Members of the Sisulu Family,
Premier of Gauteng, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane
Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters and other Ministers present,
Gauteng Transport MEC, Ismail Vadi and other MECs present,
Mayor and MMCs-City of Jo’burg
Executive Mayor and MMCs of the City of Ekurhuleni
Executive Mayor and MMCs of  Mogale Municipality,
ANC leadership and Veterans,
Members of the community,
Distinguished Guests,
 
I am pleased to address you on this important event as we celebrate our beloved national icon and struggle veteran, Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu.

Ma Sisulu, whose 95th birthday we would be celebrating today, passed away in June 2011, after many years of humble and loyal service to the people of South Africa. The official naming of the R21/R24 after her is a most fitting tribute to a woman who loved this country so much.

It is a befitting birthday salute and dedication to this important leader of our people, particularly under the theme of enhancing social cohesion, connecting cities, towns and people. 

This important event takes place during Transport Month, on which we focus on promoting the country’s transport infrastructure and also in promoting road safety.

The event is also part of promoting integrated cities, integrated urban development, with accessible public facilities and economic opportunities. These roads link three municipal areas in Gauteng, indicating our solid drive toward integration.

Compatriots,

What makes this event more special is that we are naming a national road after a beloved mother and leader of our people.

The official naming of this road is also in line with the 20 year celebrations of freedom, the celebration of work done to improve the quality of life and to boost the economy in order to create jobs.

Roads are the arteries of development. Each time we open a road, we know it will contribute immensely to promoting better economic activity.
 
Albertina Sisulu Highway stretches from OR Tambo International Airport and will take you to the Johannesburg CBD, to Roodepoort and Leratong into the West, through the Randfontein CBD straight to the border of Gauteng and the North West Province.

I am told that this road actually runs through ten Johannesburg suburbs.

The road is also a vital economic corridor that links key freight and logistics hubs servicing the province.  In line with the theme of integration, this road also links cities, municipalities, townships and people, allowing travellers to see the varied socioeconomic landscape of our cities, where extreme poverty thrives side by side with splendour.  

Therefore, with these roads, we remember the unrelenting fight for socio-economic and political equality that Mama Albertina led in all her life, and that she also so naturally symbolized.

It thus makes it relevant and worthwhile to name such an economic development artery after a leader of her caliber.

This occasion enables us to reflect on her life. Mama Sisulu was part of the many phases of the struggle in this country. She attended the inaugural conference of the African National Congress Youth League in 1944, the only woman present, although accompanying her husband, Tata Walter Sisulu.

But she soon grasped the nettle, becoming a very committed political activist over the years. She was active when the ANC changed course in the late forties, and she participated in the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s.

She was a committed member of the executive of the Federation of South African Women in 1954 for which she mobilized in her routine visits to women in the townships in her duties as a nurse.

Mama Sisulu was part of the historic women’s march to the Union Buildings in1956, and he was among those who felt the wrath and viciousness of apartheid laws in the early 1960s.

She was the first woman to be arrested under the General Laws Amendment Act of1963, which made it possible for the police to hold suspects for 90 days without charging them.

This was when the police were looking for her husband, who had gone underground.

Mama Sisulu was in solitary confinement for two months, which extended to the time when her husband, Walter, was raided together with other leaders at Lilies farm in July 1963, which led to the famous Rivonia Trial.

She endured many years of house arrest, but her fight for democracy continued without relent even when her husband was enduring a life imprisonment in Robben Island.

Through her participation as one of the United Democratic Front vice-Presidents in1983, she demonstrated her unremitting courage and force to change this country.

She therefore remained a true inspiration during the eventful 80s and throughout the years of democracy, which she was one of the fortunate few in her generation to have enjoyed.

She continued serving this country right into the era of democracy, where she became a member of parliament, and contributed to the democratisation and deracialisation of our country in 1994.

We remember her with pride and admiration, because she was a true embodiment of the type of South African citizen we should all be.

We dedicate this road to her, and to the struggle veterans among us, particularly members of the ANC Women’s League among us, who are still our constant source of inspiration.

The contribution and sacrifice that our veterans made to achieve freedom anddemocracy is beyond measure.

We should continue to draw wisdom from the values and vision they espoused and the determination to make South Africa a much better place to live in for the majority that was oppressed and excluded.

These are values that inspire us to care for one another, as Mama Sisulu was doing for many children during the struggle years, despite having her own. She embodied the true spirit of Ubuntu.

She and her dear husband, our father and leader Xhamela, were blessed with children who followed in their footsteps to make an illustrious contribution to the struggle for liberation.

Their children are continuing to contribute to building a South Africa that Tata Walter and Mama Albertina Sisulu dreamed about and worked so tirelessly to achieve.

In memory of Mama Sisulu and Tata Sisulu, let us remember their love for children and the downtrodden.

Only yesterday the community of Diepsloot buried two little girls who were brutally murdered. There are reports of other children being killed else where, for example in Kathlehong last week.

In their memory, let us all commit ourselves to protect children, all of us, men and women, young and old, leaders and the community. Let us work with the police to prevent crime and also to bring perpetrators to book.

We congratulate the community of Diepsloot for working with the police which led to the arrest of the suspects in this case.

Our children should be free to play outside their homes without the fear of marauding criminals.

Compatriots,

Nobody can dispute the fact that South Africa is now a much better place to live in than it was before 1994.
However, we still have a lot of work to do in improving the quality of life of all.

Therefore, our daily travels on this road should not just be a routine. It should be a time of constant reflection.

Seeing Mama Sisulu’s name on the road should remind us of our responsibility to achieve what she fought for - a truly non-racial, non-sexist, united and prosperous South Africa.

Compatriots, as we mark Transport Month, let me also remind you to obey the law, obey the rules of the road, be courteous to other road users and to ensure that we eliminate the carnage on our roads.

Road deaths are largely preventable. Let us all play our part as road users -pedestrians, passengers and drivers, and keep our roads safe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

On this wonderful and most exciting occasion, it is my pleasure and honour, to declare Albertina Sisulu Highway officially opened!

I thank you!