Statement by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman
Patricia de Lille: Mayor De Lille proposes Freedom of the City
award to President Obama
Good morning, goeiedag, molweni,
The qualities of leadership, excellence and inclusion are amongst those that the people
of Cape Town aspire to.
Our city, built as it is on a rich history of traditions and heritage has been subject to
divisions in the past.
We have learnt how to work towards overcoming our divisions.
We have sought lessons from our past that have taught us, upon introspection, that
there is as much that binds us together as there is that which has drawn us apart.
We have sought inspiration from those heroic men and women who have worked
tirelessly and sacrificed much to give us freedom and dignity.
We have drawn on our own hopes for a city that is a caring home for all of its children.
As South Africans, we map, as does the rest of the country, a course from our past into
a better future for all of us.
Like many travellers, we need markers with which to chart our journey.
For this city, as for the entire world, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle
Obama are the guiding stars to our eventual destination.
In a cynical age, there is a desperate need for universal hope.
Hope that acts as a reminder that, no matter what the odds, even the supposedly
unattainable is within our grasp.
Symbols that retain their meaning in these times, and ones that embody the qualities to
which we aspire, are worthy of the highest recognition.
In recognition of their inspirational example and proof that every obstacle can be
overcome, I have proposed that the Rules Committee recommends to Council that the
City of Cape Town awards the Freedom of the City to the President of the United States
of America, Barack Obama and the First Lady of the United States of America, Michele
Obama.
Our living Freemen of the City include former President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop
Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Dr. Richard van der Ross.
President Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America on the
4th of November 2008 and received the Nobel Peace Prize on the 9th of October 2009,
for creating a new climate of cooperation in international politics.
First Lady Obama travelled to Cape Town last year as part of a broader outreach to
Africa and brought with her the uplifting example of achieving the impossible.
Noting the inspiration they have been to us and the world, and in acknowledgement
that their extraordinary successes have only been possible with the support of each
other, I have proposed to the Rules Committee, in accordance with all processes, that it
recommend that the next meeting of Council honours Barack and Michelle Obama with
our highest award.
It is my hope that their example will forever be a reminder that where there is hope and
perseverance and where we are fuelled by the courage of our convictions, that even the
unimaginable is doable.
And let that formula forever be part of Cape Town’s identity as we build a better city for
all of our people.