Item 1069 - Address at fund-raising banquet, ANC North West Region, October 2003

TRANSCRIPT

Premier Molefe
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

And perhaps I should add: Comrades all!

For after all we are gathered here this evening with the sole intention to open our pockets and purses in a very comradely manner to contribute to the coffers of the African National Congress – and such magnanimous generosity must certainly qualify for comradely salutation.

But, Premier, perhaps it would be more polite for me not to be so forthright in my appeal and assumptions at this fund-raising banquet. Some of my advisors, friends and family are already becoming embarrassed at me for being so frank and straightforward about the needs of the organisations on whose behalf I fund-raise.

To them I say that it makes no sense to me to be diffident and dishonest about what is required to make a good cause work. If there are needs, and the cause is a good one, state those needs and the people to whom you appeal for assistance will respond with equal forthrightness!

It is perhaps again not expedient to refer to other funders when appealing to an assembled group, but I cannot forget how my frank approach to fund-raising had been influenced by the late Harry Oppenheimer. Every time I went to him with a funding request, he would dismiss my circumspect approach with the admonishment that I should put the needs clearly and that he would meet those if the cause was a justifiable one.

In the spirit of that fund-raising education I received , I can assure you that contributing to the ANC is without doubt a contribution to a worthy cause. And the Premier and other office-bearers of the organisation can spell out to you in detail exactly what the needs of that worthy cause are at this moment.

Mister Premier, need I say more? As we used to say in my days as a practising lawyer: I rest my case.

On a more serious note, though: thank you very much for attending this fund-raising event of the African National Congress in the Province of North-West. Your mere presence here signals interest in and commitment to the advancement of the process of reconstruction and development of your region and of the country.

I would never be one to claim that our liberation came solely from the efforts and contributions of the ANC. Neither would I ever claim that the successful building of the future of our country could be achieved solely by the ANC. We are where we are today because all the people and all the important leaders of our country joined in collective efforts. We shall take our country forward through all of our people coming together in a collective national effort.

None of us can, however, escape the fact that it was the lead given by the ANC that brought us as a nation through the dangers of racial civil war to the miracle of a peaceful and negotiated settlement.

None of us can ignore the fact that it is a strong and stable ANC that will lead us through this period of nation-building and consolidation of our democracy.

None of us can ignore that it is the strength and stability of the ANC that lends solidity and reliability to this period in the development of our nation.

I appeal to you to lend support to this central source of stability and development in our country as we walk this road of building our new nation into one of the leaders in the world.

We are already seeing so many signs of the success of our country. Our economy stands out not only in the developing world, but in the world at large. Our voice is being listened to with seriousness in all the international forums. We are universally respected for the strength and stability of our democratic political system.

That is due to the leadership of a strong and stable ANC.

Mister Premier, seriously now, need I say more. I rest my case, confident in the discernment of those gathered here.

Thank you for your contributions to the African National Congress. Thank you for your contributions to the stability and growth of our country.

Thank you.