If Africans want "good stories" to be told about the continent, Africans have to create them, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane says.
Speaking at the Liberal International (LI) executive committee meeting, where he presented this year's Africa Freedom Award to Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema on Friday night, Maimane said these days one often heard people berating others for repeating negative stereotypes of African nations and their leaders.
"We are told that Africa needs to have its good stories told and that we cannot perpetuate the narrative of a failed continent with corrupt leaders and a bleak outlook. But if we want good stories to be told, then we must create them.
"We need to craft a new vision for Africa – one that rises above and beyond our various post-colonial eras.
"A vision for Africa in which Big Man Politics and all the power and excess that goes along with it are left behind in history.
"A vision in which African nations have been liberated from their liberators and finally fulfil their potential," Maimane said.
"History has taught us that failed liberation movements will not self-correct. The solution has to come from outside these movements. It is going to be up to us... to build a viable alternative.
"Perhaps it is because we are seeing the collapse of such a failed post-liberation government here in South Africa as we speak, that I find it easy to imagine this vision of a strong, growing, and inclusive Africa.
"The change we are going through in this country – painful and uncertain as it may be – has opened our eyes to the possibility of a better future," he said.
Like many other nations, South Africa had been brought to its knees by the corrupt and the greedy.
What started out as an era of hope and rebuilding 23 years ago had turned into a systematic campaign of plunder by what remained of the very party that spearheaded the struggle for liberation.
"But thanks to the fighting spirit of our people – from opposition parties to civil society, from business to ordinary citizens – the ANC government has been put on notice.
"They know their time is fast running out and this current term could very well be their last in office.
"Our vision for Africa also requires states with strong democratic institutions. We have seen, too often on this continent, what happens when the institutions of democracy are deliberately hollowed out to make them ineffectual in holding governments to account.
"We must fight to keep these institutions robust and independent. Our judiciaries, our media, our parliaments, our electoral commissions, our prosecuting authorities, our investigative units – these are the fortified walls that keep democracies intact. We must ensure that they remain strong."
All forms of nationalism, whether it be tribal, ethnic or racial nationalism, had to be rejected.
"The societies we want to build on this continent are tolerant and caring. We celebrate our diversities and there must never be room for populists who mobilise along race and ethnicity.
"The winds of change are sweeping across this continent. A new generation of leader is emerging – men and women who understand what it means to serve the people.
"Men and women who empathise with the plight of the poor and the excluded. Men and women for whom power and wealth are not important.
"These men and women have already started writing Africa’s new chapter, and I am excited at the prospect of working with them. Together we will turn this continent into a place of hope, opportunity, and freedom.
Maimane said he was honoured to present Hichilema – leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Zambia – with the 2017 award.
This award acknowledged individuals who had made an extraordinary contribution to the cause of freedom in Africa.
"I can think of no person more deserving of recognition for their efforts to bring freedom and an open society to their country in the face of extreme intimidation, harassment, and violence.
"He is also a shining example of what I consider to be the next generation of African leaders – men and women who must redefine democracy on this continent and raise the leadership bar infinitely higher. A crop of leaders who must carry the responsibility of writing Africa’s new chapter," Maimane said.