Speech delivered at the presentation of the 2023 National Orders by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Grand Patron of the Order, at the Sefako Makgatho Guest House, Tshwane Programme Director, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Members of Parliament, Chancellor of the Order, Ms. Phindile Baleni, Members of the Advisory Council on the Order, Members
Since 2019, this is the first complete ceremony without COVID-19 restrictions.
This alone exemplifies humankind’s resolve to overcome difficulties, persevere, and work toward a better life and a better world.
We pay tribute to South Africans and foreigners who give their lives for their country and its people today.
They are the result of a process in which nominations were received from all over the country, demonstrating how our honors system encourages broad participation.
There is a hint of symbolism in this week’s National Orders ceremony.
On April 20, 2023, President Hage Geingob of Namibia, the land of the brave, paid me a state visit. We reviewed the common battles for freedom and how we praised every others triumph and freedom.
His Excellency Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic of Finland, visited me on Tuesday, April 25 as part of a state visit.
It was a welcome an open door for us to not just reaffirm the significance of the reciprocal relationship, yet additionally to thank the respectable Finnish individuals for all they did to help South Africa’s freedom battle.
We were saddened to learn that Harry Belafonte, a great friend of the South African people and a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, had passed away on Wednesday, April 26.
Mr. Belafonte was honored in 2008 with the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo for his efforts to maintain a cultural boycott against South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Yet again however much we are disheartened by Mr. Belafonte’s passing and honor his heritage, as South Africans we are support that we had the option to stretch out our appreciation to him in the course of his life.
Yesterday, we observed Freedom Day to commemorate the historic birth of our nation on April 27, 1994.
The men and women we honor today all contributed to the freedom that South Africans enjoy today in various ways and contexts.
What they did was right; acted as they did; furthermore, acted the manner in which they didn’t really for renown or distinction, nor for acknowledgment or prize, but since it was the correct thing to do.
In making the best decision, their activities had an enduring and getting through influence and live on lengthy after them.
The people who are receiving National Orders represent the South African Republic’s founding principles; specifically the accomplishment of uniformity, the headway of common liberties and opportunities, and maybe above all of all, human respect.
South Africans who have shown the most bravery in attempting to assist others are awarded the Order of Mendi for Bravery. The cause of rescuing others cost the lives of all three of this year’s recipients of the Order of Mendi for Bravery. There is no greater price to pay.
South Africans who have contributed to the fight for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice, and peace, as well as the resolution of conflicts, are given the Order of Luthuli.
In the dark days of apartheid, prominent scholars, liberation fighters, and activists risked arrest, exile, and even death to raise the voice of the oppressed South African people on the global stage.
South Africans who have excelled in the fields of the arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports are awarded the Order of Ikhamanga.
We are pleased to count among the current year’s beneficiaries ome of our donning legends and courageous women that I was regarded to invite here at the Association Structures. A new generation and the entire nation have been inspired by your victories.
The posthumous presentation of the Order in Gold to Mr. Solomon Popoli Linda merits particular mention. He never received his dues during his lifetime, despite the worldwide fame of his music. As the vote based government it is our unassuming desire that this honor will reestablish the poise of Mr. Linda and give solace to his relatives.
Citizens of South Africa are given the Order of the Baobab for distinguished service in science and medicine, business, and the economy.
The younger generation is encouraged to follow in your footsteps by your recognition of these significant contributions to our nation’s national life. Developing greatness in these disciplines are the structure blocks of a superior, more prosperous South Africa that abandons nobody.
The Order of Mapungubwe also honors South Africans who have done extraordinary things for the betterment of South Africa and the world. The recipients this year have excelled in environmental science and physics, two crucial fields.
Last but not least, prominent foreigners are honored by The Order of the Companions of OR Tambo for their friendship with South Africa. We are grateful to this year’s recipients, some of whom are no longer with us, for using their skills to raise awareness of apartheid’s great injustice.
The friends of the South African people in the media, the music industry, and the publishing industry always ensured that the regime’s atrocities were exposed, despite the regime’s attempts to commit them covertly. They sang, wrote, and published about us and our predicament.
I extend my congratulations to everyone being honored today.
Your great deeds and remarkable accomplishment will always be recollected.
As William Shakespeare once composed:
How far that tiny candle can project its light! So sparkles a decent deed in an underhanded world.”
I now award the distinguished individuals listed the Order of the Mendi for Bravery, the Order of Ikhamanga, the Order of the Baobab, the Order of Luthuli, and the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in accordance with the authority granted to me by Section 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
They will now be honored as highly regarded Orders Members.
I am grateful.
