INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY 40 YEARS ON

Gala Dinner in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of Inkatha

31 MAY, 2015 • PRESS RELEASES

“40 YEARS: A STORY OF RESILIENCE”

ADDRESS BY
PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI MP
PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY

Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban

His Excellency former President Kgalema Motlanthe and Mrs Motlanthe;
The Speaker of the National Assembly, the Hon. Ms Baleka Mbete;
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the Hon. Ms Thandi Modise;
The Anglican Bishop of Natal, the Right Reverend Rubin Phillip, and all religious leaders;
Acting Judge President of the KwaZulu Natal Division of the High Court, the Hon. Justice Gyanda and Mrs Gyanda;
Members of the Royal Family and Amakhosi;
His Majesty King Fiti Amenya and His Majesty Grand Chief Nyembo, together with the delegation of the African Kings Forum;
The first Premier of KwaZulu Natal, former Chairperson of the IFP and former South African Ambassador to Egypt, His Excellency Dr Frank Mdlalose;
Your Excellencies; Members of the Diplomatic Corps representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of India, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Zambia;
Leaders and representatives of political parties, in particular the President of the ACDP, the Hon. Rev. Meshoe; the President of the PAC, the Hon. Mr Mbinda; the President of the UDM, the Hon. General Holomisa; and the Leader of the Minority Front, Ms Thakur-Rajbansi;
Leaders in business and industry;
Honourable Members of Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures;
Honourable Mayors and Councillors;
Members of the media;
Past and present leaders of the IFP;
Friends of the Inkatha Freedom Party;
And all distinguished guests.

The journey of Inkatha has been a journey of my own soul. For forty years, I have poured my time, energy and prayers into the work of this party, for I believed at every moment that Inkatha has a valuable voice and a needed contribution to make. South Africa indeed experienced a gap in our body politic in the early seventies, and Inkatha was designed – if not destined – to fill that gap. Whether by design or destiny, Inkatha was the right solution at the right time. The apartheid regime had banned all our movements such as the ANC and the PAC after the Sharpeville massacre. Any political organisation that tried to lift its head was banned.

I am honoured to see so many friends of the IFP joining us for this celebration, as we mark a forty year journey in the service of our nation. I am honoured, too, to see leaders of other political organisations sharing this celebration, for these esteemed men and women have witnessed the journey of Inkatha and have played their own role in our shared pursuit of freedom, unity and democracy. We have shared a struggle, and that makes us comrades.

I wish in particular to thank our former President, His Excellency Mr Motlanthe, for speaking so eloquently about the past and so passionately about the future. The past is indeed a foundation and a springboard. It does not bind us, but it gives us something solid to stand on as we reach for tomorrow’s treasures.

Although we regret the unforeseen absence of His Excellency Mr FW de Klerk, who intended to share tonight’s celebration with us, I appreciate his message of support, knowing the long history that we share. I served under Deputy President de Klerk in the Cabinet of the Government of National Unity. So I have witnessed first-hand his dedication to the wellbeing of South Africa, and all South Africans. That first Government of our democratic South Africa was a carefully designed creature, and in many respects it gave us what we hoped it would.

It was created in terms of the Interim Constitution which we hammered out at Kempton Park, at the negotiating table. We agreed there that any party that secured more than 10% of the vote in April 1994 would receive a seat in Cabinet. Despite campaigning for only eight days, the IFP secured more than two million votes, justifying our belief that we carried the mandate of a substantial portion of South Africans who deserved to have their concerns addressed before an election, or at least immediately afterwards through international mediation.

Interestingly, the Government of National Unity was not the first non-racial, non-discriminatory government in South Africa. Almost a decade before that, the KwaZulu-Natal Joint Executive Authority gave the example of how governance by all, for all could be achieved. That was the product of the KwaZulu Natal Indaba, which grew out of the work of the Buthelezi Commission six years earlier. These were all initiatives of Inkatha.

The fact is, Inkatha didn’t just fill a political hiatus by mobilising support against apartheid. We worked consistently, day and night, to point the way to a better country. We were not just in opposition to darkness. We were a champion of the light.

It is because of this that the IFP today has a legacy that few, if any, can match. Ours is a legacy of walking the narrow path; the path of sacrifice, integrity, principled action and peace. By the time we reached the negotiating table, the IFP already had almost 19 years of experience in governance and political leadership. We were freedom fighters who understood the power of good administration, and we knew how to wield policy rather than weapons to achieve victory.

Inkatha could have approached the negotiating table much earlier, had we agreed to negotiate bilaterally with the South African Government led by the National Party. Inkatha would have been the representative of disenfranchised South Africans and the post-apartheid narrative would have had the IFP as the liberator of South Africa.

None of that featured in our decision to refuse negotiations until everyone could come to the negotiating table. We were fortunate that we were dealing for the first time with the leader of government Mr FW de Klerk who had an open mind. This issue I had raised face to face with Mr John Vorster, the Prime Minister. I held more rallies than anyone else. It had all fallen on deaf ears.

We continually demanded the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and the unbanning of political parties, as our firm pre-requisite to negotiations commencing. Thus the IFP brought the ANC to the negotiating table, a fact that by now has been acknowledged by history.

Do I regret it? Not once have I wished I could change our decisions, for we did what our conscience demanded. We did what was right, as a matter of principle. A democratic South Africa could never have been born out of the conversations of a few. It took the contribution of many to change history and deliver democracy.

I often think about the contribution of the IFP at the negotiating table. We were intent on securing the form of state and the specific details of a democratic South Africa, seeking to design the future. In that, however, we were somehow alone, for the largest debate on the agenda was the exchange of power. How it would take place, when it would take place, and who would take the credit.

Repeatedly, the IFP was the first to bring to the table concrete proposals, and even documentation, on such issues as autonomy of local government. The thinking had not yet reached that point, but we had to steer it there if we hoped to lay a foundation we could actually build on. Thus the IFP tabled proposals for a full bill of rights, social and economic rights, a constitutional court, independent organs of state controlling the executive, the recognition of indigenous and customary law, a federal state with provinces, and many other aspects of a modern constitution.

Speaking about these things now, my heart feels the absence of my long-time advisor, the Hon. Dr Mario Gaspare Oriani-Ambrosini, whom we lost in August last year. He was a brilliant constitutional lawyer who fought so hard for the future of our country that he could not help, but adopt it, as his home. We are honoured to have his wife Carin and young son Luke with us tonight, as well as his brother, Carlo.

It is inevitable, of course, considering the longevity of the party, that the years have taken from us many leaders and friends. But the IFP has lost more than most, for the brutal years of people’s war cost us thousands of lives. During the eighties and early nineties, every day saw us gathered at gravesides and funerals. Many of the wounds opened during that time are yet to heal. Thus the IFP continues to seek reconciliation, even now, twenty one years into democracy. I know that in the ruling party, His Excellency Mr Motlanthe was one of those who have always been in the forefront of seeking this reconciliation.

I must thank His Excellency Mr Motlanthe for committing himself and President Zuma to pursuing the outstanding agenda of reconciliation between our two parties, when we attended the funeral of Mr Cleopas Nsibande. He told us then that Mr Nsibande used to visit Luthuli House every Monday to press for reconciliation.

Tonight, we honour the memory of leaders who left their mark on the IFP and who are no longer with us. These great men and women gave their contribution to shaping Inkatha, and to shaping the influence of Inkatha in South Africa.

At times, I think, we honour people too late when we thank them only after their passing. Tonight, therefore, I want to thank the great men and women who are giving their contribution to the IFP as we speak. I am proud of the team I lead, knowing that we have very competent, committed patriots, who are serving South Africa with every ounce of their talent.

Their work is not easy, for we operate in a changed political environment in which defining a righteous cause is no longer as simple as it was. Apartheid drew clear lines between right and wrong, and we all knew what we were fighting for. It was a shared cause, a shared battle. Today, however, there are many causes, but knowing where to stand is more complex.

There is, for instance, the fight for economic freedom, which has been taken up as a popular cause. I doubt that there is any good faith leader in South Africa who does not champion the cause of economic freedom. And surely every citizen seeks an end to poverty. But does that make it right to stand on the side of nationalisation and forcible land appropriation? The path towards nationalisation is one we walked for many decades in the ANC, and which we were grateful that the ANC finally abandoned.

These are issues for the thinking South African to confront and contemplate. I have always urged people to think, because every cause is met with a specific political ideology, and while the cause is right, the ideology might not be. Inkatha understood this to be the case when we opposed the call for international sanctions and economic disinvestment from South Africa. Isolating apartheid South Africa seemed credible. But in reality it punished the poorest the most.

I travelled extensively at the time, meeting Heads of State; including Prime Minister Thatcher; President Jimmy Carter; President Reagan, President Bush; Chancellor Kohl in Germany and Prime Minister Den Uyl in Holland, persuading them against sanctions and disinvestment against South Africa. It was a not a popular position, and we were vilified for doing it. But I found agreement from several world leaders against sanctions; a stance that is now common cause, for our government rejects sanctions against Zimbabwe for the very reasons I rejected them against South Africa.

I am grateful to have been received not only by leaders in the western world, but by many African Heads of State, who accepted my liberation credentials and welcomed me. They knew that I had worked closely with Mr Oliver Tambo before the ANC was banned, and that afterwards I continued to meet with him in London, Mangoche, Nairobi, Lagos and Stockholm.

Indeed, President Joachim Chissano once told me that when they enquired who I was, on hearing my condemnation of apartheid, Mr Tambo told them, “That is our man.” When President Olusegun Obasanjo came to South Africa as one of the Eminent Persons Group of the Commonwealth, he was able to see Mr Mandela in prison. He never stops telling the story that when he asked who I was, Madiba said; “Buthelezi is a freedom fighter in his own right.”

I travelled to Lusaka to thank President Kenneth Kaunda for giving sanctuary to all our political exiles. I visited President Julius Nyerere in Dar es Salaam to do the same. I was a guest of President Hastings Banda at the celebration of Malawi’s independence and met with Mr Tambo thereafter at Mangoche, and was invited to Liberia by President William Tolbert. I was privileged to attend the Africa-American Dialogue Series in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, where I met His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie and members of his Government.

I was humbled to receive plane tickets from President Olusegun Obasanjo to visit Lagos, Nigeria, in 1976, where I spoke at the Institute for International Affairs in Lagos on the very day Pretoria granted so-called “independence” to Transkei. When the OAU bestowed a posthumous award on Inkosi Albert Luthuli, through King Moshoeshoe II, I travelled with Ma Luthuli at her request to Lesotho where I delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of the entire liberation movement. I was received there by Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan. I visited Lesotho where the Prime Minister showed me the destruction by the South African Defence Force, when they raided Lesotho to kill ANC members in Maseru.

Each of these meetings was significant for our liberation struggle. But one in particular changed the course of history. In 1974, during a visit to Lusaka, President Kaunda advised me on how to create what he called “a cohesive force”. He encouraged me to establish a membership-based organization, to reignite political mobilization.

Upon my return to South Africa, I sought the views of Bishop Alphaeus Zulu, who immediately agreed. He suggested the name Inkatha, referencing Inkatha ka Zulu, the cultural organisation founded by my uncle, King Solomon ka Dinuzulu, in the 1920s. Bishop Zulu wisely advised me to emphasise the cultural aspect, so that we might avoid being banned outright.

Nevertheless, Inkatha was never just a Zulu organization. Despite the Improper Interference Act, we received members from various African groups, for we represented all disenfranchised South Africans. In response, the Minister of Police and Justice, Minister Jimmy Kruger, summoned me to Pretoria just two years after Inkatha’s formation, and tried to bully me into limiting Inkatha to Zulu members only. I told him that as long as the National Party received whites of all ethnic groups, I had the same right to receive Africans of all ethnic groups.

I was not moved, and when the Bergstrasse Institute of Germany conducted a countrywide survey into Inkatha membership, it emerged that we were far from Zulu only. Our national character was emphasised again in the South African Black Alliance, which I chaired, which included Africans of many ethnic groups, Indians and Coloureds. It must be remembered that at the time there was the Improper Interference Act, in place, forbidding politics beyond racial boundaries. When people over the years threw the jibe at Inkatha as a Zulu ethnic organisation or Zulu based, they ignore that the laws even forbade what we did by including others, and even founding the South African Black Alliance.

Having canvassed Bishop Zulu’s views on a membership-based organization, I sought Mr Oliver Tambo’s views as well, for we were still working closely together. After all it was Mr Tambo, together with Inkosi Luthuli, who had urged me to take up leadership of the KwaZulu Government. He too agreed that a membership-based organization was the right move, at the right time. When I looked for money to publish ‘The Nation’, it was through Mr Tambo that I got money from SIDA in Sweden.

So it was that on 21 March 1975 a group of patriotic South Africans gathered at KwaNzimela and founded Inkatha yeNkululeko yeSizwe, the national cultural liberation organisation. Later, many former prisoners who had shared imprisonment with Mr Mandela, on being released came to me to join Inkatha. Some of them can be remembered such as Joshua Zulu, Stalwart Simelane and Wordsworth Luthuli, who all joined Inkatha. After all, even our mother Mrs Nokukhanya Luthuli joined Inkatha. Inkatha was seen as no more than a front of the ANC.

In recognition of the role Dr Kaunda played in the founding of Inkatha, we hoped he could be with us tonight. Unfortunately, that was not possible. But I feel it important to express Dr Kaunda’s support in his own words. We have had many conversations, some of them through written correspondence. In a letter to me in November 1989, President Kaunda sought to encourage me as I faced the onslaught of vilification by some in the ANC.

He wrote, “Oliver Tambo and I have discussed the problems of apartheid naturally on many many occasions, but I do not remember, not even once, him speaking against you either in public or in private.” He then referred to a press release and a speech I had delivered, saying, “there is not a single sentence I would disagree with… These were prophetic words of great importance.”

I was honoured when President Kaunda wrote “(I) invite you, My Dear Brother, Colleague and Fellow Freedom Fighter, to come to Zambia as my official guest… this morning at about 0415 hours, I was remembering world leaders in my prayers. As I knelt before Him our Lord and Creator, I mentioned you by name… May He ever be your guide in all that you think, say and do as you participate in the Struggle for Liberation.”

President Kaunda’s advice was right. Within a few short years, Inkatha boasted more than a million card-carrying members. We became home to the disenfranchised masses, becoming the largest black liberation movement in South Africa. Inkatha was a formidable voice for freedom.

We used that voice fearlessly, and we still do, forty years later. By now, the IFP has been in governance and in opposition. From Cabinet to local municipal councils, the IFP has offered a unique leadership in South Africa. It is a leadership that refuses to compromise on what we know to be just and right. A leadership that knows the end must be reached through judicious means. A leadership of integrity, that has protected the strength of our country, defended the most vulnerable and pursued freedom for all with unrelenting passion, over forty years.

That is what we celebrate tonight. A great legacy indeed.

I thank you for sharing our journey.

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REMEMBERING JUNE 16... 40 YEARS ON

Soweto uprising – 40 years on: the role of Wits students

Martin Plaut / 29/01/2016

It is hard to believe, but it is 40 years since the pupils of Soweto confronted the apartheid state. It was the beginning of the end of white rule in South Africa. But the children – many of them very young – paid a terrible price.

In the first day alone around 200 were shot down by the police.

This is the iconic image of that day: 16 June 1976: the death of Hector Peterson, taken by Sam Nzima.

That day is etched on my mind, since I was a student at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) when it took place. As the news filtered through we painted the exterior wall of the Student’s Union black – then in white painted up the terrible death toll.

As the each new figure came through, we crossed out the old, and scrawled up the new.

Then we went on to Jan Smuts Avenue on the edge of the campus and held a poster protest. Finally, when that was clearly not enough, we marched into town.

This blog is about that march and the events that followed. But I would like to stress that even though we protested it was the black students in Soweto who were paying the real price. The police – although attacking us – were never going to kill white students.

We crossed the railway bridge into Johannesburg’s central business district and almost immediately hundreds, then thousands of black men and women joined us. Suddenly we were caught up in events over which we had little control.

We marched through town, and back to the university. It was the most extraordinary, exhilarating experience. You could amost taste freedom, despite the terrible events going on just a few miles away.

We marched three times – if I remember correctly. But the march was not unchallenged.

The police broke up the march on the bridge into town.

Then we were assaulted by Afrikaans students from the nearby technical college. You can see me top left trying to avoid a blow!

The events in Soweto set the country alight. Never again would white rule go unchallenged.

I went down to the University of Cape Town and spoke at a rally there.

UCT students left the campus protest and marched in solidarity with their fellow students, who were by this time fighting the police in Cape Town’s townships.

Here is the demonstration prior to the march.

We were arrested and jailed for a night – a small price to pay! Eighteen years later the sacrifice of all those young men and women in the townships finally paid off.

South Africa was free and could chart its future without the scourge of apartheid.

SOURCE: Martin Plaut

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20 Years of Joyous Celebration

MTN Joyous Celebration 20

  

Event information

Event Type: Music, Concerts

2016 marks the year that South Africa`s biggest and most loved gospel ensemble, MTN Joyous Celebration - commemorates and celebrates 20 incredible years of bringing gospel music to people of all ages, race and creed. Presenting their latest offering, Joyous 20, recorded live at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban to a capacity audience, the show does not disappoint with their signature moves, majestic voices, world class costumes and quality show production that has become synonymous with the ensemble and won them numerous fans across the globe. The multi-platinum selling and award winning production that presents both revamped traditional and contemporary spiritual hymns and original compositions will mark their 20th anniversary with a full national tour launching over the easter weekend in march 2016. For the full tour schedule log onto http://www.joyous.co.za

Dr Jonas Gwangwa’s “Amandla Cultural Ensemble: The Production” comes home to South Africa

Dr Jonas Gwangwa’s “Amandla Cultural Ensemble: The Production” comes home to South Africa

In 1980, Dr Jonas Gwangwa brought the theatrical protest musical Amandla to the world.  Now for the first time, it is coming home and promises a cutting-edge theatrical production that will enthrall audiences, inspire youngsters and showcase the country’s finest artistic talent.

The Amandla Cultural Ensemble was originally developed and produced by Gwangwa in Angola. Created to lobby support for liberation movements in exile, Amandla galvanized international solidarity movements and communicated the injustices of the Apartheid system to the global community. Solidarity movements responded to the call through multiple projects that saw donations of food, clothing, medication, transportation, educational and skills development opportunities for exiled South Africans.

From 1980 to 1990 Amandla travelled the world, performing in numerous countries including Angola, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ghana, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Libya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  In 1990, the Amandla Cultural Ensemble settled and finally dismantled in Zimbabwe as apartheid came to an end and liberation organisations were unbanned in South Africa.

In the spirit of the original production and with the knowledge that progress relies on an understanding of our past, Gwangwa, now head of Barungwa Productions is looking to inspire the next generation of South Africans. With support from the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) and the South African State Theatre, Barungwa Productions will be bringing the Amandla Cultural Ensemble – The Production back to the stage in December 2015 with a glittering cocktail inaugural performance at the State Theatre on the 3^rd, and for- the- public performances, the 4^th and 5^th. The 2016 program is in development and is set to enthrall.

Envisaged as a premium nation-building tool, this reinvigoration of the production of Amandla narratively traces the history of the struggle within the global context.

With Gwangwa at the helm, his wealth of knowledge and experience, the production aims to develop, elevate and empower the South African arts and culture industry.

Barungwa Productions invites stakeholders who have an interest in, have information about or have archived content to come forward and share their stories. Amandla is our shared past, and our common goal, and as such belongs to the people. With world-class staging and the best of South African talent, it will stand proudly among the great musicals.

Auditions recently took place with great success and the cast is currently preparing to begin rehearsals.

“As a nation- building tool, the Amandla Cultural Ensemble has proven to be a pre-eminent communication vehicle that can transcend language and cultural barriers. Amandla is able to educate current and future generations about their history, and how the dedication and aspirations of ordinary South Africans made such a big difference to their own lives, and in the world, and why they too should take up that mantle,” says Gwangwa.

For more information contact Barungwa Productions:

info@barungwapro.co.za

info@amandlatheproduction.co.za

Ntsako Mkhabela (Production Manager) – 076 238 6702 For interview requests, access to high res pictures and all other media queries, please contact JT Comms atinfo@jtcomms.co.za or 011 788 7632. 

Issued by JT Communication Solutions on behalf of Barungwa Productions 

Notes to Editor: 

About Barungwa Productions 

Barungwa Productions is headed by artist and activist, Dr Jonas Gwangwa. Dr Gwangwa and his peers were pioneers of South African music on the world stage, and with this invaluable knowledge he seeks to inspire and produce a calibre of artists akin to those of his ilk that will be recognised as cultural icons with a strong African Identity. The kind of artists with both incomparable talent and skill, capable of producing quality work our country can be proud of, work that can traverse the globe and command a myriad audiences, and esteemed patrons alike, representing South Africa.

Barungwa Productions seeks to achieve this mandate through a variety of events, workshops and interactions elevating and empowering the African arts and culture industry.

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March 8, Is International Women’s Day

Credit: EPA

African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma File photo: Yoan Valat

‘Women’s rights key to unlocking Africa’s future’

NEWS/AFRICA / 

08 March 2016 at 22:21pm

By: Jabulile S. Ngwenya

Addis Ababa – African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, addressing delegates at an event commemorating International Women’s Day, said the AUC celebrated “the determination of women around the world to fight for equal rights and the opportunity to have their voices heard”.

There is “indeed a great deal to celebrate today, in terms of the progress we have made in pushing for the Gender Agenda in Africa,” she said at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.

Noting that 2016 marked the 105th year in which the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Dlamini-Zuma said that it was a day in which “the economic, political and social achievements of women” should be celebrated.

She remarked that the AU’s theme for International Women’s Day was “Agenda 2063: A Pledge for Gender Equality”.

This theme she said, tied in with the United Nations and International Women’s Day “Planet 50–50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality” and “Pledge for Parity”, as well as recent calls during the 8th Gender Pre-Summit and the AU 26th Summit to accelerate the pace of implementation of actions in support of the continent’s gender agenda.

In addition she said, the theme complemented the AU’s commitment to 2016, which it had earmarked the “African Union Year of Human Rights with a specific focus on the Rights of Women”.

Celebrating the milestones of movement for change in favour of women’s rights in Africa, Dlamini-Zuma spoke of how access to education for girls had increased, and many governments across the continent were “taking steps to protect women and girls from violence, including by adopting new laws”.

These new laws included “legislation to promote women’s rights, including access to land”.

Dlamini-Zuma expressed delight at how more women were also “exercising leadership in politics and business”.

“We have witnessed a transformation of women’s participation in public life,” she said.

She noted how 15 African States ranked in the top thirty-seven amongst world classification for women’s participation in national parliaments, with more than 30 percent of women being involved in their countries’ parliaments.

These countries were Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Angola, Burundi, Uganda, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Sudan.

Acknowledging the huge role women played in society, she said: “Great strides have been made to redress the gender imbalances, however, a lot more still needs to be done by both African women and men of goodwill to dismantle the gender barriers and ensure that African women’s potential is realised.”

Dlamini-Zuma said the fight was far from over as there were “persistent gender inequalities that hinder women from fully enjoying their human rights”.

Women, she emphasised, “are key contributors to global economies and play a critical role in the development of their societies”.

She drove home the point that “without the equal and effective participation of women in all spheres of socio-political and economic life, the vision of Agenda 2063 might not be realised”.

She concluded by calling on each African country to “implement at least two high-impact actions in 2016 that support gender equality and women’s empowerment in furtherance of Agenda 2063” and play a role in unlocking the continent’s vast wealth by ensuring women’s rights were upheld in their respective constitutions.

African News Agency

March 8, Is International Women’s Day

Statement of H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Chairperson of the African Union Commission on occasion of the International Women’s Day

CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

08 MARCH 2015

"WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS AFRICA AGENDA 2063"

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Ladies and gentlemen,

On this memorable day of 08 March commemorating International Women's Day around the world, I would like to add my voice to all women worldwide and especially the women of Africa in acknowledging the fight led by female pioneers for the rights of women throughout the past centuries. On International Women's Day, we celebrate the determination of women around the world to fight for equality and for social, economic and political rights.

The celebration of 8 March gives us the opportunity to highlight the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide. It furthermore allows us to take stock of the progress made and the challenges we still face in recognizing and protecting the rights of women.

Today, the issue of recognizing women’s rights and its implementation is pivotal because it has been proven that sustainable development, political stability and economic growth cannot be achieved when a portion of the population is marginalized and excluded in the access and distribution of national resources.

Today, we can point to marked achievements in the representation of women – we have our first women Presidents, increased numbers of women in African parliaments, and we have gender parity in the African Union Commission leadership.

These must be celebrated, but much more remains to be done to increase women’s representation in all spheres – in the judiciary and in parliaments, in the economy and in the security sector. We must also intensify efforts to improve the visibility of African women on the national, regional and international scenes. Indeed, in traditional African society, it is actually women who are often, but discreetly, consulted by men when important decisions have to be taken in the community.

But why is it that women's decision-making power is not reflected in public? Why the African woman is always relegated to the background in the instances of modern public decisions? Why is the African woman excluded during elections in our countries? Why is she deprived from access to credit? To land? To education? To employment? To participation in peace negotiations? and so forth. These are existential issues for women who are awaiting concrete answers from all leaders.

On the eve of this 08 March, 2015, let us try to envision an International Women’s Day in the next 50 years, and know that the world will not celebrate women just for their struggles for gender equality, but will recognize every day as the days of both female and male citizens regardless of gender with equal and equitable rights for both women and men to be autonomous, educated, free to move and living in a stable and prosperous Africa.

Indeed, Agenda 2063 is led by the African people, particularly women and young people who are considered as the driving force of the continent, the pillars on which the continent must rely on to achieve a sustainable development and a prosperous and peaceful Africa. Agenda 2063 envisages a non-sexist Africa, an Africa where girls and boys can reach their full potential, where men and women contribute equally to the development of their societies.

It is with a view to successfully complete the Post-2015 Development Agenda, to accelerate Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action and to implement gender equality and women’s empowerment policies that the Heads of State and Government of the African Union have declared 2015 as the "Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063."

The choice of African Union’s theme this year is indeed an opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to the empowerment of African women to make it a reality rather than a mere statement.

Allow me to emphasize the five (5) major priorities areas that African women have identified as essential to empower them in achieving Agenda 2063. During the Consultation of Stakeholders held from 21st to 23rd January 2015, on the margins of the AU Summit, African women agreed on the following:

1. Women's health is a major concern in our countries since the sexual health and reproductive rights of women are still not sufficiently respected, which is why maternal and infant mortality rates continue to be high in the continent. I commend the national launches of the CAARMA (Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa). Its effective implementation will contribute to strengthening healthcare systems to benefit women and their socio-economic empowerment. We must invest in quality health services for all women and girls. I take this opportunity to recall the vulnerability and courage of women in countries affected by the Ebola virus outbreak. Women are paying the heaviest price for this epidemic, and special measures for their physical and mental recovery must be taken to protect them.

2. Quality education must be accessible for all our girls so that they do not become brides. This concern is one that’s shared today by many mothers and fathers in Africa, especially after the abduction of the Chibok Girls, in Nigeria. Africa needs a well-educated and prepared child and youth to succeed the elders. Agenda 2063 calls for the mobilization of an education revolution on the continent. This has been demonstrated by the Pan-African University, which is an educational institution that provides access to education in science and technology especially to young women and girls. Moreover, the private and public sectors of Information Communication Technology continue to provide training to girls and women, an effort that must be encouraged and promoted.

3. Peace and security on the continent is another priority of the African Union. It is an essential condition for the effective empowerment of women. Generally regarded as the most vulnerable group during armed conflicts and post-conflict, women should not only be seen in this light. Rather, it is necessary to see the contribution of African women in the peacekeeping process and the post-conflict reconstruction, and even in the transitional phase of justice and in the drafting of a new constitution. In the implementation of the AU program “Silencing the Guns by 2020”, the African Union is committed to mainstreaming gender in the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and its African Governance Architecture (AGA). For this, African women should be strongly engaged in policy and decision–making processes to reach 50/50 gender parity, especially during Presidential and Legislative elections on the continent. Women's voices should not count anymore as those of mere voters, but as candidates in instances relating to the highest decision-making bodies.

4. Agriculture is indeed one of the priorities that, if properly taken into account, will be the catalyst for the economic growth and social development of Africa. It is this vision that our African leaders had in 2014, when they declared it as the “Year of Agriculture” with the objective to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development. The theme of 2015 "Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063" is indeed a continuation of this commitment.

How can we speak of inclusive growth and sustainable development without recognizing the work of some of our African population, consisting mostly of women in rural areas? African women constitute more than 70 percent of small farmers that help to feed the majority of the growing population of Africa. They are mainly present in the agricultural sector and the informal sector of the Agribusiness.

Despite this critical role, rural African women continue to work the land with archaic working methods such as the handheld hoe! African women made this clear when they said:

“THIS HOE, WE DO NOT WANT IT ANY MORE!! IT MUST HENCEFORTH BE CONFINED TO THE MUSEUM AS AN ARTIFACT! A SUBJECT OF ART FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS!”

Each male and female farmer should now have a “Tiller”, a modern agricultural working tool that gives more dignity to the human being in her/his function as a farmer by reducing heavy labor load and by contributing to increased yields in agriculture, fisheries, livestock and poultry.

5. Economic empowerment of women essentially aims at the creation of a Bank for African women as has been done in some African countries such as Ethiopia, an example that should be replicated throughout Africa. I congratulate all those African countries who have gone beyond microfinance and microcredit by including gender equality in the financial mechanisms. Indeed, we must harness the power of women entrepreneurship with increased access and control over resources by African women. Our continent is rich in natural resources but our people, and, in particular women, remain poor.

I would like to conclude my message of this day, 08 March 2015, by emphasizing that the effective implementation of the theme of 2015 requires joint and determined efforts by all stakeholders: the RECs, Civil Society Organizations, and of course our Development Partners. We need all of you, men and women, as actors and actresses to achieve the Africa we want.

I thank you and wish all of you a Happy International Women’s Day

Dates: 

March 08, 2015

- See more at: http://www.au.int/en/speeches/statement-he-dr-nkosazana-dlamini-zuma-chairperson-african-union-commission-occasion-2#sthash.RkdJNBNQ.dpuf