Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good Evening!
We gather on this joyous occasion to celebrate the achievements of those who earlier today, demonstrated heroic acts on the sports field, and who by their actions distinguished themselves above others.
Today’s event is about the sporting awards which recognise the important prowess of determination and hard work in the human character and which for centuries, has given the world heroes and heroines in the many stages and podiums of our lives.
Since the advent of democracy in 1994, the project of nation-building has been top of our agendas as successive leaders forged to build out of our racialised past, to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa.
While this project has to a great extent been a success, with politics being deracialised, employment and other economic opportunities being open to all, recent events in our province have reminded us that unity and social cohesion are processes on which we all need to work continuously.
RECALLING A SAD PART OF OUR RECENT HISTORY
In particular the civil unrest which took place in the second week of July 2021 in parts of KwaZulu-Natal remains as one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of our province. The July unrest led to the massive destruction of infrastructure and the erosion of many of the gains of the economy over recent years. What began on the 09th of July 2021 with 20 trucks being set alight, later ignited a series of other events such as looting and the murder of innocent people.
What started as a few apparently uncoordinated protests, suddenly came together into one leading to the looting spree. The scale and speed of the looting was unprecedented and came with the public destruction of infrastructure. Malls, Business premises, warehouses and factories were targeted by looters leading to the most destructive protest by residents of KwaZulu-Natal in the country’s history.
What was apparent in these incidents was that:
there was disregard of the rule of law (malicious damage to property);
this tarnished the image of the province locally, nationally and globally;
There was erosion of the social and moral fibre of the people of KwaZulu-Natal and our positive gains as KZN in ensuring stability;
Disruption to economic activities in KZN impacted on investor confidence;
There was loss of life; and,
There was increased racial tension especially in the aftermath of reports of Africans having been killed in Phoenix, Chatsworth and Northdale.
As you will be well aware by now, provincial government has since that time being involved in a series of engagements with communities across the province to address concerns linked to the July unrest.
This included engagements with the taxi industry and road freight and logistics sector, business, the NGO sector and the Faith Based Community as we sought to redress and to return communities to a peaceful coexistence.
Today’s event is one such effort to use school sport as a means to forge social cohesion in our communities. This gathering assumes special significance here in the Inanda, KwaMashu and Phoenix area which has been the subject of racial attacks and has also seen calls from local business for Foreign Nationals to seize doing business in the townships.
This event is aimed at fostering unity and social cohesion among Indian and African communities from Inanda and Phoenix in particular, and across the province in general.
We are reminded of this obligation to work tirelessly for social cohesion because it is the fabric a new nation based on the principles of nonracialism, non-sexism and equality.
LEARNING FROM MADIBA AND THE GENERATION OF 16 JUNE 1976
Ladies and Gentlemen, this occasion takes place during June, a month dedicated to celebrating the achievements of youth and highlighting the plight they face in South Africa. It is you young people who will live in the future that we are creating today.
As we continue to celebrate your month - Youth Month - we also wish to learn from the youth of 1976 which were not content to stand by butt took the matters into their hands during June 16 19976 when they took to the streets of Soweto to call for the end of apartheid.
In a liberated South Africa young people are today called upon to take their own fate into their hands and to take up educational opportunities and to start business, excel in sport and to provide exemplar leadership in all aspects of society.
This would be in great honour of the generation of 1976 who not only dared to dream, but who also knew that they had to do something to realise their dreams of a new. Democratic society. This would also be in honour of the first President of the democratic Republic of South Africa Nelson Mandela who during his inauguration on 10 May 1994 outlined his vision of a South Africa that we continuously thrive for even today.
It was Madiba who said, and I quote:
“We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, social cohesion is at the heart of the project of Madiba’s rainbow nation. It cannot be realized unless young people are at the forefront of it and the engines that will propel the province forward through participation in school sports, arts and culture.
CONGRATULATING THE DEPARTMENTS OF EDUCATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF SPORT, ARTS AND CULTURE FOR SOCIAL COHESION
Working together with the KZN Department of Sports, the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department recently revived sports in all schools in the province in an attempt to produce productive future citizens who prioritize health and social cohesion in their lives. This is because Education and Sport are inseparable twins and they play a crucial role in the development of young people into disciplined and responsible adults.
Sport inculcates the culture of discipline and hard work which are important elements for success as a learner and later in life as a grown-up person. Apart from entertaining and instilling healthy habits, sport also offers unlimited opportunities to young people across the globe. Irrespective of your culture, race or background; sport and education open doors which lead to greener pastures, globally. Apart from making heroes of local and global stars, sport plays an important role in allaying tensions in countries or regions engulfed by conflicts. Sport is the glue that binds different racial groups, thus fostering social cohesion and harmony.
Ladies and Gentlemen, most of our sporting heroes who became household names in KZN, South Africa and the world, started their sporting careers at schools where they were sported by vigilant scouts. In KwaZulu-Natal we have sporting heroes like cricket sensation Hashim Amla, soccer star Siyabonga “Bhele” Nomvete and many others who displayed their sporting talents while still at school and went on to become forces to be reckoned with globally.
EXAMPLES OF INTERRACIALISM IN ACTION
We remember the famous Three Doctors’ Pact of 1947 signed by Dr. A.B. Xuma, president of the African National Congress (ANC); Dr. G.M. Naicker, president of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) and Dr. Y.M. Dadoo, president of the Transvaal Indian Congress. This was done in the recognition that all 'non-Europeans' should unite in the struggle against the National Party government and its segregation.
Earlier on today we started our journey in Inanda, at Ohlange High School, a school started by the first General President of the ANC, Dr John Langalibalele Dube, who valued education. Inanda is a stone’s throw away from Phoenix, a settlement which was founded by the great Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of Satyagraha. Dr Dube and the Mahatma worked peacefully and progressively together. Both loved education and served their communities by building schools and clinics. Gandhi and Dube founded newspapers The Indian Opinion and Ilanga LaseNatali respectively and together preached and lived social cohesion and influenced each other.
Dr Dube was instrumental in the founding of Inanda Seminary and Ohlange Institute, which are revered centres of learning that have produced influential and respected politicians and business people in this country. These centres of learning are said to have inspired the Mahatma to start the Kasturba Gandhi School here in Phoenix.
Ladies and Gentlemen, nowhere do we learn that Dr Dube and the Mahatma fought against each other because of differences of opinion, instead they complemented each other by doing progressive things for their respective communities. We implore Inanda and Phoenix communities to continue the great legacies of these leaders by forging lasting peace and harmony through education and sport. Is that too much to ask? It is difficult to speak of Inanda without mentioning the Nazareth Baptist Church, famously known as the Shembe Church, founded by Prophet Isaiah Shembe. It has its headquarters in Ekuphakameni, in Inanda. Historical scholars have established links between Gandhi and Shembe, and they prove that these leaders not only knew each other, but also influenced each other.
Long after Gandhi’s return to India, it is said that he kept himself informed about religious developments in South Africa. The colourful and inspirational dances and festivals of the Shembe Church were some of the items of African cultural life that featured prominently in Mahatma’s newspaper, The Indian Opinion.
It is reported that when Isaiah Shembe passed away in 1935, two of Gandhi’s Satyagraha devotees, Sechand Ramgobin and Sorabjee Rustomjee, spoke at his funeral. Ramgobin, who was a learner at Phoenix, was a long-term trusted friend and supporter of Shembe.
After Gandhi’s death in 1948, representatives of the Shembe church were regularly invited at Gandhi memorials and under Manilal Gandhi’s tenure at Phoenix, many points of contact existed between Phoenix and Ekuphakameni. It is uplifting to notice that the Mahatma’s mantra on religious tolerance and unity in diversity continued to exist long after Gandhi had taken his last breath. It is our earnest hope that this occasion will go a long way in helping our school learners to continue excelling in sport.
Education and sport are powerful weapons which any country, province or region can use to fight social ills and pave way to social cohesion and harmony. A remarkable example of sport as a social cohesion agent happened in 1995 during the Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, surprised many by donning the Springbok jersey. That sporting gesture went a long way in forging social cohesion in South Africa through sport. The inspired Springboks went on to win the 1995 World Cup on that historical day. Madiba also inspire Bafana Bafana to win the African Cup of Nations when he donned the same jersey and the Captain Neil Tovey.
It was Madiba who highlighted the importance of sport as a uniting force when he said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
Such is the uniting and socially cohesive power of sport.
Ladies and Gentlemen the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the importance of sport as an enabler of sustainable development, it states that sport can be used as a key tool for driving pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals through the promotion of tolerance and social inclusion. Sport has helped to build the confidence, strength and capacities of young people, of persons with disabilities and of minority groups, and has also empowered young women and girls to excel in their respective sport.
UKZN PROJECTS TO DRIVE SOCIAL COHESION FOLLOWING PHOENIX MURDERS
During the State of the Province Address, which took place on 24 February 2022 we promised to turn the corner by among others intensifying the implementation of the Provincial Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration Programme with practical projects that promote the values of Ubuntu and address racial intolerance and social ills.
The events that took place in Phoenix in July last year were painful and polarising episodes in the history of the province since 1994 which must never be repeated. In that regard we promised to engage with affected communities in the process of reconciliation and healing process through:
Continued engagement and dialogues with Peace Committees and Community of those affected by the unrest; and cultural development in their respective areas;
Unveiling of the Phoenix Memorial;
School twinning programme;
Social Cohesion through sport and recreation programme especially between the affected communities;
Ladies and Gentlemen, we will continue to use sport to advance the vision of a South Africa that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, equal, and prosperous.
CONGRATULATING THE WINNERS
We wish to take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners, the individuals and teams who have made it to the podium today. We recognise your resolve and determination and hard work. We are here to e courage you to continue to work even harder because hard work is rewarding and laziness does not build a nation. May you continue to be a shining light to others.
Congratulations to you all!
Together growing a peaceful and harmonious KwaZulu-Natal.
Siyabonga, Thank you.
End.