Programme Director
His Excellency President of the RSA, Mr Jacob Zuma
Her Excellency Chairperson of the African Union, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Her Worship, Deputy Mayor of EThekwini Ms Nomvuzo Shabalala
Chairperson of Accord’s Board of Trustees, Mrs Graca Machel
His Excellency Ambassador Billy Modise
Executive Director Accord, Mr Vasu Gounden
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are here tonight in our own humble way as the representatives of the Government and the people of KwaZulu-Natal. I take this opportunity to welcome you all in KwaZulu-Natal and Durban in particular. It is our great honour as the province to host such an auspicious function and to be honoured by guests of such a high esteem. In a true African style, we truly welcome our President, Chairperson of the African Union and all our international acclaimed guests.
The time for Africa’s renewal, for our great continent to occupy the pedestal of success has come, and our continent deserves to redeem her glory to reassert her centuries-old contributions to economics, politics, culture and the art and once more be a pioneer in the many fields of human endeavour. We can achieve this in our lifetimes. The possibility for us to achieve this lies in the African heart and our collective mind. It lies in our determination to let our humanity flourish in the quest for justice, peace and social development.
As I welcome you tonight, I would like to congratulate the African Union Commission as the recipient of the Africa Peace Award, by quoting one of our pioneers in the struggle to emancipate the mind and the Soul of the African people. Kwame Nkrumah, from his notes on Class Struggle in Africa, I quote “Common territory, language and culture may in fact be present in a nation, but the existence of a nation does not necessarily imply the presence of all three. Common territory and language alone may form the basis of a nation. Similarly, common territory plus common culture may be basis. In some cases, only one of the three applies. A state may exist on a multi-national basis. The community of economic life is the major feature within a nation, and it is the economy which holds together the people living in a territory. It is on this basis that the new Africans recognise themselves as potentially one nation, whose determination is the entire African continent”.
Tonight, we dare to remind ourselves of the devastation brought by what was essentially apartheids and colonialist war of attrition. We dare to acknowledge the magnanimity and the cooperation of African leaders and the African Union which played a vital role in bringing about unity in the African continent.
It is my pleasure to extend my warmest congratulations to Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on behalf of the African Union Commission and to welcome you all in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
I thank you
