South Africans should celebrate the progress the country has made since 1994 despite the challenges that the nation still faces 28 years into democracy.
This was the call made by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he addressed the nation in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, during the Freedom Day celebrations.
Ramaphosa said SA is still faced with challenges of high unemployment, crime and gender-based violence that need urgent attention. “Despite all the challenges, our people have tasted the fruits of freedom.”
Ramaphosa said in the democratic dispensation, 81% of people live in formal housing, “which was not the case in 1994 “.
Nine out of 10 South Africans have access to clean water and more than 85% have access to electricity despite the problems at Eskom. He said 96% of children of school-going age are in school. Two-thirds of those pupils attend schools where their parents do not have to pay school fees.
“Despite all these achievement and progress, we are not yet where we want to be. Many people today will be saying, 'what is this freedom worth? What are we celebrating?' Yes, they are right to ask that question. But we are celebrating that much has changed in our country. But we also admit that we are not yet where we want to be.
“We want to be where the Freedom Charter... wanted us to be,” he said.
Freedom Day celebrations come at a critical time in SA’s history as the government has just declared a state of disaster in KwaZulu-Natal after floods claimed the lives of more than 450 people. Basic infrastructure was also severely damaged, disrupting economic activity and public services such as schools and some hospitals.
The disaster comes at a time when the government is still trying to resuscitate an economy reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Infections have already started to rise, raising concerns that a fifth wave of infections could already be upon us.
Ramaphosa said the new dispensation that came in 1994 has enabled citizens to participate in government processes and challenge the state when it violates their rights. This, he said, should be celebrated. “In the past, African cultures were looked down upon. African languages were denigrated...Today we can speak our languages in parliament and wherever because our constitution has given us those rights.
“We have laws to protect against gender-based violence, to uphold the rights of children and empower persons with disabilities,” he said.
But the president lamented a “new menace” of violence against foreign nationals, which has been seen in different parts of the country.
“We must work urgently as South Africans to resolve the issue of illegal immigration and the impact that it is having on our economy and our society. But there can never be any justification for us to perpetrate acts of violence against people who have come here to our country,” he said.
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