Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
City honours Tata Madiba on Freedom Day
Note to editors: the following is an extract from a speech delivered by Mayor
De Lille at the unveiling of Nelson Mandela bust this morning at the Cape
Town City Hall.
Mayoral Committee Members
Councillors
Mr Ahmed Kathrada
Sculptor Mr Bill Davis
Members of the Media
Honoured guests
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni, as-salaam alaikum, shalom.
“I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom.”
That was the greeting of our beloved former President, the late Tata Madiba,
here on the steps of City Hall on February 11, 1990, during his first speech
following his release from prison.
That day this city centre was filled with exuberance and hope, as his words
signalled the start of our journey on the path to democracy.
Cape Town has always had a special association with Nelson Mandela, who
felt a close affinity for the city in which he spent 27 years of his life as a
prisoner along with his close friend, Ahmed Kathrada who spent 26 of those
years in prison with Madiba.
On the day of his release he said: “I send special greetings to the people of
Cape Town, this city which has been my home for three decades. Your mass
marches and other forms of struggle have served as a constant source of
strength to all political prisoners.”
Our mission is to build an inclusive city, one which recognises our history and
ensures that this is a place where we can remember the past, but also build a
better future.
A city in which we look forward to great things, while honouring the leaders of
the past and the examples they set.
As such we are proud to honour Tata Madiba with the unveiling of this
sculpture today, on Freedom Day.
This artwork, by sculptor Bill Davis, was donated to the City of Cape Town and
we believe it is fitting to honour Tata Madiba by placing it here in this iconic
venue, where he made his first speech as a free man.
In 2013 I announced the year that “Cape Town celebrates Nelson Mandela”.
I wanted people to come together and celebrate him while he was still alive
and draw on his example of leadership to chart our way into the future.
His great legacy remains the Constitution, upon which we are building this
great and new country.
Justice. Dignity. Respect.
These are his gifts to us.
Today we celebrate him again as Freedom Day will always be a special day
for South Africa since it was on that day 21 years ago that we held our first
democratic election, ushering in a new dawn for our country.
On the anniversary of the first Freedom Day in 1995, Tata Madiba said that
April 27, 1994 marked the crossing of the divide; from a past of conflict and
division to the possibility of unity and peace; from inequality to equality; and
from a history of oppression to a future of freedom.
We have undoubtedly made great strides to overcome the legacy of our
unjust past, but as we all know, there is no short cut to making South Africa
the country of our dreams.
In Cape Town we are doing all we can to promote redress and reconciliation
and build an inclusive, unified city.
We do so knowing that this is what Nelson Mandela and many others fought
for, and we are proud to continue what they started all those years ago.
In conclusion, today we honour the father of our nation for his lifetime of
dedication and sacrifice.
We will forever be grateful and indebted to him.
I believe that we can repay our debt to him by living our freedom in the way
he envisioned it.
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi