De Klerk immortalised by his footprint

Former President FW de Klerk not only left his footprint at Maropeng, he also left a lasting thought with those who attending the ceremony.

Shortly after Dawn Robertson, CEO of Gauteng Tourism, warmly welcomed De Klerk and his wife, De Klerk was invited have his footprint immortalised.

After the imprint was made, De Klerk spoke about his upbringing on the West Rand and how he and his family visited the Sterkfontein Caves 65 years ago.

“I hope my footprint will show that this is an unfinished journey for all of us in the pursuit of an equal life for our people,” he said.

He also spoke about the first homo sapiens’ ability to adapt to change. He said they were able to imagine things that not yet existed and changed their environment accordingly.

“That is when we left other species behind and became human. According to Charles Darwin, the success of a species is not defined by their relative strength or intelligence, but by their ability to adapt to change.”

De Klerk added that 20 years ago South Africans were able to manage one of the greatest change processes of the 20th century.

“We transformed our society from the divisions of the past to a new era based on non-racial constitutional democracy. Since then we have resumed our place in the international community. We have seen our economy grow by more than 200 per cent.”

Other famous footprints outside the Tumulus building at the centre include those of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former president Thabo Mbeki and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The next person to make his foot imprint will be former president Kgalema Motlanthe.

Interesting facts about FW de Klerk:

• He was raised on a farm in the Krugersdorp area

• He matriculated at Hoërskool Monument

• Hoërskool Jan de Klerk in Krugersdorp is named after his father

• He is left-handed

• In 1993, along with Nelson Mandela, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending apartheid

Click here to view more photos of the event.