A message to the Afrikaans Community Paul Mashatile | Treasurer General of the African National Congress

At its 1969 conference in Morogoro in Tanzania, the ANC officially opened its membership and leadership to all races, transforming itself into a truly non-racial organisation both in form and character. Morogoro also reaffirmed that South Africa belonged to all who live in it.

In articulating an alternative vision for South Africa, President O.R. Tambo stated: “Our task is to remake our part of the world into a corner of the globe on which all of humanity – Black and White – shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and prosperity.” According to the view of O.R. Tambo, it was the ANC’s responsibility to break down barriers of division and create a South Africa where there will be neither Black nor White, just South Africans free and united in diversity.

The ANC has learnt from its forebears that the struggle for liberation was never about replacing one form of oppression with another. The struggle was principally about building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. Up to this day this remains the guiding vision of the ANC.

Drawing from the ANC’s rich and proud history of promoting an inclusive society, the country’s democratic constitution reaffirms that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

The National Development Plan: Vision 2030, the lodestar to the future, envisions a South Africa where everyone is able to say: “I cannot be without you, without you this South African community is an incomplete community, without one single person, without one single group, without the region or the continent, we are not the best that we can be.”

As part of practical efforts to contribute towards building an inclusive society and to promote social cohesion, the ANC initiated community dialogues in all provinces on social cohesion and nation building in 2011. These community dialogues culminated in the first National Summit on Social Cohesion and Nation Building in Kliptown, the home of the Freedom Charter.

That historic summit brought together more than 3 000 delegates from across the country representing various religious, political, business and civil society organisations to take stock of the process made in uniting the South African nation. Delegates recommitted themselves to the vision of a South Africa where we are one people, one nation, one humanity with a shared destiny.

The summit asserted that true and lasting reconciliation, social cohesion and nation building is not an event but a process – it is a journey. This journey will require that we redouble our efforts to address key challenges such as joblessness, poverty, unequal access to opportunities, landlessness, home-

lessness, the burden of disease, gender inequality and discrimination as well as gender-based violence.

It is perhaps time that the declaration and resolutions of the 2012 National Summit on Social Cohesion and Nation Building are revisited and brought to life. The ANC stands ready to work together with all those seeking to revive the letter and spirit of that summit.

Sport must continuously be used to build bridges of unity among South Africans, for we know it all too well that South Africa is a sporting nation and that sport is the greatest unifier.

Under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the country and the ANC has entered a period of renewal. This moment of renewal is an opportunity to reset the moral compass of the country and the movement. It is an opportunity to recommit to strong and unquestionable leadership. It is also an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the goal of building a truly united South Africa. This is an opportunity to restore and maintain the non-racial character of the ANC – to keep the ANC as the Parliament of all the people of South Africa.

It is in this context that I wish to take this opportunity to reassure the Afrikaans community in our country that they are an integral part of the South African landscape, history and heritage. Equally, you are part of the future of this country. We will never forget the role played by Braam Fischer, Dr. Beyers Naude and many other patriots from the Afrikaans community in securing our freedom. I assure all of you that your language, your culture and heritage will continue to be acknowledged, appreciated and celebrated. You are as South African, as all of us. South Africa is your home. You are contributing immensely to the development of our society. For that you have earned the trust and respect of all South Africans of goodwill. Your views, your aspirations and your needs matter, they carry equal worth and value as those of your fellow South Africans. Your dreams are valid. You are free to pursue them.

In 1999, Madiba said: “I have great confidence in Afrikaners. They have their name because they considered themselves to be from Africa. Their language originated here in Africa. I know that the vast majority of them will continue to help build this African homeland of theirs.”

Let us work together to build a South Africa we can all be proud to call home. Let us also work together to ensure that the ANC remains a home for all South Africans including members of the Afrikaans community.

KEY TAKEOUTS

• The history of the ANC has a long-standing commitment to an inclusive society and the promotion of social cohesion. • The Freedom Charter (1956) declared boldly that South Africa belonged to all who live in it, Black and White. • The vision of the 2012 National Summit on Social Cohesion and Nation Building of a South Africa where we are one people, one nation, one humanity with a shared destiny, should be revisited and brought to life. • The Ramaphosa era is an opportunity to recommit to strong and unquestionable leadership. It is also an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the goal of building a truly united South Africa. • The country’s democratic constitution reaffirms that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in diversity. • Sport must continuously be used to build bridges of unity among South Africans. • The ANC views the Afrikaans-speaking community as an integral part of the South

African landscape, history and heritage and part of the future. Its language, culture and heritage will continue to be acknowledged, appreciated and celebrated. Their views, aspirations and needs matter.