10 December 2013
Nelson Mandela’s legacy has not ended with his passing, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said in Cape Town on Tuesday during a special joint sitting of Parliament held in honour of South Africa’s former president.
Motlanthe said the most enduring monument the world could leave to Mandela’s memory would be to strive for unity and human solidarity, to eradicate social inequalities, tackle racial and sexual discrimination, educate the masses, make health accessible to all and uphold a human rights paradigm.
He said Mandela’s legacy could help spread democratic ideals to the rest of Africa, while empowering ordinary Africans with access to health and education.
“Our struggle is against forgetting, and the approach we need to embrace to ensure that neither this generation nor subsequent generations forget our past even as they work for social change.”
He added that Madiba was “a person who represented all that is lovely in a human being”.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said Mandela “had united people in hope” and had shown that it is possible to leave the world a better place.
North West Premier Thandi Modise said South Africa had “drawn inspiration, courage and selflessness from Madiba”.
“He taught us how to build a proud, caring and inclusive society, based on the values of Ubuntu, democracy, humility, equality, selflessness and dignity for all.”
Modise said that Madiba remained an inspiration for all to work harder towards the goal of one nation, one people united in diversity.
Various Members of Parliament addressed the joint sitting before breaking into freedom songs.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
