diplomats-of-south-africa

"Poetry is part of the struggle. You use the armed struggle; you use political methods… You recite a poem. It’s better than a three-hour speech. It gets to the heart of the matter. It moves people"

"Our nation owes her an enormous debt of gratitude and appreciation for all the sacrifices she has made throughout her life as a committed freedom fighter, a determined cultural and literary activist and a champion for women’s emancipation. She was a phenomenal woman; a woman of grace; a woman of elegance; an embodiment of humility; and courage and dedication personified. Her use of poetry and other writings as a weapon against the brutal and iniquitous system of apartheid created hope for many who could not return to the place of their birth"

"On behalf of my mother, Lindiwe Mabuza we thank Rhodes University for this prestigious award. As a family, we are both humbled and honoured at the recognition of her contribution and commitment to the struggle and her beloved country, South Africa. It is most heartening that she was aware of this accolade as she received the letter from Rhodes shortly before her death. Indeed, I am convinced she is smiling down from the heavens"

"I'm thrilled to see Kaizer Chiefs here in Türkiye, a country with which South Africa has a long history of friendship and cooperation"

"We look forward to continuing our cooperation and promoting mutual understanding through sports and culture."

"This visit is a great example of the strong bonds between our countries"

"This visit is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties and promote cultural exchange between our nations"

"We all know that where conflicts burst, the attack on women and children remains one of the most potent weapons"

"The majority of the conflicts the UN Security Council deals with, are in this continent"

"Through the African Union, we have worked tirelessly to see that dominant economies do not dictate to us on how to solve our problems"

"The war on our bodies as women must take first priority in this continent"

"The progress of women is the best measure of societal progress"

"Ubuntu as a guiding principle of our cultural and economic diplomacy, echoing Agenda 2063’s Principle 6, will best be achieved with women at the centre as champions of Africa’s development"

"Peace, security and stability can never be fostered in this world without the position of women being significantly improved first through economic empowerment and safety in our bodies"

"I would like us to remember to work tirelessly for justice so that when we are honoured - we are also celebrated as national heritage"

"We are in a good position to work out solutions that befit postcolonial societies"

"We are in a good position to work out solutions that befit postcolonial societies. We need to revive the agency of the people to be masters of their destiny"

"South Africa has lessons to offer, by no means perfect, and we have so many lessons to learn from other countries in the continent may we learn from the mistakes of others in reconstructing our countries towards the future we desire"

"We stand on the shoulders of cultural icons who fought for the liberation of the most oppressed people in the world in Africa"

"When we speak about heritage, we speak about legacy"

"We will not always be right, we must be open to criticism, even when it seems harsh, there are lessons to be drawn always"

"My wish is that we do not resign our people only to raise grievances but to also use their agency to collectively work towards a common future and truly give a sense of place, security and dignity to redress the human wrongs of our past to human rights of the future"

"We seek to pursue our objective of a better life for all."

"The pressing need to concentrate on the present does not, and must not, imply disregard for the future"

"We were forced to learn each and every language or syllabus in Afrikaans, doing maths in Afrikaans and doing biology in Afrikaans, doing everything."

"Definitely the voice of the women have continued to prevail"

"There's lots of improvement, but I must still say there is much, much more to be done because we still have, certain things that, undermine the effort that is being made by women"

"Working in an environment where President Mandela was president of the country was very exciting"

"It is our time to assist in whatever we can and not necessarily being back, but creating a better world for everybody"

"I think for each and every woman, what happened in the last election, the first Black woman, being elected as a deputy president. It's something that we are very excited about"

"We urge efficient use of this emergency fund to alleviate the plight of our people in the face of unfortunate circumstances such as fires, floods and other natural disasters"

"We continue to call on banks to help increase access to home loans in order to close the gap for this important sector of workers across all industries"

"Since 1994, the dawn of democracy brought along a new determination by the democratic government. Ours was to restore human dignity from a long history of brutal oppression"

"The time is now to cement social cohesion to further strengthen us as a people to weather these recent waves of racist torrents"

"We are yet to truly see our unity in our diversity, first as a country and also as a continent, a continent that humanity in its entirety, calls home"

"The so-called born-frees are standing up, saying not in our name, not a minute longer."

"This generation assert their African identities and are actualizing our clarion call of a united Africa, at peace with itself"

"As leaders of society, we can draw many lessons from the younger generation to pursue radically different futures for Africa than its current state of dependency on the dominant economies"

"Our biggest cultural export to the world of diplomacy is Ubuntu"

"I understand that the Portfolio Committee has a good working relationship with both the Department and the Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Development. I hope this spirit of cooperation will continue to prevail as we jointly continue to seek better ways to ensure that our service delivery makes a real impact on the lives of our people"

"It is revolving into a dynamic robust institution for the justice sector"

"The college will further cultivate an existing generation of prosecutors by ensuring they are kept up to date with the latest developments"

"Similarly, the Cyberforensic Academy will focus on the intersection of law and technology, equipping learners with the knowledge and expertise needed to navigate complex issues such as cybercrime, digital forensics, financial crime investigations, and beneficial ownership"

"We trust that the integrity commissioners will aid the organisation in ensuring that its integrity and good standing is upheld‚ so that we may all take heed in the examples of life-long activists and disciplined members of our movement such as those who have been bestowed with the honours of Isithwalandwe/ Seaparankoe like Tata Nelson Mandela"

"I like to define myself not according to what I have suffered but according to how much I have overcome, and I am very grateful to my mother for instilling that in both me and my sister… I never see a glass half empty but I see it half full."

"From a very early age I learnt to internalise, to project a very confident persona and be strong."

"I had to believe one day we would be free. The struggle became my motivation – that’s all I could hang on to."

"Dear Apartheid Apologists, your time is over. You will not rule again. We do not fear you. Finally #TheLandIsOurs”."

"After our liberation she became an icon of the task we began of transforming our society and stepping into spaces and opportunities that had been denied to generations of South Africans."

"What she did, the sacrifices, the hardships she went through, the difficult life she led, we will forever be grateful because it was done so our people can be free."