THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

Happy Birthday Madiba!

There are so many wonderful things about living in South Africa that one can be grateful for. Sure there are problems and challenges but gee, there are also some amazingly positive aspects to being a South African. One of these, which I will always be grateful for, is that we share the same country with a man who will go down in the history books as one of the greatest human beings ever to walk this planet of ours. He will also go down as one of the greatest Statesman the political world has ever known. I refer, of course, to our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – affectionately known to all of us as Madiba and who, on July 18th, celebrated his 90th birthday. 

If there is one person who has done more for this country than any other, it is Madiba. I recall when he was about to be released from prison on February 11, 1990. It was an exciting time yet many of us weren’t sure of what to expect. Would this man come out with guns a-blazing looking for revenge against those who had imprisoned him for 27 years? If this was to be his tactic, we South African ‘whities’ who had grown up during the apartheid years were in the dwang as this former prisoner and leader of the African National Congress and its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe, could muster millions of supporters at the mere click of his fingers. But no, that was not to be his tactic. What we saw instead was a remarkable switch to a policy of reconciliation and negotiation which led the transition to a multi-racial democracy in South Africa, which we still enjoy to this day. 

Each one of us will harbour special personal thoughts and memories of how this great man impacted on our lives as he led the country towards freedom and equality. One of my special memories – no doubt shared by millions - is when, on June 24, 1995, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, Madiba stepped onto the podium at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg and presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to Francois Pienaar, captain of the new Rugby World Cup champions. The crowd went ballistic. It was at that moment that I probably felt as proud as I ever would be of being a South African. And this was not solely due to us having won the Rugby World Cup. Rather, it was more due to the President of our country standing in front of the world giving his full support to a game which, up to then, had been recognised as the almost exclusive domain of his former oppressors. To me, it represented  his way of galvanising us all together as One Nation. That wide and all embracing smile as he raised the trophy high into the air with Pienaar told of his sheer delight at seeing South Africa reach the top of the world, for that is where he always wanted us to be. And he wanted that position for every South African, irrespective of race, colour or creed. 

To pay due tribute to this man would fill the pages of every edition of FleetWatch for at least a year. After all, he has received over 100 awards over four decades, the most notable being the Nobel Peace Prize which he received in 1993.

However, FleetWatch could not let our beloved Madiba’s 90th birthday go past without doing something special for him from the trucking industry. It is thus we went out to the industry with an invitation to join us in wishing him a Happy Birthday and by so doing, also pay a warm trucking tribute to this great man. The response to this invitation has been phenomenal with over 60 companies from our industry joining us in this birthday wish to Madiba. In addition, we asked companies to pledge whatever amount they felt they could towards the Nelson Mandela Foundation as their birthday gift to Madiba. We are thrilled to announce that a total of over R70 000 has been pledged by  various companies, including FleetWatch. This, along with a framed birthday card displaying the logos of all the companies who have come in on this, will be presented to Madiba himself or, given the family’s request for him to now be allowed to enjoy a more private life without numerous public engagements, to a representative from the Nelson Mandela Foundation on his behalf. All this will be featured in the next edition of FleetWatch. 

From the trucking industry in South Africa, we shout: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADIBA. And thank you Sir. Thank you so much for all you have done for our country. We salute you as a true son of Africa. 

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor