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Presidential
Address delivered at the Thethe H. School Awards Ceremony 2001 held at
Thethe High School, LUKA on Friday, 30th March 2001. I stand here this morning, a messenger of the
Thethe High School Alumni Society, a society that we founded to be a
home to all students who have matriculated from this institution,
irrespective of wealth, profession or any discriminatory social
barometer. The Society was not just born out of a need to keep contact
with one's high school peers. It was born in order that we should
contribute to the on-going debate on the direction high school education
must take, if this country is to rid itself of a quagmire of social ills
perpetuated over decades and centuries. Just over a year ago, we launched "A
partnership for an academic renaissance at Thethe High School". The
groundwork has been laid. This is now the time to take the bull by the
scruff of the neck and face the challenges that you as the current
student generation as well as your educators are faced with in your
daily excursion to academic excellence. It is to this end that we have organised Career
Exhibitions and intend holding other projects and workshops to start
debate around important issues that affect your presence here. But what
good does that serve when the teachers boycott these events; when
learners themselves show little interest or only a particular section
participates in these endeavours? Surely for anything to succeed, all
stake holders must play their part. I hope that at the end of today we
will leave this gathering with a renewed commitment towards this
partnership. Each one of us must look at a way in which we can develop
this institution to take it to much greater heights than it has been
before. I give tribute today to this gracious institution,
which over the last fourteen years has played its part in the
development of this country. It has produced learners who today are
qualified and practising medical doctors, engineers, law practitioners
as well as many other professionals and other valuable citizens who
continue to shape the way to a better future for us all. This day, the 30 March ten years ago in 1991 was a
Saturday. Then, I was a Std 10 student of this school and today at the
beginning of this millennium I look back how far I have come. As a matriculant in 1991, I was pre-occupied with
some of the things some of you, the Grade 12's are faced with today. How
will I fare in my matric year? Will I do well? What will happen to me
next year - am I off to university or will I have to go seek employment?
If that is the case, what kind of people will I encounter at my
prospective workplace? These questions are still relevant today. But an
advantage you have As a young person living in South Africa today,
every road you turn into, you are reminded of three challenges one must
seek to overcome if ever one is to succeed and have a decent future. 1 in 9 South Africans are living with HIV-Aids.
Half of our population under the age of 17 will die of Aids in the next
5 to 10 years. This is a scary and bleak scenario, considering that 35%
of the South African population is under the age of 17. What these
statistics are saying is that in this hall as I speak to you now, there
are more than 56 people infected with the Aids virus. Perhaps I should allow a moment of silence for that
to sink in! However great this pandemic is, no problem is
without a solution. The greatest investment you can make today as a
student of Thethe High School to yourself is to avoid becoming part of
these statistics and ABSTAINING FROM SEX; concentrate on your studies.
As the saying goes, if you are not going to do it for yourself, please
do it for your country. A case in point, if 17.5% of the population (i.e. 7
million teenagers) will die of Aids in the next ten years, what hope is
there for South Africa? If you go ahead and infect yourself with the
virus, what right do you have to expect the government to put you
through school or a tertiary education at a direct cost of R30000 a
year? What return on investment should the committed taxpayer expect, or
should we just remain indifferent? Good citizenship and Godliness
require us to have compassion for people living with Aids. But, are we
going to allow the limited government resources to be spent on a dying
generation whilst at the same time the very same government must provide
medication and support services to help sufferers cope with the disease.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you cannot have your cake and eat it. The second challenge you face is the unemployment
situation in this country. Will you have a job when you leave this
campus or later upon completion of your tertiary education? South Africa
is a developing economy. President Mbeki touched a wrong nerve when he
spoke of South Africa as a country of two nations. How true! This
country is faced with a myriad of problems; from a millionaire
investment banker who has a legitimate concern about the security of his
investments, to a downtrodden shack dweller in the informal settlement
who needs a decent shelter and an access to quality services. For this country to prosper, a spirit of entepreneurship should be nurtured amongst the country's youth. In the face of an unemployment rate of between 22% and 26%, mass driven job creation through small and medium enterprises is the only way we will bring unemployment figures down, and hence crime, which in turn will boost investor confidence, increase the influx of foreign capital; the opportunities are countless. The status quo, where professionals are living off
a parasitic lifestyle on this fledgling economy must come to an end.
This country's middle class, ever eager to point fingers at government
for corruption in its circles and genuine civil duty like paying taxes,
is riding a luxurious gravy train. A symbiotic relationship whereby the
economy sustains the people and the people contribute without the
constant whining we hear everyday, is most definitely a recipe for
success. The threat of Aids decimating the youth of this
country or the rising unemployment is dwarfed by the greatest challenge
of all, to overcome oneself. You are your own greatest enemy, a
collaborator to your own defeats and failures. If this nation is to
transcend its challenges, then every ordinary man in the street must
overcome himself. You will have to rid yourself of that inferiority
complex, the carefree attitude, and the notion that I cannot achieve
because there are better people than myself. I left this campus at the end of 1991, armed with
mediocre grades in Mathematics and Physical Science. When I got to
university I found myself through no design of my own in class with A+
students. But I am here today and some of the A+ material is still
loitering the streets of this country without a qualification everyone
was so hopeful they would attain with ease. The world is a large place, big enough for you to
prosper in, but you must make your mark to survive and succeed. Take
charge of your life as you, and only you are the licensed driver to your
destiny. There will be bad days, good days and more bad days, but you
cannot abdicate. Joseph Heller writes, "Success and failure are both difficult to endure. Along with success come drugs, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure!" Anecdote ( ) As you try to define who you are and where you are
heading, be careful not to immerse yourself in the noisy confusion of
life. One observer notes the paradox of our lives: Will you overcome? |