Item 1279 - Notes for a Speech by President Nelson Mandela at the ANC Rally in Greater Pretoria

TRANSCRIPT

Premier of the Gauteng Province, Comrade Tokyo Sexwale;
MEC for Security, Cde Jessie Duarte;
Provincial leadership of the ANC;
Comrades and Friends;
Kamerade en Vriende.

1. Uniting for democracy
a) Dit is vir my 'n besondere voorreg om vandag hier in Eersterus by u te kan kom kuier. Eersterus is een van die bekendste en oudste dorpe in die Transvaal, wat onder die ou groepsgebiede beleid van die Nasionale Party bekend gestaan het as 'n kleurlingwoongebied.
b) Soos met al die groepsgebiede, was dit die doel van die Nasionale Party dat Eersterus ook 'n "dumpinground" moes wees om die Kleurlingmense, tesame met die Indiermense en die Swartmense weg te hou uit die res van Suid Afrika- en ook om hulle weg van mekaar te hou. Tog, ten spyte van die diepe vernedering van so 'n beleid, het u probeer om moed te hou, u koppe op te lig en 'n gemeenskap hier te stig waarop u trots kan wees.
c) In spite of the divisive policies of the National Party, democrats from every section of our people united to win our freedom in the April elections. In the same way we are united here today in Eersterus, as we prepare to complete the process we started in April last year.
d) We would like to thank the leadership of the ANC in Gauteng and in the Pretoria sub-region for inviting us to join you in this gathering. I'm happy to be with you, once again, and to thank you personally for the confidence you showed in the ANC during the last elections. Your votes ensured that our decades of bitter struggle were crowned with victory.

2. After our first Freedom Year
a) With the ANC as the leading force in government, you have in place a political machinery with the will and ideas to make a better life for all, a reality.
b) Under the leadership of the ANC, South Africa is becoming a nation at peace with itself. National reconciliation is becoming a reality. Almost without exception, our society has chosen negotiation as the way to find solutions. At the same time, those who seek to use violence as a means of obtaining their ends must know that the law will be firmly applied to secure all citizens.
c) The warm atmosphere of reconciliation has impacted positively on the economy. Our economic policies have built confidence amongst investors, inside and outside the country. A firm basis has been laid for the creation of jobs and improvement of people's well-being.
d) In the first year we were able to take the first steps in addressing some of the most urgent needs. The school feeding scheme, health care for young children and pregnant mothers; a start to phasing in free and compulsory education - all this is just the beginning. We all have to work together to achieve even more.
e) Despite strong opposition that most of the parties displayed against the RDP before the elections, this programme has now been accepted by all stake-holders. Even the parties of apartheid and Bantustan politics now claim the RDP as theirs.

3. Dealing with crime
a) The ANC and the government are concerned about the wave of crime affecting communities. We want to stop the car hijackers, burglars, the gangs, drug dealers and other criminals who are preying on ordinary citizens.
b) I am informed that gangs in this area even go to the extent of blackmailing business-persons. Through their actions, they are undermining the development of communities and making it difficult for the nation to implement the RDP. This cannot be allowed to continue.
c) The Community Safety Plan that we have started in Gauteng and other areas is meant to address this problem. There has been progress in some of the communities. But much more still needs to be done. The success of this plan depends on cooperation between communities and the police. Work with the police and show the criminals that they are rejected by the people.

4. Reconstruction and development by the people
a) The Government has this year moved from emphasis on planning to more visible change. The ANC is determined that areas which were ignored under apartheid should receive priority. This applies in particular to Africans, Coloureds and Indians live. These communities should be assisted to catch up with those who benefited from apartheid. All of them without exception must benefit from affirmative action.
b) But we must always remember that the RDP is a people's programme. It will only succeed under the people's guidance.
c) The RDP is not about relief parcels. It is not about experts designing brilliant plans. It is about empowerment. Ideas and plans must come from the community. The implementation must be guided by the community.
d) Reconstruction and development will succeed only to the extent that every community and every sector of our society adopts the approach which says: Masakhane!
e) This province, and this city in particular, have played no small part in the promising start to the Masakhane campaign. But we still have a long way to go. We must all pay for our services so that there can be more funds to build houses and improve services. We are now masters of our own destiny; and therefore we cannot rely on the politics of protest. We must govern ourselves.

5. Local Government Elections
a) Systematic reconstruction and development of our communities will be possible only when we have democratically elected local councils. In consultation with community organisations and other organisation of civil society, they will prioritise local needs, mobilise resources and allocate them. As the local government, they have the final word in the locality.
b) Therefore our most immediate challenge lies in the November local Government Elections. Communities deserve good representatives. The candidates we select to stand for these elections must be people we have full confidence in, people with a track record of service within the community. They must be people who are sensitive to community needs, people we can approach.
c) It is therefore our collective duty to vote in November. The election campaign that is just upon us will demand dedication from all of us. The victory of the ANC is crucial for the future of our country. From here, all of us must act as organisers for an ANC victory.
d) This morning I had a meeting with leaders of communities in Gauteng. Again, I realised that we have men and women who have got the talent and the experience to lead the people into a better future. They informed me that they are starting a campaign to come to communities for consultation and ensure that our local government programmes reflect the will of the people. No other party respects your views. No other party puts the people first.

6. Opportunities and challenges
a) Tydens die laaste verkiesing was daar seker nog heelwat mense in Eersterus was wat ongelukkig vir die partye van apartheid gestem het. Dit bly vir my ontstellend en tragies dat ons mense soms gestem het vir diegene wat hulle ingedwing het in die haaglike omstandighede van die "dumpingrounds" van groepsgebiede.
b) Nou 'n jaar later begin baie mense wat vir die hierdie partye gestem het besef dat hul 'n groot fout gemaak het. Dit is die ANC en nie die Nasionale Party nie, wat ons werklik daaraan toewy om verandering te bring en ons het die planne om werklik 'n beter lewe vir almal in ons land te skep. Die ANC het die wit en die demokratiese mag om dit te kan doen, daarenteen is die Nasionale Party 'n klein, kwynende en doellose party.
Daarom rig ek weereens die uitnodiging aan almal van u: Sluit aan by die ANC. Ons is die wenspan. Ons is die natuurlike tuiste vir almal wat ontslae wil raak van rassisme. Ons deure staan altyd oop vir u.

Comrades and compatriots, we have a bright future ahead of us. The membership of the ANC is taking the lead in sewing our nation together across the divisions created by apartheid. Just as we led the liberation struggle, so shall we be at the forefront of reconstruction and nation-building. Let us join hands to make the RDP wor

RELATED INFORMATION

Parts of Speech are in Afrikaans