Members of the Sobukwe family. 

Members of the clergy.  

The President of the PAC Mr. L. Mpahlele.  

The representatives from the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust.  

Mr. Dinilisizwe Sobukwe and Professor Xolela Mangcu.  

Members and leaders of the PAC. 

Traditional leaders. 

Community leaders.  

Members of the Provincial and National legislatures. 

Other Public Representatives.  

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.  

We bring the message of support, encouragement and solidarity from the Prince of Kwaphindangene, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi who is also the President of the IFP. I also pass on to Mr. Dinilisizwe Sobukwe, Professor Xolela Mangcu, to the members of The Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust and to the Sobukwe family, profound and sincere feelings of appreciation for inviting him to share with you and the community of Graaff Reinet in the Launch of the Trust in honour of one of Africa's greatest sons and leaders, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. The historian Thucydides once said: "The living have envy to contend with, while those who are no longer in our path are honoured with a goodwill into which rivalry does not enter." 

Prince Buthelezi has a long association with the Sobukwe family, in particular Professor Robert Sobukwe, from their student days to the time that the eminent Professor passed away. 

Even after Professor Sobukwe had passed on, Prince Buthelezi maintained contact and brotherly relationship with some of the prominent leaders of the Pan Africanist Congress, and most of them in exile. Among these were the late Mr AB Ngcobo and his wife Loretta, Mr. Nana Mahomo, Prince Velekhaya Shange, Mr. Luthuli and Mr. T. Mohajane. Sadly in the post liberated South Africa, the nation still finds it difficult to appreciate their positive role in the liberation struggle, an acknowledgement that they too fought a good fight, waged a noble struggle, and they too deserve to share in the victory and the glory. Led by that illustrious, visionary, courageous, insightful and mission bound son of Africa, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, they and numerous other leaders of the PAC together fought fearlessly against the injustices perpetrated by the White minority rule in South Africa.  

Professor Robert Sobukwe, like Kwame Nkrumah, Cheikh Anta Diop, Namdi Azikiwe believed in arousing a continental African consciousness as a force for the unification of the African Continent. They struggled to reinforce the cultural, linguistic and historical identity of the African peoples. Hence Anta Diop could say "The white South African regime is a permanent danger which should act as a mobilizing force for all Africans. We should have no illusions about this. It is either unity or destruction."  

Because Professor Robert Sobukwe believed strongly that a true egalitarian African society could only be brought about by the total emancipation of the political, cultural, linguistic, psychic and economic existence of the African people in this country and the rest of the African continent.  

It is in this spirit that we hope The Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust launched today will become the embodiment of his ideals as aptly stated in the objectives of the Trust and the statement of history and purpose, stating thus: 

"Firstly, for the purpose of advancing the thoughts and ideas of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. To establish and conserve a repository of records [documents, artefacts, interviews] of his life and times, which will become an accessible resource for review, analysis and dissemination thereof. This resource will also be utilised to establish and extend his legacy on issues he held with passion, and fought and sacrificed for. And lastly, to identity ways in which his voice can contribute to the daily discourse in a South Africa that is defining itself." (the 'Trust Object') 

Very often the tertiary institutions, academic and research centres, the business clubs and the elite formations enjoy the monopoly and preference when it comes to the social spread of memorial lectures. Be it the Mandela, Tambo or Luthuli memorial lectures, they carry on with the marginalization of urban and rural poor, of the workers and the unemployed, of the majority of the women and youth formations and churches, and this delays the process of attaining national consciousness necessary to transform our society for the well being of all. 

Again, we feel greatly honoured to be here with my colleague Mfuniselwa John Bhengu MP to represent Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi at this majestic ceremony. 

May God bless Africa and her children.