South African Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and several anti-apartheid veterans of Indian origin were among those honored here for their immense contributions against racial discrimination and corruption in society.
The people were honored during a gala event on Saturday organized by the Congress of Business and Economics (CBE), an offshoot of the former Transvaal Indian Congress that played a major role in mobilizing against white minority rule for decades.
Five individuals and organizations received the CBE’s Ahmed Kathrada Excellence in Leadership Award, named after the late leader of Indian origin who spent just one year less than Nelson Mandela in prison as a political prisoner before being released to become leaders in a democratic South Africa.
Zondo has been widely acclaimed for his role as head of the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that singled out the infamous Gupta brothers, now awaiting extradition in Dubai, for misusing their closeness to former President Jacob Zuma to bring him to his knees. to various parastatal organizations. by looting billions of rands.
Moving forward, let’s continue to do what we must do to make the sacrifices we must make to ensure that we contribute every day to reducing the levels of corruption in our country.
We must ensure that state capture does not happen again, Zondo said as he accepted the award on behalf of all who had supported the Commission in its work.
Ismail Momoniat, the current Director General of the South African Treasury, received an award for his involvement in the fight against apartheid since his youth.
Gift of the Givers, an internationally renowned relief organization started over 30 years ago by Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, was also praised.
Other organizations and individuals honored during the gala were Defendamos Nuestra Democracia, which has united civil society organizations to strengthen democracy; and Afrika Tikkun, which promotes socioeconomic improvement through the education of young people.
Three Celebrating Legendary Lives awards were also presented to deceased veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle.
The late Professor Fatima Meer received this award for spending most of her life working tirelessly to improve relations with her fellow South Africans, promoting justice, reconciliation and non-violent action.
Rokayya Saloojee, the widow of Suliman Babla’ Saloojee, accepted his award. Saloojee fell to his death from a high-rise police building while being questioned by apartheid security police in the 1970s.
There are currently calls to reopen an investigation that found it to be a suicide case, as it is widely believed that he was thrown out of a window.
The third recipient of this award was the late struggle leader Chris Hani, who was assassinated on the eve of the 1994 South African election in which Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president.
More than 400 guests at the annual gala, which returned after a two-year absence due to the Covid pandemic, also heard a panel of experts debate the topic Is South Africa a failed state? as resistance mounts for the ruling ANC to be ousted amid rampant corruption allegations against many of its members in government and scrambling for political positions as its annual elective congress approaches next month.
We are presented with a government that sadly fails to inspire and it appears the focus at the moment is the ruling party vying for seats in its 55th elective national conference, where the trajectory is likely to be marked by multiple disputes over materialistic opportunity and politics. power, CBE executive director Yusuf Moosajee said in his keynote address.
The consensus among the participants was that it was in the hands of the electorate as individuals to bring about the change that is needed in the government of South Africa.
