J PRETORIUS: Chair, I hereby give notice that I shall move at the next sitting:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the honourable Mr Leon has received the second resignation of a
senior leader of his party in less than 10 days;
(b) Carl Werth, the former Gauteng North leader of the DA, was the
first senior leader to resign and yesterday Mr Hennie Bester,
deputy leader of the DA in the Western Cape, followed his lead;
(c) this confirms the disillusionment amongst the senior leadership
of the honourable Mr Leon's party; and
(d) Mr Hennie Bester was the DA's crown prince and was groomed to
take over from Mr Leon;
(2) acknowledges that these senior leaders in the DA are now actually doing what Mr Leon and others involved in the Harksen scandal should have done, and that is to resign; and (3) is of the opinion that after the floor-crossing legislation has been enacted, many other members of Mr Leon’s party will follow suit.
[Interjections.] [Applause.]
Ms ANNA VAN WYK: Chairperson, I will move on behalf of the UDM at the next sitting of this House:
That the House -
(1) learns with shock of the latest research conducted by doctors at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital regarding the reasons for brain damage in their child patients;
(2) expresses its horror that between June 1998 and June 2001 the doctors treated 75 child patients who suffered brain damage due to violence;
(3) notes with dismay that the vast majority of these children were younger than 12 months old;
(4) expresses specifically its contempt that it appears that in 40% of these cases the children were the victims of assault because the attacker, usually a male family member, was aiming to assault the mother carrying the child;
(5) condemns in the strongest possible terms the occurrence of domestic violence, especially against children so young and vulnerable; and
(6) calls upon the Minister of Safety and Security to ensure the immediate and effective implementation of the Domestic Violence Act.
[Applause.]
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PEOPLE OF LESOTHO ON PEACEFUL ELECTION
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Mr Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that Lesotho held a successful and peaceful poll this
weekend, resulting in victory for the Lesotho Congress for
Democracy;
(2) congratulates the people of Lesotho on holding peaceful
democratic elections; and
(3) congratulates the Lesotho Congress for Democracy on its election
victory.
Agreed to.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr D H M GIBSON: Mr Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) congratulates the team constructing the largest telescope in the
southern hemisphere near Sutherland;
(2) notes that the Southern Africa Large Telescope is a local
project which has established South Africa in the eyes of
astronomers world-wide; and
(3) wishes them success in their project.
Agreed to.
POSITIVE ECONOMIC INDICATORS
(Draft Resolution)
Mr C H F GREYLING: Mr Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House notes that -
(1) the rand appreciated to its best level in six months against the
dollar;
(2) the gold price increased to a five-year high; and
(3) the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2,2 per cent during the
first quarter.
Agreed to.
AFRICA, THE TIME HAS COME! AFRIKA, KE NAKO!
(Subject for Discussion)
Dr Z P JORDAN: Mr Chairperson, hon members and comrades, as the African continent prepares for the inaugural summit of the African Union, an observer could not be blamed for regarding ours as an extremely troubled continent.
During the last decade of the twentieth century Africa accounted for 53 of the armed conflicts in the world. Even more troubling is that the vast majority of these were not interstate conflicts but, invariably, civil wars. A terrifying dimension of these wars is that they can be conducted even in the absence of high-tech weapons systems.
South Africa is at peace today, but we must be deeply concerned about the state of the continent because we do not want to see a further escalation of violence in Africa. As an African state, our concern is driven by self- interest and we must readily accept that Africa’s problems are our problems.
Conflict situations necessarily entail loss of life and the destruction of infrastructure. Conflicts also require governments to divert resources away from social spending programmes to security. That is an excess which no African people can afford. In some parts of the continent the state has imploded, leaving ordinary people prey to ruthless warlords and adventurers intent on self-enrichment.
Yet it would be radically wrong to view Afica as a picture of unmitigated gloom and doom. Between 1990 and 1999, more competitive elections were held in Africa than in Asia and the Pacific. Elections have just been concluded in Lesotho and Sierra Leone, two countries that have lived through extremely difficult times over the past decade.
The region with the lowest number of elections in the world was the Middle East.
Though the progress of democracy in Africa is slow, it has become an established trend. The uneven pace of democratisation in Africa owes its progress, as during the struggle for independence, to the efforts of ordinary citizens and political activists who have occupied and expanded democratic space within their societies as a means of placing critical social policy issues on the public agenda.
Contrary to the view held by some misguided pundits, it is not to its former colonial masters that Africa owes its democratic institutions. Those who actually experienced colonialism know that the colonised people had no rights. They were not citizens; they were colonial subjects, governed by an entirely separate system of law from the colonists.
Incalculable mischief was also wrought in these societies by the so-called ``experts’’ in native culture, native law, anthropology, customary law, all of whom corrupted indigenous legal systems to suit the needs of the colonial administrations. Unaccountable, arbitrary power was the hallmark of every colonial administration. This power was usually wielded with a great deal of discretion in pursuance of metropolitan vested interests.
The end of the second millennium coincided with the emergence of a new generation of African leaders. Many of them had been steeled in the harsh school of underground resistance, political exile, imprisonment, armed and mass struggles against colonialists and racist states. Many had also gone through these experiences struggling against postcolonial states of some 30 or 40 years’ standing. Nurtured on the postcolonial experiences of Asia and Africa, they have known the elation brought about by great successes, as well as the bitter disappointment that accompanies dismal failure.
The thrust for good governance and democracy in Africa deserves the sort of support that will beget long-term institutional development. The pan- African human rights instruments and other institutions envisaged in the African Union should lend the process greater momentum. Their very existence will lend greater legitimacy to the institutions designed to support democracy in individual African nations.
The norms and standards of good governance that the African Union will adopt, and the peer review mechanism directed at ensuring the observance of these norms and standards, have also put governments on notice that they will be held accountable, not solely by their own people, but by the continent as a whole.
Bread and freedom are not mutually exclusive alternatives. Ordinary African citizens have begun to emphasise that they are mutually dependent. Democracy should not be embraced by us because such institutions will impress foreign powers and international donor organisations. We should embrace and promote it for its intrinsic value. Democracy creates an environment in which the objectives of social equity, inclusion, unity and a human rights culture can be pursued without recourse to extraconstitutional means.
Confronting what many Africans perceive as a hostile economic order will only be possible with the organised support of common African people. Governments that enjoy legitimacy and a popular mandate are better able to speak to outsiders with authority.
The apparent respectability discredited ideas from the past have acquired is exemplified by the electoral successes registered by parties of the radical right in Europe. The increased support for charismatic and fundamentalist Christianity in the United States can justly take credit for shifting the mainstream of US politics to the right. The upsurge of an aggressive US nationalism post September 11 has reinforced such trends.
African leaders, inspired by the vision of an African Renaissance, have placed before the continent and the international community the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Nepad, with a view to harnessing the human and natural resources of the continent, for its renewal and reconstruction. The development of Africa’s infrastructure, the roll-out of modern telecommunications networks, securing better terms of trade, democratic governance and the cancellation of debts, are at the centre of Nepad. Though politically independent, today Africa’s sovereignty is threatened by indebtedness to banks and international aid donors. Nepad can galvanise a collective response to this threat.
Encouraging a substantial increase in capital flows into Africa and reversing the trend of donor fatigue are but two aspects of this programme. United action on a number of different fronts can also open up the markets of developed countries to African raw materials, agricultural produce and beneficiated goods, while facilitating the transfer of technology to African countries. Synergies, through which variously endowed African countries can pool their strengths, will also be an important dimension of Nepad, enabling Africans to mobilise their own savings and the capital reserves on the continent for its development.
While the increasing momentum of Africa’s reconstruction is grounds for optimism, there are new dangers in the international arena which require our attention. As we mark Africa Day this year, we may take pride in the role that South Africa has played at the forefront to achieve political stability and peace as preconditions for the regeneration of the African continent. South Africa has done this not by bullying, hectoring and coercion, but by judicious interventions and by patient dialogue with our African neighbours. These efforts are at the centre of our foreign policy and they will continue.
Afrika, ke nako! Africa’s moment has, indeed, arrived. [Applause.]
Mr W J SEREMANE: Chairperson and hon members, the heading of our topic or subject today encapsulates quite a number of subsubjects, such as celebrating Africa Day, belated as it may seem, the envisaged African Union assembly and Nepad, or the initiative for a New Partnership for Africa’s Development. All these complementary visionary objectives are worthy ideas whose time has indeed come.
Nako e fitlile, ammaaruri e gorogile. [Time has indeed come.]
Taking into account the long journey and the time it has taken Africa to arrive at this point in the 21st century, I am tempted to break into some epic song on behalf of Mother Africa. William Henley’s Invictus seems to be my immediate and nearest vehicle. Mother Africa might be saying, and I quote:
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
Africa Day, African Unity, African Renaissance and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, amongst other things, are historical beacons and culminations in the long journey, both of the evolutionary and revolutionary African or pan-african process, a historical journey fraught with setbacks, yet blessed with tenacious hope.
Illustrious names involved in this pan-African journey come to mind - the Marcus Garveys, the George Padmores, the Kwame Nkrumas, the Mzwake Lembedes, the Sobukwes, to name but a few of the forerunners and torchbearers.
It is a great pity that, on an occasion such as Africa Day, we still have
to be subjected to such a restrictive time allocation, making it difficult
to sketch out our long history, connecting the yesteryear to the present in
our great march to the future. That is our version of botho'' or
ubuntu’’, which is the concept of sharing; in this case, sharing
resources and time.
That being the case, let me hasten to allude to the current African vision’s fulcrum, that is, Nepad. One cannot ask for more than the stated ingredients or elements of this partnership such as, and I quote:
… a partnership based on mutual respect, dignity, shared responsibility and mutual accountability.
I wish to cite the expected outcomes of this initiative, namely economic growth and development, leading to increased employment, diversification of productive activities, reduction of poverty and inequality, enhanced international competitiveness and increased exports, and increased African integration.
These are worthy, sound ideals and objectives, but cannot come into being on their own. In the light of such convictions, Africa needs to take stock that -
Convictions that go unquestioned, however, divide human beings from one another. Those holding them become hard and self-enclosed, distorted embodiments of the quality we call humanity. To think, we must question our convictions, and overcome the contempt we often feel for those whose convictions differ from our own.
That quote is from Glen Tindal.
Each African country or partner has to take every responsibility to create conducive conditions and good governance within their own respective countries to make Nepad the success story it deserves to be. It will take more than rhetoric and costly jamborees to achieve the desired goals. The chain will depend on the strength of each link, so to say. Each African state must uphold honour and adhere to agreements, protocols and fundamental democratic tenets and principles. Respect for human dignity, human rights and the sanctity of life should be foremost in a peaceful and stable environment. Dictatorships and despotism must not be allowed to take root.
I wish to conclude with the words of a son of ours, Mothobi Mutloatse, who, in his reconstruction anthology, says:
And, take note, today you are in power; tomorrow, you may be after power again, having lost it through your greediness and abuse of basic human dignity.
[Applause.] Mrs L R MBUYAZI: Sihalo neNdlu ehloniphekile, ngifisa ukuthi sizibuze ukuthi namhlanje uma kuthiwa isikhathi sesifikile kushiwo ukuthini. Omama lokho bayakwazi ukuthi kusho ukuthini. Uma kuthiwa isikhathi sesifikile ulindele ukuthola umntwana, kufika injabulo. Ngakho-ke ukufika kwesikhathi kusho injabulo ethile bese ubuye ubheka ukuthi akukho yini okunye okuzolandela.
Angikhulumi ngalesi sikhathi samanje lapho abantu sebebuka khona ku-scan ukuthi umuntu uzothola nganeni. Thina ngesikhathi sethu wawungazi ukuthi uzothola nganeni. Wawuye nje ulindele isikhathi ukuthi sesizofika. Uma sesifikile-ke bese kuletha injabulo engaphezu kwalokho.
Mangisho ukuthi kuzofuneka ukuthi namhlanje sibuke ukuthi sisuka kuphi, sikuphi futhi siyaphi. Kule Ndlu esikuyo namhlanje sike sadingida izindaba eziningi eziphatha izindaba zase-Afrika. Okunye kwezinto esizidingidile sidingide nge-African Renaissance, sabuye sathinta i-African Unity kanye neNepad. Umbuzo-ke obuzakalayo lapha emazingeni phansi owokuthi, sekushiyelwani ku-OAU, kuyiwaphi manje, i-African Unity iyini neNepad iyini? Engifisa ukukugcizelela ukuthi sidinga ukuthi senze uhlelo lokwazisa abantu ukuthi kuyini lokhu esikhuluma ngakho. Mangithinte ezinye zezinto ezinjengokuthi nje i-Afrika inomnotho omningi ovela ezintweni zayo ezimbiwa phansi. Ngakho-ke kufanele ukuthi lokhu kunotha kwe-Afrika kwandiswe kuye kubantu bonke, kungathi ezinye izindawo ezise-Afrika zibuke iNingizimu Afrika njengobhuti omkhulu lapho kufanele zizothola khona usizo oluthile. Kufanele ukuthi ukwandiswa komnotho kudlulele nakuzo, amasiko ethu e-Afrika wonkana avuselelwe, siyazi imvelaphi yethu. Kuyinhlamba kithina uqobo ukuthi sihloniphe uQeen Victoria nxa efike lapha kodwa sibe singakwazi ukuhlonipha ubukhosi bakithi.
Izilimi zabantu kufanele zivuselelwe kulabo ababecindezelwe. Kukhona amazwe namhlanje akhuluma isiFulentshi nesiPhuthukezi, abangalwazi ulimi lwabo lwemvelo nokuthi kwakunguluphi ngempela ulimi okwakufanele balukhulume. Ngakho-ke kuhle kubuyiselwe konke lokhu kube ngamagugu okuthi abantu bakwazi ukukuthokozela ukuba se-Afrika.
Sifuna ukwazi maqondana nohlamvu lwemali lwe-Afrika, izinhlamvu zemali ezisetshenziswa lapha e-Afrika zingaphezu kuka-50 futhi azilingani. Uyaye uthole ukuthi mhlawumbe uhlamvu olusetshenziswa iNamibia, iNingizimu Afrika kanye neSwazini kuyalingana nabanye kodwa kwezinye izindawo kube kuphansi. Kuthathe isikhathi eside ukuthi iYurophu ize izofika kulesi sikhathi sokuthi ibe nohlamvu olulodwa ekwazi ukuthi ikhulume ithi banalo. Ngakho-ke nathi kuzosithatha isikhathi ukuba kuze kufike lapho sizoba khona nohlamvu esizokwazi ukulusebenzisa.
Ngifuna ukuba ngithinte nokuthi abesifazane-ke bona uma sekukhulunywa ngokuthi isikhathi sesifikile, kubaphatheleni lokhu njengabesifazane bethu base-Afrika na? Mangidlulise ukuthokoza ukuthi la kunamantombazane ahambileyo awuhlanganisa umhlanganiso le beyokhuluma izindaba zokuhlanganisa ikakhulukazi kuSADC. Kukhona ilungu elihloniphekile uNksz Lulu Xingwana benodadewethu uProf Ngubane, ilungu elihloniphekile, abanikezwe isihlalo sokuba uSihlalo kuSADC yonkana. Sebeyivulile-ke indlela. [Ihlombe.] Ngakho-ke masibavulele indlela ngalokho ngoba sebezwakalisile ukuthi impela sesiyayivula indlela siya phambili.
Ngifisa ukuba kuzwakaliswe ukuthi njengoba sikhuluma ngomnotho, sesizoba
nazo yini izimpahla ezibhalwe ukuthi made in Africa' ngoba izipuni zami
zonke zibhalwe ukuthi made in England’, ezinye made in Switzerland'? Ake
kube khona manje isikhathi lapho sizogcina sesiba nempahla yethu nje
esizoke siziqhenye ngayo ethi, made in Africa’.
Okunye futhi engifuna ukukusho ukuthi uma umuntu ebuka amanye amazwe uyaye akwazi ukubona ukuthi lo muntu uvela kuphi, mhlawumbe uvela eNigeria. Ngithokozile ngibona ubaba lapha, uNgqongqoshe wethu womNyango wezokuThutha eqhamuka, kwabonakala ukuthi saqhamuka njenge-Afrika, ngisho into enjengaleyo. Kufanele sibonakale njenge-Afrika uma siqhamuka ukuthi yaqhamuka-ke i-Afrika. Kufanele kube khona okubonakala ngakho.
Umama uhleze nje ebonakala ukuthi uyasimelela laphaya esihlalweni. Awukaze umbone enza okunye kodwa usuke emelele thina njenge-Afrika. Ake senzeni ukuthi kube khona okubonakalayo nokushoyo ukuthi singobani. Ngisho simelele i-Afrika kufanele kubonakale ukuthi baqhamuka abamelele i-Afrika, angisakhulumi nangeNingizimu Afrika kodwa i-Afrika yonkana. Makube khona into esizobonakala ngayo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu speech follows.)
[Mrs L R MBUYAZI: Chairperson and honourable House, I would like us to ask ourselves today what it means to say the time has come. Mothers know what this means. When they say the time has come, one expects to give birth to a child; one expects the arrival of happiness. Therefore, the coming of the time means the arrival of happiness, and one expects it and also other things that may follow.
I am not talking about the present situation, where people see in the scan what kind of child she will give birth to. During our time we did not know what kind of baby one was going to give birth to. One just waited for the time to come and when it arrived it produced greater happiness.
I would like to say that today we need to see where we come from, where we are and where we are going. In this House we discussed many issues that deal with Africa. Another thing that we discussed was the African Renaissance. We also talked about African Unity and Nepad. The question that is asked at the lower levels of society is why we left the OAU. Where are we going now? What is African unity and what is Nepad? What I would like to stress is that we need to formulate a structure through which we will inform people what we are talking about.
Let me talk about something like saying Africa has a lot of economic activity which originates from mineral resources. Therefore the wealth of Africa should be distributed to all people so as to avoid a situation where other parts of Africa look at South Africa as a big brother from whom they can get certain assistance. The wealth should be extended to these areas and all our cultures should be developed and we should know our background.
It is an insult to us to respect Queen Elizabeth when she visits here, while we are failing to respect our own traditional leadership.
Languages of those who were previously disadvantaged should be developed. There are countries today where people speak French and Portuguese, while they do not know their own natural languages. They do not know exactly what language they should have spoken. Therefore all that should be brought back so that they will be treasures that people will enjoy in Africa.
We want to know about African coins used in Africa. There are more than 50 coins used in Africa and they are not equal in value. One finds that the Namibian, South African and Swazi coins are equal but in some areas their value is less. It took Europe a long time to get to the point where it has one coin so that when they speak, they know they all have the same money. Therefore, it is going to take us a long time to reach the point where we will have one coin that we can use.
I also want to ask what it means to African women when one talks about the fact that the time has come. I would like to pass on the message of appreciation of the fact that these girls who have left went to talk about unity, especially in the SADC region. There were the hon Ms Lulu Xingwana and my sister hon Prof Ngubane, and they were given a chairpersonship of SADC as a whole. They have paved the way. [Applause.] Therefore, let us open the way for them, because they have shown that we are opening up the way forward.
I would like to ask, as we are talking about the economy, whether we are going to have goods stamped “Made in Africa”, because all my spoons at home are stamped “Made in England” and some say, “Made in Switzerland”. Now there should be a time when we will have our own property that we will be proud of and which will be stamped “Made in Africa”.
Another thing that I would like to mention is that when one looks at other countries one can see where this person comes from, maybe Nigeria. I was pleased to see that father the Minister for the Department of Transport, as he approached the room, could clearly be seen to come from Africa. I am talking about things like this. We should be seen as from Africa when we approach people so that they will say:”Here comes Africa.” There should be something that distinguishes us.
Mother Madam Speaker is always seen to be original in that chair. One cannot see her doing anything but representing us as Africa. Let us do things that will be visible and that will describe who we are. Even when we represent Africa, when we approach, people should see that these ones represent Africa. I am not talking about South Africa only but the whole of Africa. There should be something that distinguishes us. [Applause.]]
Mr M RAMGOBIN: Mr Chairperson, Madam Speaker - I think I can address you even if you are sitting there - comrades and colleagues, May 25, since 1963, will always be a day to remember, not just as the day of an event but as the day when a clarion call was made to us, as Africans, to assume responsibility for our lives and the wellbeing of our continent.
Indeed, we are grateful for the vision and dreams of our leaders. For that, we give no sacrament of a eucharistic or any other kind, nor do we contemplate elements to each other. Of course, we praise and proclaim, but more than this, we give promise that we shall fulfil by our actions and deeds those dreams and that vision for the assertion of the African personality.
This assertion made in Accra, under the leadership of Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1958, resonates with our own assertion of, firstly, being African and, secondly, that we shall be free to act in our individual and collective interest at any particular time. We shall also be able to exert our influence on the side of peace and uphold the rights of all peoples to decide for themselves their own forms of government, as well as the right of all peoples, regardless of race, colour or creed, to live their own lives in freedom without fear.
For us in the ANC, historically, this vision is aptly projected. Even though we as a country did not participate in the Addis Ababa conference, the oppressed masses of our country celebrated the event. I should know, because in July 1963, in the Great Hall at Wits, I had the historical privilege to argue that the OAU was an attempt to transcend its specific physical and intellectual environment without pulling out the roots that must nourish it. It was committed, even though all of Africa was not free at the time, to creating a force for world peace, unity and development.
This was a dynamic political creed. Such a creed, it was envisioned, would express itself through that kind of personality which would embrace the qualities of a person, both as a citizen of Africa and as a member of the human race. With regard to those parts of Africa which were still bound and repressed, the OAU and the leadership of the Nkrumahs, Nassers, Mandelas, Nyereres, Kaundas and a host of others were extremely active and vital.
These leaders entered into a covenant and drew up a charter which called for the freedom and emancipation of the entire continent. It called upon Africans to consolidate their newly won independence, and to create and defend the conditions of peace, security and sustainability. They did not go to seek any mandate from any quarter to do this. They committed their countries to these responsibilities because these duties, in my view, were impregnated in the crucible of Africa’s consciousness since the days of slavery, colonialism and apartheid.
With the installation of democracy in our country in 1994, the vision of a politically free continent was realised. We salute the visionaries of the OAU, the frontline states, the United Nations, the Nonaligned Movement and sections of the international community, among others. In the words of President Mbeki, we give thanks to all these horses, but especially the OAU, for Africa to have arrived. We give thanks to the current political leadership in Africa who have made the emergence of the African Union possible, together with the programme of Nepad, as an essential part of the second revolution in our continent.
The cynics amongst us, whose bodies are here but whose souls are elsewhere, pretending to be objective, often invoke the question of sovereignty. They should learn from the declaration of fundamental principles of the Ghanaian constitution, which reads:
The union of Africa should be striven for by every lawful means, and when attained, it should be faithfully preserved. The independence of Ghana should not be surrendered or diminished on any grounds other than the furtherance of African unity.
To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time that a sovereign state voluntarily offered to surrender its sovereignty for the purpose of a larger unity. The constitutions of Guinea, Tunisia, Mali and the UAR subsequently also contain similar provisions. Outside of the invocation of Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika, I humbly say that perhaps it would have been propitious for us to include this in the preamble of our own Constitution.
With this cursory glimpse at the continent’s history, we ask: What is it that we have to do to celebrate Africa Day today? The intensification of our vision to strive for peace, stability, democracy and sustainable development on an African continent which will be nonsexist, prosperous and united, thereby contributing towards a world that is just and equitable, is our primary foreign policy option.
Our continuous struggle towards this objective as Africans will be a salutary ongoing celebration and thanksgiving. The four clusters of the Nepad programme are pretty well circulated amongst us. The African Union is equally well understood by us.
This afternoon I choose a few issues to reflect on, and to ask ourselves whether our commissions and/or omissions do justice to or obstruct the regeneration of Africa. If the unity and strength of Africa are dependent on the unity and strength of her component parts, Africans and South Africans need to ask whether the current form of globalisation that entrenches Africa’s marginalisation in the world economy is conducive to our revitalisation; whether the eurocentric cartels controlling gold, diamonds, cocoa, copper, uranium, pulp and paper and a host of other African resources are conducive to the growth and development of our continent; whether the emergence of religious intolerance, the confessional state, terrorism linked to it and world domination by any one faith system, as seen in the Sudan, are compatible with the unity and stability of our continent; whether xenophobia and ethnic intolerance and cleansing facilitate African unity; whether it is enough for religious institutions of any faith to engage in evangelism, proselytising and conversions with total disregard for the socioeconomic conditions of the poorest of the poor; whether it is right for students to exercise their rights over the rights of others, not only abusing their privileged positions as students, but also destroying the property of others and even the infrastructure made possible by the state; whether it is correct for nurses and health workers in state hospitals in particular to down tools at the expense of the ill, the disabled and the aged; and whether it is correct for teachers to disregard their duties and to abuse children when a major part of Africa is seized by illiteracy and ignorance?
If our answers are no to all these agonising questions, then the ANC would urge all South Africans to equip themselves with knowledge of the African Union protocols; the vision of Nepad; international protocols, like the one pioneered by President Mbeki with the Nordic states; the Windhoek Declaration on behalf of SADC; and all other relevant documents to facilitate our understanding and jolt us into action, wherever we are, to make possible the renaissance of our continent.
It will not be an exaggeration to state here that the rest of Africa is looking towards South Africa in this regard, especially because of the manner in which we succeeded in attaining our democracy. With Africa always in mind, we have also placed ourselves, under the leadership of President Mbeki, as a principal player in global issues such as the recent World Trade Organisation’s conference, the democratisation of the Security Council, the Conference against Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, the African Union Summit to be held in Durban, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg.
Since this is the position that our country, under the leadership of the
ANC, has come to occupy on the world stage, it is not too much for us to
ask of ourselves a citizenship, within our society, which will be rooted in
co-operation and not in vulgar, acquisitive competition. Towards this end
Africa needs a new type of citizen, a dedicated, modest, honest and
informed person, a person who submerges himself or herself in service to
the nation and mankind, a man who abhors greed and detests vanity, a new
type of man whose humility is his strength and whose integrity his
greatness.
I wanted to end with the words Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika''. But in
conclusion, if the House will spare me another half a minute, I would like
to make a plea to my youthful compatriots in South Africa. All of those who
are 18 and under knew nothing in 1994 about democracy, freedom or justice.
Freedom, democracy and justice were not given to us on a plate. I wish to
remind my compatriots, youthful people, black and white, that we struggled
for these things for centuries. The democracy and freedom that they enjoy
are what their forebears have fought for and died for, withMayibuye
iAfrika’’ on their lips, and in their souls.
If they think the destruction of our schools and of the infrastructure at
our universities is revolutionary, they are wrong. Their ancestors invoked
Mayibuye iAfrika'' in struggling to free Africa. Can these young people
honestly invokeNkosi sikelel’ iAfrika’’ when they are hurting her every
day?
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, I regret even that injury time has expired.
Mr M RAMGOBIN: We had the strength of character to proclaim that the Verwoerds, Mobutos, Savimbis, Tshombes and others hurt and disunited Africa. Let us stand firm and abstain from hurting Mother Africa, and let her awake and take her rightful place in the world. [Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, usually I do not agree with anything the previous speaker said, but today is an exception. I agree with everything he said, except for one thing; I do not think that globalisation necessarily has negative consequences for Africa. I think Africa should utilise globalisation to its own benefit.
The subject for today’s discussion is Africa the time has come'',ke
nako’’. If the 21st century is to belong to Africa, as envisaged by
President Mbeki, the time has come for Africa to accept responsibility for
its own destiny.
Many obstacles to African development are legacies of the past, but Africa cannot afford to continue blaming others for its underdevelopment. The time has come for Africa to accept responsibility for its own future.
The eradication of poverty is the biggest challenge facing the continent. According to Osama bin Laden, the prophet Mohammed once said: ``A woman entered hell because of a cat. She did not feed it and prevented it from finding food on its own.’’ Now if a woman went to hell because she starved a cat, then five sixths of the world’s population are straight on their way to hell because one sixth of the world’s population go hungry every day.
The situation is worse on the African continent, where 46,3% of the population live on less than a dollar a day. The UN Millennium Summit resolved to halve the world’s poor by 2015. Africa south of the Sahara needs an annual growth rate of about 8% to achieve this objective. Therefore, economic development is the only answer to eradicating poverty. The engine that will drive economic development is, undoubtedly, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
The time has come for Africa to meet its part of the agreement which entails the following: The time has come for Africa to produce the kind of leadership - Mr Ramgobin must listen before leaving the House - that will meet the demands of globalisation. Dapo Oyewole, special projects officer at the Centre for Democracy and Development in London, said that globalisation requires skilled leaders who are adept at defending and promoting their country’s interests in the international arena, because one inordinate utterance or action could send the country’s economy plunging. And, of course, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe clearly does not understand this.
The time has come for Africa to pursue good governance based on democratic and free-market principles. Good governance, as everybody knows, is a prerequisite for foreign direct investment without which economic development will remain a pipe dream.
Furthermore, the time has come for Africa to end all armed conflicts, which are detrimental to economic development. Zimbabwe’s military excursion into the Democratic Republic of the Congo cost that country more than 1 million US dollars a day, whilst the population was starving. Rumours have it that the sole purpose of this involvement is to protect President Mugabe’s personal diamond interests in that country.
Nobody will invest in a war-torn region. No wonder those countries plagued by armed conflicts have the lowest economic growth rates on the continent. Angola has a growth rate of only 0,2%. Hopefully this will improve tremendously now that peace has dawned upon that country. The growth rate of Burundi is currently -2,4%, that of the DRC is -4,6%, and that of Rwanda is - 2,1%. Sierra Leone, which had elections but is still affected by the war, has a -4,6% growth rate.
If the time has come for Africa to meet its part of the agreement, with a view to enhancing economic growth and promoting the eradication of poverty, the time has also come for the developed world to honour their part of the agreement. The time has therefore come for the developed world to open up their markets for Africa’s products.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act of the USA is a fine example of how developing countries can benefit from free trade. In terms of this Act, countries which have committed themselves to good governance may export their goods to the USA duty free. Since the implementation of the Act, South Africa has earned more than 1,7 billion US dollars and thousands of new jobs have been created.
Textile imports alone increased by US 989 million in one year, and I think the other 35 countries that qualify for duty free exports to the USA in terms of the Act should follow South Africa’s example.
The time has come for the developed world to write off the debt of the 33 highly indebted poor African countries. Many countries spend far more on servicing foreign debt than on education and health. Cancelling the debt of 41 highly indebted poor countries will cost about US$400 million annually. This is far less than the grants paid to only 16 European countries under the Marshall Plan.
The time has come for the developed world to channel foreign direct investment to African shores, which currently only receive 3% of global foreign direct investment flowing to developing countries. Without investment, Africa will never reach the required growth rate necessary for the eradication of poverty.
Once Africa and the developed world have both accepted their obligations in terms of the New Agreement for Africa’s Development, the 21st century will belong to Africa.
Vroeër vanmiddag het die leier van die VF, dr Pieter Mulder, ‘n mosie ingedien wat verband hou met 31 Mei, wat môre is. Dit is die dag waarop die Vrede van Vereeniging herdenk word. Ek dink dit is gepas dat hy so ‘n mosie ingedien het. Afrikaners het hulself nog altyd beskou as deel van Afrika, en daarom is dit ook goed om op ‘n dag soos hierdie, waarop die debat oor Afrika gaan, daarna te verwys.
Hierdie oorlog was die eerste bevrydingstryd teen ‘n koloniale moontheid op die kontinent van Afrika, en dit was die begin van ‘n bevrydingsproses wat uiteindelik uitgeloop het op 27 April 1994, toe al die mense van Suid- Afrika bevry is. Ons wil graag ook hulde bring aan almal wat in dié oorlog gesterf het. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Earlier this afternoon the leader of the FF, Dr Pieter Mulder, moved a motion in connection with 31 May, which is tomorrow. That is the day on which the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging is commemorated. I think it is fitting that he should move such a motion. Afrikaners have always regarded themselves as being part of Africa and therefore it is also fitting on a day such as this, when the debate is about Africa, to refer to that.
That war was the first war against a colonial power on the African continent and it was the start of a liberation process which was eventually concluded on 27 April 1994, when all of the people of South Africa were liberated. We would also like to pay tribute to everyone who died in that war. [Applause.]]
Dr F N GINWALA: Chairperson, hon members, 25 May last week marked the 39th anniversary of Africa Unity Day - the anniversary of the adoption of the charter and the formation of the Organisation of African Unity.
Six weeks from today, at the inaugural summit of 53 heads of state and government in Durban, the African Union will take over from the Organisation of African Unity.
Our debate today comes at this very significant moment in the history of building unity on the African continent, a process that began more than 100 years ago. But before we look ahead, we need to pay tribute to the Organisation of African Unity. South Africans in particular, and indeed much of colonised Africa, owe a tremendous debt to this organisation. It had as one of its founding missions the total liberation of the continent of Africa.
The OAU united the continent in political support of the liberation struggles in all colonies. It lobbied, made representations and presented a unified African voice in international fora in support of decolonisation and the strategies of the various liberation movements, negotiations, sanctions, international isolation as well as armed action.
Through its Liberation Committee based in Dar-es-Salaam, it gave us more direct and material support. That today, the Parliament of South Africa is fully representative and composed of the elected representatives of the entire population of this country is in no small measure due to the support of the African continent mobilised through the Organisation of African Unity.
When the charter was adopted in 1963, the representatives of the liberation movements were there, but we were there as observers. The white minority government could not subscribe to it. This year, democratic South Africa becomes a founding member of the African Union and President Mbeki will assume office as the chairperson of that union.
Africa’s time has indeed come, but it must be a time for action, because the time for action is long overdue. With the formation of the African Union, we face new challenges - shaped by the 21st century. This requires of us honest retrospection and a frank assessment of the causes of Africa’s impoverishment. The assessment needs to look at Africa’s achievements as well as its failures, and the global environment in which we are now operating.
The African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development have been shaped by such a process, and this still needs to be completed. The union will provide an organisational structure, framework and mechanisms for the achievement of our objectives. These include not simply abstract or technical unity, but the political, economic and social integration and development of the continent and of the African people. Nepad, which was adopted at the Lusaka summit last year, is the vehicle for the achievement of our developmental goals.
Underpinning both is the determination that Africa must take charge of its own destiny. We need to recognise that while the legacy of racism, colonialism and apartheid remains and has consequences, we cannot become hostages to the past nor allow it to limit our future. Nor is it sufficient to set out our objectives. We need to consider urgently how they are to be achieved - both the mechanisms and the programmes for their achievement.
The principles of the Union include the promotion of democratic principles, good governance and the promotion of human and people’s rights. There is an acknowledgement that good political and economic governance are necessary for sustainable development. However, parliaments, which are both the custodians and agents of good governance, have been notably absent in the preparations and processes for the Union and Nepad.
Hon members will recall that it was the intervention of the SADC Parliamentary Forum and its mobilisation of parliaments that resulted in the OAU heads of state agreeing to allow parliaments in Africa to draft the protocol for the Pan African Parliament. Regrettably, we have not sustained and extended that initiative. This Parliament is fortunate, and it would appear that we are an exception, in being requested by the executive to be involved, and in receiving co- operation and relevant documentation as we ask for it.
The working group established by the National Assembly has been giving considerable thought to the implementation of the Constitutive Act, and later today I trust that the House will adopt the fourth report of the working group. This and previous reports provide some indication of how much has yet to be done.
The protocol of the Pan African Parliament will be tabled this week and the working group will prioritise consideration for its ratification. We will also need to consider how we implement the protocol to make the Pan African Parliament an effective instrument.
But much remains to be done by this Parliament. Our Constitution provides for oversight and accountability, and after eight years, we are still developing principles, procedures and capacity to ensure that we are able to carry out these responsibilities nationally. Now we have additional challenges. What provision do we make for Parliament to be involved in agreements that will have to be made within the organs of the African Union
- both in the process of establishing them and as they function thereafter?
The Declaration of the World Conference of Presiding Officers two years ago argued for the necessary involvement of legislatures in the process of finalising international agreements, rather than in subsequent ratification, which in many cases amounts to rubber-stamping.
We need to consider the experience of other parliaments, such as how European parliaments relate to the European Union, as well as the procedures and experiences of West Africa and East Africa, where regional parliaments are either operating or are being established. We may need ourselves to consider setting up a special committee that will focus on involvement in multilateral organisations, where agendas of forthcoming meetings are tabled and discussed, and to which portfolio committees can bring their expertise. That is merely one of many options. The important issue is that Parliament must make an input before final decisions are taken on major issues.
New organs are also being established. The working group will need to make proposals on these, while ensuring that the expertise that resides in portfolio committees is incorporated, as these organs deal with very specialised areas. Then there is a range of draft protocols and procedures which we should be considering. In particular, we will have to look at the peer review mechanism and the documents on good political and economic governance.
Nepad has given extensive consideration to enhancing capacity in institutions and we should be examining these in particular. Parliament needs to consider its own capacity to meet the needs of the 21st century and the African Union. As we are currently organised and resourced, can we fulfil the responsibilities that involvement in the African Union will bring, as well as meaningful participation in the Pan-African Parliament?
The working group has commissioned research on comparable experience, and we will all need to consider these papers and issues and others yet to be identified and explored. We will also be meeting with representatives from all African parliaments on 28 and 29 June to share our perspectives and establish common goals and priorities. This will be the first such occasion on our continent.
Last but not least, indeed one of the most important issues that need consideration: How are we as public representatives going to make sure that the South African public is informed about what is happening? Even more important, how are we going to involve them in the process of building the Union? Look at our public gallery. What does it say about how much interest we have generated amongst the public?
What measures do we take to raise awareness and cement African unity at a people-to-people level? How are our people going to take ownership of the Union and its organs? How will they relate to the Pan-African Parliament? Unity is not about documents which we debate and to which heads of state attach signatures, nor is it about laws and protocols. These simply provide a framework.
The enthusiasm of the people has to be mobilised and xenophobia countered. Unity of the people of this continent has to be infused into our daily lives and practice, and to inspire our culture. Ultimately, we need to ensure that people see the evidence of the benefits of unity in their daily lives. That is the real challenge for Africa in the 21st century, or documents and paper, as well as our hopes and aspirations, will simply be blown away by the winds of empty rhetoric and inaction. The time has come, but it has come for us to act. [Applause.]
Mr W G MAKANDA: Mr Chairperson and hon members, Vukan mawethu, nimanyane? So goes the song of ages. It says, ``arise you people and unite’’. It encapsulates the African dream of African awakening and building a mighty, united continent.
African visionaries have articulated and spread the gospel of African unity. This vision has been expressed in ecclesiastical as well as political arenas. The founders of Pan-Africanism conceptualised it, shaped it and developed it into a potent philosophy for the continent. I am referring here to the luminaries like Marcus Garvey, Sylvester Williams, Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, Sékou Touré, Jomo Kenyatta, Mangaliso Sobukwe, Zeph Mothopeng, Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela - the list is inexhaustible.
Sylvester Williams was the driving force behind the first Pan-African Conference in 1900. Kwame Nkrumah visualised and advocated a ``United States of Africa’’, with a Pan-African command. The African Union therefore represents the reconstruction of African societies on existing foundations, and an endeavour to recapture our past glory.
The challenges that face us are enormous. Are we indeed equal to the task? There are a number of things we have to do, as Africans, if we are to succeed in building a new continent. We must stop the wars which wreak havoc, destruction, massive dislocation of communities and untold misery. We must breed a new type of leader who does not tinker with constitutions in order to remain in power for a lifetime.
The scramble for Africa in the 1880s, which carved up the continent into colonies and spheres of influence, is only the latest in the long saga of conquest, disruption and destruction of societies in Africa. Colonialism and slavery have had tragic consequences for African societies. The orderly evolution of social, political, economic and cultural institutions was abruptly curtailed. A new foreign culture, political institutions and value systems were mechanically imposed from outside.
The African Union, which is on the agenda of the continent, could be the culmination and the materialisation of the African dream. It should be the realisation of African restoration. The Egyptian pyramids and the ruins of Maponguberg and Zimbabwe are living testimonies of ancient African civilisations which predate the European renaissance. Those civilisations were destroyed by conquest and plunder. The revival of the African creative spirit can only occur in an empowering and stimulating environment. Oppressive and violent regimes do not lend themselves to this dream.
The task of building a liberated, democratic and prosperous Africa requires that we all undergo a transformation. We have had three decades of postcolonial African rule. South Africa has only recently joined that committee of free nations. The bigger challenge which faces the newly independent African states, and which still poses the biggest problem today, is the creation of viable economies. We are still burdened by the legacy of underdevelopment. The structural relationship between the African economies and the developed North is seriously flawed.
We have to succeed in extricating ourselves from dependency. That entails a psychological as well as a material transformation of our relations of production in such a way that people on the ground are economically and politically empowered.
Education is a prerequisite for wealth creation and equitable distribution of resources. The transformation process must be all-embracing and deep in character. A value system that places the interests of society above those of the individual has to emerge. Corruption is the product of greed which derives from the extremes of individualism. We must nurture the values of caring, diligence and moral fortitude. [Applause.]
Ms F HAJAIG: Mr Chairperson, colleagues and comrades, today I wish to celebrate the women of Africa, from the south to the north. Wathint’ abafazi wathint’ imbokodo uzokufa! [Strike a woman, and you strike a rock and you will die.] [Applause.]
HON MEMBERS: Uzokufa! [You will die!]
Ms F HAJAIG: If … you have touched the women, you have struck a rock. You have dislodged a boulder, you will be stopped.
South African women sang these lyrics while protesting against apartheid laws in the 1950s. These words are only one reminder of many that the African women’s movement long preceded the international conferences in Nairobi and Beijing that focused greater attention on women’s rights in Africa and around the world. Bunmi Fatoye-Matory, a Nigerian writer, writes in a newspaper article titled: ``I am not just an African woman’’:
The popular stereotype of the silent and the voiceless African women remains alien to me. The women I grew up with were anything but the silent.
In the same vein, after the establishment of the ANC in 1912, the women, wives and friends of ANC leaders decided that they were no longer satisfied with making tea, but wanted active participation in the workings of the ANC. They formed the then Bantu Women’s League, which was formed in 1913, to oppose attempts by municipalities in the then Orange Free State to force African women to carry passes.
In April 1954, the ANC Women’s League joined with other women’s organisations to form the Federation of South African Women. Fedsaw was the first attempt to establish a broad-based, multiracial women’s organisation to take up women’s issues within the context of national political issues.
In 1939, women in Eastern Nigeria demonstrated against colonial taxation. On 17 April 1954 a Women’s Charter was adopted in Johannesburg by the Federation of South African Women, and women from the Congress of Democrats, the SA Coloured People’s Organisation, the South African Indian Congress and the Food and Canning Workers Union.
I wish to read these aims, because this actually shows that what was encompassed in this charter unfortunately remains to be done in the rest of Africa.
These were the aims of the charter:
This organisation is formed for the purpose of uniting women in common action for the removal of all political, legal, economic and social disabilities. We shall strive for women to obtain:
- The right to vote …
That we have -
... and to be elected to all state bodies, without restriction or
discrimination.
-
The right to full opportunities for employment with equal pay and possibilities of promotion in all spheres of work.
-
Equal rights with men in relation to property, marriage and children, and for the removal of all laws and customs that deny women such equal rights.
-
For the development of every child through free compulsory education for all; for the protection of mother and child through maternity homes, welfare clinics, creches and nursery schools, in countryside and towns; through proper homes for all and through the provision of water, light, transport, sanitation, and other amenities of modern civilisation.
-
For the removal of all laws that restrict free movement, that prevent or hinder the right of free association and activity in democratic organisations and the right to participate in the work of these organisations.
So the list continues. The last aim is ``to strive for permanent peace throughout the world’’.
The aims of this document were included in the Freedom Charter a year later, and in our Constitution and Bill of Rights in 1996. Heroines like Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Ray Alexander, Dora Tamana, Hettie September, Frances Baard, Bertha Gxowa, Dorothy Nyembe, Albertina Sisulu, Ruth First, Fatima Meer and Gertrude Shope are a few among many others who played a pivotal role in the campaign against passes, and later in the defiance campaign.
Later in 1962, 3 000 women from the Transvaal Indian Congress led a march to the Union Buildings, protesting against the Group Areas Act. In other parts of Africa we saw similar struggles, in Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Côte ‘Ivoire, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique - the list goes on - where women fought side by side against the oppressors. All countries except one in Africa are now free and they are all gearing up to launch the African Union, which will drive the implementation of Nepad.
We have come a long way, but women in Africa have still a long way to go in order to claim their human rights and their dignity. African women do face great obstacles. Adult female literacy in 1992 was only 45% in sub-Saharan Africa. Maternal mortality rates averaged 606 per 100 000 live births, as compared to 351 for other developing countries. African women’s work accounts for some 80% of food production but they derive little benefit from their governments or international programmes favouring cash crops for export.
Women and children are particularly vulnerable victims of the continent’s internal conflicts. By the end of this year 90% of Aids orphans will be in Africa. Levels of domestic violence against women are very high and even less reported than in many other parts of the world. South Africa is the only country that has enacted legislation to assist in that.
I remember the market women of Nigeria. I often think of how astute and dynamic they are in doing business, and the question I ask is: What a great difference would they be able to make if given a chance in the formal economy by being given access to credit, education, information and technology? There is great poverty on our continent and the women and children bear the greatest burden.
To bring home the problems children face on our continent, I will read a verse called Children of Africa, by none other than our Minister of Housing, Sankie Mahanyele. It reads:
I do not have the leisure to wander along aimless paths to wallow in literary art creations I have not been blessed with the time to ponder over words of language and anoint my aesthetic excitement I lack the artistic skill to enable a dissection of purpose into the now and then of time and no expediency of professional competence to operate man’s emotion and wish no surgical skill has a punctilious ability to bridge the continuity of full man I am a mere soldier-poet The poet that be man and soldier who runs gun battles between ditchy shrubs rocky mountains and swampy valleys I live the life of mud and trench I cannot shelve my creative instincts until peace time until peace time … only run gun battles and kill and kill I cannot live like a tree that bears one fruit one type cause I do not have the leisure …
I only have three minutes left. I would like to say that all the concerns that face Africa’s women and children have to be part of the agenda of the African Union, if the implementation of Nepad is to be constructively realised. I feel that there is a need for a mechanism or institution specifically to ensure that the African Union’s objective of promoting gender equality is actually realised, in both spirit and action. This mechanism or institution should monitor, evaluate, review and recommend gender mainstreaming to ensure gender equity in all governance and decision- making structures and processes.
I would also like to see the regeneration of the Pan-African Women’s Organisation that can link up concretely with women from different countries.
I would like to celebrate the achievements of the women of Africa, who are the sustainers of the fire, family and food security, that is, the essentials of life. How can we acclaim the women who were forced into exile and the women who stayed behind to continue the struggle here? How can we acclaim our poets, writers, singers, and mothers of Africa?
In some areas, we are ahead of much of the world. Five African countries are among the top 15 in the world in terms of the percentage of women in national parliaments, ranking ahead of Canada and the United Kingdom. Eleven African countries equal or surpass the 11,7% in the US House of Representatives.
Last but not least, I want to associate myself with this little poem by Minister Mahanyele. It reads:
It is good for them to know who I am I am Bambatho on Cetswayo related to Nghunghunyana cousining Moshoeshoe to converge at Isandhwana And bivouac at Voortrekkerhoogte but the pigmentation hatchet men insist I am confused, indeed Vendaland by Ciskei is my home but I know who I am I know and feel my roots. My mother sojourned at Ramabulana my uncle is Ndebele my father is my father I am South Africa I am Africa
Lastly, I would like to thank Pregs Govender, a comrade and friend, for sterling work done in the quest for justice for women in South Africa. I wish her well in all her endeavours. [Applause.]
I have a few minutes left. I want to mention a few outstanding freedom fighters of Africa. Nana Yaa Asantewa was a Ghanaian who fought with the Asante against the British in 1900. In Angola, we had a freedom fighter, Rodrigues was her name. From Mozambique, I would like to mention Josina Machel. In Egypt, there was a woman called Doria Shafik.
I want to mention, at this point, the Afrikaner women and African women who, side by side, died in the concentration camps in the Anglo-Boer War.
I would also like to acclaim an environmental activist from Kenya, Wangari Matqai.
Last but not least, in terms of cultural achievements of women, in Nigeria, Flora Nwapa was the first Nigerian woman who published a novel on this continent. I would also like to acclaim Nawal El-Saadawi from Egypt, and Bessie Head and Nadine Gordimer from South Africa. I would like to acclaim our singers such as ``Mama Afrika’’ Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe and Sibongile Khumalo, and our poets, Baleka Mbete and Sankie Mahanyele, and the list can go on and on.
Adv Z L MADASA: Mhlalingaphambili nani mawethu, izinto zinyembelekile. IAfrika ayikakhululeki ncam nangona ulawulo norhulumente ebonakala esezandleni zethu. Eli lizwe loobaw’ omkhulu aligqibanga nje ngokuba lixhatshazwe ngamasela nezihange zamazwe aphesheya, zirhwaphiliza ubutyebi beli, nangoku urhwaphilizo lusaqhuba. Lungaphela njani urhwaphilizo le nto irhwaphilizwayo ingekapheli? Xa besiqhatha bathi, ``Amaxesha ngamanye. Ama- Afrika maraguqule iindlela zokuziphatha, ukuba afuna uncedo nenkqubela phambili’’.
Iingxaki zethu, ngokutsho kwabo, bazibeka emagxeni ethu, bafuna ukuthi thina ngokwethu singunobangela weengxaki zethu. Basibetha ngemf’ iphindiwe xa besitsho. Amaxesha ngamanye ntoni izinto bezonakalisa ngabom nje? Nabaya beshumayela urhwebo olukhululekileyo batsho bona beluvala, bezikhusela. Nabaya bekhala ngamalungelo abantu, batsho bona bengawakhathalelanga loo malungelo. Babekhala ngamaTshayina nje ngaphambili kutheni ngoku bethe cwaka, berhweba nala MaTshayina nje? Basayina nathi iAGOA, kodwa xa sifuna ukuyisebenzisa le AGOA bakhale ngemigangatho yethu ephantsi. Bakhala ngoorhulumente besininzi ze bona baxhase oorhulumente abahlutha ulawulo ngezigalo. Ezi zikhalazo zabo, ewe zona zeziphathekayo, kodwa masilumkele ukuqhathwa.
Nathi sizenzela uxanduva, ngobuyatha bezinye iinkosi zethu zeAfrika. Sinengxaki yeenkokeli ezingoohlohlesakhe nezingabarhwaphilizi. Sikwanayo nengxaki yeenkokeli ezineenkani nezingafuni kushiya iintambo zolawulo kuba zisitya. Sinengxaki yabantu abafuna ubutyebi babumini, nobujika buphelele ezandleni. Siyathengisana, yaye sithengeka lula, kuba indlala iyasiphaxula. Kwathina sivulela izizwe zisixhaphaze, ngenxa yobuyatha bethu.
Mawethu, into efunekayo ziinkokeli ezintsha ezizimisele ekusebenziseni iindlela ezintsha zolawulo, nezo zizimisele ekukhonzeni abantu bethu. Ixesha leAfrika lifikile. Masibumbane, sihloniphane, sincedisane ze sikhonze abantu ngenyaniso nangokuzimisela. Imbumba yethu maAfrika mayibe yimbumba eyakhayo yenkqubela, ingabi yimbumba yengcinezelo norhwaphilizo. Imbumba yama-Afrika mayingabi yimbumba yeenkokeli kuphela koko mayibe yimbumba yeenkokeli kunye nabantu kubanjiswene.
Xa sithetha ngolawulo olululo, masingacingi kuphela ngokutsala utyalo- zimali phesheya, koko masazi ukuba ubutyebi beli lizwe lethu bufuneka ebantwini bethu kuba bahluphekile. I-Afrika mayibuye. Izwe lethu! (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)
[Adv Z L MADASA: Chairperson and colleagues, things are bad. Africa is not yet free, although the rule of power seems to be in our hands. Corrupt people and fraudsters from other countries have exploited the country of our grandfathers’ wealth, and even today, we are battling with corruption. How can fraud and corruption end when there is still plenty of what attracts fraudsters and corrupt people? They would often blind us and say, ``Times are different. Africans should change the ways in which they govern if they want assistance and development’’.
Our problems, according to them, rest on our shoulders; they claim that we create our own problems. They are not being honest when they say that. They mess things up for us and then say times are different. Hear them preaching free trade while they are reducing those chances, protecting themselves. They loudly talk about human rights while they do not care a bit about human rights. They used to say much about Chinese before but you do not hear anything from them any more. It is because they entered into trade agreements with these Chinese. We signed the AGO agreement with them but when we want to put into practice what we agreed upon, they say that our standards are low. They preach democracy but they support military governments. Their complaints are sound but we must be careful they do not cheat us. Notwithstanding that, we are also creating problems for ourselves, as some of our African traditional leaders would act stupidly. We have a problem of leaders that are fat cats and are very corrupt. We also have a problem of stubborn leaders who do not want to step down from positions of power. We have a problem of people who want to get rich fast and yet soon lose all the richness. We are easily corruptible because of hunger and starvation. We allow other countries to exploit us because of our foolishness.
My colleagues, we need new leadership that would be committed to using new governing methods, and a leadership that is committed to serving our people. The time for Africa has come. Let us unite, respect one another, help one another and serve the people with honesty and commitment. Our unity as Africans must be a union that is committed to progress, and not that of oppression and corruption. The African Union must not be a union for leaders only but a union of leaders together with people.
When we speak about good governance, we should not only think about foreign investment, but we should know that the wealth of our country needs to be distributed among the people, for they are poor. Let Africa, our Land come back!]
Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Speaker, unluckily I only have three minutes to speak. I have stated more than once at this podium that I am an African. I have just returned from a visit to the Netherlands and Belgium, where I addressed different audiences in Afrikaans. I addressed them about South Africa and the problems we have in South Africa. In all my speeches I thanked them for their important contribution to our cultural heritage as Afrikaners. But I also stated that we were no longer Europeans; we are Africans.
The future of Afrikaners will not be determined in Belgium or the Netherlands, or by Afrikaans speakers in Australia, but by Afrikaners in South Africa. If one studies the colours of the African flags, 44 have the colour green in them. The FF, on purpose, included green in our party colours to symbolise our commitment to Africa. Hon members can check that out.
Vandag se onderwerp sê: Afrika se tyd het gekom. Die vraag is egter wat dit beteken, spesifiek ook vir Afrikaners. Ek het waardering vir dr Pallo Jordan se benadering vandag. Ons verskil dikwels, maar ek het waardering vir sy benadering om Afrika se suksesse, maar ook die mislukkings, eerlik by die naam te noem. Te dikwels bluf ons onsself deur dan te maak of die politieke onstabiliteit, die burgeroorloë en die ekonomiese agterstande nie gebeur nie en dit te ignoreer.
Aan die ander kant, deur ons daarin te verlekker dat Afrika probleme het, gaan nie een van die probleme enigsins oplos nie. As Afrika se skip sink, sink ons almal saam. Dit geld vir elkeen in die Huis - ook die Afrikaners daar buite. Ongelukkig is die boodskap wat Afrikaners dikwels van Afrika kry, en soos hulle dit ervaar, dat daar nie plek vir die Afrikaanse taal, sy waardes of sy manier van doen in Afrika is nie - dit uit sommige uitsprake wat onverantwoordelik gemaak word deur mense daar buite. Natuurlik lok dit reaksie uit, ook van my. As dit die prys is, dan is dit te hoog.
Soos Afrika die Arabiere in die noorde aanvaar, sal hulle ook Afrikaners in die suide aanvaar - alhoewel die kulture dan verskil. Dan leer ons uit die foute van Afrika en uit die verlede en ons herhaal nie die foute nie. Gesamentlik kan ons dan die probleme van Afrika oplos.
Vergeet van Europa, vergeet van Amerika. Ek het in Amerika studeer. Ek het baie male deur Europa getoer. Hulle kan nie Afrika se probleme oplos nie. Ons sal dit self moet doen, maar dan moet ons eers eerlik met mekaar wees oor die probleme van Afrika, die konflikte in Afrika, en ons kan dié konflikte oplos deur ruimte vir mekaar te maak, sodat elkeen homself kan wees in Afrika. As dit waar is, het die tyd van Afrika gekom en lyk die toekoms vir ons almal baie mooier. Mag God sy hand oor Afrika hou. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Today’s subject reads: Africa, the time has come! However, the question is what this means, specifically also for Afrikaners. I can appreciate Dr Pallo Jordan’s approach today. We often differ, but I can appreciate his approach of genuinely naming Afica’s successes, but also its failures. All too often we bluff ourselves by making as if the political instability, the civil wars and economic backlogs never occurred and ignoring them.
On the other hand, taking pleasure in the fact that Africa does have problems will in no way solve any of those problems. If Africa’s ship should sink, we will all sink together. That applies to everyone in the House, the Afrikaners out there as well. Unfortunately the message Afrikaners often get from Africa, and the way they experience it, is that there is no room for the Afrikaans language, its values or the way it operates in Africa - this from some of the remarks that are irresponsibly made by people out there. Of course this provokes a reaction, from me as well. If that is the price, then it is too high.
Just as Africa accepts the Arabs in the north, they will also accept Afrikaners in the South - although the cultures may differ. Then we will learn from the mistakes of Africa and from the past and we will not repeat those mistakes. Forget about Europe, forget about America. I studied in America. I have often travelled through Europe. They cannot solve Africa’s problems. We will have to do that ourselves, but then we will have to be frank with each other about the problems in Africa, the conflicts in Africa, and we can solve those conflicts by making room for one another, so that everybody can be himself in Africa. If this is true, then Africa’s time has come and the future for all of us is looking a lot better. May God hold his hand over Africa. [Applause.]]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Modulasetulo, bo sele bo sena mahube. [Chairperson, it is tough.]
There is no doubt that the sleeping giant that is Africa has awakened. The awakening dates back to the early 60s when African countries came to and parted ways with colonialists. The pacesetter, however, was none other than that great and adventurous Mokgaga, the late Rev Mangena Maake Mokone, who had the heart to put a stop to poor treatment meted out to Africans in the Methodist Church, and who realised that the time had come for the African to determine his destiny by walking out of the Methodist Church in order to establish the Ethiopian Church, together with other never-say-die Africans such as Dwane, Tantsi and Gabashane.
The torchbearers of Pan-Africanism travelled abroad to meet African Americans. Together, they agreed to bring the African Methodist Episcopal Church to the African shores. As early as then, they were awake to the fact that they deserved not only political liberation but spiritual liberation as well.
The quest for the self-determination of the African is found in the generation of Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, with their pursuit of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. This is an ambitious and unprecedented programme that seeks to ensure that Africa is not a crucible of abject poverty, starvation, sickness and homelessness. These are the same ideals that formed the mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church which also strives, amongst other things, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, provide jobs for the jobless, administer to the needs of the sick and encourage thrift and economic advancement.
The time has come that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development should not be the preserve of intellectuals and politicians. Spiritual leaders should also arise and act. It is fitting and proper that the church elsewhere is at pains to ensure that, in the spirit of Nepad and all that goes along with it, the prelates of the church in Africa will be the sons and daughters of the soil. To this end, in tandem with Nepad, the AME Church has set 2004 as the deadline for African leadership to be in place in Africa.
The time has come for all Africa to cease looking across the Atlantic or the Mediterranean Sea for help. The time has come for Africans of all persuasions to seek solutions to all their problems in the motherland. Yes, ke nako [the time has come] to accept that Africa is the cradle of civilisation, religion and even mathematics. We in the UCDP believe that re batho [we are people]. We were not created from the crumbs that fell off the Master’s table when He created the human race. Africa has to be self- reliant and we can be self-reliant.
Bagaetsho, le le mo pelong le nkgakile. Fela ga la nkgaka ka gone ke bua ka lona. Fa le ka mpha metsi nka le bolela. Nelwang ke pula! [I am stuck, but if I could be given some water to drink I will tell my story. All the best!]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Madam Speaker, Africa has been a victim of the forces of darkness and genocide for over 600 years. She continues to be an imperialist hunting ground. Her wealth is looted left and right, and Africa’s people continue to suffer ruthless economic exploitation and underdevelopment. Africa’s emancipation will not fall from heaven like manna. Africa’s sons and daughters must sweat for Africa’s restoration to her lost power, prosperity and dignity.
Pan-Africanists have long known that Africa’s time had come. Today, even those forces among Africans who were captured ideologically and vilified Pan-Africanists can no longer slander Pan-Africanism without making themselves complete political imbeciles. It is clear that they had no vision for a postcolonial Africa.
Pan-Africanism is emerging as the most reliable and powerful political philosophy of the 21st century for Africa’s survival, security and restoration. Pan-Africanism includes intellectual, political and economic co-operation that should lead to the political unity of Africa. Pan- Africanism is socialistic in content and cannot be associated with the privatisation of state assets, which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, and creates massive unemployment.
Pan-Africanism is persistent in the struggle for the social emancipation of Africa.
The enemies of Africa and their agents have always been hostile to Pan- Africanism. That is why Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana was overthrown; why Patrice Lumumba, Motala Mahommed, Thomas Ankara were assassinated; and why Mangaliso Sobukwe was poisoned on Robben Island.
Progressive forces of Africa must be vigilant. Although Nepad is the brainchild of Pan-Africanism, it will not succeed if it shall, like a slave, depend on G8 countries. The philosophy of slavery, colonialism and imperialist domination are incompatible with emancipatory democracy. They do not mix. This dependency will reduce Nepad to the new paternalism for Africa’s destruction.
Africa’s people must remain on the road of self-reliance and self- determination. As Prof Dani Nabudere of Uganda reminds us, and I quote:
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development is the product of the continuing search by Africa’s people and its leaders to create Pan- African structures that lead to social and economic advancement. On the other hand, Nepad is an instrument of contestation between Africans seeking self-determination in their development efforts and those forces that seek continuation of exploitation of the continent’s resources upon which the accumulation of their wealth depends.
To advance the continent, Africans must embark on a 10-point programme: Promote peace on the continent; maximise the study of modern science and technology in all her institutions of learning; stop exporting Africa’s raw materials and importing them back as finished products from Europe and America; avoid the kind of aid which recolonises Africa; formulate a foreign investment policy which reconstructs Africa; develop a home-grown emancipatory democracy; strengthen the Pan-Africanist movement continentally and worldwide; and delegitimise globalisation as an option to development in Africa.
The time for Africa has long been proclaimed. It will not come by wishful thinking. It will come through hard work, sacrifice, suffering and dedicated service of the African people. Izwe lethu. [Our country.] [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, our African brothers and sisters share South Africans’ experience of colonialism. We have to realise that South Africa is but a component of a much larger entity, Africa.
We are united in our horrific history, our heritage and our soul. We might have demarcated, independent countries, but the soil that runs from east to west and from north to south is all African soil.
The South African experience has served as an example of hope and encouragement for the rest of Africa, and like an elder brother, we are called on for assistance and guidance.
Although we might share a continent, we each uphold a diverse existence, and other states often have a devastating effect on the South African economy and social development, both internally and externally. People may be puzzled how a neighbour’s activity may hinder our existence as a promising and effective athlete in the global races, but it is like the house next door that runs a drug trade and harbours gangsters, which depreciates the value of one’s property and decreases one’s chances of selling it. It works very similarly in the large context. However, we respect the individuality of each country in Africa, and what may be viewed by the rest of the world as unacceptable may be an accepted norm and culture instead.
Nevertheless, the MF holds firm to the South African undertaking to achieve global human rights and dignity for all. The task of social and economic development goes far beyond our borders to the rest of Africa. These activities may hold a number of repercussions for us domestically. The MF realises the African potential affluence and vibrancy that many global competitors fail to recognise. We feel that the huge African debt contributes enormously to this negativity. If the debt could be written off, Africa may activate its full ability to take its true position in the global world.
South Africa for us and Africa for all! [Applause.]
Mdi S D MOTUBATSE: Mohlomphegi Modulasetulo le maloko ao a hlomphegago, lehono re keteka Letšatši la Afrika. Tabakgolo ya letšat ši lekhwi ke: Afrika, ke nako! Go le bjalo, bakweri ba rena ba a sega, ba re ke nako ya eng ka ge e le badiidi? Ke nako ya eng ka ge ba bolawa ke malwetsi? Eupša madireng a lefase a re laetša gore kontinente ye ya rena, ge re ka e swantšha le mosadi, ke mosadi yo mobotse ka kudu. Ke mosadi yo ka popelong ya gagwe go tletšego digauta, ditaamane le matlapa a mabotse ka moka. [Legofsi.] Ke mang yo a ka se kego a rata mosadi yo bjalo? Ga a gona! Ke ka mokgwa wo re kilego ra tlaišwa ka baka la mabotse a a rena!
Lehono diboledi tše ntši di šetše di boletše ka moo re tlaišitšwego ka gona le ka mokgwa woo baetapele ba rena ba dikilego ba rwešwa dinaka, go thwe ga se ba loke; tabakgolo e le gore ba senye maphelo a segagaborena; ba senye maphelo a borakgolokhukhu ba rena, gore bona ba tliše tsela ye mphsa yeo e ratwago ke bona. Ke therešo gore kontinente ye ya rena e fetile mathateng a mantši. Lehono re dutše re le badiidi, re le bošuaneng bjo, ka baka la tšeo di dirilwego go rena. Re kile ra ba mathopša, eupša re le dinageng tša rena. Eupša ge re feta fao, re lebelela mabotse ao re nago le wona, go na le tše ntši tše botse tšeo di diregago mo dinageng tša gaborena. A ke re ka Sepedi re re motho ke motho ka batho? Ge motho a bona yo mongwe a ka se ke a no mo feta tšeo go ka rego o bona phata. Ke ka baka leo e rego ge motho a bona yo mongwe a lahlele lentšu, a dumediša. Ge re e tla ka seZulung goba ka seXhoseng, motho ga a no fetwa tšeo go ka rego ke phoofolo. Ge go feta motho, o tlo kwa ba bolela ka seZulu ba re: Sawubona! Seo se ra gore, motho o a hlokomela gore ke motho go swana le yena. Ke bobotse bjo bo diregago mo kontinenteng ya rena.
Lehono ke kgopela gore re ke re lebeleleng tše dingwe tše dibotse tšeo di diregago mo kontinenteng ya rena. Ge bao ba bego ba re thopile ba boela dinageng tša rena, botho bjo bo dirile gore re kgone go dula mmogo, go se ne taba ya gore motho ke Mozulu, Mosotho, Motswana goba ke mokae. Re kgonne go dula ka gare ga mollwane wo tee, ka gore segolothata mo go rena ke botho. Ka gona, ge go dirwa tšeo ka sekgowa di bitšwago gore ke nation- states, ga se re be le bothata gobane segolothata ke go ba motho.
Bjale tše ka moka di tlišitše mathata ka gore re hweditš e e le gore melwane ya rena e amogilwe dilo tšeo e lego tš e bohlokwa go agweng ga naga. Ka gona, re leboga ge baetapele ba rena ba lemogile gore kaonefatšo ya maphelo ke yona e swanetšego go hlokomelwa kae le kae.
Maphelo a rena ke ona a lego bohlokwa. Ke ka fao kae le kae go bolelwago gore re tšwetša setšhaba sa gabo rena pele bjang, ka gore ga go selo seo ba hweditšego se le gona go ntšhetša setšhaba pele.
Ba bangwe ba re aowa, batho ba ba tlišitše tšwelopele, ka gore re be re sa kgone go ngwala. Naa se ke therešo? Madireng ga a re laetše seo, eupša a re laetša gore go be go na le tšwelopele mo Afrika pele go fihla batho ba bangwe. Bathopi ba rena ba nyakile gore tšwelopele ye e direge ka tsela yeo go nyakago bona, e sego ka tsela yeo rena re nyakago ka gona.
Lehono ge re lebelela kontinente ye ya rena ya Afrika, go na le dintwa tše ntši, go swana le kua Rwanda le Burundi, gammogo le DRC. Eupša ge re botšiša potšišo gore gabotsebotse dintwa tše di tlišwa ke eng, re hwetša gore setšhaba ga se holege ka dintwa tše. Bao ba holegago ke bao ba sa kgonago go anya mosadi yo, ba tšea ditaamane tša gagwe gore ba tswetše maphelo a bona pele.
Lehono ge re re Afrika, ke nako, re ra gore tse ka moka ga di fele, e be dilo tša maloba. Re swanetše go thoma leswa gomme, re le kontinente, re age maphelo a rena.
A ke boele lelemeng la Sejahlapi, ka gore re lemogile gore dilo tše ntši tšeo di diregago, ga di direge ka tsela yeo rena re nyakago. Taba e kgolo ke gore re lebelele mekgatlo ya rena mo kontinenteng ka botlalo gore naa e lebelela dilo tša maleba. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Ms S D MOTUBATSE: Mr Chairperson and hon members, today we are celebrating Africa Day. The theme for this day is: Africa, it is time! However, our detractors laugh and say: It is time for what, since they are so poor? It is time for what, when they are suffering from diseases? However, news of the world indicates that this continent of ours, if we were to liken it to a woman, is a very attractive woman. She is a woman whose womb is full of gold, diamonds and all the precious stones. [Applause.] Who would not fall in love with such a woman? No one! It is for that reason that we were once persecuted, because of our beauty!
Today, a number of speakers have already alluded to the manner in which we were persecuted and how our leaders were demonised and accused of all manner of evil, the intention being to destroy our culture, to destroy our ancient traditions, so that they may impose upon us their way of life, which was totally new to us.
It is true that our continent has survived many hardships. Today, we are still poor. We are still in this mess, because of what was done to us. We were once captives in our own countries. If we look beyond that, however, and focus on our beauty, we note that there are a number of good things that are taking place in our countries. After all, we do say, in Sepedi, that a person is a person because of other persons. When a person comes across another person, he or she may not simply ignore that person, as though he or she were seeing a piece of wood. That is why, when one sees another person, one says something - a greeting. Among the Zulu or the Xhosa, one may not walk past another person as though one were walking past an animal. When walks past, you will hear the Zulu saying: ``Sawubona’’ [We see you.] This indicates that they realise that this is a human being just like them. These are the good things that are taking place on our continent.
Today, I would like us to focus on some of the good things that are
happening on our continent. When those who had colonised us come back to
our countries, they find that our botho'' (ubuntu) makes it possible for
us to live together, regardless of whether one is Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, etc.
We have been able to share a common border because, for us, what comes
first isbotho’’. Therefore, when the so-called nation states were
created, we did not experience any problems because what comes first is
that one is a human being, ``motho’’.
Now, all these things have brought about a number of problems due to the fact that our neighbouring states have been deprived of the very things that are essential for nation-building. Therefore, we are grateful to our leader for realising that the improvement of the quality of life comes first and that it must happen everywhere. What is more important is the quality of our lives. That is why everywhere people are talking about ways and means of developing our nation, because they have not found anything that is already in place for developing the nation.
There are those who say: ``No, these people brought about progress, because we could not even write’’. Is this true? That is not what history tells us. In fact, it tells that there was progress in Africa before the advent of foreigners. Our colonisers sought to channel the progress in their own way, at the expense of our way of doing things.
Today, when we look at our continent, Africa, we note that there are numerous conflicts, in countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. However, when we want to know the real cause of these conflicts, we find that these conflicts do not benefit the nation. Those who benefit are those who are still able to suckle from this woman. They take her diamonds and use them to better their own lives.
Today, when we say:``Africa, it is time’’, we are saying that all these things must stop and be confined to history. We need to start afresh and, as the continent, to improve our lives.
Let me revert to the English language, because we have noted that most of the things that are taking place do so in a manner that is opposed to what we want. What is important is that we must ensure that all the organisations on our continent focus on what is important.]
I am referring here to our regional bodies. We know that on this continent we have regions, and as South Africans we fall under SADC, but we do have other regional bodies such as Comesa and Ecowas. I must say that as members of SADC and as we participate in SADC, we can testify to the progress made in this regard.
But I think we should advise our counterparts that the discussion should not be based on economic relations only. We should be able to put political issues on the table, not just military assistance and economic issues. If we enrich our debates in this way, our regional bodies will be strong enough so that when we launch the African Union, we will be able to tackle real political issues that will advance the progress of this continent.
As a continent, what our leadership has achieved up to now is commendable. We realised that after the adoption of the United Nations decisions and human rights instruments, our leadership was able to put these into effect in the African context. That is why we have the African Human Rights System and for the womenfolk we have Cedaw, which is, of course, the African version.
This week the gender and women affairs Ministers of SADC held their annual meeting in Namibia. Amongst issues discussed was the African Union. African women are ready to participate and to ensure that all the declarations signed are realised by their implementation. Secondly, African women are ready to participate and they see the African Union as presenting an opportunity for the continent to mainstream gender as well. We know that the image of African women is very bad. Every time one speaks of an African woman, people think of someone who is hungry, barefoot, with a baby on the back. But we know that if we drive this process ourselves, we can clarify this and this image can change.
We in the ANC have had a chance to listen to other countries’ reports. And I must say that there is hope for this continent, because women are determined to ensure that all the declarations and conventions signed by leaders are actually implemented within their respective countries.
With regard to Nepad, women believe that we have a duty to ensure that there is gender perspective adopted as well. Gender equality and equity should have indicators and must be mainstreamed in the implementation of Nepad.
We will continue to support peace initiatives in other parts of the continent, and as ANC women we want to engage our sisters to ensure that in all the forums, bodies and technical committees we work together as women.
Ge re boela morago go batho ba segagabo rena, re a tseba gore setšo sa rena Ma-Afrika ke go hlomphana. Re a tseba gape gore ka tlhompho le kwešišano, dilo ka moka di tla loka. Ga re sa nyaka go bona dintwa, mahu, tlhophego le bošuana mo kontinenteng. Re nyaka go bona tšwelopele, e bile re a tseba gore re na le bokgoni. Ge re re ke nako, re ra ka gore re na le ditlabakelo le marumo ka moka tša go hlabana ntwa ye. [Legoswi.] (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Going go back to our own people, we know that our tradition, as Africans, cherishes mutual respect. We also know that, through mutual respect and understanding, everything will come right. We do not want to see more conflicts, death, suffering and poverty on our continent. We want to see development - and we know that we do have the necessary skills. When we say that it is time, we mean that we do have the ammunition to win this war. [Applause.]]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Madam Speaker, the title of this debate is ``Africa, the time has come’’. This debate is a memorable one because we are part of Africa, and because Africa is ours.
We are, for the first time, confronted with defining ourselves and our identity in terms of our own country and in relation to the whole continent of Africa. As we look back at the history of colonialism and its disastrous effect, we cannot escape the fact that we have for too long been victims of foreign domination and foreign developmental programmes.
The World Bank and the IMF’s structural adjustment programmes have all failed, simply because they were all conceived and tuned to benefit foreign capital and the rich countries of the world. Today we are here to celebrate our achievements as well as to look ahead to the future and the future of our children.
As we celebrate, we must leave no stone unturned to unite ourselves, firstly as South Africans and secondly as people of Africa. Our political and economic destiny must now be tied to the continent. It is a pity that up to today, we South Africans have not learnt to celebrate our own national Day together. Azapo is concerned that even on Independence Day political parties present here in this House still celebrate this day in separate party style. This does not augur well for the development of our national consciousness. This national consciousness must be embodied in our national days and our symbols, so that when we interact with Africa, we know who we are.
Azapo takes this opportunity to urge all of us that the next celebration of our Independence Day must be done in style so that all our children can learn to be together forever in the country of their birth. Our resolve to unite the countries of the continent should be preceded by our own unity and identity, and our own pride as South Africans, and being Africans. Indeed the time has come, but it has come for us to develop a new consciousness about ourselves in relation to others in Africa, and to develop an African consciousness. Indeed the time has come.
Mrs B N SONO: Madam Speaker, hon members, 25 May was Africa Day. We were celebrating our identity as Africans. As we celebrate belatedly, we should do some soul-searching in order to improve our performance. In South Africa, we celebrate the significance of the death of the shackles of apartheid. As a nation, apartheid should stop haunting our minds and thoughts as we move forward into the future, because we can never change or manage the past, but are architects of our own future, which largely depends on how we harness our resources to manage the present.
However, as we sing our praises here in Parliament, we should spare a thought for fellow Africans who have little to celebrate, some not by choice, but by circumstances beyond human control, like famine, floods and drought, and some by the impositions of despotic leaders, either by word, deed or actions, as exhibited in Zimbabwe. Given Africa’s climate and resources, we should have no problems feeding ourselves. Food security should not even be an issue, but sadly, it is. Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique require food aid. In this lovely country, South Africa, too, many families go to bed without food. Uncovering the truth means that sometimes, in the face of heated debates and cold facts, we must be prepared to truly ask the difficult questions.
Believers in the power of the ancestors are that Africans’ ancestors are angry, and the proof is apparent. In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe writes about warriors, fighting scribes over institutional control, learning the ways of cheating. Hon members should read that with Devil on the Cross. Poisoning the Caller we even offer our friends. Further reference is made to sons opting to roam in the wild, as opposed to picking up the hoe, the soil cracking from drought although Africa’s offspring continues to multiply.
In our country crime has soared to unprecedented levels. Women and baby girls are raped by husbands and fathers. If these are the curses of the ancestors, Africa needs to ask: What are the transgressions? In the country, there is an urgent need to take the political leadership entrusted to us by providence, as we have shown in Burundi and Rwanda.
The promise of jobs was, for many, implicit in the political victory of
- Through jobs the living conditions of millions of economically marginalised people were to be improved, resulting in the alleviation of poverty and more equitable wealth distribution. It is common knowledge that this Government has failed to create a suitable climate for job creation by its inability to contain crime and introduce investment-friendly legislation. HIV/Aids continues to ravage our communities and requires a united determined effort to combat it. When we celebrate, we need to applaud the many efforts being made throughout the continent.
Lastly, I would like to address myself to the first citizen of this country, the President of the Republic. All the above-mentioned problems make Nepad crucial. This partnership aimed at reviving Africa and setting it on the road to sustainable development represents hope for us. But for Nepad to succeed, it must attract local and foreign investment. For this to happen, Africa must show respect for human rights and democracy and zero tolerance for corruption.
During the past two decades, African leaders have produced numerous continental developmental agendas that promised radical restructuring of their ailing economies, including investment in agriculture, building infrastructure and developing human capital. Yet social, political and economic conditions in most of Africa are desperate and unconducive to rapid economic development and growth.
Lastly, the case of Nkrumah was most pathetic. He could have been a great man. He started well. He led the independence movement and, on behalf of Ghana, became the symbol of emerging Africa. He was overthrown in 1966 while heading for Hanoi, where he intended to find a solution to the Vietnam war. That was written by a Ghanaian - a cry from a Ghanaian about the failing system of our Ministers. [Interjections.] Even Julius Nyerere’s ujamaa failed Tanzania. Nepad has to succeed and this Parliament has the onerous responsibility to nurture, protect and to advance it, for the sake of African Unity and generations to come. [Interjections.] But, as I said in my speech on International Women’s Day, life is a quest after good. We need jobs to educate, feed and clothe our children. We need to live in a crime-free environment.
May we, as we march into the 21st century, always bear in mind that the sun has risen and shines for both good and wicked, Africa included. [Time expired.] [Interjections.]
Prof H NGUBANE: Madam Speaker and colleagues, indeed the time has come for Africa.
Selifikile elakho ithuba Afrika. [Africa, your time has come.] [Interjections.]
Firstly, I am must thank the Speaker for having set aside a slot for this subject in today’s debate. Right from the start I want to congratulate our President Mr Mbeki on being given the honour to host the launch of the African Union in Durban, in July this year … [Applause.] … and also on his new challenging task as the first chairperson of the African Union.
When we say ``Africa, the time has come,’’ what comes to mind for me are the past 30 years or so, after the independence of Africa from colonial control. I was involved with development issues in Africa during most of that time, either as a university teacher of development sociology or as a participant in one or other of the international development agencies. Time and again great frustration was brought about by the realisation that since independence from colonial domination most African countries, instead of becoming meaningfully developed, either were reduced to underdevelopment of the worst kind or showed very little progress in their development.
Various analysts and academics came to the conclusion that the main causes of the slow pace of development related to the power relations between African countries and the international agencies of development, which did not only hold the purse strings, but often decided on the policies and priorities of development programmes. Thus it was concluded that development in Africa could hardly take off as long as the whole scene was overridden by dependency.
What, then, is exciting about the present development is that, whereas for the last 30 years South Africa was still struggling under apartheid, at last South Africa is one of the main actors in charting the continent’s future. This we celebrate. In addition, the new African Union will develop a more coherent and integrated agenda. What is also giving reason for hope is that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development provides a structure which will underpin in many ways the African Union’s activities.
Since Nepad is a partnership between African leaders and G8 countries, countries that are committed to putting funds into African upliftment, the power relations of subordination and therefore dependency that I mentioned earlier will be avoided. The commitment to partnership also means that there is a framework of principles based on good governance.
In other words, the African unity will not only have a firm economic base but also a foundation to which individual African countries will be accountable.
We anticipate that once the two structures begin to work smoothly, there will be firm channels between industrialised countries and Africa through which comprehensive knowledge and transference of skills, which build capacity in a country, will rapidly flow into Africa. Thus, through Nepad, the gap in terms of knowledge and skills which currently exists between the industrialised countries and Africa will be bridged and, as a continent, Africa will be able to cross the digital divide and participate meaningfully in the global fraternity.
The initiative taken by President Mbeki and his colleagues in the African leadership to reverse crass dependence cannot but bear lucrative fruit.
When we celebrate the coming of age of Africa, we are not unaware of the various problems and difficulties that need to be addressed and redressed. We are happy, Madam Speaker, that Parliament has organised a working group on the issues of African union, as well as a series of seminars, which provide a platform for all of us to express our concerns.
Today we are acknowledging that new structures are being put in place which will take us forward in much better ways. These initiatives need to be supported. [Applause.]
Mr D A HANEKOM: Madam Speaker, hon Dullah Omar looks great. I will talk quickly because we cannot wait for him to come to the podium. He will explain to us where that attire comes from, I am sure. [Applause.]
When I was very young, white South Africans were officially called
Europeans'' by a group of white South Africans who were ruling South
Africa at that time. People who were not white were callednon-
Europeans’’. There were benches marked Europeans only'' on which I was
allowed to sit and on which black children were not allowed to sit. Some of
the beaches I used to go to when I was a child, were marked forEuropeans
only’’. Black children were not allowed to play on those beaches or to swim
in that sea.
Well, although that group of grey men decided to call us European, very few of us actually considered ourselves European. Most of us had never been to Europe and neither had our parents. We were South Africans. That was our identity and that is what we called ourselves, South Africans, not Europeans. For black South Africans, of course, it was a profound insult to be called non-Europeans and it was correctly seen as an extreme form of racial arrogance.
Although I grew up thinking of myself as a South African, I must say that I never really thought of myself as an African, and many years later it remained difficult and confusing. Of course we were born in Africa, and of course we belong to this continent, but could I comfortably say ``I am an African’’? In truth, it was difficult for most of us to proclaim with pride that we were Africans.
A few years ago Thabo Mbeki, the then Deputy President of South Africa, changed this quite dramatically. In his famous address, delivered here in this House, popularly known as his ``I am an African speech’’ he liberated millions of South Africans from the shackles of a certain kind of oppression. Thabo Mbeki was the voice of our common ancestry, crying out to us in their wisdom … [Applause.] … giving us the gift of a simple truth, simunye, we are one.
We come from many places. Some may trace their historical origins to East Africa, or the mountains of Ethiopia, or a village in India, or Lithuania or Holland or England. That is who we are and we are all Africans. Our friend Khoisan D - some may know him as Dennis Bloem … [Applause.] Some may just know him for his voice, of course.
Dennis Bloem will tell us with pride that his ancestors were the first people of Southern Africa. Maybe so, and we share in his pride, but of course we all know that some of his ancestral graves are in fact in Holland. His ancestors and Cassie Aucamp’s ancestors probably lie side by side in the Netherlands. [Applause.] But, most importantly, Cassie and Dennis are both Africans.
But to get back to President Mbeki’s theme of ``I am an African’’ at the time he probably did not know just how visionary and scientifically accurate his statement was. There is strong evidence that we all come from one common ancestor. That is what geneticists tell us. And that ancestor probably lived somewhere not far from Pretoria, here in Africa. It is now called a World Heritage Site, and it is called the cradle of humankind.
Now, that is the exciting truth that is emerging: we are all related. Koisan D’s great-great-grandmother was mine as well. I know that this is hard to believe, but Thabo Mbeki and Tony Leon are offspring of the same great-great-great-grandmother. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Tony, of course, is immensely proud of the fact that his distant cousin is now the President of South Africa. Simunye! We are one! And we are more one than we ever imagined. Having shared with hon members my own thrill and excitement at the discovery that my great-great-grandfather, who came here from Holland, was simply coming home, back to the place where his original ancestors came from, the sad family truth is that this was not his reason for migrating to the southernmost tip of Africa. He came here to make his fortune, to take land from people who had lived here for centuries. He came to conquer. He came with a belief that the culture of those who had migrated from Africa to Europe was superior to the culture and beliefs of those that they had left behind.
Although his religion taught him that it was wrong to steal and plunder, and had taught him to love his neighbour as he loved himself, he somehow managed to persuade himself that God had another plan for Africa; that it was okay to steal people’s land; that it was okay to chain people and sell them as slaves, as long as one dressed respectably, carried one’s Bible and went to church on Sundays. [Applause.]
This is not just the sad truth about my great-great-grandparents’ migration to Africa; it is the story of what happened to our continent. We really need to understand the history of colonisation properly, and what it did to our continent. We also need to understand the process of decolonisation, how it happened and what it left behind. We need to understand it, so that we have a better understanding of our present reality in Africa, the conflicts and the underdevelopment that continue to plague our continent.
I started off talking about Africa as the cradle of humankind, and I could have moved on to speak of the ancient civilisations, about Africa’s magnificent contribution to human cultural development, about peaceful co- existence on the plains of Africa, a different paradigm, societies that do not have flashy cars, but where people care for each other and are less vulnerable than in Western society.
If achievement is about an improvement in the quality of life, and about sustainable utilisation of our planet’s limited resources, then surely our San relatives, who have lived intelligently and respectfully with nature for thousands of years, are great achievers.
Many of us would like to do what Mark Shuttleworth did, and go to the moon one day. But I am sure Mark would be the first to say that real achievement for humanity lies in improving the quality of life of all our people. If one has no food in one’s stomach, no technological or cultural achievement can excite one. All that one would want would be some food.
The next sad truth is that, as we speak, millions of people on our continent, including in our own country, live in dire poverty and are constantly hungry. Africa is rich but the people of Africa are poor, desperately poor. Why is this so? Is it our own mismanagement of our economies? Is it the result of bad governance? Is it the effect of inappropriate policies, or is it just the inescapable legacy of colonial plunder and destruction?
Yes, in fact, all of these things are real and do exist and do exacerbate the poverty on our continent. It does not help to defend elected people who are corrupt, who abuse power and whose policies serve the ruling elites. Our Nepad commitment makes it quite clear that Africa is determined to move rapidly along the path to democratisation. Corruption and violation of human rights are not going to be tolerated. But, is that the whole picture?
Are we simply missing out on great opportunities in a friendly and sympathetic world, opportunities offered by globalisation and the lifting of trade barriers?
If only it were that simple. The next outrageous truth is that those who colonised yesterday continue to keep Africa down and to impoverish our people. Globalisation is a reality but free trade is a pretence. As President Mbeki said yesterday, colonialism was defeated in Africa and the last of white minority rule was shaken off in 1994 in our own country. Real achievement, real victory! The fruit of hard and determined struggle, a brave struggle! Many lives lost and a sweet victory!
But how sweet and how complete? For as long as our children continue to die from preventable diseases and for as long as our people are hungry, the struggle must continue. We must declare war on poverty, and the battles have to be fought on many fronts.
One important site of struggle is the struggle against the policies of the West that are keeping our people poor. We have all heard about the recently announced massive subsidy increase to US farmers. We know about the common agricultural policy of the European Union and the massive subsidies paid to the European Union farmers.
We need to understand properly how it is that these subsidies are causing harm to Africa, and how they are impoverishing rural people throughout our continent. We need to understand it and we need to fight it.
This is how it works. Many farmers in Europe, in a supposedly market economy, despite the modern technology at their disposal and despite a number of advantages, cannot compete with farmers producing the same thing in Africa.
We have a competitive advantage. We export our agricultural products, and of course we buy in technology and manufactured goods where they may have a competitive advantage, and we all benefit. Consumers benefit, African farmers flourish - the real benefits of free trade. But in reality that is not the way it works. Instead, the European Union and the US government spend billions of dollars to pay their uncompetitive farmers to produce. And in some cases, the way it works is that a farmer gets such a high price, not by selling the product at a high price, but through the subsidy, that he squeezes his land to the limit and produces large quantities, far more than can be consumed in Europe. And so we get huge overproduction in Europe and no market for the same product that is produced competitively in Africa.
Market economy! Do not make us laugh. Those surpluses are then exported to other countries that should be good markets for Africa, at prices that are artificially low, and African farmers suffer the consequences. They are often forced out of business, their household incomes gone, and the result is increased poverty.
And, given the high dependency on agriculture on our continent, which is not the case in Europe, it means poverty on a large scale. It affects processed foods as well. Factories close down because they cannot compete against the subsidy. Hon members should speak to retrenched workers in Paarl and Montagu. They know what these subsidies do.
It is truly a kind of genocide. Strong words, yes! Mr Bush may not like to hear it, but the truth is the truth and we should not be afraid to tell it. President Mbeki said yesterday that we will take up the struggle. Well done, Comrade President. We are right behind him.
The other fight is against protectionism. Free trade to the former colonisers means ``you open up your markets to our subsidised products, but we will find ways of keeping your products out’’.
My speaking time is running out. If we do not take on these fights with the same determination as we did the fight against colonialism, then it will be very difficult for Nepad to succeed and we will not be able to win the war against poverty. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: Madam Speaker and hon members, I suppose I should answer Derek’s question. This is a Mali outfit. I have been to Mali a couple of times, as well as to some other parts of our continent. Recently three South Africans received the highest presidential honour of Mali for their contribution to making a success of the soccer tournament which took place in Mali. One was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of our country, the other one was the Minister of Sport and Recreation, and the third award can be seen here around my neck. [Applause.] In Africa, we are living in exciting times. Yes, there are difficulties in some places; there is great pain and suffering, but there is also change, determination and vision. There are difficult challenges, yes, but as Africans, all of us, let us share in the excitement. Let us not worry about the moaners and groaners. We heard one or two such voices this afternoon emanating from one party, which continues to live in the past.
Let us be amongst those who participate, no matter in how small a manner, in reshaping Africa’s history to get away from the pain, the suffering, the hardships and the poverty, and to help to build a new Africa, one where democracy, peace and the rule of law would prevail; an Africa which cherishes its people; one which respects life and dignity; one which is committed to ending human suffering; an Africa which stands on its own feet, risen from its knees, one which is empowered to use Africa’s great wealth and resources for the benefit of its people and the continent, and one which continues to contribute to the wellbeing of the peoples of the world, an Africa whose time has come - Afrika, ke nako!
When we speak of the African Union, who are we talking about? Are we
talking of people north of the Limpopo? Is it just a black thing? We must
say to ourselves that we are not talking about other people. We are talking
about ourselves. On 25 May, we celebrated Africa Day across the continent.
That was our day; it is not a their' day. The Organisation of African
Unity is our organisation. The African Union will be our African Union.
When I say `our’’, I refer to all the people of Africa, including all the
people of South Africa, irrespective of ethnic origin, race, religion,
culture and language. If Africa is one’s motherland, then one is an
African.
Today we stand at the end of the epoch of the OAU, after nearly 40 years of contribution. We stand on the eve of another epoch, that of the African Union. We must be aware of our past. We must accept responsibility for the present, and we must fight to realise the vision of the future. Africa has come a long way.
The glorious past of 1 000 years ago and more, with civilisations equal to the best in the world, was destroyed by the slave trade, which many people do not know lasted for over 400 years, that is, for four centuries. In the devastation of the slave trade, Africa lost, according to some experts, up to 20 million men, women, boys and girls. Great dislocations and movements of peoples followed.
The slave trade was followed by colonial domination. At the Berlin Conference of 1871, Africa was carved up into spheres of interest or influence of major European powers - England, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. To this day, the imprint of that colonial period remains, and it is not something that is haunting us. It is the reality. We speak English in South Africa, German in Namibia, Portuguese in Angola, French in Senegal and Arabic in North Africa. Arabic, of course, has been with central and North Africa for many more centuries, and deeply influenced the indigenous languages of Africans across the continent.
After independence, Africa remained saddled with the legacy of colonialism. Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa’s great visionaries, spoke of the postindependence period as one of neocolonialism.
Who does not recall his book Neocolonialism: The Highest Stage of Imperialism? He championed the cause of African unity. Again, who can forget his book entitled Africa Must Unite? In 1963 we witnessed the birth of the Organisation of African Unity, with the adoption of the OAU Charter in Addis Ababa and the proclamation of 25 May as Africa Day.
The OAU Charter said the founding African governments were desirous that all African states should unite so that the welfare and wellbeing of their peoples could be assured. It called upon everyone to promote unity and solidarity of the African states. The Charter called for freedom, equality, justice and dignity for all Africans, and said that it was the responsibility of the nations of Africa to harness the natural and human resources of the continent for the benefit of the people.
South Africa and its people have much to be thankful for to the OAU. During the worst years of apartheid it was the OAU, including our neighbouring states, especially after the liberation of Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which championed the struggle against apartheid.
Members will no doubt recall the commitment and absolute dedication of the OAU to the total emancipation of the African territories which were still dependent. We South Africans owe a great debt of gratitude to the OAU and its founders. Leaders such as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Ben Bella, Sékou Touré, Patrice Lumumba, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Eduardo Mondlane, Amilcar Cabral and great leaders of our country such as Albert Luthuli and others.
Today, as we celebrate Africa Day 2002 and herald in the African Union, which will be born in South Africa in July, we recommit ourselves to the ideals of the OAU and, in the context of the current world situation, walk side by side with our brothers and sisters in the rest of Africa, totally liberated today from colonial domination, to shape our own destiny.
The African Union and Nepad go hand in hand. African unity provides the
framework, both political and constitutional, for establishing the greater
unity which we want to see on the continent. When we look at the AU and the
structures which are created under the AU in the Constitutive Act, then we
should see the process as one of development, because the structures
immediately created will not bring about a United States of Africa''
similar to the United States of America. It is not yet a federation, but it
is a political framework which puts us on the road towards the creation of
that kind ofUnited States of Africa’’. The focus of the AU will be
peace, security, democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and
good governance.
Then, of course, there is Nepad. Nepad is located as an important instrument of the AU. Nepad is a project of the AU and is located as an instrument to end economic dependence and poverty, to promote economic development and to ensure that Africa is put on the road of social progress, so as to see to it that we deal with the many problems to which speakers have referred here this afternoon.
The project of the AU presupposes democratic rule across the continent and it presupposes the rule of law. As a previous speaker pointed out this afternoon - I think it was Comrade Pallo Jordan in his opening address - indeed, over the past decade African states have gone a long way towards making Africa the home of modern democracy. Many more democracies have been established on this continent in that decade than in many other parts of the world.
Nepad has identified five areas: trade and investment; agriculture and environmental affairs; infrastructure development; energy and mining; and information, communication and technology. The status report which deals with these matters indicates that there is a very focused approach in Nepad. Nepad is not an idle dream. It is not an idle promise based on a never-never approach. It is focused on the issues that I have just identified, and it hopes to set for itself appropriate timeframes and mechanisms to ensure their achievement.
Of course, none of these projects can get off the ground unless there is adequate financing. Our President has taken the lead, together with other leaders of the continent, to ensure that, indeed, we fight for adequate finance in order to enable Africa to unpack Nepad and to see to it that its programmes are implemented. Only recently, in South Africa, a discussion was held among many role-players in order to ensure that African unity and Nepad belong to the whole of South Africa and the continent. In our country, Nepad is not just a Government thing; it is a South African thing. It is for Government, business, labour and civil society - it is for everybody.
In the discussions which have taken place in our country, there has been a focus on the importance of an efficient infrastructure for sustainability, and the standardisation of regulations and processes to reduce delays at borders. Amongst the borders we are looking at are those borders that we share with SADC countries. As many members know, there are many delays at these border posts. So, those things have to be addressed. In other words, the road to African unity is regional integration, and in the different parts of our continent regional integration is being promoted.
It is important to engage in the study of national standards that possibly hinder international co-operation and crossborder trade; the development of methodologies for integrated regional frameworks; the analysis of needs and priorities within the continent; the development of best practice involving SMMEs and crossborder business opportunities; and the study of successes and failures, learning from other experiences such as the European Union negotiations, so that we can avoid those mistakes which have been made elsewhere.
Lastly, there is an area which requires special mention, and I think some of the speakers made reference to it. That is the gender issue. If one looks back at the Charter of the OAU, one will find that there is no reference to the role of women, or the need for the emancipation of women and the role that women could play on the continent under the Charter. In the Constitutive Act of the African Union, there is some progress. There is a mention of women and youth but, alas, it is a very small mention. We need to open that door which is slightly ajar, so as to make sure that women participate equally in all programmes under the African Union and Nepad. [Applause.]
So, I would conclude by saying that there is a great challenge facing us here to ensure that all the people of Africa - men, women, boys and girls, all of us - benefit from the programmes as they unfold. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
CONSIDERATION OF FOURTH REPORT OF WORKING GROUP ON AFRICAN UNION
Report adopted without debate.
HEALTH DONATIONS FUND ACT REPEAL BILL
(Second Reading debate)
There was no debate.
Bill read a second time.
MENTAL HEALTH CARE BILL
(Consideration of Bill, as amended by NCOP, and of Report thereon)
There was no debate.
Report adopted and Bill agreed to.
NATIONAL RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR BILL
(Consideration of Bill, as amended by NCOP, and of Report thereon)
There was no debate.
Report adopted and Bill agreed to.
The House adjourned at 16:45.
__________
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
(1) Ms P Govender has resigned with effect from 1 June 2002.
(2) Bills passed by National Assembly on 30 May 2002: To be
submitted to President of the Republic for assent:
(i) Mental Health Care Bill [B 69D - 2001] (National Assembly
- sec 76).
(ii) National Railway Safety Regulator Bill [B 7D - 2002]
(National Assembly - sec 76). TABLINGS: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Minister of Public Works:
Together pushing back the Frontiers of Poverty - Laying Tomorrow's
Development.
- The Minister of Social Development:
(a) The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in
respect of Inter-Country Adoption, tabled in terms of section
231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(c) Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography, tabled in
terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
(d) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreements.