'Our country has changed' - Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that while there have been setbacks, South Africa has made strides in reversing the effects of apartheid in the past 30 years of democracy.
Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the national official event to commemorate Freedom Day at the Union Buildings, in Tshwane on Saturday.
While there have been calls for government to address challenges that discourage investment, like loadshedding and corruption, Ramaphosa said despite local and international factors the South African economy had tripled in size since 1994.
He admitted that unemployment remained a major challenge, but added that the number of people with jobs in South Africa today had doubled from 8 million in 1994 to 16.7 million.
“Our task over the last 30 years has been to bridge the huge divides of wealth and opportunity in our country – between black and white, between men and women, between urban and rural dwellers.
“We have done so not only to correct the injustices of the past, but also so that we may realise the full potential of an economy in which every person has a stake and in which every person has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution,” he said.
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He said it was only those who refused to see progress that would not recognise the progress that government has made.
“It is only those who willfully will not see, who shut their eyes to progress, who will deny that South Africa today is an infinitely better place than it was 30 years ago.
“We have established a society founded on the rule of law, and the premise of equality before the law.”
Ramaphosa said while there had been gains made in the social development and education sectors, there were still divides in access to healthcare, safe transport, and proximity to services and workplaces, between the rich and the poor.
With less than a month to go before what has been dubbed the most historical election since 1994, President Ramaphosa urged South Africans to harness the same spirit of unity and working together to overcome the challenges facing the country today.
