SOUTH AFRICA: REFLECTING CONFIDENCE

Since his retirement as president of the country and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner with Nelson Mandela, former president F W de Klerk has very commendably devoted himself to promoting South Africa internationally. As a lawyer, his point of departure has been the Constitution, and this week he again returned to the Constitution in a speech at his alma mater Potchefstroom University.

After saying that the Constitution “is the indispensible basis of our national unit and our best and abiding hope for continuing freedom, prosperity and stability”, he went on to identify seven threats to the Constitution. These include legal amendments to the Constitution; erosion of the Constitution by ordinary legislation; government neglect of parts of the Constitution that it did not like; an executive or sectionally-minded judiciary; apathy; and “political subversion”. This is a reference, De Klerk said, to the fact that “power did not rest with parliamentary executives but with whatever faction controlled the majority party”.

Most lawyers, when it comes to constitutions, tend to look at formality – substance is less important than conformity to the rules of the Constitution. To his credit, however, De Klerk gives substance to the Constitution’s provisions. For example, he relates “dysfunctional service delivery” to Constitutional guarantees – by reminding us that key constitutional rights are undermined because of the State’s inability to assure them. For example, “rampant crime deprives people of their right to life; the right to be free from violence; and the right to property”.

De Klerk’s approach to building confidence is an unusual one – because most people would look to build confidence not on negatives (threats) but on positives. They would identify and list things like the economic and strategic value of a country’s resources; the strength of its financial services; its strength as a food producer; or that it has the most sectorially-developed economy on the continent, etc. The one advantage of De Klerk’s approach is that he is setting down markers or drawing lines in the sand: if this or that happens, then constitutionally our country is threatened, and with it stability and order.

Getting back to the positivist approach, although there haven’t been a lot of positives in these last ten days – what with the Eskom disaster, red lights flashing in virtually every state enterprise, and qualified audits of several state departments - as this is Media Freedom Day in the world the one positive we should celebrate is South Africa’s progressive stance on freedom of expression.

Another positive has been a UK Trade & Investment report on emerging markets released this week by UK Secretary of State Lord Mandelson. Addressing the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Emerging Markets workshop, the report “Survive and Prosper: emerging markets in the global recession” gives fresh insights into the opportunities and longer-term strategic importance offered by emerging economies. But what is significant is that South Africa is identified in the report as among the top four key markets for global investors.

De Klerk ended his speech by reasserting his optimism and confidence in South Africa – something which, notwithstanding the inefficiencies and deficiencies of this society, most of us naturally concur with. In fact, South Africa stands on the edge of the BRIC countries from a promising growth and investment point of view. That’s the nub of what Lord Mandelson was saying.

Denis Worrall, Chairman, Omega Investment Research, Cape Town, South AfricaEmail: kamreyac@omegainvest.co.za for all enquiries

Copyright 2009. Omega Investment Research. All Rights Reserved www.omegainvest.co.za

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Nelson Mandela - Address during a joint sitting of Parliament to mark 10 years of Democracy In South Africa

Monday 10 May 2004, Cape Town

Madam Speaker
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Deputy Speaker
Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP
Mister President
Deputy President
Members of the Cabinet
Premiers
Honourable Members

We are deeply moved and humbled by your magnanimous gesture in inviting us to address this joint session of the two houses of parliament.

We are aware, Madam Speaker, that an exception to the standing rules had to be made in order to allow a retired old pensioner, who is neither a member of parliament nor the serving head of state of any country, to address you. That all the parties represen ted in Parliament unanimously consented to this extra-ordinary departure from the rules touches us, not only for the honour it pays us but also for the spirit of our nation that it speaks of.

We remember, Madam Speaker, that on this exact day ten years ago democratic South Africa celebrated its ceremonial birth with the inauguration of its first President and two Deputy Presidents. We recall the joy and excitement of a nation that had found its elf: the collective relief that we had stepped out of our restrictive past and the expectant air of walking into a brighter future.

The national climate was one of magnanimity and a great generosity of spirit. As a people we were enormously proud of what we had achieved, negotiating amongst ourselves a peaceful resolution to what was regarded as one of the most intractable situations o f conflict in the world.

We were not unaware of or blind to the extent, depth and gravity of the challenges ahead of us as we set out on that day to transform, reconstruct and develop our nation and our society. However, the overwhelming feelings in those early days of democratic nationhood were of hope and confidence. We had miraculously – as many said – transcended the deep divisions of our past to create a new inclusive democratic order; we had confidence that as a nation we would similarly confront and deal with the challenges of reconstruction and development.

Madam Speaker, this old man – who was greatly honoured by the nation and parliament to be elected founding President of democratic South Africa – notes with immense satisfaction and pride today the persistence and strengthening of that spirit of generosity , magnanimity and confident hopefulness about the future of our nation.

Merely observing this parliament inspires national pride and confidence. We, the people of South Africa, the Preamble to our Constitution states, believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. The make-up of this Parliame nt confirms that the people of South Africa had spoken in all its diversity, asserting the strength of our unity in diversity.

Allow us, Madam Speaker to congratulate you, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and your deputies on your election to these important and prestigious positions in our democracy. Parliament is the voice of the people and you, the presiding officers, bear a heavy responsibility in ensuring that that voice is clearly heard in national affairs and that its role be protected and defended.

Similarly, our congratulations to all the members of parliament in whom the nation has put its trust. Yours is the almost sacred duty to ensure government by the people under the Constitution.

Madam Speaker, we also wish to extend congratulations to our President and to those that he has appointed as members of his national Cabinet and to the positions of provincial Premiers.

I have said it so often, but want to repeat it here at what must certainly be the last time that parliament will bend its own rules to allow me to address it: no President or Prime Minister in the history of this country can claim to have done more for the people and the country than has been achieved by President Thabo Mbeki.

He is a modest man and I know he would prefer that I do not sing his personal praises, but his achievement as President and national leader is the embodiment of what our nation is capable of. Public acknowledgement of his achievements is to affirm ourselve s as a nation, to assert the confidence with which we face our national future and conduct ourselves on the international stage.

Thank you, Mister President, for leading us with such vision and dedication to your task.

Assuming, Madam Speaker, that Parliament is not cavalier about its own rules and that this is my last address to this House: what do I wish for our democracy in this second decade that we have entered?

Let us never be unmindful of the terrible past from which we come – that memory not as a means to keep us shackled to the past in a negative manner, but rather as a joyous reminder of how far we have come and how much we have achieved. The memory of a hist ory of division and hate, injustice and suffering, inhumanity of person against person should inspire us to celebrate our own demonstration of the capacity of human beings to progress, to go forward, to improve, to do better.

There are many theoretical debates about the meaning of democracy that I am not qualified to enter into. A guiding principle in our search for and establishment of a non-racial inclusive democracy in our country has been that there are good men and women t o be found in all groups and from all sectors of society; and that in an open and free society those South Africans will come together to jointly and co-operatively realise the common good.

My wish is that South Africans never give up on the belief in goodness, that they cherish that faith in human beings as a cornerstone of our democracy. The first value mentioned under the founding principles of our Constitution is that of human dignity. We accord persons dignity by assuming that they are good, that they share the human qualities we ascribe to ourselves. Historical enemies succeeded in negotiating a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy exactly because we were prepared to accept th e inherent capacity for goodness in the other.

We live in a world where there is enough reason for cynicism and despair. We watch as two of the leading democracies, two leading nations of the free world, get involved in a war that the United Nations did not sanction; we look on with horror as reports s urface of terrible abuses against the dignity of human beings held captive by invading forces in their own country. We see how the powerful countries – all of them democracies – manipulate multilateral bodies to the great disadvantage and suffering of the poorer developing nations.

There is enough reason for cynicism and despair.

But then we should take heart from our own experience and performance. Let us refrain from chauvinistic breast-beating; but let also not underrate what we have achieved in establishing a stable and progressive democracy where we take freedoms seriously; in building national unity in spite of decades and centuries of apartheid and colonial rule; in creating a culture in which we increasingly respect the dignity of all.

In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to belief in the goodness of people.

Poverty, unemployment, preventable disease and ill-health, and other forms of social deprivation continue to blot our landscape as we strive to give content to the democratic commitment of a better life for all.

Nothing impairs the dignity of a person so much as not being able to find work and gainful employment. HIV/AIDS continues to threaten our future in a particularly frightening manner.

Our democracy must bring its material fruits to all, particularly the poor, marginalised and vulnerable. Our belief in the common good ultimately translates in to a deep concern for those that suffer want and deprivation of any kind.

We are inspired by the commitment that has emerged from all parties that have participated in the past elections. This parliament, leading into the second decade of democracy, promises to take seriously that contract with the people to improve their lives.

We are impressed by the spirit of inclusiveness exuded by our legislature and our executive. We are warmed by the spirit of generosity that continues to characterise our nation and national efforts.

Madam Speaker, we thank Parliament for this opportunity to greet the dawn of our second decade of democracy. We wish you well.

May God protect our people.
Nkosi sikelel’iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seen Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu thatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.

Speech by Nelson Mandela announcing the ANC election victory

Carlton Hotel, Johannesburg, 2 May 1994

My fellow South Africans - the people of South Africa:

This is indeed a joyous night. Although not yet final, we have received the provisional results of the election, and are delighted by the overwhelming support for the African National Congress.

To all those in the African National Congress and the democratic movement who worked so hard these last few days and through these many decades, I thank you and honour you. To the people of South Africa and the world who are watching: this a joyous night for the human spirit. This is your victory too. You helped end apartheid, you stood with us through the transition.

I watched, along with all of you, as the tens of thousands of our people stood patiently in long queues for many hours. Some sleeping on the open ground overnight waiting to cast this momentous vote.

South Africa's heroes are legend across the generations. But it is you, the people, who are our true heroes.

This is one of the most important moments in the life of our country. I stand here before you filled with deep pride an joy: - pride in the ordinary, humble people of this country. You have shown such a calm, patient determination to rectal this country as your own.

- and joy that we can loudly proclaim from the rooftops - free at last!

I stand before you humbled by your courage, with a heart full of love for all of you. I regard it as the highest honour to lead the ANC at this moment in our history, and that we have been chosen to lead our country into the new century.

I pledge to use all my strength and ability to live up to your expectations of me as well as of the ANC.

I am personally indebted and pay tribute to some of South Africa's greatest leaders including John Dube, Josiah Gumede GM Naicker, Dr Abduraman, Chief Lutuli, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Yusuf Dadoo, Moses Kotane, Chris Hani an Oliver Tambo. They should have been here to celebrate with us, for this is their achievement too.

Tomorrow, the entire ANC leadership and I will be back at our desks. We are rolling up our sleeves to begin tackling the problems our country faces. We ask you all to join us - go back to your jobs in the morning. Let's get South Africa working.

For we must, together and without delay, begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This means creating jobs building houses, providing education and bringing peace and security for all.

The calm and tolerant atmosphere that prevailed during the elections depicts the type of South Africa we can build. It set the tone for the future. We might have our differences, but we are one people with a common destiny in our rich variety of culture, race and tradition.

People have voted for the party of their choice and we respect that. This is democracy.

I hold out a hand of friendship to the leaders of all parties and their members, and ask all of them to join us in working together to tackle the problems we face as a nation. An ANC government will serve all the people of South Africa, not just ANC members.

We also commend the security forces for the sterling work done. This has laid a solid foundation for a truly professional security force, committed to the service of the people and loyalty to the new constitution.

Now is the time for celebration, for South Africans to join together to celebrate the birth of democracy. I raise a glass to you all for working so hard to achieve what can only be called a small miracle. Let our celebrations be in keeping with the mood set in the elections, peaceful, respectful and disciplined, showing we are a people ready to assume the responsibilities of government.

I promise that I will do my best to be worthy of the faith and confidence you have placed in me and my organisation, the African National Congress. Let us build the future together, and toast a better life for all South Africans.

Nelson Mandela
2 May 1994

State of the nation address by the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela

Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, 24 May 1994

Madame Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
President of the Senate and Deputy President,
Deputy Presidents,
Chief Justice,
Distinguished members of the National Assembly and the Senate,
Provincial Premiers,
Commanders of the Security Forces,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Esteemed guests,
Comrades,
Ladies and gentlemen.

The time will come when our nation will honour the memory of all the sons, the daughters, the mothers, the fathers, the youth and the children who, by their thoughts and deeds, gave us the right to assert with pride that we are South Africans, that we are Africans and that we are citizens of the world.

The certainties that come with age tell me that among these we shall find an Afrikaner woman who transcended a particular experience and became a South African, an African and a citizen of the world.

Her name is Ingrid Jonker.

She was both a poet and a South African. She was both an Afrikaner and an African. She was both an artist and a human being.

In the midst of despair, she celebrated hope. Confronted with death, she asserted the beauty of life.

In the dark days when all seemed hopeless in our country, when many refused to hear her resonant voice, she took her own life.

To her and others like her, we owe a debt to life itself. To her and others like her, we owe a commitment to the poor, the oppressed, the wretched and the despised.

In the aftermath of the massacre at the anti-pass demonstration in Sharpeville she wrote that:

"The child is not dead... the child lifts his fists against his mother who shouts Africa!...

The child is not dead
Not at Langa nor at Nyanga
nor at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
nor at the police post at Philippi
where he lies with a bullet through his brain...

the child is present at all assemblies and law-giving
the child peers through the windows of houses
and into the hearts of mothers
this child who only wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga
is everywhere

the child grown to a man treks on through all Africa
the child grown to a giant journeys
over the whole world
without a pass!"

And in this glorious vision, she instructs that our endeavours must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child.

It is these things that we must achieve to give meaning to our presence in this chamber and to give purpose to our occupancy of the seat of government.

And so we must, constrained by and yet regardless of the accumulated effect of our historical burdens, seize the time to define for ourselves what we want to make of our shared destiny.

The government I have the honour to lead and I dare say the masses who elected us to serve in this role, are inspired by the single vision of creating a people-centred society.

Accordingly, the purpose that will drive this government shall be the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, the continuous extension of the frontiers of the freedom.

The acid test of the legitimacy of the programmes we elaborate, the government institutions we create, the legislation we adopt must be whether they serve these objectives.

Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual.

We must construct that people-centred society of freedom in such a manner that it guarantees the political and the human rights of all our citizens.

As an affirmation of the government's commitment to an entrenched human rights culture, we shall immediately take steps to inform the Secretary General of the United Nations that we will subscribe to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We shall take steps to ensure that we accede to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights and other human rights instruments of the United Nations.

Our definition of the freedom of the individual must be instructed by the fundamental objective to restore the human dignity of each and every South African.

This requires that we speak not only of political freedoms.

My government's commitment to create a people-centred society of liberty binds us to the pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom from ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear.

These freedoms are fundamental to the guarantee of human dignity. They will therefore constitute part of the centrepiece of what this government will seek to achieve, the focal point on which our attention will be continuously focused.

The things we have said constitute the true meaning, the justification and the purpose of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, without which it would lose all legitimacy.

When we elaborated this Programme we were inspired by the hope that all South Africans of goodwill could join together to provide a better life for all. We were pleased that other political organisations announced similar aims.

Today, I am happy to announce that the Cabinet of the Government of National Unity has reached consensus not only on the broad objective of the creation of the people-centred society of which I have spoken, but also on many elements of a plan broadly based on that Programme for Reconstruction and Development.

Let me indicate some of the more important agreements. Annually, in the combined budgets of central government and the provinces, we will provide for an increasing amount of funding for the plan.

This will start with an appropriation of R2,5 billion in the 1994/95 budget that will be presented next month. This should rise to more than R10 billion by the fifth year of the life of this government.

Government will also use its own allocation of funds to the Reconstruction and Development Plan to exert maximum leverage in marshalling funds from within South Africa and abroad.

In this regard, I am pleased to report that we have been holding consultation with some of the principal business leaders of our country.

Consequently, we are assured that the business sector can and will make a significant contribution towards the structuring and management of such reconstruction and development funds, towards the effective identification and implementation of projects and by supporting the financing of the socio-economic development effort.

I am also pleased to report that many of our friends abroad have already made commitments to assist us to generate the reconstruction and development funds we need.

We thank them most sincerely for their positive attitude which arises not from objectives of charity but from the desire to express solidarity with the new society we seek to build.

We accept the duty of coordinating the management of the total resources that will be generated, without seeking to prescribe to other contributors or undermining the continued role of non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations.

The initial R2,5 billion will be found from savings and the redirection of spending, as included in the preliminary 1994/95 budget proposals presented to Cabinet.

I would like to thank the departments of state for their cooperation in carrying out this adjustment to their planning, at short notice.

As we allocate larger amount in future, we shall require further adjustments by departments, partly to correct the bias in the spending patterns which are a legacy of the past.

The longer period shall allow such changes to be properly planned. But they will still make great demands on the managerial capacity and spirit of cooperation of the Cabinet and the whole civil service.

We are confident that, motivated by the desire to serve the people, the public service will discharge its responsibilities with diligence, sensitivity and enthusiasm, among other things paying attention to the important goal of increasing efficiency and productivity.

My government is equally committed to ensure that we use this longer period properly fully to bring into the decision-making processes organs of civil society.

This will include the trade union movement and civic organisations, so that at no time should the government become isolated from the people. At the same time, steps will be taken to build the capacity of communities to manage their own affairs.

Precisely because we are committed to ensuring sustainable growth and development leading to a better life for all, we will continue existing programmes of fiscal rehabilitation.

We are therefore determined to make every effort to contain real general government consumption at present levels and to manage the budget deficit with a view to its continuous reduction.

Similarly, we are agreed that a permanently higher general level of taxation is to be avoided.

To achieve these important objectives will require consistent discipline on the part of both the central and the provincial governments.

Furthermore, this disciplined approach will ensure that we integrate the objectives of our Reconstruction and Development Plan within government expenditure and not treat them as incidental to the tasks of government, marginalised to the status of mere additions to the level of expenditure.

There are major areas of desperate need in our society.

As a signal of its seriousness to address these, the government will, within the next 100 days, implement various projects under the direct supervision of the President. Let me briefly mention these.

Children under the age of six and pregnant mothers will receive free medical care in every state hospital and clinic where such need exists. Similarly, a nutritional feeding scheme will be implemented in every primary school where such need is established. A concrete process of consultation between the major stakeholders in this area will be organised immediately.

A programme is already being implemented to electrify 350 000 homes during the current financial year.

A campaign will be launched at every level of government, a public works programme designed and all efforts made to involve the private sector, organised labour, the civics and other community organisations to rebuild our townships, restore services in rural and urban areas, while addressing the issue of job creation and training, especially for our unemployed youth.

Many details of the overall reconstruction and development plan remain to be discussed, agreed and put in place. But I believe that the broad outline I have given and the immediate initiatives I have mentioned, will allow you to share my joy at the progress already made by the Government of National Unity with regard to this important matter.

We shall carry out this plan within the context of a policy aimed at building a strong and growing economy which will benefit all our people.

I would like to deal with a few matters in this regard.

In support of sustainable economic growth and the macro-economic objective of Government, it will remain the primary objective of monetary policy to promote and maintain overall financial stability.

The Reserve Bank has the important function of protecting the value of our currency and striving for relative price stability at all times.

We are pleased that Dr Chris Stals will continue to serve as Governor of the Reserve Bank.

The battle to reduce the rate of inflation will continue. The realisation of many of our objectives for a fair and equal treatment of all our people will not be possible unless we succeed in avoiding high inflation in the economy.

We also face a major challenge in re-entering the global economy, while stable prices are vital to the restructuring of our industries and dealing with the critical issue of job-creation.

We are blessed with a heritage of a sophisticated financial sector. Our financial markets are well-placed to play an important part in the allocation of scarce funds to give effect to our economic development programme.

It is however also necessary that we think in new ways, to meet the challenges of reconstruction and development.

We therefore welcome recent developments that provide for the creation of community banks. We would also like to encourage the greater participation of established financial institutions in the important area of black economic empowerment and support for the development of small and medium business.

The latter two areas of economic activity will receive the greatest attention of the Government because of their importance in deracialising and democratising the economy and creating the jobs which our people need.

We pay attention to the important matter of consumer protection to shield the ordinary people of our country from unscrupulous business practices.

We must also clear that we must pay increased attention to tourism. The jobs and foreign currency which tourism generates will strongly influence our economy.

The active and imaginative intervention of all stake stakeholders in this area of our national life must take advantage of the excellent atmosphere created by our peaceful transition to democracy to make tourism a major positive force in the future.

We look forward to the private sector as a whole playing a central role in achieving the signi-ficantly high and sustainable rates of economic growth.

We are convinced that the growth prospects of this sector will be enhanced by the measures of fiscal discipline contained in our approach to the Reconstruction and Development Programme and by the continued steady course of monetary policy.

As growth proceeds, more domestic savings will progressively become available to finance increased investment at reasonable rates of interest.

The Government is also acutely conscious of the fact that we should work firstly to return the capital account of the balance of payments to equilibrium and, in due course, to ensure a net inflow of resources, consistent with the experience of other countries that enjoy more rapid growth rates.

The present situation of a dual currency and the existence of an exchange control apparatus is a direct result of the conflict in which our country was embroiled in the past.

As the situation returns to normal, these arrangements will be subjected to critical scrutiny. It should be possible to match the steady growth of confidence at home and abroad with other confidence enhancing modifications to everybody's benefit.

The Government will also address all other matters that relate the creation of an attractive investment climate for both domestic and foreign investors, conscious of the fact that we have to compete with the rest of the world in terms of attracting, in particular, foreign direct investment.

I am pleased that we have already started to address the important question of our trade policy, guided by our GATT commitments and the determination systematically to open the economy to global competition in a carefully managed process.

Soon we will also begin trade negotiations with, among others, the European Union, the United States, our partners in the Southern African Customs Unions and our neighbours in the Southern African Development Community to provide a stable and mutually beneficial framework for our international economic relations.

We will also be looking very closely at the question of enhancing South-South cooperation in general as part of the effort to expand our economic links with the rest of the world.

Consistent with our objective of creating a people-centred society and effectively to address the critical questions of growth, reconstruction and development, we will, together with organised labour and the private sector, pay special attention to the issue of human resource development.

Both the public and the private sectors will be encouraged to regard labour as a resource and not a cost. Education and training must therefore be looked at very closely to ensure that we empower the workers, raise productivity levels and meet the skills needs of a modern economy.

Important work will have to be done in and significant resources devoted to the areas of science and technology, including research and development.

Government is also convinced that organised labour is an important partner whose cooperation is crucial for the reconstruction and development of our country.

That partnership requires, among other things, that our labour law be reformed so that it is in line with international standards, apartheid vestiges are removed and a more harmonious labour relations dispensation is created, on the basis of tripartite cooperation between government, labour and capital.

The Government is determined forcefully to confront the scourge of unemployment, not by way of handouts but by the creation of work opportunities.

The Government will also deal sensitively with the issue of population movements into the country, to protect our workers, to guard against the exploitation of vulnerable workers and to ensure friendly relations with all countries and peoples.

The Government is also taking urgent measures to deal firmly with drug trafficking some of which is carried out by foreign nationals who are resident in the country.

We must end racism in the workplace as part of our common offensive against racism in general. No more should words like Kaffirs, Hottentots, Coolies, Boy, Girl and Baas be part of our vocabulary.

I also trust that the matter of paying the workers for the public holidays proclaimed in order to ensure their participation in the elections and the inauguration ceremonies will now be resolved as a result of recent consultations.

This would be a welcome demonstration by the private sector of its involvement in the beautiful future we are all trying to build.

We have devoted time to a discussion of economic questions because they are fundamental to the realisation of the fundamental objectives of the reconstruction and development programme

Below I mention some of the work in which the relevant governments are already involved to translate these objectives into reality.

The Government will take steps to ensure the provision of clean water on the basis of the principle of water security for all and the introduction of proper sanitation sensitive to the protection of the environment.

We are determined to address the dire housing shortage in a vigorous manner, acting together with the private sector and the communities in need of shelter.

Health also remains a fundamental building block of the humane society we are determined to create through the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

We must address the needs of the aged and disabled, uplift disadvantaged sectors such as the women and the youth, and improve the lives of our people in the rural communities and the informal settlements.

We must invest substantial amounts in education and training and meet our commitment to introduce free and compulsory education for a period of at least 9 years. Everywhere we must reinculcate the culture of learning and of teaching and make it possible for this culture to thrive.

We must combat such social pathologies as widespread poverty, the break down of family life, crime, alcohol and drug abuse, the abuse of children, women and the elderly and the painful reality of street children. We are giving urgent attention to the long waiting lists for the payment of social grants which have developed in some areas, owing to lack of funds.

I am especially pleased that we have a ministry dedicated to the issue of the environment. Its work must impact on many aspects of national activity and address the question of the well-being of society as a whole and the preservation of a healthy environmental future even for generation not yet born.

As we began this address, we borrowed the words of Ingrid Jonker to focus on the plight of the children our country.

I would now like to say that the Government will, as a matter of urgency, attend to the tragic and complex question of children and juveniles in detention and prison.

The basic principle from which we will proceed from now onwards is that we must rescue the children of the nation and ensure that the system of criminal justice must be the very last resort in the case of juvenile offenders.

I have therefore issued instruction to the Departments concerned, as a matter of urgency, to work out the necessary guidelines which will enable us to empty our prisons of children and to place them in suitable alternative care. This is in addition to an amnesty for various categories serving prisoners as will be effected in terms of what I said in my Inauguration Address two week ago.

In this context, I also need to make the point that the Government will also not delay unduly with regard to attending to the vexed and unresolved issue of an amnesty for criminal activities carried out in furtherance of political objectives.

We will attend to this matter in a balanced and dignified way. The nation must come to terms with its past in a spirit of openness and forgiveness and proceed to build the future on the basis of repairing and healing.

The burden of the past lies heavily on all of us, including those responsible for inflicting injury and those who suffered.

Following the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, we will prepare the legislation which will seek to free the wrongdoers from fear of retribution and blackmail, while acknowledging the injury of those who have been harmed so that the individual wrongs, injuries, fears and hopes affecting individuals are identified and attended to.

In the meantime, summoning the full authority of the position represent, we call on all concerned not to take any steps that might, in any way, impede or compromise the processes of reconciliation which the impending legislation will address.

The problem of politically motivated violence is still with us. We depend on our country's security forces to deal with this problem using all resources at their disposal. In this, and in their efforts to deal especially criminal violence, they have our personal support and confidence.

We have also directed that all relevant ministries should engage the structures set up in terms of the National Peace Accord so that these can be invigorated to pursue their noble mission in the context of the changed circumstances in our country.

The Government will otherwise not spare any effort in ensuring that our security forces enjoy the standing they deserve of being accepted by all our people the defenders of our sovereignty, our democratic system, the guarantors of a just peace within the country and the safety and security of all citizens and their property.

Let met also take this opportunity to reiterate our assurance to the rest of the public service that the Government is firmly committed to the protection of the rights of all members of this service.

We are also determined to work with the organisations of the service to ensure that we have the democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, honest and accountable corps of public servants which members of the Public Service themselves desire.

In this context, we must also make the observation that the Government will not waver from the principle of achieving parity in remuneration and conditions of service among all workers in the public sector.

The youth of our country are the valued possession of the nation. Without them there can be no future. Their needs are immense and urgent. They are at the centre of our reconstruction and development plan.

To address them, acting with the youth themselves, the Government will engage the representative organisations of the youth and other formations, among other things to look at the siting of a broad-based National Commission on Youth Development among the structures of Government.

Building on this base, the Government and the Commission would then work together to ensure that the nurturing of our youth stands at the centre of our reconstruction and development, without being consigned to a meaningless ghetto of public life.

Similar considerations must attach to the equally important question of the emancipation of the women of our country.

It is vitally important that all structures of Government, including the President himself, should understand this fully that freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.

All of us must take this on board that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme will not have been realised unless we see in visible and practical terms that the condition of the women of our country has radically changed for the better and that they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society.

In addition to the establishment of the statutory Gender Commission provided for in the Constitution, the Government will, together with the representatives of the women themselves, look at the establishment of organs of Government to ensure that all levels of the public sector, from top to bottom, integrate the central issue of the emancipation of women in their programmes and daily activities.

Tomorrow, on Africa Day, the dream of Ingrid Jonker will come to fruition. The child grown to a man will trek through all Africa. The child grown to a journey will journey over the whole world - without a pass!

Tomorrow, on Africa Day, our new flag will be hoisted in an historic ceremony at the OAU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, with the OAU having already agreed to accept us as its latest member.

Tomorrow, on Africa Day, the UN Security Council will meet to lift the last remaining sanctions against South Africa and to position the world organisation to relate to our country as an honoured, responsible and peace-loving citizen.

As such, the Government is involved in discussion to determine what our contribution could be to the search for peace in Angola and Rwanda, to the reinforcement of the peace process in Mozambique, to the establishment of a new world order of mutually beneficial cooperation, justice, prosperity and peace for ourselves and for the nations of the world.

Yesterday the Cabinet also decided to apply for our country to join the Commonwealth. This important community of nations is waiting to receive us with open arms.

We have learnt the lesson that our blemishes speak of what all humanity should not do. We understand this fully that our glories point to the heights of what human genius can achieve.

In our dreams we have a vision of all our country at play in our sportsfields and enjoying deserved and enriching recreation in our theatres, galleries, beaches, mountains, plains and game parks, in conditions of peace, security and comfort.

Our road to that glorious future lies through collective hard work to accomplish the objective of creating a people-centred society through the implementation of the vision contained in our reconstruction and development plan.

Let us all get down to work!

Nelson Mandela and David Altman,

Nelson Mandela, Ron Brown,