May 12, 2004
By Lucky Sindane
TIMED to coincide with the decade of democracy celebrations, Nelson Mandela has been selected as the third person to receive the Freedom of the City of Johannesburg.
The ceremony was to have taken place at the Orlando East community hall in Soweto on Friday 14 May, but has been postponed because Mandela has had to travel to Zurich, Switzerland, to join the South African delegation for the announcement on Saturday, 15 May, of the host country for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
"Freedom of the City is the highest award any city can give. It is given to people who have dedicated themselves in improving people's lives," said events manager for the City, Bongi Mokaba.
"Madiba has contributed a lot to our democracy and we therefore want to honour him for what he has done," said Mokaba of the country's first president, who has been a major driving force in laying the foundations of a democratic post-apartheid South Africa.
The Orlando East community hall was chosen because of its historical ties to Mandela, who used to live in the area. "Mandela used the hall for political meetings and for boxing training," Mokaba said.
A special council meeting will be held in the hall during which the resolution to award Mandela the Freedom of the City will be formally taken, said City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modigoane. A new date has not yet been set.
"Nelson Mandela is very honoured by the initiative, as this has been his home since the 1940s. The award is an important one to him," said Mandela's spokesperson, Zelda le Grange, adding that he planned to receive the award in person.
"Johannesburg has been Mr Mandela's home for many years. It's a very dynamic city and economically it plays an important role in South Africa. Because of its diversity it has become a cosmopolitan city that can compete with the best in the world," said Le Grange.
The first two people to receive Freedom of the City were also stalwarts of the liberation struggle: Walter Sisulu, who received the award in 1997, and Beyers Naude, who received it in 2001.
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