Millions jobless despite 22 years of freedom
Honourable Speaker
It was a Sunday afternoon and about one kilometre from our home in Western Township. We were confronted by a group of about 10 very young men who beat my dad to a pulp. It took about five months to recover from the assault – six weeks thereof as he was hospitalised. When my mom reported the incident to the police their response was “wat het die hotnot daar gesoek!”
Yes we were reduced to the status of sub-human under an oppressive regime that we had no hand in choosing.
Voltaire once said and I quote: “Man is born free yet, everywhere he is in chains.” We cannot deny our past a very painful past, most of us in this house spent the better part of our lives living in chains.
It is the experiences such as the one I mentioned, that gave us the strength to persevere, fight and to overcome.
The dream became a reality 22 years ago.
After decades of struggle and a few years of negotiations we were free to choose the government of our choice – Our Constitution the supreme law of our country finally recognised all of us black, white, coloured or Indian as equals before the law.
22 years of the peoples’ choice in government and the best constitution in the world yet far too many of our people are still struggling.
Millions of South Africans are still in chains and denied there dignity and are robbed of a brighter future.
22 years on yet far too many of our people will remain oppressed by unemployment and poverty – they are denied quality basic services, their future remains bleak because of corruption and self-enrichment by those in authority.
Friends and colleagues, we in this house need to constantly remind ourselves why we are here, who put us here and what our mandate is.
What do our people expect from us? Are we really representing the interests of all the residents in Gauteng? Are we candidly doing everything possible to improve the plight of our people and to address their challenges?
Are we truly working on building a better South Africa with a brighter future and are we satisfied with what we as individuals have achieved.
Honourable members, let us find the true meaning of freedom, may it be economically, just and fair with the values enshrined in our Constitution to continue to seek opportunities to lift South Africans out of poverty.
Media enquiries:
John Moodey MPL
DA Gauteng Caucus Leader
082 960 3743