We are humbled and honoured to host leaders of different faith denominations who accepted our invitation to grace this symposium with their blissful and blessed presence.

We applaud our Legislature and all concerned for organizing today’s gathering. It is a fitting way to close Freedom Month, a month that reminds us of the extraordinary role played by our religious leaders in tearing down the walls of racial tyranny and division.

Sage wisdom dictates that all roads lead to a certain destination as many rivers, rivulets and streams lead to one end – the ocean. Likewise, most religions lead to one source, the source of creation which is the omnipresent and omnipotent God – irrespective of the many names we call God.

As government, we acknowledge the diversity of religions because it teaches us to serve all people equally, with love – without fear, favour or prejudice – irrespective of the diverse political parties that these people belong to.

Equally, we recognise the time faith-based leaders devote in praying for us so that we lead with light and guidance in our daily dealings with the people whom we are honoured to serve.

It was imparted early in me at home and in my church that the beginning of wisdom is the fear for the Lord, and this teaching continues to guide my conduct in life.

In my political home, the African National Congress, we take pride in calling ourselves the broad church because we were formed on 8 January 1912 in a church building in Waaihoek in Mangaung in the Free State. At this inaugural conference, we sang “Lizalisa Idinga Lakho, Thixo Nkosi Yenyaniso” by Rev Tiyo Soga.

Today, we proudly call ourselves the broad church because for more than a century, we have been able to unite South Africans from all walks of life and different ideological persuasions behind the goal of creating a united, non-racial, non-sexist, just and prosperous society.

We are honoured and humbled that our Founding President, Rev Dr JL Dube was a devout Christian, a church minister, a philanthropist, and educator. We celebrate the fact that we are an organisation that was built by a woman of character and fortitude like umama u Charlotte Maxeke who was associated with the growth of the AME Church in South Africa. Umama uMaxeke fought national oppression, promoted education, and supported the welfare of the youth. Both Dr Dube and Mama Maxeke would have been a 150 years this year.

Compatriots, before we move on with the business of the day, we would like to convey, once again, well wishes to our Muslim brothers and sisters during the month-long fasting of Ramadan.

We appreciate their selfless acts of compassion, consideration and charity in alleviating the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment which continue to ravage indigent communities.

Like many of our faith communities, the Muslim community leads by example by being at the forefront of bringing about social relief in vulnerable communities.

As we meet today, we are still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic which has no regard for borders, cultures, race, religion or colour.

This global pandemic has caused panic, pandemonium and suffering, but it has also inspired moments of interfaith unity. Across the globe we have witnessed different believers - ranging from world leaders to medical workers - connecting across religious divides in a sign of solidarity and unity.

Such unity and solidarity among different faith formations inspire hope that we can finally conquer any pandemic when we work together in unity, as opposed to working in units or silos.

We acknowledge your continued co-operation in working with government to fight the plague of Covid-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc globally, continentally, nationally and provincially.

Your relentless devotion in working with government to curb and combat pandemics from the dawn of democracy is highly appreciated and applauded.

You worked with us when the HIV/Aids pandemic hit us and almost wiped out our communities. You helped to spread the government’s message - abstinence, be faithful to your partner and condom usage - which was famously known as the ABC message.

To those who were affected and infected with the disease you spread the gospel of taking treatment and adhering to it. You remain an important ally in combating the deadly Tuberculosis pandemic and in encouraging people to be tested and to adhere to treatment. We cannot thank you enough for your unwavering commitment in continuing to work with us during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We value your contribution in spreading the government’s message of washing hands with sanitizers and soap, keeping the social distance and wearing masks appropriately all the time.

Without your relentless support, our government would not have made meaningful strides in fighting this invisible yet vicious Covid-19 pandemic.

We also applaud your collaboration in working with us to ensure that your congregants and devotees adhere to government Covid-19 protocols and regulations, especially regarding numbers that are allowed in churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and shrines; as well as many other diverse places of worship.

As we embark on vaccination rollout, we ask you to support us in dispelling myths and untruths surrounding Covid-19 vaccination drive. The true gospel on Covid-19 vaccination spreads faster when preached by faith-based organisations working together with government.

The theme of this interfaith symposium aptly captures the role our faith-based leaders play in helping our three spheres of government in coping and combating pandemics.

This year’s symposium theme is: “The response of the religious sector in times of the pandemics in history, today and in future.”

Our beloved brothers and sisters in faith, this interfaith symposium should serve to strengthen religious tolerance which is a cornerstone that cements social cohesion and unity among different religious denominations. Religious tolerance can provide the inspiration and guidance necessary for populations to move toward non-violent means of resolving conflicts. Such dialogues are important tools for those who seek to resolve conflicts in an amicable manner.

Peace, purity, charity, love and respect for others are core values common to all the religions of the world. As a province, we pledge to uphold these values through our work to build peace and empower women by fighting gender-based violence and femicide aimed at demeaning and destroying women and children.

People place extraordinary trust in their faith leaders, who have a far-reaching ability to help achieve lasting peace and promote the status of women.

And so, as long as sexism, patriarchy, and gender stereotypes remain, conflicts will simmer and women will suffer. Only when we achieve a fundamental change in mind-sets can we realize true progress. In this regard, we must socialise boy and girl children differently so that both can grow treating each other as equals who will contribute to the vision of generation equality.

Honourable Members, it is saddening to witness our province becoming notorious as the epicentre of crime and a stronghold of gender-based violence. We urge the religious leaders to continue working with us in tackling these maladies which threaten to destroy our moral fibre and sense of peace in our province.

In this country, gender-based violence is regarded as the second pandemic after Covid-19 because it has reached a crisis level and continues to wreak havoc on women and children.

The scourge of GBV and Femicide points to a loss of ethical and moral conduct. Day by day, we are seeing evidence of a society that does not have a sense of wrong and right. As people abandon Ubuntu and the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, we witness a degeneration of social mores in our beloved country. This is the area where the religious community have the greatest role to play in rebuilding our nation’s moral values.

After a prolonged history of conflict, structural violence, trauma, and lawlessness, it soon became clear after 1994 that South Africa urgently needed what came to be known as the RDP of the soul.

President Nelson Mandela and church leaders like Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa were concerned about the spiritual sickness of our nation.

In President Mandela’s view, South Africa’s moral decay emanated from, “the problems of greed and cruelty, of laziness and egotism, of personal and family failure.”

One of the greatest tragedies of colonialism and apartheid, especially the effect of the migrant labour system and arbitrary imprisonment of black people, was the destruction of the black family. The migrant labour system also led to the feminisation of rural poverty and the breakdown in family discipline. Our democratic state is still grappling with this challenge and we all know that successful societies are founded on the bedrock of the family unit.

As we gather today, one recalls what President Mandela said in 1998 at the first Moral Regeneration Summit. Madiba was concerned that, “corruption both in the public and private sector, where office and positions of responsibility are treated as opportunities for self-enrichment; the corruption that occurs within our justice system; violence in interpersonal relations and families, in particular the shameful record of abuse of women and children; and the extent of tax evasion and refusal to pay for services used.”

It’s about 23 years since Madiba made these remarks, and sadly, our nation is still grappling with this challenge of moral regeneration.

The governing party itself, as a leader of society, has been doing much soul searching and has embarked on a process of organisational renewal and political education to develop leaders that can lead with integrity and go through the proverbial eye of the needle.

We determined to support law enforcement agencies to deal with the cancer of corruption in the public service. Equally, as Madiba noted, we want to see the private sector also transforming and ending corruption in its ranks. We must be intolerant of private sector corruption and punish it with the same vigour and energy as we are doing in the public service.

Working with the religous sector, we must build new citizens who will not bribe police or traffic officials. We must build new public servants who will not drag their feet or feign illness when they have to work and deliver services. They must embrace the ethos of Batho-Pele and treat all citizens with dignity and respect.

The high rate of crime and moral decay calls for a firm partnership amongst all compatriots, black and white, young and old, urban and rural.

We must stand united against the barbarism and murder of people living with albinism. We must reject the abuse and even murder of senior citizens who suffer from diseases like Alzheimer who are mistaken for witches in some of our communities.

It is an affront on our identity as a nation to hear of the rape and abuse of the elderly. It is actually a tragedy that during the hard lock down, the incidences of women abuse and rape went up. We invite the religious sector to also stand against hate crimes directed at the LGBTQI community.

We also invite the media to use its power and programming to place moral generation and social cohesion at the centre of their programming.

The programme of moral regeneration, social cohesion, and nation building must help our society understand that violent protests and destruction of community infrastructure is costly and counterproductive.

Compatriots, whatever our challenges, including the challenges of poverty and inequality, there can never be an excuse or justification for the despicable violence directed at women and innocent children. We have many poor nations across the world without the high levels of violence against women and children.

In this regard, we wish to applaud our faith-based organisations for playing a crucial role in addressing gender-based violence, for providing spiritual services and psycho-social support to victims of GBV.

Faith-based organizations can challenge gender-based violence and support the full participation of women in political, economic and social life by refuting attitudes that perpetuate inequality and patriarchy.

Women are often central to the life of faith-based organizations, and they possess enormous potential to promote conflict resolution, peacebuilding and religious unity.

One such inspiring example of religious unity is Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, who brought together Muslim and Christian women in an effective peace movement in Liberia.

Whether working with their own faith communities or engaging in interfaith dialogue, women are often among the first to engage in peace-building efforts. Here in South Africa, and in our province in general, women of different faith groups congregate mostly on Thursdays to pray for the prosperity and peace of our country.

While praying, they also share views on how to empower, enlighten and develop themselves as women of different faith groups. This is a practical lesson in social cohesion and religious tolerance and unity in diversity. Our country can be prosperous and peaceful if we can learn lessons from these gatherings by women of different faith groups.

At the same time, we must acknowledge that most faith-based leadership positions are dominated by men, even though women comprise the majority of congregants. More needs to be done to increase the presence of women in positions of authority within faith-based organizations and to amplify their voices in peace-building and interfaith dialogue.

This will enable women to discuss and determine their religious and cultural values and to promote practices that respect human dignity.

Fellow brothers and sisters in faith, we appeal to you to continue to positively use the faith entrusted in you by your flock. This year we are celebrating 20 years of local government elections and we humbly urge you as faith-based leaders to encourage your followers to go out in their numbers to vote during the upcoming local government elections on October 27.

Please remind your followers, especially women and the youth that their votes represent their voices in holding leaders accountable. Their votes are their voices against gender-based violence and femicide which put our country in bad light. Their votes are also about accelerating the implementation of universal healthcare through the National Health Insurance. It must be about the economic emancipation of women which will go far in protecting them against abusive men.

Keep our country and province in your prayers. Let’s pray for the people of India who are facing a new onslaught and catastrophe from Covid-19. Let’s also prayer for our neighbour, Mozambique, as it faces a terrible war that is linked to religious fundamentalism.

It is fitting that we close this interfaith symposium with words from a late Muslim cleric and scholar, who stated that, and I quote: “Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart”.

As government we look forward to working with you in future to curb and combat pandemics as we have worked together in the past and continue to work together even today.

In this spirit, I wish you all religious unity that defy divisions and spread love and religious tolerance that bind us to fight and conquer pandemics whenever they raise their devastating faces.

Together Growing KwaZulu-Natal!

I thank you.