AND MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS

EMPANGENI : MAY 29, 1999

It is a great pleasure for me to witness once again a new class of graduands of the University of Zululand who are ready to cross the threshold into the real world of commitment, industriousness and responsibility. Year after year I have had the privilege of presiding over many of these graduation ceremonies. I have seen one generation after the other passing through this University and carrying forward a collective process of growth and transformation. Each new class of graduands carries the promise which moves the ever-consuming quest for human progress one step forward.

While at university, students have learnt how to grow and make the best out of their God-given potential. Perhaps the most important thing that I hope the University of Zululand has successfully taught all of you, is indeed the fundamental skill of how to learn. As you leave this University, your life-long journey of learning and human growth has just begun. You will continue to learn throughout your life and be open to the never-ending opportunities of human growth which continuously reveal themselves to those willing and capable of seizing them. During this first stage of your education and upbringing, many of the opportunities you have captured have been mapped out for you by others. Undoubtedly, it was because of your hard work, commitment and determination that you have reached this important milestone of your graduation. However, thus far, you have had the benefit of support in conducting your quest for human growth within the structured environment of a learning institution.

As you enter a rapidly changing society, I urge all of you to become active in seeking new opportunities for growth, looking around for ways and means to continue to improve on your knowledge and understanding of life and society. There are many opportunities for those capable of seeking them out. However, people must be wise. It is essential that in a society such as ours which is becoming increasingly more open and complex, people learn how to choose between real opportunities for growth and upliftment, and dead-end paths. Our society offers many luring opportunities which can only lead to the downfall of those who engage them. You must accept that often there are no short-cuts or substitutes for hard work, personal dedication and productivity. The real opportunities are those which can be seized through one’s own hard work and commitment, not those which seem to offer a way around these efforts.

I also urge all of you to become involved in the building of society. Our country is experiencing an enormous amount of problems which may affect not only your future, but also that of your children. The solutions to these problems depend on the goodwill that each of us is willing to muster to make a difference for the better and provide a personal contribution towards the building of a better world. We need to transform South Africa from the bottom up and from better families, work-places and communities. The building blocks of our society can become stronger and better if young people commit their efforts to giving more and better to their families, work-places and communities. We need a revolution of goodwill to rebuild South Africa into a place which works, produces, and provides for the needs of its people.

Commitment towards the building of a better future begins today and carries forth into each day of our lives. In four days' time, each of us will be offered the opportunity to make a difference by voting in the next election. I urge everybody to seize the opportunity and make the effort to go to the voting stations to cast their vote. I also urge you to offer this opportunity to those who have difficulty in reaching the election polls and may need transport or simply a word of encouragement. We must ensure that apathy does not undermine the success and the legitimacy of the next elections. The next elections can be the dawn of a new beginning if people understand its importance and carefully consider how they can make a considered choice which can provide South Africa with a better government.

We all know that many things are not going well in South Africa. We are all experiencing the social evils affecting our communities, ranging from crime to unemployment, right to unfulfilled promises that were made in 1994. However, we must continue to believe that through our participation, commitment and enthusiasm in public life, we can make a difference for the better and begin a process which can solve these problems. We must abandon the easy and downhill path towards further social decay and economic decline and we must have the courage and determination of embracing the uphill and hard path eventually leading to economic prosperity and social stability. For this reason, it is essential that on election day the young people become the protagonists of history and ensure that all of them vote and make their voices heard.

 

South Africa is becoming increasingly younger as the statistics show a clear shift towards the prevalence of younger people over older ones. At the same time, South Africa is undertaking an unprecedented process of transformation and change towards progress, which leads many people to often take a difficult personal journey from a remote past into a rapidly approaching future. Many people carry the heavy responsibility of becoming agents of a rapid process of transformation between past and future and are called by circumstances not only to change the paradigm in which they operate, but also to contribute to the transformation of their communities. I hope the University of Zululand has imparted to all new generations the wisdom necessary to participate in this process in a balanced fashion which arises from the experience and knowledge of the past, while adjusting to meet the challenges of the future.

Our University prides itself in giving our students something over and above mere education. We always hoped that the graduates of the University of Zululand can be identified throughout their lives because they carry some special personal features. They should be recognisable because of their willingness to work hard and because of their wisdom of bridging the past together with the future in a framework of goodwill. I hope that the graduates of this University can always be identified as people of the African renaissance, who are also activists in the promotion of a revolution of goodwill. I hope that wherever you go from here you will be able to make a contribution to promoting social discipline, law and order, productivity and individual and collective responsibility.

As the graduates of the University of Zululand embark upon their journey along these paths of life, they must accept that their place within our society is largely dictated by their own actions, perceptions and sense of responsibility. Indeed, what becomes of you as adults operating within our country and within your communities, what you do and who you become, depends upon your will to fulfil the goals which you have set for yourselves. To become strong community leaders and individuals of goodwill, you must determine where your responsibilities lie and commit yourselves to bringing a personal contribution to fulfil your role. Whether you act within your family or within your community, the example you will give must be one that succeeding generations will be well-disposed to follow.

It is my hope that this class of graduands will also abide by their obligations of social responsibility and recognise that your successes are not only the product of your hard work and intellect. Indeed, they are the product of a collective effort and many contributions which have participated in making this day of glory and joy possible. We must thank the communities and the many families which have often made great sacrifices to put their youth through university. We must thank lecturers and the faculty who day in and day out have toiled with these young intellects to ensure that they could fulfil their potential. Today, we celebrate the success of this collective achievement, recognising that behind the success of one, there is often the sacrifice of many.

If we rely on our collective strength, we will be able to face the many challenges ahead. South Africa is engulfed in dramatic problems, but I know that its people have the spiritual and human resources necessary to overcome them. We need to free these resources and exploit their full potential. I hope that the students of the University of Zululand will remain close to one another and to their University, maintaining the dialogue between generations and making their contribution to ensure that our University can strive to become a centre of excellence. We must strengthen the feeling of togetherness which can make this a better University and which can make each of our communities better places in which to work and enjoy the many blessings of life.

The future is going to be as bright as we make it, or as bleak as events make it because of our failure to take charge of our destinies. All those who graduate today have proven that they have what it takes to take charge of their destinies and move forward on the path of the future. I encourage them to continue in the long march which will take them past the many hurdles and difficulties of life and to join hands and efforts with all the people of goodwill who can work with them to build a better future. Together, we can prove to the rest of the country that there are people who have no fear of the challenge ahead and have the courage, the skill and the determination to transform South Africa into a place where reality can finally shake hands with their dreams.