Today is the 113th anniversary of the founding of the movement of the people, the African National Congress.

It is fitting that we should gather here on Robben Island to mark this occasion. This island occupies a significant place in the history of our movement and the people of this country.

Robben Island is a symbol both of enslavement and rebellion.

It is a site of both imprisonment and resistance.

On this day, at this place, we pay tribute to the men and women who fought so courageously against colonialism and apartheid.

We pay tribute to the visionaries who founded the ANC on this day in 1912, and we honour the men and women who swelled its ranks over more than a century.

Robben Island not only occupies an important place in our history.

It also carries great lessons for our movement as it charts a path of renewal and rebuilding.

The leaders of the ANC and other liberation movements were sent to Robben Island so that theirspirits may be crushed and so that the struggle of our people to be free may be defeated.

Yet, the cruelty of the apartheid regime did not achieve its purpose.

Instead, Robben Island became a place of revolutionary debate and learning.

It became a place where young activists were armed with the political consciousness that would turn them into effective freedom fighters.

In this harsh environment, under punishing conditions, these freedom fighters challenged the arrogance and pettiness of the authorities.

Instead of breaking their spirit, their time on Robben Island strengthened their resolve to defeat apartheid and build a free, united and democratic South Africa.

By visiting Robben Island on this most important of days in the life of our movement, we are reaffirming our determination to advance the struggle for the complete liberation of all South Africans from all forms of oppression.

We are sending a message that no matter the challenges we confront, we will overcome them.

As we have done before, we will prevail.

We are firmly committed to the path of renewal and rebuilding.

We are determined to work to rebuild the trust of the South African people in the ANC and to become an ever more effective champion of their liberation.

We learn from the experience of those imprisoned on Robben Island that rebuilding a movement requires effective organisation and thorough political engagement.

Rebuilding requires vibrant democratic practice, accountability and discipline.

The leaders and cadres who spent time imprisoned on this island understood the vital need for unity, trust and personal integrity. 

They knew that they had to work together.

As we work to rebuild the ANC, we are drawing on these lessons from Robben Island.

We are drawing on a wealth of experience that stretches back over 113 years of struggle.

As we acknowledge our shortcomings and challenges, we recognise the strengths and capabilities that reside in our movement.

This Saturday, the 11th of January, we will gather in Khayelitsha to present the annual January 8th Statement.

In that Statement, the ANC National Executive Committee will outline our priorities and tasks for the year ahead.

We will describe the actions that we must take throughout all structures of the movement to advance the struggle for a better life for all our people.

The January 8th Statement will place the needs of South Africans at the centre of our programme for the year – to create jobs, to build a growing and inclusive economy, to fight poverty and to tackle crime and violence.

The Statement will outline the work we need to do to further advance the renewal and rebuilding of our movement.

On January 8th we celebrate a history of great achievements in the cause of freedom.

We pay tribute to the South African patriots who dedicated their lives and sacrificed so much so that we can be free.

But we also look to the future.

We reaffirm our commitment to build a free, united and equal nation.

And we focus on the tasks that we must now undertake to achieve such a nation.

For 113 years, the ANC has served the people of South Africa.

On this day, we pledge ourselves, as we have done before, to spare neither strength nor courage, until we have won freedom for all the people of this nation.

Amandla.