Address by President Jacob Zuma on the occasion of the 22nd

commemoration of the passing of Martin Thembisile "Chris" Hani, Thomas

Nkobi Memorial Park,
Boksburg
10 April 2015

Mrs Limpho Hani and all members of the Hani family

Our host the Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Comrade Mondli Gungubele,
Ekurhuleni Chairperson and Deputy Minister of Trade and industry Mzwandile
Masina,
Secretary General of the ANC Comrade Gwede Mantashe and all ANC leadership
present,
General Secretary of the SACP, Comrade Blade Nzimande and leadership,
President of COSATU, Comrade Sdumo Dlamini and leadership present,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MECs,
Traditional and religious leaders present here
Comrades and friends
Fellow South Africans,
Each year we come together on the 10th of April to reflect on the life and times of
Comrade Thembisile Chris Hani, who served this country and its people selflessly.

This celebrated leader of the ANC and SACP and our people as a whole and a
soldier and chief of staff of Umkhonto Wesizwe, dedicated his life to the struggle for
freedom, equality, justice, human dignity and a better life for all the people of South
Africa.
Unlike 22 years ago on this day when Comrade Chris was brutally assassinated by
those who sought to delay our advance towards a democratic order, we have
converged here no longer to mourn his death but on the contrary, to celebrate his
life.
We are indeed celebrating the life of a committed patriot who lived and died for the
freedom of his people.
We reaffirm that in spite of what his murderers sought to achieve, the spirit and ideas
of Chris Hani live on and will do so for generations to come.
It is this spirit that inspires us when look back at the glorious, relentless and
victorious struggle of our people for freedom and justice.
This 22nd anniversary takes place during an important year in our movement and the
country as a whole, the year of the Freedom Charter.
Comrade Chris so believed in the Freedom Charter that he once said in an interview:
"It was important to have an ANC which accepted the Freedom Charter, which
committed itself to the implementation of the Freedom Charter. And we felt that the
Freedom Charter was a revolutionary document in terms of the struggle for national
liberation and democracy."
It is against this background therefore that in celebrating the life of comrade Chris
Hani, we reaffirm that South Africa belongs to all who live in it black and white, and
that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the
people.

The Constitution of the Republic affirms this principle and enshrines equality,
freedom and justice for our people.

The Constitution also enshrines the creation of a better life for our people, through
the inclusion of socio-economic rights, such as the right to water, sanitation, quality
education and health care and other important basic services.
Very few people also know that the Constitution also enjoins us to provide social
security for our people.
We have been able to alleviate poverty through providing social grants to more than
16 million of our people the majority of whom are vulnerable children, older persons
and persons with disability, in line with the Constitution.
In memory of Chris Hani, let us continue working hard to deepen and consolidate
democracy in our country, and also deepen the extension of services to all especially
the poor and the working class.
We must also double our efforts to build reconciliation, unity and social cohesion
amongst all our people so that everyone, black and white, would continue to feel
welcome and at home in South Africa.
An important aspect of achieving true reconciliation includes building a new heritage
landscape for our new democratic society, based on our history of fighting for
freedom, justice and equality.
Today we have officially opened the Chris Hani Memorial, which will serve to
educate generations of our people about his legacy and the struggle for freedom.
Only last month, we successfully repatriated, reburied and unveiled memorials of our
illustrious leaders Moses Kotane and JB Marks.
All of this is part of the ongoing programme of the democratic government to build a
new inclusive heritage for our country.
Our programme includes identifying historic sites, individuals and organisations that
have made outstanding contributions to our liberation struggle and history and to the
development of our cultural values.

The identified sites are being upgraded and declared National Heritage sites and are
maintained by the State, just like the Chris Hani heritage site that we have officially
launched today. The task of grading and declaring these places is being undertaken
by the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA).
Through the upgrading and declaration of these historic sites, we will ensure a more
representative and inclusive South African history and heritage. More importantly,
this will also contribute towards shared values and a common national identity in the
country.
We regard this work as central to transformation, nation building, national identity
and building a socially cohesive South African society that is non-racial, non-sexist,
democratic, united and prosperous.
Furthermore, the building and maintenance of new monuments and historic sites has
a greater potential to stimulate economic activity and create much needed jobs in
communities where these sites are located.
These sites will contribute towards the local tourism economy.
The Chris Hani memorial and others in Ekurhuleni will draw local and foreign tourists
to come and learn more about our history heritage.
Indeed the ANC government is doing a lot to build a new inclusive heritage.
In many of our cities, street names are being changed to acknowledge the selfless
freedom fighters who sacrificed lifes comforts so that we could be free and live in a
democratic South Africa.
We already have airports, roads, hospitals that have been renamed after Braam
Fischer, Oliver Tambo, Albertina and Walter Sisulu. We have hospitals that are
named after Steve Biko, Chris Hani, Charlotte Maxeke, Helen Joseph and many
other sites that are named after other heroes and heroines of our struggle.
Many municipalities are also named after heroes and heroines of the liberation
struggle from Govan Mbeki, Moses Kotane, Nelson Mandela, Ruth Mompati and a
host of others.

We have also created new monuments and walls of remembrance such as the Steve
Biko Heritage centre in Ginsberg, Eastern Cape and the Ncome Museum
commemorating the Battle of Blood River fought between amaZulu and the
Afrikaners. Freedom Park Museum phase 2 has also been opened in Pretoria.
We are steadily introducing a new national identity and a new heritage of a newly
liberated society.
Our country is therefore doing well in promoting a new landscape and we will
continue to do so in consultation with our people.
More work is being done in various parts of the country to build this new identity and
turn houses, graves and scenes of heroic struggles into monuments or heritage
sites.
I will mention just a few sites that government has identified to be turned into
heritage sites.

The Wesleyan Church hall in Waaihoek, Mangaung which was the founding
venue of the then South African Native National Congress, now the ANC located
in the Mangaung.

The home and grave of Dr. JL Dube, the first President of the ANC.

The home of Thomas Mapikela in the Free State who was a member of the 1912
executive committee of the then SA Native National Congress, now the ANC.
Most meetings were held at the Mapikela home leading up to and after the
formation of the ANC.

The home of Lillian Ngoyi, who was the first woman leader to become a member
of the National Executive Committee of the ANC and the leader of the ANC
Womens League.

The home of President Oliver Tambo in Nkantolo, Mbizana in the Eastern Cape
is being upgraded and will be a heritage site.

The home of former President Nelson Mandela in Houghton.

The site of the Pondo Revolt on the Ingquza Hill and the Holy Cross Church will
be declared a heritage sites.

The sites in which many heroes fought in the frontier Wars; this includes the 1913
revolt by African women in the Free State and the 1957 anti-pass revolt by
women in Zeerust will also be declared heritage sites.

These are before the peasant revolts of the 1960s and they also signify the important
role played by women in the struggle for national liberation.

The Rocklands Civic Centre in Mitchells Plein, Cape Town where the United
Democratic Front (UDF) was formed in 1983.

The Gugulethu Seven monument in Cape Town.

The former homes of mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Brandfort and that of

Dr. the JS Moroka in Thaba Nchu in the Free State, and the home of Comrade
Braam Fischer.

Government is also in the process of upgrading the graves of some of the leaders of
our struggle such as Dr. AB Xuma, Sefako Makgatho, Pixley Ka Isaka Seme,
Rahima Moosa, Robert Sobukwe and Josiah Tshangana Gumede.
We are aware of the sentiments in the country relating to the removal of statues of
racists and colonialists. We do understand the frustration of our people who may feel
the programme of building a new heritage architecture is moving slowly.
What is important is that everything must be done in an orderly fashion and
according to the laws of the land.
We remind our people that the destruction of statues is illegal. The National Heritage
Resources Act of 1999 outlines the consultative processes that should be followed in
the case of a removal and or relocation of a statue.
Destroying the statues also flies in the face of the preservation of the history of our
country, including the repulsive apartheid colonial history.

Future generations should know the people who colonized our country and those
who introduced apartheid which was declared a crime against humanity by the
United Nations, and treated the black majority as pariahs in the land of their birth.
What we should discuss is therefore the location of these colonial and apartheid
artefacts and we are happy that the debate has begun.
Compatriots and comrades
In memory of Comrade Chris Hani let me also address the creeping problem of what
appears to be xenophobia in our country.
We have noted with deep concern the incidents around the country where foreign
nationals have been attacked or threatened or have had their properties destroyed.

We would like to correct the perception that all foreign nationals or persons born
outside South Africa who live in our country, are in South Africa illegally.

It is true that there is a high number of foreign nationals who have entered the
country and are living in South Africa illegally, and government is attending to that
problem and will ensure that nobody lives in our country illegally or is undocumented.
However, many foreign nationals live in South Africa legally and contribute to the life
and success of the country. Many are recruited to bring much-needed skills that are
scarce in our country that we need to develop our economy.

We are actually working to improve our migration laws to enable us to import scarce
skills which will entail bringing in more foreign nationals to assist us in achieving our
development goals.

Other foreign nationals come to South Africa as refugees running away from
violence or wars in their countries of origin.

Many leaders of the ANC also fled South Africa and lived in many countries in Africa
and the world, and were treated with generosity, dignity and respect.

In addition, as South Africa we are an integral part of the African Continent, and the
South African Development Community.
Our national interest is also defined by the development and upliftment of all African
people.

We understand our national interest as being intrinsically linked to the entire

continents stability, unity and prosperity.

We will continue to protect all the people in our country including foreign nationals.
Refugees and asylum seekers will also be accorded support in line with international
law and protocols. We therefore urge our people to treat those who are in the
country legally with respect and Ubuntu.
Government will also take action against illegal immigrants. We are tightening
security in all our ports of entry to ensure deal with the problem of illegal migration.
We are also determined to continue taking action against all foreign nationals who
commit crime in our country. At the same time, action is also being taken against
South Africans who commit crime. We should therefore not view all foreign nationals
as criminals.
We are also aware of the complaints by some South Africans that some foreign
nationals start small businesses in townships that compete against South Africanowned businesses leading to some having to shut down.

It is also true that some of the foreign owned businesses do not comply with the
countrys laws and are therefore operating illegally. Because they are illegal, they do
not pay taxes like other businesses.

Everyone operating a business in South Africa, whether one is a citizen or a foreign

national, must adhere to the countrys laws for registering and operating a business.

We will not tolerate illegal trade.

Government will enforce laws and bylaws more stringently and ensure that nobody
trades illegally and disadvantages other traders.

Having said that, we also emphasise that no amount of economic hardship and
discontent will ever justify attacking foreign nationals who own shops and other
businesses.

We condemn such attacks and will take action against perpetrators.

Foreign nationals who are trading illegally should be reported to the police. They
should not be attacked by residents or local traders.
As we prepare to celebrate Freedom Day on the 27thof April, under the theme
Celebrating the Third Decade of our Freedom through Accelerating Radical
Economic Transformation, we must work together to promote economic
opportunities for all our people.

The ANC government has established the Department of Small Business

Development to provide support to traders in our townships including those who
complain about lack of support.

Government also has several programmes in place to support small businesses and
we urge our traders to visit their local government offices to obtain information.

During the State of the Nation Address in February this year, I announced that we
would implement a programme to set-aside 30% of appropriate categories of State
procurement for purchasing from SMMEs, Co-operatives, Township and Rural
Enterprises.

This will ensure that we build on the entrepreneurial spirit of our people and create a
much wider base of entrepreneurs and business-people.
There are several opportunities for cooperatives as well.

Government departments offering such opportunities have been urged to improve

their communication with the public to improve awareness of opportunities offered by
the democratic government.

Compatriots

To achieve our development goals, we must become an activist nation that works in
unison to build a united and prosperous society envisaged by the Freedom Charter
in which Chris Hani unreservedly believed.
We encourage communities to hold Freedom Charter Forums and discuss the
progress we have made since the attainment of freedom in 1994 as well as ponder
on the daunting tasks which lie on the long road ahead.
These forums must be, in practice, centres of people's education and centres that
promote unity.
Comrades and compatriots,
Therefore, as we move towards Africa Month in May, we recall President Oliver
Tambos words at the First Congress of the Angolan ruling party, the MPLA in
Luanda in 1977.
He stated:
We seek to live in peace with our neighbours and the peoples of the world in
conditions of equality, mutual respect and equal advantage.
The Freedom Charter also makes a call that there shall be peace and friendship in
our engagements with the world.
As outlined in the January 8 statement and the State of the Nation Address in
February, we should begin seriously celebrating our African heritage this year.
We invite all sectors including business, non-governmental organisations, schools,
universities, colleges, churches and every institution to organize programmes to
celebrate Africa Month in May, and to celebrate Africa Day in particular on the 25 th of
May.
This promotion of our African identity will assist us in building an understanding of
the African continent and the importance of integration and unity.
We will do this in memory of Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo, Moses Kotane, JB Marks,
Johnny Makatini and many other internationalists who valued our African identity and
our relationship with the world.

Comrades and compatriots

As we navigate the transformation of our country, we will encounter various

challenges along the way. Our people will also experience frustration from time to
time when they feel the pace of change and the onset of a better life for all is moving
slower than anticipated.
However, we should never forget that one of the trademarks of South Africas
transition to democracy is tolerance and peaceful co-existence.

The democratic South Africa is built on the foundation of democracy, selflessness,

reconciliation, service to humanity, the promotion of a better life for all and most
importantly, the values of Ubuntu and respect for one another and humanity in
general.
These are the values that we should all embrace and promote.

We must continuously strive to build a united, humane and caring society.

On this 22nd anniversary of the painful passing of Comrade Chris Hani, let us
celebrate his life and times by working harder to build a better South Africa and
contribute selflessly, to building a better Africa and a better world.
I thank you.
Issued by The Presidency
Pretoria