Phuti Mosomane
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced that 15 December will be an official Public Holiday to celebrate all the successes in our sporting codes, especially the historic Springboks World Cup Win on Saturday in France which makes South Africa 4th time Rugby World Cup champions.
Ramaphosa was expected to declare Monday a Public Holiday in his address to the nation but it seems he had a change of plans after being reminded that it was the first day of the national matric exams, hence he moved the holiday to 15 December.
“Our victorious Springboks will return home tomorrow. We will welcome them with great joy and jubilation. They will conduct a victory tour around the country and I will receive them at the Union Buildings later this week.
“I want us to now rally behind the Proteas in the same way as we have given our support to the Springboks. I want us all to embark on a period of celebration culminating in a celebratory holiday after our matriculants have finished their exams and the Proteas have done the country proud at the Cricket World Cup.
“I know that many of us want us to have a holiday now to celebrate. But we should all agree that we should give our matriculants time to focus on their exams and celebrate afterwards.
“In celebration of the Springboks’ momentous achievement and the achievements of all our other sports men and women – and as a tribute to the resolve of our united nation – I am declaring Friday the 15th of December 2023 as a public holiday. We declare this to be a day of hope, a day of celebration and unity.
“Our sports men and women have shown us what is possible. We will succeed and we will ensure that we leave no-one behind”.
Ramaphosa reminded ‘Fellow South Africans’ that as we reflect on these great achievements on the sporting field we also need to reflect on our economic recovery and the further steps that have been taken to revive economic growth and improve the lives of our people.
“As the latest census figures show, we have achieved great feats of human development since the beginning of democracy.
“Millions of South Africans have been raised out of poverty and now have housing and access to electricity, water, sanitation and other basic needs. Access to health care and education have been greatly expanded,” Ramaphosa said.
However, the President acknowledged that much more still needed to be done to make more progress although he noted that “even over the last 10 years, we have been able to make significant strides.
“For example, the percentage of households in formal dwellings rose from 78 percent in 2011 to 89 percent in 2022.
“This is evidence of concrete progress, and should give us encouragement as we confront the challenges of the present”.
This month marks three years since we embarked on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, which outlined the actions that we would take to rebuild our economy and create jobs in the wake of the pandemic, Ramaphosa pointed out.
This recovery plan was accepted by many stakeholders in our country and is underpinned by our National Development Plan, he said.
However, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the last three years have been extremely challenging especially because South Africa was emerging from more than a decade of stagnant economic growth, compounded by the impact of the pandemic.
“We are working to reverse the legacy of the past era of corruption and mismanagement of our state owned enterprises, which has left us with a persistent energy crisis and an inefficient ports and rail network.
“And we are contending with a range of global and domestic pressures which have set back our economic recovery”.
‘Over the last two years, the number of people with jobs has increased by two million, bringing the level of employment close to its pre-pandemic level.
“A key element of the reconstruction and recovery plan was to expand social protection and public employment.
“The special SRD Grant known as the R350 grant, which we introduced in 2020, has kept millions of people out of poverty, and continues to provide much-needed support for those who are unemployed.
“The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created over 1.2 million opportunities since its establishment, representing the largest expansion of public employment in South Africa’s history.
“Over 4 million young people have registered on the SAYouth online platform, and more than 1 million of these have been able to access opportunities for learning and earning.
“Every one of those jobs created is a reason for hope. Every person who no longer lives in poverty is a reason for hope.
“Another commitment we made in the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan was to fix South Africa’s infrastructure through renewed investment in maintenance and construction of new projects”.
Ramaphosa drew parallels between South Africa’s economic recovery trajectory and the winning spirit of our national sporting codes that have excelled in the world sports arena.
“As we all watched their progress towards the championship, we marvelled at their resilience and determination to overcome some of the best teams in the rugby world.
“At moments when their cause seemed lost, they fought back and they emerged victorious.
“This victory rightfully calls for a moment of national recognition and celebration of our rugby players and their achievements.
“We should also applaud our cricket team who have been performing well in the Cricket World Cup. I spoke to the Proteas captain Temba Bavuma and encouraged them to remain focused and told him that the entire nation supports and stands behind them. I also told him that I intend to travel to Mumbai in India to watch them play in the finals.
“As we confront the many severe challenges in our country, we draw hope and encouragement from the determination and the performance the Springboks and the Proteas have displayed.
“The victory by the Springboks and the performance of the Proteas follows the victory of Banyana Banyana in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and their progress to the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“Our spirits were similarly lifted by the achievements of our national squad at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin in June.
“The determination and resilience of our teams have given credence to Madiba’s words that sports unites the nation.
“In their achievements, they have revealed much about the unity of the people of the country they represent.
“As a people, we have shown before what is possible when we are united, when we are determined, when we try hard and when we refuse to give up.
Together, we overcame apartheid, ended centuries of conflict and gave birth to a thriving democracy. Together, we confronted and overcame the deadliest global pandemic in over a century. We are indeed stronger together”.
Inside Politics
