In the past years the Youth Brigade of the Inkatha Freedom Party has proven its capability to develop autonomous and successful political initiatives. I hope that this Conference will prove how the Youth Brigade of the Inkatha Freedom Party is now ready to live up to the greatest challenge, which is now confronting all of us. There are great challenges facing South Africa and the IFP Youth Brigade must make them its own challenges. In nine months a destiny-determining election will be held. I feel that this election is going to be more important than any other one South Africa has previously held. In fact, in this election people will have the actual opportunity of sending out a message, which will shape the future of our democracy. It is important that during this Conference, the IFP Youth Brigade fully understands the challenge of this election and the importance of the role, which it can play in it.

The elections we held in the past were important. However, the next election is going to have a greater impact in determining future events than the prior elections. What happened in the past ten years and, indeed, even before our liberation, was not the product of the message, which the electorate sent out at elections, in the same way in which it is going to happen in the next elections. South Africa is confronted with grave problems. Whether these problems are going to be solved, by whom, and how, depends on what the electorate is going to say in nine months. Therefore, the first challenge confronting the IFP is that of convincing the whole of the electorate of South Africa, and not only that which has traditionally voted for the IFP, that the next elections are important and must be the product of a decision and a choice which each voter must make. The Inkatha Freedom Party has always carried the motto of "Freedom Means The Right To Choose". We must make this motto the motto for the entire elections, which underpins our other slogans. People should realize that not only do they have the right to choose, but that on this specific occasion, they almost have the duty to choose.

The next elections cannot be about allegiance. People must think, decide and choose. They should not consider the election as an act of allegiance or homage to those who are in power, but rather as an assessment of their performance. That will, indeed, be the time in which those who are in power are going to be held accountable. The electorate must choose whether it wishes to have five more years of the same without any major change or, if it intends to ensure that in the five years following the elections, a change for the better is, indeed, produced. Whether or not a change takes place will be entirely the product of the result of the elections. The electorate must decide whether it can trust those who have ruled the country thus far, with the heavy burden of solving South Africa's present problems or, whether a change is required. The next elections are going to be a choice between the hope for change, or the maintenance of the present situation. The next elections are going to be between keeping it the way it is, or hoping for a change for the better. Hope is the foundation of success, my late Sir Lourens van der Post, always reminded me of what R.L. Stevenson says about hope, that "it is better to travel in hope than to arrive".

In the past nine years of democratic governance, South Africa has achieved enormously. Many problems have been solved and the condition of the majority of our people has been modified for the better in many salient and important respects. We have adopted new legislative framework, which promises to bring substantial and positive reforms in all fields of our society. We have moved the country onto a new level, which could form the basis for future economic prosperity and social stability. However, since the beginning, a number of problems emerged which have not been fully attended to, and which are now threatening the future of our democracy, all the gains of liberation and the chances that our future generations have to live in a South Africa which is, indeed, economically prosperous and socially stable.

Our Annual General Conference held in July of this year has clearly identified these problems. However, these problems are known to all of you and to all South Africans because they affect each and every one of us. Some people are so used to these problems that they have almost developed the attitude that one ought to learn how to live with them as if they were a part of life, which cannot be changed. On the contrary, we must develop the hope to believe that we cannot, and shall not, live with these problems, because these problems can, and must, be solved. We cannot get used to the existence of these problems because these are not problems we can live with but are indeed, problems by which we are going to die and with us, our democracy will die. The problems confronting South Africa, and all of our families, which have been long spoken about by the IFP, are those of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, crime, corruption, poverty and underdevelopment in rural areas. HIV/AIDS, unemployment, corruption, poverty and unemployment in rural areas, and crime, are problems, which affect each and every South African. The next election ought to be about how these problems are going to be solved and whether the electorate is satisfied that those who are presently in power have the political will, the inspiration and vision necessary to solve them.

It is the role of the Youth Brigade to become promoters of electoral awareness. Throughout history young generations have been the engines of renewal and the catalyst which has enabled people to speak their minds. It is a prerogative of the youth to say aloud things that other people merely think about or whisper about. The youth has this prerogative because, after all, it has a responsibility for creating the type of change, which will produce the future in which young people will live tomorrow. The need for change is of particular importance for the youth because it is, indeed, about building your own future and being responsible for that which will define your lives. It is for you to decide whether your future will still need to be characterized by unemployment, corruption, underdevelopment, crime, insufficient economic growth and HIV/AIDS. South Africa is bending under the weight of the yoke of these problems. Each of these problems can be solved and our Annual General Conference has given us direction on how they ought to be solved. However, before effective solutions can be implemented, either those who are in power change the way in which they deal with these problems or, in the interests of South Africa, those who are in power must, indeed, be changed. In either case, the key to solving these problems, is change.

Change can only be prompted by a strong electoral message, which expresses the dissatisfaction of the people with the persistent nature of these problems and the way in which they have, thus far, been handled. Therefore, I feel that it is important that this Conference of the IFP Youth Brigade focuses mainly on concrete activities which the youth can develop to support the IFP's electoral campaign. One should have no doubt that the electoral campaign has already begun. Throughout the country there is a climate of political complacency, indifference and frustration. People have lost their enthusiasm. It is our responsibility to generate again the hope that things can change, and that they can change for the better. We can create employment where there is now rampant and ever-growing unemployment. We can redress the problem of crime, through adequate policies, which strengthen the security services and the judiciary, while promoting a wide-ranging campaign of civic education and for the regeneration of the moral fibre of our communities. We can fight our great war on HIV/AIDS by immediately providing people with the full measure of treatment which medicine can provide, and with the full measure of education, social support and other preventive actions and tools. We can stimulate economic growth so that our economy can grow faster, more employment can be generated and the looming recession can be stopped. We can say, "enough is enough" to corruption, and change the trend which sees corruption becoming ever present. We can bring development into rural areas. These and much more, we can do, but not by ourselves alone, but with the support of the South African people.

The next elections ought to be about creating this national coalition of support for a change, which addresses these issues and takes our country forward. The IFP does not claim to be able to solve these problems by itself, and through its leadership alone. However, we know that within the South African people there is a reservoir of enormous resources in which lies the possibility of solving these problems. We need to tap into these resources; to be able to muster the necessary courage and determination, to do whatever it takes to solve these problems. As I indicated for many years now, our role is that of bringing together all the people of goodwill of South Africa. Our role is that of springing a New Hope for change which, under our leadership, can prompt and motivate people to join hands together and to work as brothers and sisters in solving these problems.

It is a matter of building a new climate of co-operation within South Africa. It is also a matter of creating a new political landscape in which there is absolute political will and determination to solving problems, which have thus far been neglected. Unfortunately, it has happened that those who have reached power have developed a certain level of complacency and have not felt the urge of solving these problems. However, the South African people who have been dealing day in and day out with HIV/AIDS, unemployment, crime, corruption and underdevelopment have felt the bite of these problems and have a great deal of urgency in seeing them being solved. The next elections are, indeed, going to be about dividing those who do not feel the bite of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, crime, underdevelopment and corruption, from those who are struggling with these problems on a daily basis, and those who, even though do not struggle with these problems directly, do nonetheless, care about them to the point of wanting to see them solved once and for all. We need to shift emphasis away from the ANC, so that the space for change can finally be opened, and there may be urgency for these problems to be solved. For as long as the ANC has no need for anyone else to rule, it will not feel the urgency of having to listen to the voice of the people. For real democracy and accountability to work, those in power must feel the bite of the electorate, so that they can become sensitive when the electorate says that day in and day out they feel the bite of problems which are lingering on and remain unresolved.

For this reason it is essential that in the next election the ANC be brought below the 49% threshold so that it will no longer be allowed to rule by itself. South Africa needs a national coalition for development, development and development. For this reason, we have maintained our ties with the ANC because, even if I was the President of South Africa, I would not want to rule the country without the contribution that the ANC must make towards our country's success. But, by the same token, and for the same reason, we have strengthened our long-lasting ties with the Democratic Alliance. There continues to be a great deal of surprise about this, which really surprises me.

In fact, we have maintained constant ties with the Democratic Alliance and its predecessors, the Democratic Party and, before it, the Progressive Federal Party, since the early '80s. We worked together in this Province in the Buthelezi Commission, the KwaZulu Natal Indaba and in opposition to the tri-cameral system. Together, we believed that apartheid could be defeated and its demise secured, not through military actions, but through negotiations, negotiations and negotiations which, in the end, is what happened. It is, therefore, more than natural for us to continue this working relationship in the form of a coalition for change, because that is exactly what South Africa needs. However, I have never believed in coalitions that exclude anyone who wishes to be part of the solution, rather than staying out to remain part of the problem. Our coalition is not against the ANC, but it is for change, and to bring a solution to the problems of unemployment, corruption, HIV/AIDS, crime and underdevelopment in rural areas.

I wish the youth to keep this broader perspective in mind as they get involved in political activities. The youth must be aware of the mission that the IFP has to perform in South African history, because this mission is about creating a future, which will be for the youth to live in, experience and enjoy. Often young people in our Party tend to lose perspective of the mission which history has bestowed upon our Party and instead of helping the Party to grow and fulfil its mission, tend to scramble for positions for personal benefits. I have said this before in this Conference of the Youth Brigade in prior years and I shall keep repeating it, because it is essential for young people to understand this clearly. Politics is not about personal benefits and power. Politics is about serving the others and, indeed, becoming the servants of other people. Politics is not about ruling, it is about serving.

I appreciate that young people in our Party are questioning their leaders and their seniors. That is an important element in the necessary renewal, which each Party must always undertake. I have always encouraged internal discussions, self-criticism and critique. However, this should be for the benefit of the Party and to ensure that party leaders are accountable. Our young leaders in the Youth Brigade should not be obsessed about seeking positions for themselves or trying to push existing leaders out for no rhyme or reason. Obviously, leaders who do not perform should be held accountable, but that is a matter to be dealt with through our National Council. Our young leaders should focus on the need for our Party to grow because, in the end, their political ambitions can only be fulfilled if our Party fulfills its own mission and destiny within South African history. This means to ensure that the IFP secures a resounding victory at the next elections.

I hope that this Conference will produce tangible plans, which indicate how the Youth Brigade is going to be engaged in the fight against crime. Similarly, the issue of our war against HIV/AIDS is a permanent item on the agenda of the Youth Brigade. In this Conference we need to take stock of how much the Youth Brigade has actually done to promote progress in this war. We need to take stock of our achievements and highlight our shortcomings. In the war against HIV/AIDS each of you can provide a very important personal contribution in terms of education, prevention and assistance to those who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.

I also hope that this Conference can give better guidance to the Youth Brigade in terms of how it engages with our communities and the people of South Africa. Politics is not about constantly talking to, and interacting with, people of a similar persuasion. The mission of politics is about engaging those with different persuasions and those who are not part of the realm of politics. Therefore, the Youth Brigade must take it upon itself to reach out and engage and interact with other organizations within society. It must become extremely active in respect of development organizations at community level. Throughout South Africa there are organizations, which are engaged in developing communities, both from a physical as well as a spiritual or religious viewpoint. It is essential that the Youth Brigade be present wherever South Africans build, construct and develop.

We are a country in the making. We are a country busy rebuilding itself. The Youth Brigade must be part of the engine of this positive change and reconstruction. The Youth Brigade must also engage other organizations, which are present within our communities, ranging from those, which deal with issues such as HIV/AIDS, to those, which take care of the elderly and protect our environment. Wherever there is positive work done within communities and for the benefit of others, the Youth Brigade should be present, not as an observer but to work harder than anyone else and should lead by example. That is a culture of service, in fact, promoted in tangible terms. Only by giving this example will the IFP be able to conduct an electoral campaign in a successful manner. We are not in the business of delivering empty words or promises.

The electorate is tired of those who have constantly promised a lot, and delivered very little. The electorate is looking for real leadership based on a track record and example. The IFP must bring these political commodities to the electoral market. We bring our track record and our commitment to lead by example. The IFP has the benefit of a track record of delivery, which we achieved as the ruling party of the erstwhile KwaZulu Government and as the ruling party of KwaZulu Natal. Hundreds of projects stand in this region to testify what I have done and what the IFP has done for the people of KwaZulu Natal and in pursuance of our culture of service.

You all see that the picture that emerges when we look at our economy is not a very bright one. You do not need me or anyone else to sensitize you to see problems of unemployment. You, the young people, are the very first victims of unemployment. There are no large enough investments coming into our country. This is the case in spite of the very admirable and successful fiscal policy of our government. We are in a situation where we know for a fact that unemployment is still going to be with us for many more years to come. I mention projects precisely because we need to look more in that direction than allow ourselves to live in the hope that investments may mushroom in the foreseeable future. By means of projects we develop ourselves, we may guarantee that every one of the many young people catapulted into the labour market each year may have an industrial job.

We know for a fact that while in the past a senior certificate or a matriculation certificate guaranteed a job or access to university education, now that is no longer the case. I could foresee this problem many years ago and that prompted me to approach the late Mr Harry Oppenheimer to help me to build the Mangosuthu Technikon in Umlazi. Through the erstwhile KwaZulu Government we also built some technical schools. The idea of building a place such as Emandleni/Matleng came to my mind at this time. I could foresee that even if we had much better economic growth than we have actually had in the past nine years, it would have not be possible to guarantee an industrial or professional job for every young person who enters the labour market each year, and that such would be the case for the foreseeable future.

In many of our African countries, many people have opted for jobs where they use their hands, because the only industry that existed in such countries after independence was the civil service. No civil service in any country can absorb all the young people who need jobs. As you know, even in our country, which has achieved greater industrial development than any other on this continent, our civil service is bloated. There are tens of thousands civil servants who are regarded as redundant, and the Public Service Commission has on its agenda to retrench some even by means of early retirement. I mention this to emphasize the necessity that our youth also consider jobs where they make use of their hands, as it is the case in quite a large number of other African countries, while paying special attention to the acquisition of skills of any type. This consideration also underpins why government is in the process of launching the so-called e-education, which is electronic education. It is clear that computer literacy is the future.

I mention all these things in passing as I am trying to focus on the challenge that this economic situation places before our youth today. Before 1994, I kept on warning that our political emancipation would not mean the end of our struggle. In fact, I always stated that our political emancipation would be the beginning of a more arduous struggle for our economic emancipation. I stressed that political liberation would be the beginning of our war against the abject poverty in which the majority of our people are trapped. The lack of jobs and so much unemployment does not make this phase of our struggle any easier than any of the preceding ones. Nor does it make it easier to eliminate crime, which in a sense is fuelled by the economic dire straits in which we find ourselves.

Neither does it make it easier to do battle effectively on another front of this war, namely the HIV/AIDS front of the struggle. It has been emphasized that adequate good nutrition is crucial to wage the struggle to help those who are infected or affected with this pandemic. Yet, I must ask myself how do we begin to do something about nutrition and good care of those who are infected or affected with HIV/AIDS when our people do not even have enough to eat?

I have stressed in Parliament even during the debate on the Presidential Budget that it is my view that the poverty of our people seems to be worse now in some respects than it was before 1994. In spite of the many other achievements of our government, it is really a fact that before 1994 in most of the rural areas of provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal or Mpumalanga, there was at least a subsistence economy. During the summer months, if we did not have disasters such as droughts or floods, people had enough food to eat from what they produced themselves. We need to pay very serious attention to what can be done to try and revive that subsistence economy, which existed before 1994 in our rural areas, to make this the start on the long road, we are traveling towards economic emancipation. We are all at fault. I think that in the excitement of our having exercised a vote for the first time to put in power our own government, we developed the illusion that the government would have a magic wand. That our government would do everything for us, even if we did not lift a finger ourselves to help ourselves. This is a great mistake. In South Africa, Afrikaners went through a tough time when there existed the poor white problem. They only got out of that abyss by lifting themselves up with their own bootstraps! I know that you will say that at least they had boots and most of our people do not have even those boots!

These are the challenges you face as our youth. They are indeed the challenges that we face as a nation. We must start from these basic challenges, as the more serious development reached in the developed countries of the world is far from us. I often wonder whether those who forged the idea that we are a Rainbow Nation did not face us in the wrong direction. We seem to be chasing Rainbows somehow. Though we should have all have discovered by now there is no honey-pot at the end of the Rainbow!

This was after President FW de Klerk, the President of the ANC Mr Mandela and I signed an Agreement that there will be International Mediation on the issue of the Monarchy and other outstanding matters such as the issue of traditional leaders and such mediation would be held "as soon as possible after elections". Needless for me to state that we are still waiting for that agreement to be honoured. So far it has not been honoured. We reached this agreement because of the low-intensity civil war, which took place between the supporters of the UDF/ANC axis and the supporters of Inkatha. More than 20,000 black lives were lost on both sides of this conflict. More than 400 of these were our leaders as distinct from thousands ordinary members who were killed.

There were some of our members who did not want us to participate in the Government of National Unity in 1994 when President Mandela invited me and the IFP and the National Party to participate. But we finally decided to agree to participate for the sake of reconciliation between our people who were ravaged in that low intensity civil war. It has not been easy for the ANC and it has not been easy for the IFP to participate in the Government of National Unity. We, however, participated in it until it expired in 1999, after the 1996 final Constitution of the country was implemented. The violence did subside but it was not completely eliminated, and we did at least have a peaceful election in 1994.

In 1999 President Thabo Mbeki invited me to his office and stated that in spite of the expiry of the Government of National Unity, it was still essential for the sake of consolidating reconciliation amongst our people, that we continue to cooperate in the national Government and in the provincial Government of KwaZulu Natal. We agreed to do so. President Mbeki went further to offer me the position of Deputy President in his new Government. Although I found this difficult to agree to, I finally agreed to it. What made it difficult for me to accept, was the fact that the Deputy President's position seemed emasculated from what it was when President Mbeki occupied it. I was further conscious of the fact that if I became the Deputy President in his new Government, I would be more restrained to speak out as I do as the Leader of my Party. I found myself in a dilemma on whether to accept this position in those circumstances. I finally did so for the sake of reconciliation to which we were committed.

But God found me a way out of the difficulties I was going to encounter as Deputy President when the President invited me to his place to offer to me the position of the Deputy President after the elections of 1999. After offering this position to me, the President stated that the leader of the ANC, Mr Sbu Ndebele and other KwaZulu Natal ANC leaders had been with him the same day and that they had suggested that if I accepted being appointed Deputy President, I should then offer to the ANC the premiership of KwaZulu Natal, which the IFP held by virtue of the number of votes we had gained. I refused to accept this exchange and that meant that I had to decline the position of Deputy President.

President Mbeki still stressed to me the importance of consolidating reconciliation by the IFP continuing to serve in the national Government. We further agreed to appoint a Committee of 3-A-Side of ANC and IFP to drive the process of reconciliation between our two parties. Accordingly, in October 1999 both President Mbeki and I unveiled a monument to the people who were killed in Thokoza in Gauteng during the civil war between members of the ANC and the IFP. We also agreed that there would be joint rallies of ANC and IFP members that would be addressed by both the Presidents of the ANC and the IFP. This never happened except on the day of the unveiling of the Thokoza Monument. I wish to recall that the decision to address joint rallies by the Presidents of the ANC and the IFP was first taken before on the 29th January 1991 in Durban after delegations of the two Parties led by both President Mandela and myself deliberated for the whole day at the Royal Hotel. I invited President Mandela to join me at Taylor's Halt in the Pietermaritzburg area where I had to address a rally. President Mandela agreed. I had later to learn from the then Secretary General of the IFP Dr Oscar Dhlomo and later from President Mandela himself that he could not go to Taylor's Halt with me because the late Mr Harry Gwala and the other leaders of the ANC from KwaZulu Natal and a busload of their members went to see Mr Mandela at Shell House and forbade him to go to Taylor's Halt to address a joint rally with me.

In the year 2000 local government elections were held in South Africa. Some of our members died in what were for all intents and purposes political assassinations. They included Joseph Sikhonde, the Mayor of Nongoma and our candidate in Vosloorus, Mr Justice Radebe. I can talk the whole day about details of the bumpy ride we have had in our efforts to achieve reconciliation between our two organizations. It has been extremely difficult for me to serve as Minister of Home Affairs. I have had to endure a lot of humiliations and insults. There have been a number of times when I felt like suggesting to my other colleagues that we should leave. The coalition Government in KwaZulu Natal has just not worked. In fact, it has been more of a tragic misfortune than our participation in the national Government. At last year's Annual Conference there were members of the IFP Youth Brigade who felt strongly that we should end the coalition of the ANC and the IFP both at national and the provincial level. This matter was discussed fully and a decision by the Annual Conference was taken this year to leave things as they are because of the changed circumstances.

We held a special meeting of the National Council in Durban at which we were giving the Premier who is our National Chairperson, a mandate to use his constitutional right to dissolve the KwaZulu Natal Legislature and to call for an election earlier this year. At that stage, while actually meeting in Durban, the Deputy President of the ANC, Deputy President J G Zuma approached us promising that the ANC would back down and not implement the retrospective clause which would allow the "crosstitutes" to join the KwaZulu Natal Legislature as ANC members. We then advised the National Chairperson Dr Mtshali not to dissolve the Legislature and not to call for an election. It is clear that the ANC made such an intervention because it was afraid of going to the electorate on the basis of such an immoral crossing of the floor legislation.

In the meantime because of the "crosstltutes" who took advantage of the constitutional amendment, the ANC acquired now more members in the Legislature than the IFP. It is good that an election is now about nine months away, as this is the time for the people to speak. Today, democracy is under siege in South Africa. Even in the National Assembly the ANC has now a two-thirds majority in Parliament. They have achieved this majority not through an electoral process but through an immoral legislative edict. In such fashion and by such means, they have gained the unfettered power to do whatever they wish with our Constitution. This is a challenge to our democracy and us. This is a challenge to our youth to work flat out to ensure that the ANC majority is whittled down as our democracy is in danger. By passing such immoral legislation as the floor crossing constitutional amendment, the ANC has demonstrated to all and sundry that they cannot be trusted with the Constitution. The only way of putting right that which is so wrong in our new Republic is to ensure that we register as many voters as possible in all the polling stations in South Africa.

All the gains we have achieved by way of reconciliation are in danger. The KwaZulu Natal Parliament is virtually a hung Parliament. Even as late as the 25th of August, the leader of the ANC in KwaZulu Natal, Mr. Sbu Ndebele, gathered all the smaller Parties in the KwaZulu Natal Legislature as part of his constant efforts to topple the Premier of KwaZulu Natal. He sought their support to become the Premier of the Province before next year's elections. This in itself is a type of political corruption where cheque-book politics becomes the order of the day. No one objects to Mr Ndebele being Premier of KwaZulu Natal through the electoral process, but it is actually a frontal attack on our democracy for him to try to accede to the premiership through tricks. He is obviously hell bent on being Premier by hook or by crook. One can see that both reconciliation and democracy are under siege.

A few weeks ago a senior member of the ANC in KwaZulu Natal, Mr Bheki Cele, made a very irresponsible statement when he stated: "Peace In KwaZulu Natal hangs on a banana skin", Obviously, over and above the tensions between the ANC and the IFP that are clearly running high in this Province, Mr Cele must know something else that we do not know, to justify his making statements of such a nature. There are people who seem bent on destroying all that we have achieved by way of reconciliation in the last nine years. We read in the press last week that the Scorpions have issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Phillip Powell a member of the IFP National Council. When Phillip Powell pointed out a cache of arms which he had stacked away near Nquthu, which I and the IFP knew nothing about, we were told that there was an understanding between him and the SAPS that he would not be prosecuted and he was given a written indemnity. But now that we are a few months from an election there seems to be a deliberate attempt to raise the political temperature to its maximum and foment friction between the ANC and the IFP. The result of all this will be that the gains we made on the path of reconciliation will go up in flames. The ANC leadership has never denied that they had caches of arms all over the country as we see now in Mozambique. No one in the ANC has pointed out a single cache of arms since 1994. Yet Phillip Powell is now going to be punished for revealing the cache of arms which I knew nothing about after he was granted an indemnity. The late Sifiso Nkabinde told me that one of the reasons he was the most hated person as far as the leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu Natal was concerned, was exactly because he knew where some of these caches of arms are. To this date, no one has ever revealed them!

Throughout all these setbacks and obstacles on the path of reconciliation our track record has been steadfast in promoting reconciliation, integrity and a culture of service. As a new generation, the IFP Youth Brigade needs to take our track record forward and create additional examples, which can show how our politics is not about speaking and empty promises, but about building and delivering. In each community there is the possibility of working with others to help the people build a better South Africa. Those who are willing to be involved in politics must do so to change the lives of others for the better, and not to improve on their own lives. There are too many examples of people taking advantage of their positions in politics, not to serve others, but to enrich themselves and our country suffers because of it. We must eradicate corruption by defeating the culture of enrichment through real commitment to broad-based empowerment, change and transformation.

We are at a time in which people can make a difference by becoming active in politics and mobilizing others to vote. It is almost a paradox that in this climate of political apathy, there is the greatest opportunity for people of goodwill to really make a difference. This is a unique opportunity for leadership and political growth, which is offered, to new generations. This is an opportunity, which the IFP Youth Brigade must not miss. You must go out not only into traditionally IFP communities, but also to other communities, to register voters and ensure that everyone has identity documents, which enable them to register and vote. You must go out into all communities engaging both people and institutions on the themes of today's politics, which are HIV/AIDS, unemployment, insufficient economic growth, crime, corruption and underdevelopment. Hear what people have to say, and tell them what the IFP is proposing to bring about a revolution of goodwill, which can provide solutions to these problems. This is the time for young people to engage others as much as they can in political discussions. They should become active participants in all student councils and revamp student politics, which is now stagnant. Young people must realize that solving these problems is, indeed, the next stage of our liberation struggle. We must infuse in this liberation struggle as much enthusiasm as there was among students when we fought to achieve our political liberation.

Now is the time for young people to become adult. Now is the time for young people to take the opportunity to forge a future without what they see being wrong in the present. Now is the time for young people to stop criticizing and to seize the opportunity to improve on our society. Now is the time in which young people can play a role in the shaping of the future of South Africa, which they have not had since the early '80s. As was the case twenty-five years ago, this is the time in which young generations can steer the destiny of our country in a new and better direction, by becoming the promoters of our revolution of goodwill. Change is within reach. Change today means a better future for young people tomorrow. Change is not going to be easy. Change is not going to be painless. Change is going to come at the heavy price of hard work and sacrifices. However, it will produce rewards which young generations may enjoy. Therefore, it is for them to take leadership in producing this change and delivering an election result, which commands such change. In nine months a new future can be born. Depending on how much work young people will put into preparing for that election during the next nine months, we will know whether what is to be born is, indeed, going to be something better for South Africa, or just more of the same.