President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africans will not tolerate being humiliated in their own country. He says people in the country suffered 340 years of humiliation and this cannot be tolerated anymore.
This comes amid continued reports of racist incidents in the country almost 30 years since the advent of democracy. He was delivering the keynote address at Human Rights Day commemorations in Koster, North West, on Monday.
“One of the rights we should cherish in our Constitution, whether clearly articulated or not is the right not to be humiliated. The apartheid horror was about humiliating the black people of this country and we must say no. We are no longer going to allow anyone to humiliate us. We reject humiliation. We don’t want to be treated as sub-humans.”
‘Respect the rights of all’
Ramaphosa has further called on the public to respect the rights of all people and refuse to be humiliated or treated as sub-human.
“One of the rights we should cherish in our constitution, whether clearly articulated or not, is the right not be humiliated. The apartheid horror was about humiliating the black people of this country and we must say no. We are no longer going to allow anyone to humiliate us. We reject humiliation. We don’t want to be treated as sub-humans,” says Ramaphosa.
President Ramaphosa delivers keynote address in Koster, North West:
‘Inequality remains a concern’
Ramaphosa says inequality remains a concern despite the gains the country has made in its fight against racism. The President says inequality has been deepened by the COVID19 pandemic.
He notes that incidents of racism and intolerance in various sectors of society act as a reminder of the inequality in the country.
“We are a free people, but we are still a long way from being a nation of equals. In recent weeks, a number of studies have told us that inequality in South Africa is deepening. This situation has been made worse by a global pandemic that has now entered its third year. The pandemic has had a grave impact on the ability of people to lead the lives of dignity promised by our Constitution. A study by the World Bank notes that South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, and that race continues to be a key driver of inequality. The legacy of colonialism and apartheid continues to reinforce inequality in many spheres, and undoing these effects has been a momentous task.”
Sharpeville massacre
On the 21st of March 1960, 69 people were killed and 180 wounded in Sharpeville in the Vaal for their peaceful protest of the apartheid regime’s pass laws.
In a show of defiance, led by the late PAC Leader, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe – black South Africans presented themselves for arrest for not carrying a dompass – a form of identification for non-white South Africans at the time.
He has called on the public to reject discrimination and hate crimes.
Undocumented foreign nationals
The President has called on South African employers not to employ undocumented foreign nationals to avoid tensions with citizens in the country.
Earlier this month, residents in Alexandra in the north of Johannesburg embarked on the so-called Dudula campaign. The protest action led by the Dudula Movement targeted undocumented foreign nationals in the township.
Ramaphosa says this is against South Africa’s values and warns that such actions could lead to vigilantism.
“We should not allow ourselves that those who come from other countries, see ourselves being at war with them because it is un-South African. The challenges of unemployment that we are facing should never mean that we should go and wage war against those people from other countries because once we do that, we just immediately promote this spirit of xenophobia that now we hate them, that they must go. What we are saying is that yes, we want people to be properly documented in our country, we want employers to be very careful to hire people who are properly documented.”
President Ramaphosa appeals for unity between South Africans, foreigners to avoid xenophobia:
Reagile community library
Earlier in the day, President Ramaphosa, together with North West Premier Bushy Maape, inaugurated a library at the Reagile, near Koster. Maape says more libraries need to be built in rural areas.
President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opens new Reagile community library in Koster:
The Reagile Community Library was formerly accommodated in an old unused municipality building which was unsuitable as a library. The new facility has been made possible by funding of R7,5 million by the Community Library Service Grant administered by @SportArtsCultur pic.twitter.com/uhG0CgEFgN
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) March 21, 2022
Service delivery
Residents of Reagile near Koster say the Kgetleng Rivier Local Municipality has been sluggish in delivering services such as water and sanitation, which has become a cause for concern over the years. They say they feel deprived of their human rights.
2022 Human Rights Day | South Africa commemorates the day in Koster, North West
