by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG – NELSON Mandela Day is an opportunity to remember that South Africa’s mounting problems can be overcome, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa
He noted that South Africa was in the middle of an energy crisis, a spate of violent crimes heightening, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, unemployment and inequality as well as corruption.
“They can be overcome,” Ramaphosa stated in his weekly letter on Monday.
Nelson Mandela Day is marked annually on July 18, which is the birth-date of the now-late global statesman, fondly known as Madiba.
“This day is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to upholding the values Madiba stood for and to building the South Africa to which he dedicated his life,” Ramaphosa stated.
He asked citizens to evoke Mandela’s ‘new patriotism’, where South Africans are determined to work together and make the country a winning nation.
“We cannot leave it to others to realise the South Africa of our dreams. The future of our country is indeed in our hand,” Ramaphosa said.
In honour of Mandela, globally, citizens are called on to dedicate 67 minutes to doing good works, serving others and making a difference in their communities.
Mandela famously said, “It is in our hands to make a difference and to make the world a better place.”
– CAJ News
