Let’s build a new shared heritage that includes every South African

24 September 2024

As we mark Heritage Day, it is vital that we admit South Africa has no real shared heritage. For 30 years this government failed to capitalize on the goodwill of South Africans and on the collective talent pool of this country to weave a social fabric which is resilient and attractive to all.

They failed to craft a collective vision which the people of South Africa could embrace. We can’t fix a problem we do not own and acknowledge, and as Build One South Africa (BOSA), we make it our mission to build a new, shared heritage that includes every South African.

Heritage Day is meant to be a day of celebrating a shared national identity and a shared vision for the future of South Africa. It is meant to be a yearly moment to acknowledge national triumph over a painful history and collective joy.

We need to be honest that the rainbow has faded and many now mock the idea that we ever had a rainbow nation to begin with. Many South Africans are looking at overseas destinations because they are fatigued by South Africa and given up hope in the rainbow project.

It requires more than cosmetic reconciliation – it requires building a new national identity based on shared values. And that is what BOSA exists to achieve.

What was meant to be a day full of meaning for the nation often rings hollow, in some spaces it is merely a braai day or a day to wear some form of cultural attire.

Our heritage and culture were meant to be more than a brisket and wors washed down with a cool beer – or wearing beads and an isikhakha.

We are not yet one South Africa in many respects. When we look at the education system, it was meant to be the great equaliser in our nation, but we remain divided in unequal silos of educational opportunity.

When we look at the issues of race that continue to dominate our discourse it is clear that there are still many steps in the long walk to meaningful reconciliation. When we look at some of the political parties in South Africa, it is clear they are pursuing a politics of division, a politics of otherness and not togetherness.

It is up to us to build a new national heritage that includes every South African. A heritage built on a solid foundation of ubuntu. That work starts now.

Statement issued by Roger Solomons: BOSA Acting Spokesperson, 24 September 2024