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We are here tonight to mark the relaunch of the Pretoria News, complete with fireworks, musical bands, and all the funfair which one would expect on such an occasion.

This relaunch is obviously very important for the staff of the newspaper, and for the people of Pretoria. But it must also be seen in a broader context - the overall spirit of social renewal in South Africa, which is in line with the spirit of a new country, a new democracy, a new nation.

As the new, colourful Pretoria News breathes new life into this city, our whole country is experiencing a new lease of life.

We are here tonight in the city which is driving the new lease of life - Pretoria, home of the Union Buildings, and South Africa's seat of government. You are of the capital, and the capital is of you, so it is fitting that you have the logo of the Union Buildings in your masthead.

Your slogan also speaks volumes: "The capital's independent daily." We locate you within the ambit of the independent media. Uncontrolled by government, uncontrolled by the political parties, and hopefully uncontrolled by clandestine forces. But you can't pretend to be independent of your nation. There is no such thing as total independence. The truth is that you are dependent on your readers, you are dependent on your shareholder, you are accountable to your critics.

You are dependent on society in general; you are dependent on the nation. You are dependent on South Africa. You are not independent of South Africa. There is no South African media without the people of South Africa.

The people of South Africa, like the pages of your newspaper, are very colourful. And as is reflected in your newspaper, they are diverse. They are interested in many thing: some are interested in business - and I am pleased to see that the new-look Pretoria News builds on the excellent standard set by Business Report, which has become one of South Africa's leading financial dailies.

It is important for newspapers to begin to project the kind of issues which are raised in Business Report - issues of delivery, for example, which is central to development. Media needs to reflect this, as society become less polarised and less politically tense.

In the past, our society was much like the Pretoria News of old; things happened in black and white. Today, we are a rainbow nation, we are not drab. This new newspaper captures the colourfullness.

But it also capture the very real darkness of South African society, such as the serial killers who still stalk the women of Atteridgeville, right here in Pretoria.

Serial killers are the epitome of the ultimate distortion of the criminal minds, and we must root them out as we root out all criminals. The police have done well so far in their attempts to track down the serial killer, and we must help them to find whoever is responsible. We cannot have Jack the Rippers in our society.

By the same token, we cannot allow white-collar crime to continue. South Africa leads the way in this respect, and it has to be stopped. We must begin to sharpen our policing in this area: we cannot allow people to defraud companies and get away with it, leaving ruined lives and unemployed workers in their wake.

Nor can we allow the kind of situation which was uncovered over the weekend, with the arrest of a medical doctor on suspicion of running one of the most vicious car hijacking syndicates. It is easy to think of hijackers as small boys with guns - but behind them, it seems, stand a man in a white coat, the same man who may be treating your daughter or your son when they are ill.

This government is tough on crime, and there are no two ways about it. And in doing so, we have to acknowledge the historical roots of crime in this country, in which a whole nation was disenfranchised, dispossessed and viciously kept away from the centres of the economy. This system forced people to turn against themselves, and it is the reason why we have the levels of crime which we see today.

Crime did not start with inauguration of President Mandela at the Union Buildings. Nothing could be further from the truth. We all need to accept that, just as we all need to become involved in the fight against crime.

Because Gauteng is the hub of economic development, Gauteng is also a magnet for those in search of opportunity, and unfortunately that includes those who believe opportunity lies in stealing cars, dealing in drugs, and killing innocent people.

Gauteng must develop, with a lot of responsibility. That is why we cannot accept it when nurses go out on strike and leave their patients to die. Nor can we accept those who trash city centres, as we saw here in Pretoria and Johannesburg. We must clean up our act, and clean up our own area of responsibility.

People who are responsible for the lives of others cannot abandon their posts. You cannot compare the responsibilities of a nurse delivering a baby from its mother's womb with the responsibilities of someone who polishes shoes. We must accept the responsibility of our jobs. The person running a nuclear power station has much greater responsibilities than the person driving a racing car.

In conclusion: The Pretoria News is being relaunched in spring, when nature takes on new colours. It is also October, the month of Press Freedom Day, which commemorates the dark clouds of uncertainty which swept over the South African media on the 19 October 1977. On that day, the system did away with press freedom, locked up journalists and banned newspapers.

Those dark clouds remained in place for over 16 years, and were only swept away with the coming of democracy on 17 April 1994. On that day, which marked the start of spring in South Africa, our brand new colourful flag was hoisted outside the Union Buildings, just a few minutes drive from where we stand this evening.

That flag still flies tonight, and the press is still free. And it is worth remembering that the clouds were swept away by the very same people who read this newspaper. We must never forget them, nor must we forget their achievements.

I thank you.

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