Pretoria - National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel has called on South Africans to honour the late struggle stalwart Govan Mbeki by ensuring South Africa succeeds.
Manuel delivered the annual Govan Mbeki Lecture in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday night. He spoke at length about Mbeki, saying South Africa was enjoying its democracy because of people like Mbeki, who struggled to topple the apartheid regime.
But Mbeki would be disappointed by some of the challenges in education, public health care and lack of proper sanitation for the poor, Manuel said.
“Take a drive through this province, or any other for that matter, and observe the amount of filth and low quality of services for the poor. How do we explain this?
“Or, we should pause to reflect on the education outcomes for black learners, who attend schools in townships and rural areas. We can pause to reflect on the conditions under which we may expect learning and teaching to take place, and we can look at how long we have budgeted for infrastructure improvements in education, that were never done…”
“But we must ask why it is that teachers, who are our members of allied trade unions, show so little regard for the enormous task at hand? We must use the examination results as a guide … and remind ourselves that Oom Gov was a teacher first and last.”
“We must remind ourselves about the profound concerns he expressed about the manner in which black youth had their opportunities snuffed out under apartheid – whether by Bantu education or the losses consequent from resistance to it. Then we must ask why this is happening on our watch?”
Manuel said Mbeki led from the front with examples of sacrifice, curiosity, determination and boldness.
The Herald reports that among those who attended the lecture were Oom Gov's wife, Epainette Mbeki, who was quoted as saying "I'm feeling tall, short as I am". – SAnews.gov.za
