A changed world, but the work must go on
We can honour Madiba by fighting for what he believed in, writes Cyril Ramaphosa
ON Friday morning, South Africans awoke to a very different world. With a profound sense of sadness and disbelief, South Africans came to the realisation that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was no longer with us. Although we have had much time to get used to the inevitability of his passing, it will take some time to fully comprehend its meaning.
For more than half a century, Madiba has been an immutable presence in our national life. Even during his 27 years in prison, he occupied an important place in our collective consciousness. In recent years, as he cut back his public engagements, he remained integral to our sense of an emerging nationhood.
He has gone, but his memory lives on in the hearts of millions of people across the world. It resides in the nation that he led to freedom and in the myriad ways in which its people are changing their lives and their society for the better.
Since he passed away, many people have spoken about how profoundly Madiba touched their lives. They have reminisced about the good times and the bad times, the joy, the sorrow and the pain.
Yet a reflection on the life of Nelson Mandela is as much about the present and the future as it is about the past.
The people of South Africa are fortunate to have been led by extraordinary women and men, foremost among whom is Nelson Mandela. His life and contribution have taught us much — lessons that we need to embrace as we seek to complete his work.
Madiba taught us that there is no greater act of humanity than selfless service to others. The achievement of one’s ideals is often not realised quickly or easily. It requires great effort over many years and demands great sacrifice.
It requires discipline and dedication to the task at hand. Many of us who worked with him soon became used to the phone calls at 5am — for which he was unapologetic — and his insistence on punctuality. It would be easy to dismiss these as the idiosyncrasies of an old man, or to ascribe them to the routine of prison life. But, in fact, they were the product of an acute understanding of what the nation expected of him, and what these expectations demanded of the way that he worked and lived.
He was unwavering in his commitment to his principles, but pragmatic in the means of advancing those principles. The objective — the liberation of all South Africans — remained the same, but the tactics varied according to the circumstances.
Madiba reminded us of this on many critical occasions during the negotiations process. He had an uncanny ability to differentiate between principle and tactic — to be firm on the former and to compromise, where necessary, on the latter.
He was the first to remind us that no individual is greater than the collective. He believed that only through collective effort could the struggle be advanced, and only through democratic debate could effective policies and programmes be developed. He was prepared to be wrong, and he was prepared to concede to the view of the majority.
Yet when he was called upon to lead, he did so with great dignity and courage. This was demonstrated most critically following the assassination of Chris Hani, when Madiba took on the responsibility of calming the nation. At that moment, he became the de facto president of the new South Africa.
In concluding Long Walk to Freedom , Madiba reminded us that, with every great achievement in the struggle, there are always more challenges that need to be overcome and more struggles to be fought.
As we celebrate the outstanding contribution that Madiba has made to the achievement of democracy, we must acknowledge that the struggle he fought is not complete.
Although we are a united democratic country, there is still much that we need to do to empower the people to make decisions on all matters that affect them. Among other things, this means we must make the institutions of government at all levels more transparent, more accessible and more accountable to citizens.
Although we have a bill of rights entrenched in our constitution, there is still much that we need to do to ensure that every South African is equally able to exercise those rights. We need, in particular, to progressively and without undue
We must acknowledge that the struggle he fought is not complete
delay address the achievement of the socioeconomic rights contained in our constitution.
Although we have achieved political liberation, there is still much we need to do to achieve economic emancipation. We need to work together to dramatically reduce unemployment, eradicate poverty, develop skills and ensure that black and female South Africans are represented at all levels and in all roles throughout the economy.
Although we have achieved a peaceful transition, there is still much we need to do promote reconciliation. To do this, we need to address the material differences that still exist between black and white — effectively reducing inequality; integrating our cities, towns and rural areas; and promoting the cultures and languages of all South Africa’s people.
We are a free nation today thanks to Madiba. Thanks to him, we stand today in a better position than we have ever been to address the needs of our people. Thanks to him, we have a clear example of the qualities and values required to transform our society.
As we become accustomed to the different world in which we now find ourselves, the most meaningful tribute we can pay to Madiba is to ensure that we achieve the free, united, prosperous and just South Africa to which he dedicated his life.
Ramaphosa is deputy president of the ANC