Cyril Ramaphosa addresses South Africans on Day of Reconciliation

Today, on December 16, South Africa celebrates the Day of Reconciliation. The holiday came into effect in 1995 after the end of apartheid, with the intention of fostering reconciliation and national unity for the country. The date was chosen because it was significant to both Afrikaner and African cultures.

The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday, December 16 that the country still is far away to achieve true reconciliation. "The South Africa of today still suffers from the effects of centuries of discrimination, dispossession and unequal development," he said while addressing the nation. Racism and bigotry no longer define South Africa, but "we still have much further to go," the president cited.

Cyril Ramaphosa admitted that, in spite of this progress, South Africa still had a long way to go to erase the ghosts (racism and bigotry) of the past as introduced by the defunct apartheid regime that ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became the country's first black president. He cited said the country had made progress in economic development as well in desegregating sports and the social sector as witnessed recently at the 2019 World Rugby Cup tournament in Japan and at the Miss Universe 2019 contest in United States.

"Since we attained our democracy our people have demonstrated time and again their immense capacity to look beyond superficial differences in the quest to achieve true nationhood, and with it, embrace a fuller humanity. South Africa still has to address the unfinished task of democratic transition," Ramaphosa added.

"Reconciliation means that we should continue to use the capability of the state to improve the lives of the poor, to have a tax regime that is progressive and public finances that are responsibly managed," he cited.

The 67-year-old politician called on the South Africans to play their part if they are to bequeath to their children a society that has truly reconciled.