Mama Graca Machel, mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela and the entire Mandela family.
Dear South Africans,
That we are Madiba's compatriots and have lived during his time, is a cause for a great
celebration and enormous pride.
Never before has our country celebrated a life as we are doing with that of Madiba.
We do not call Madiba the father of our rainbow nation merely for political correctness and relevance.
We do so because he laid a firm foundation for the South Africa of our dreams -- one
that is united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous.
We do so because Madiba was a courageous leader.
Courageous leaders are able to abandon their narrow concerns for bigger and all-embracing
dreams, even if those dreams come at a huge price.
Madiba embodied this trait. He was a fearless freedom fighter who refused to allow the brutality
of the apartheid state to stand in the way of the struggle for the liberation of his
people.
While saying Madiba was one of a kind, we also remember that he believed in collective
leadership and that he never wanted to be viewed as a messiah or a saint.
He emphasised that all his achievements were derived from working with the ANC collective.
Tomorrow, our people will accompany Madiba on his last journey to the seat of government,
the Union buildings in Pretoria, where his body will lie in state for three days.
I have the honour today, to announce, that the Union buildings amphitheatre, where Madiba
was inaugurated as president in 1994, and where his body will lie in state, will, with
effect from today, be called the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre.
Our father Madiba has run a good race. He declared in his own words in 1994:
He said and I quote:
"Death is something inevitable.
"When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country,
he can rest in peace.
"I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for eternity."
Rest in peace our father and our hero. Thank you very much.