President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that the scourges of corruption, violent crime and anti-immigrant sentiment are blighting the promise of a free and truly welcoming South Africa that was envisaged at the advent of the country’s independence 28 years ago.
In an address during national commemorations of Freedom Day in Middelburg in Mpumalanga province, Ramaphosa bemoaned the fact that despite numerous achievements by the country since independence in April 1994, the country was “not yet where we want to be.”
He said the 1994 vision of a promised land of freedom, equality and shared prosperity has been tarnished by acts of corruption and state capture.
“For some in positions of responsibility, the pursuit of self-enrichment was more important than improving the lives of the people,” Ramaphosa said, adding that his government and many South Africans are determined to restore that vision by fighting corruption and rebuilding the institutions of our democracy.
In recent years, the ruinous apartheid inheritance of poverty and unemployment has been worsened by global economic shocks, a devastating pandemic and by our own missteps and shortcomings.
He also cited gender-based violence and substance abuse as other societal ills that have spoiled the promise of freedom.
“Crime and violence is eating away at our society.”
He also spoke out against the recent increase in attacks against nationals of fellow African countries, reminding his compatriots of the role played by neighbouring countries in the attainment of South Africa’s independence and the building of its economy.
“There can be no doubt that we must work urgently to resolve issues of illegal immigration and its impact on our economy and society. But there will never be any justification for violence,” Ramaphosa said.
This comes in the wake of this month’s murder of a Zimbabwean national by a mob of South Africans which was moving door-to-door in Johannesburg asking for passports from African immigrants.
JN/APA