Cape Town – Parliament’s presiding officers, the Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo have called on South Africans to use National Reconciliation Day to reflect, renew and recommit to building a prosperous society based on the noble values of unity, peace, and cohesion.
The presiding officers said on December 16, 1995, the founding father of democratic South Africa, Nelson Mandela, took a bold step towards healing the country’s oppressive and divided past when he named this day National Reconciliation Day.
They maintained that the move signalled a commitment to developing a state based on human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism, the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
The presiding officers said: “As we commemorate this day, we dare not fail the dreams and aspirations of our forebears of a united, non-racial society, free from social ills. This we will do through upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution – that South Africa belongs to all who live in it.
“Pre-democracy, December 16 had two distinct meanings for South Africa’s population. To the Afrikaner, it was a celebration of the Voortrekkers’ conquest over the Zulu armies at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. For the black majority, however, it was a symbol of protest for the right to vote and against racial discrimination,” the joint statement by the presiding officers read.
Reconciliation, they added, required the correction of past injustices.
“Parliament commits to continuously use all the legislative tools at our disposal to eradicate all forms of injustices and dismantle any penchant that seeks to divide the gains of our hard-earned democracy and threaten nation-building, development and prosperity of the people.
“Our past lessons must be used to forge new hope for the country. The Day of Reconciliation is a call for people from all walks of life to build a united nation for future generations to inherit a truly better life,” it read.
Political Bureau