Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana: 30 Year Review Report handover, 8 May 2024
H.E. President Cyril Matamele Ramaphosa;
Honourable Minister in the Presidency, Department of Planning,Monitoring and Evaluation, Minister Maropene Ramokgopa;
Ministers, Deputy Ministers;
CEO’s of State Owned Entities;
Leaders from Civil Society;
Executives from the Private Sector;
Members of the Media;
Fellow South Africans
30 years ago, South Africa emerged from the shadows of apartheid into the illumination of democracy. In the three decades since, the report highlights for us that South Africa has indeed undergone a remarkable transformation.
We've birthed a vibrant democracy, dismantled institutionalized racism,established a society founded on the principles of equality and inclusivity, and given a literal face to South Africa through our growing infrastructure
- clearly showing growth and development by global standards, and reminding us, lest we forget, why we are known as the most industrialised African nation with a GDP of $373Billion, solidifying our status as Africa's
most powerful economy.
President Ramaphosa’s Tintswalo is the very representation of the journey we have brought our people on over the last 3 decades, and it is her and her like that has consumed every single page of the 30 year review report.
Tintswalo and her future generations also reminds us that while we still have a long way to go, our resilience as South Africans means that we will continue to deal with the challenges and close the gaps in an unwavering determination to meet the goals of the NDP.
Brand SA ACEO, Ms Sithembile Ntombela, in a piece she wrote last week reminds us, that the ballot box is and always will be our finest asset. When we cast our votes in a few days into that ballot box, let us remember that its asset value today, came at a cost paid for in blood and freedom, by the giants on whose shoulders we stand today, the heroes whose dreams are reflected in every page of this report, and in every stitch of our flag.
The flag that is a reminder of just WHO we are as South Africans, our flag reminds us that we chose to get up every day for the last 10,970 days, and consciously chose peace, that we intentionally chose healing, mending, weaving and knitting together the fabric of our gloriously diverse society, into a multi-colour, all-inclusive flag, that South Africans haveworn on sleeves and carried in our hearts when winning medals, trophies and awards; stood in front of when making speeches of triumph and justice; and held high on stages all across the world.
And so we thank you, from the ballot box to the flag, for the last 30 years of co-creating with us this diverse and proud nation, the South Africa our Founding Fathers envisioned and the South Africa our children deserve.
I thank you
