Madiba: A President Who Put South Africa First

05 December 2015

Today marks the second anniversary of the death of South Africa’s greatest son and statesman, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

Madiba’s greatest legacy is his vision for a truly free, non-racial and inclusive South Africa and his unwavering belief that such a society could be forged out of the divisions of our troubled past.

Achieving this vision requires that non-racialism is not only expressed in words, but given life through building a society where all our people are active participants in a prosperous economy. It was Madiba who said “let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.”

On 05 December 2013, Madiba handed all South Africans the baton to take forward his legacy and forge a better future for our country’s children. A future founded on respect for the supremacy of the Constitution as the guiding document of our young democracy.

South Africa is not yet the country we know it can be. Without doubt, it is a far better place than the country Madiba inherited as President in 1994. However, progress to a better life has stalled and the advancement of our nation is being held back by rampant unemployment, growing inequality, corruption and poor service delivery, all presided over by a government today whose President puts the interests of himself and his party before those of the country and its citizens.

As we near the beginning of a new year, let us take the time to remind ourselves of what unites us as South Africans: a common belief in non-racialism and the values of freedom, fairness and opportunity.

Let us remember Tata Madiba as a man who always put his country and its people first.

Let us honour him by standing up for the principles of constitutionalism and the supremacy of the rule of law.

And let us resolve to work together to bring the change we need to move forward again as a nation. Change that cuts corruption. Change that results in better service delivery. And change that creates more opportunities for South Africans to be able to move ahead.

Madiba’s dream lives on in all of us who share the values he stood for and believe in a better South Africa.

Achieving the change we need will be the best possible tribute we could ever pay to the Father of our Nation.

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane, leader of the Democratic Alliance, 5 December 2015