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Dr. John M. Rudley, President of Texas Southern University,
Faculty Members,
Members of the Alumni, Convocation,
Chairperson of the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust, Sizwe Shezi,
Students of Texas Southern University,
Fellow South Africans,
Distinguished Guests,
It is a great privilege to receive this honour from such an esteemed institution of higher learning as Texas Southern University.
This is an honour that I accept not only on my own behalf, but that of my country South Africa, and the people I represent.
While I am proud today to be formally associated with Texas Southern University, I sense that this pride goes beyond just the accolade conferred upon me today.
It goes right to the warm relations that exist between the people of South Africa and the United States.
It is also due to the warm relations that have developed with this city of Houston.
As an inductee of Texas Southern`s roll of honour, I am also quite humbled at the University`s support and decision to launch the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust on this campus.
It is a special occasion for me to launch this partnership today, given my passion for education.
This passion makes me to strive tirelessly towards ensuring that every child who wants to learn obtains the opportunity to do so.
My passion for education arose in part from my inability to get the education I desired, as I came from a very poor background.
My father died when I was still very young, and I was raised by my mother who earned too little as a domestic worker to be able to take me to school.
This was symptomatic of the South Africa of that time, where education was a privilege and not a right for black children. Even those who went to school, obtained an inferior education compared to their compatriots of other races.
That it is the evil system whose legacy we are still working to reverse, 17 years after obtaining freedom and democracy.
I had an ambition then to become a teacher, pastor or a lawyer but was then prevented by circumstances. However, on failing to go to school, I did not sit back and do nothing, I decided to educate myself.
I pestered other children who went to school to teach me and organised night schools as well to obtain knowledge. I was devastated when the apartheid regime closed down night schools, shutting down the only avenue I had to obtain an education.
In the course of struggling to obtain education, I left the countryside to live with my mother in town, where I joined the trade union movement and the African National Congress. The two organisations added a lot of value to my self-education as they had programmes of training members in politics and labour theory.
I am proud of the fact that my self-education was deepened by the teachings of the organisation that led our struggle for freedom which turns 100 years old next year, the African National Congress.
It taught us that the doors of learning and culture should be opened to all South Africans, regardless of colour, race or creed.
When I served 10 years on Robben Island as a political prisoner, I again used the period to study, assisted by fellow prisoners.
This is the background which has given me the drive to ensure that no child suffers the way I did just to obtain an education.
That is why I established the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust Fund.
The Trust, which we are so graciously launching today on this campus, is a contribution to that campaign of widening access to education.
It arises from a realisation that Government alone will not be able to meet the demand of young people seeking education.
I started the Trust Fund in 1995 through a reconstruction and development programme Discretionary amount of about 70 000 US dollars.
The money had been provided to each member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, where I served as, to establish a project of his or her choice.
Through the Fund, I opted to focus my attention on providing access to education for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children and youth in society.
One of the key objectives of the Fund is to increase access to educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, particularly in rural areas.
Therefore the partnership with this university fits in perfectly with our pursuit of quality education for all South African children, regardless of their social or economic background.
We all know that the most pressing and significant anxiety that the youth face is uncertainty about their prospects and their future.
We must therefore view today`s event as history in the making, as the opening of the doors for future collaboration to empower and equip our youth for the future. We are therefore truly grateful for the partnership being launched today, which will benefit South African students.
Dr Rudley and Esteemed guests,
Our passion for education naturally extends beyond the education Trust.
The government I lead has made education an apex priority, as we realise that it is the key to the achievement of our developmental goals.
We are also investing in a big way in opening the doors of culture and learning to our children as directed by the Freedom Charter.
More than eight million children from disadvantaged homes benefit from school-feeding schemes at primary and secondary schools. We know that a child with a hungry stomach cannot learn adequately.
We have offered more opportunities for the children of the poor. Student loans are now being converted into bursaries for qualifying final-year students at universities.
Students in further education and training colleges who qualify for financial aid are now exempted from paying fees.
We have also put in place a policy identifying certain schools as no-fee schools, especially in poor communities. That is because of strong belief that poverty should not become a barrier to education.
We will continue to explore measures that will ensure that no South African child is denied an education, just because his or her parents are poor or the children are orphans.
We have a good partner in Texas Southern University, as you have carried this mandate of imparting education effectively since around 1925.
We congratulate you on this achievement. It makes us proud to be associated with the university.
Steeped in history and a tradition of academic excellence, Texas Southern is today a modern centre of excellence.
The institution provides relevant and cutting edge programmes such as urban planning, airway sciences, pharmacy and space exploration.
More importantly, you have contributed to increasing the number of US citizens receiving degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
We trust that the friendship and partnership we are launching today will see our youth benefitting from this university`s expertise.
This should be a beginning of meaningful cooperation in the field of education between the United States and South Africa.
We would also like to see more linkages between some South African universities and colleges and those of the United States which could include exchange programmes for academic staff and students alike.
This would take us steps forward in achieving our country`s human resources development goal, and would further open the doors of learning and culture for our people beyond our borders.
Esteemed guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I must also mention that we are drawn to the state of Texas by its history, as we see commonalities. Texas was renowned during the Civil Rights era for its strong views.
However, the people of this State have proven to the world that you can rise above adversity and unite those who did not see eye to eye in the past.
We faced a similar history of hardship and divisions, followed by reconciliation and forgiveness. This is a great legacy and we are happy to be part of it.
We must move together to a future of prosperity, inspired by the spirit of leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King jnr, Huey Newton, Chief Albert Luthuli, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and many others.
These heroes and heroines on both sides of the Atlantic continue to help shape the minds of young Africans and African-Americans alike, and inspire them to achieve great feats beyond only the entertainment stage or the sports field.
Their legacy builds in our youth a desire to want to go out and make a positive change in the world.
As leaders we must help our youth to demonstrate that people from the ghettoes and townships can ensure that their background does not enslave them, but only serves to remind them of where they come from, and make them better people.
Dr Rudley, I am truly humbled that you and the esteemed members of Texas Southern University have chosen me to be in the class of Honorary Doctorate recipients like State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon.
I am also truly humbled that you have chosen to partner with a small education trust in South Africa.
This demonstrates your commitment to the success of Africa and her people.
I also wish to salute you for your tireless efforts to preserve the memory of some of our liberation heroes, such as the late Congresswoman Barbara Charlin Jordan, by launching a commemorative stamp in her honour.
Dr Rudley and the entire university community, I thank you wholeheartedly for this honour that you have bestowed upon me and through me, to my country, South Africa.
Let us harness this friendship and unite in partnership as Africans in the continent as well as Africans in the Diaspora, to cultivate tomorrow`s heroes today.
I thank you.