President Cyril Ramaphosa and leaders of faith-based communities of South Africa have explored pathways of sustainable and meaningful collaboration between the religious community, the Presidency and government in tackling socio-economic challenges and advancing societal renewal.
This was at a meeting convened to engage with religious leaders ahead of the State of the Nation Address on the 13th February 2020. The meeting, which was attended by religious leaders from a broad range of denominations and African traditional religion took place today, Wednesday 05 February 2020 at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
A second of its kind, the meeting focused on the importance of working towards common goals, highlighting that alignment of efforts results in greater impact.
The President held the first meeting with interfaith leaders on 10 April 2019 where several decisions were made and several interfaith leaders signed a memorandum of intent.
The engagement enabled leaders of different faith groups to take leadership in renewing South African society and to “develop positive values that advance our country to the South Africa we want”. President Ramaphosa said the presence and participation of the religious leaders in today’s meeting demonstrates their commitment to the vital tasks of our country.
The President further welcomed the call for an action-oriented partnership and an enduring social compact with the religious sector to address hurtful social challenges such as unemployment, inequality, gender-based violence, crime and lawlessness and violence against foreign nationals.
“Faith is a vehicle for social emancipation, for the upliftment of the human condition and a catalyst for change" he added.
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