31 December 2017

New Year 2018 statement from Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela MP

Welcoming the year of Nelson Mandela Centennial

Celebrations

Mvezo Komkhulu (The Great Place): - Today we bid farewell to a

year of great challenges but immense breakthroughs, and
welcome a new year of renewed hope and many reasons for
optimism.

As a nation, we enter the 24th year of our democracy and

continue to grow, strengthen and deepen the democratic
experience. Although it sometimes felt that certain
parliamentarians were frivolously trying to set a Guinness Book of
Records for the most votes of no confidence in a year in 2017, we
have reason to be deeply satisfied that our democracy is working.

As we bring 2017 to a close our thoughts are with those awaiting

matric results with great trepidation and anxiety. We call on
families and friends to provide a bridge of support at this critical
time. Too often we hear of those who contemplate suicide at this
time of the year. Whilst we celebrate academic achievement and
excellence we must accept that our children are blessed in a huge
diversity of ways and we must support them and nurture their
strengths and unique talents. The loss of even one life due to
peer and parental pressure is one too many.

2017 was a big year for publishers and power pedlars who
collectively revealed how perilously close we have sailed to
compromising the South African project while demonstrating the
raw ambitions of those who would stop at nothing for self
aggrandisement. We call on all South Africans to recommit in this
year of Mandela Centennial Celebrations to the goals of national
reconciliation, nation building and social cohesion. Let us root out
corruption and continue the journey to a better life for all,
together.

Among the highlights of 2017 was the re-opening of the inquest

into what has now been established was the murder in detention
of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol by security policemen 46
years ago. As a nation, we cannot reconcile if we are in denial
about the horrors of the past. The attitude of the Timol family in
doggedly pursuing the truth, without seeking vengeance or
material damages, should be applauded by all South Africans.

My grandfather would no doubt have approved of our taking to

the streets of Cape Town and other major centres in support of
the Palestinian struggle. Our parliament stood firm in rejecting
the Israeli Parliamentary Delegation, and was instrumental in
halting Apartheid Israel's chequebook diplomacy by calling off the
First Africa-Israel Summit in Togo.

After witnessing and experiencing first hand the reality of living

under occupation on the West Bank during my visit in November,
we were elated in December by the ANCs 54th NGC resolution
demanding the downgrade of diplomatic relations with Apartheid
Israel. We had called for a total shutdown of relations in the face
of Apartheid Israel's brutality. and its decimation of any hope and
possibility of a two state solution by its continued occupation and
the illegal expansion of settlements on Palestinian lands.

Those who welcomed Donald Trumps illegal, unjust and unilateral

declaration on Jerusalem decried our stand with the oppressed
people of Palestine and upholding Madiba's legacy.

Too many children in our country, on the African continent and

across the world continue to live in poverty and hunger. We were
very grateful that, with the help of the local Pakistani community,
we managed to bring some Christmas cheer to the children of
Mvezo Komkhulu and the surrounding villages, as President
Mandela did for many years. Perhaps in 2018 we will pay heed to
the sage advice of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that
if, "each of us helps our neighbour, then who is there that will
need help".

Few things riled me more in 2017 than the news that bodies were
piling up in Cape Town Mortuary due to an unprecedented spike
in drug and gangster warfare on the Cape Flats. The drug trade
has become a national scourge and cuts at the very roots of the
new society that we are cultivating. We call on communities and
CBOs all across our vast country to unite behind the campaign to
rid our communities of gangsterism and drugs.
We must encourage our youth to venture into sport, recreation
and other alternative wholesum activities. May we celebrate
many victories, medals and local sport heroes and heroines in
2018.

The festive season is a time of cheer and merriment for many.

For others it is a restive period devoted to family and friends.
Each year, though, we add to the tally of devastation and sadness
as people fall victim to road accidents. Our thoughts and prayers
are with those who have lost loved ones at this time in years
gone by, and we pray for sanity and sobriety as the loss of
human lives continues unabated. Whilst life and death is a natural
cycle as sure as day follows night, recklessness, drunken driving
and wanton disrespect for the life and safety of fellow citizens is
untenable and should not be tolerated.

We wish holiday makers around our country enjoying our sunny

beaches, majestic mountains and picturesque landscapes a happy
holiday and safe return to their homes in 2018.

May we never give up on our hopes and dreams, and may 2018
take us ever closer to its realisation. We call on all and sundry,
young and old, to make the Nelson Mandela Centennial
Celebrations meaningful and memorable. Do something
extraordinary special even if it is small and insignificant in your
eyes. The legacy lives on and the dream will never die!

Ends…

Nkosi Zwelivelile
Royal House of Mandela
Mvezo Komkhulu
P.O. Box 126
Viedgesville, 5102
Eastern Cape Province
South Africa

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