Comrade chairperson,

President of the ANC, cde. Cyril Ramaphosa and the entire leadership of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO and all other allied formations gathered here today.

Today is a moment to honour the memories and sacrifices, to remember the principles and vision of our many stalwarts and ordinary South Africans who tread this path before us and who built and left this ANC in our hands to nurture and strengthen.

It is fitting that we are gathered here in Athlone at the Dulcie September Civic Centre, appropriately named after the ANC’s Chief Representative to France who was assassinated by the apartheid regime.

Cde. Dulcie in fact lived less than 500 metres from here as did many other struggle stalwarts including Dullah Omar, Essa Moosa, Randall Van Der Heever and Reg September.

It is here in Athlone, that the soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe; Ashley Kriel, Anton Fransch, Coline Williams and Robbie Waterwitch died in combat against the apartheid regime.

It is in Thornton Road where the Trojan Horse massacre of three children Michael Miranda, Jonathan Claasen and Shaun Magmoed and a few kilometres down the road where the Gugulethu Seven were murdered by the police.

Our democracy that will soon be 31 years old, is the fruit of their sacrifices.

Whilst we are correctly proud of our liberation led by the ANC-led Alliance, we dare not rest when Nyanga remains a murder capital of the nation, when gangs engage in open battles in Hanover Park, when young women are afraid to walk at night in Manenberg, when unemployment robs young men of the chance to achieve a better life.

Whilst we celebrate this symbolic cake of our beloved movement, the African National Congress, we must at all times remember the Dora Tamanas and the Joe Slovos, the Oscar Mpethas and the Kader Asmals.  We must not forget the cries of our people and our duty to uplift and liberate them from the pain of poverty, unemployment and crime.

But for today, let us celebrate and say halala ANC.  Happy birthday khongolose!