President Cyril Ramaphosa has conceded that the democratically elected government has fallen short of addressing the many challenges facing South Africans.
He was addressing the 40th anniversary of the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) at the Johannesburg City Hall on Sunday.
The event was attended by former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, Sophie Williams De Bruyn as well as dozens of founding members of the UDF.
President Ramaphosa says many people feel excluded as government fails to ensure a better life fought for by the UDF in the 1980’s.
United Democratic Front (UDF) 40th anniversary celebrations:
Meanwhile former members of the UDF highlighted the importance of economic freedom.
Former UDF Secretary-General, Popo Molefe has warned that the country’s democracy is in peril, as a result of anti- democratic forces currently operating in South Africa.
Molefe says that communities need to protect the hard-won democracy by exercising their right to vote.
“Amongst us, there is a growing consensus that our democracy is in peril. Daily, we are witnesses to concerted effort by anti- democratic forces to reverse the advances towards nation building – that we had begun making. The challenge of building a new society with values based on the constitution is huge – and shaping practically and genuinely the new non racial and sexist society envisioned by the UDF and our constitution, continues to elude us.”
In 1983, thousands of activists from a range of organisations attended the launch of the anti-apartheid movement in Rocklands.
Former UDF activists arranged a series of events to commemorate the day, under the theme “Building active citizenship for accountability and transformation”.
UDF 40th Anniversary | Remembering the launch of the anti-apartheid movement in Mitchells Plain
