Speech by Mayor De Lille at the Special Council Meeting to Pay Tribute to Nelson Mandela | Western Cape Government

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Speech by Mayor De Lille at the Special Council Meeting to Pay Tribute to Nelson Mandela

8 December 2013
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni.
 
Mr Speaker, thank you all for coming today to mourn the passing of Tata Madiba and to celebrate his life in this Council Chamber.
 
In this time of sadness, we owe it to his memory to remember and pay tribute to him.
 
Though we have heavy hearts with his passing, I recall what Madiba said to the United Stated Congress in 1990, and I quote:
 
"It is a fact of the human condition that each shall, like a meteor, a mere brief passing moment in time and space, flit across the human stage and pass out of existence."
 
On behalf of the people of Cape Town, I extend my deepest condolences to the Mandela family: his beloved wife Graça, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
 
Mr Speaker, we are here today as the city’s leaders to honour Madiba and to adopt the plans we have to pay tribute to him in the current week.
 
These tributes will require Council to approve expenditure dedicated to these memorial events.
 
It is only fitting that we should honour Madiba.
 
While it is true that the world celebrates him, we have a special relationship with Madiba here in Cape Town.
 
To our shame, he was imprisoned here for most of his 27-year incarceration.
 
But it was also from here that he gave his first address after his release and where he presided over a new constitutional order.
 
And he was given the Freedom of the City of Cape Town in 1997.
 
As he said on that momentous day, and I quote:
 
"In Cape Town resides part of the souls of many nations and cultures, priceless threads in the rich diversity of our African nation […] It was the people of Cape Town who welcomed me on my first day of freedom."
  
With this award, we made Madiba a living part of this government and this city forever.
 
He is joined by the likes of Benjamin van der Ross, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Michelle and Barack Obama, in enjoying the Freedom of the City.
 
As a centre for a progressive politics that seeks to build a new future for our people, Cape Town has mapped its hopes and dreams onto those with the Freedom of the City, from whom we draw inspiration.
 
It is an interesting turn of history that since the advent of democracy, we have charted our inspiration from Madiba to President Obama – the man who became America’s first black president; and the first black president of South Africa who inspired his political career.
 
It is the memory of that incredible influence Madiba had on us all that we honour here today.
 
But as important as it is for the elected leaders to pay tribute to Madiba, it is equally important to provide public points of tribute where residents may come together to celebrate him.
 
In that regard, I ask Councillors to take note of the details of our public programme so that they may take them back to their respective communities and help them in whatever way possible.
 
As I consider the difference he made, it is because the sense of freedom lived so strongly within him that we too are free.
 
When he walked out of those prison gates, he led the transition to liberation.
 
And his greatest legacy remains the constitution upon which we are building this great and new country.
 
Justice.
 
Dignity.
 
Respect.
 
Human rights.
 
These are his gifts to us – let us cherish them.
 
I recall being in our first democratic parliament just after the 1994 elections.
 
Those were days of turbulence and disagreement, but when Madiba spoke we stopped and we listened.
 
We did not know what the future held for us and the peace we had made seemed fragile.
 
And yet, there was the grace and authority of Madiba’s vision that, unwavering, was resolute of purpose and saw further than any of us could.
 
I was privileged to have had a personal relationship with Madiba.
 
Without fail, he would call me on my birthday every year and he flattered me by calling me his favourite opposition politician.
 
I was honoured to be asked by him to serve on the board of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Foundation, to join him in paying his respects upon the passing of Princess Diana, and to have him write the foreword to my biography which I will include when the second edition is released.
 
It is therefore with great sadness that I bid farewell to the man I knew.
 
His leadership has become a truth for all South Africans, whether they knew Madiba personally or not.
 
I believe that each one of us knew Madiba because his sacrifice and vision made us what we are today: a country that knows freedom, democracy and human rights.
 
Knowing him was knowing the best part of ourselves.
 
In conclusion, as we come together now, let us remember this unity and let us remember that his dream was of a united country, a country that would have the strength to shape a new future from a painful past.
 
His memory will live within us. Let us not fail him.
 
Perhaps the greatest tribute we have to him may come from the words of the preamble of our constitution, which was adopted here in Cape Town in Parliament on 8 May 1996, I quote:
 
"We, the people of South Africa, recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country;
And believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity."
 
Rest well now, Madiba, and thank you.
 
Hamba kahle.
 
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.
Media Enquiries: 

Solly Malatsi
Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor of Cape Town
Alderman Patricia de Lille
Tel: 021 400 1382
Cell: 083 943 1449 
E-mail: solly.malatsi@capetown.gov.za