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South Africa: Country to Celebrate It's 14th Democratic Freedom Day
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BuaNews (Tshwane)
25 April 2008
Posted to the web 25 April 2008
Pretoria
South Africa will on Sunday mark the 14th anniversary since South Africans took to the polls in the country's first democratic elections, writes Lungani Makeleni.
The historic day in 1994 saw millions of people standing long queues to cast their votes for the a non-racial democratic elections.
This day also commemorates South Africa's liberation from a long period of colonialism and white minority domination.
Since 27 April 1994, South Africans from different political stance, aged 18 and older had the right to vote for the political party of their choice.
Following the elections, the new South African Constitution came into effect on 27 April 1994 and the African National Congress was voted into power and Nelson Mandela subsequently inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa on 10 May 1994.
A non-racial Constitution was eventually agreed upon and adopted in 1996.
Many events led up to the freedoms enjoyed by all in this country on this day, from colonial times with the arrival of the first white settlers to the Cape in 1652 until the 1994 elections.
Since 1994, South Africans have entered into a social contract central to the realisation of the country's strategic goals which include eradicating poverty and defeating underdevelopment in every corner of the country.
The nation is now able to actively participate in the building of a better and a prosperous South Africa.
The citizens should consolidate the gains made since the dawn of freedom thirteen years ago by making sure that everyone enjoyed the fruits of democracy.
The new government had major obstacles to overcome. Chief among them was to ensure the lives of previously disadvantaged communities were improved.
Thus, for the first five-year term of office, the new government engaged in a number of development projects and programmes, such as Masakhane and Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).
These sought to redress the imbalances of the past by delivering government services to these areas and improving the people's standard of living.
Government was able to provide houses, water, electricity and improving social and other basic services, especially in the rural areas.
Housing was one of government's priorities to formalise the informal settlements and meet the goals of economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation.
By the end of the 1998 financial year, over 500 000 houses had been built or were under construction, and over a million people have been housed through the low-cost housing programme.
Following this, more work needed to be done in creating jobs, improving skills level, building the economy as well as improving the quality of education and health.
South Africans have been given support for peace and development in several African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Ivory Coast in reconstructing their countries.
Not forgetting the contribution made by African countries during the struggle for liberation that eventually led to democracy, which all South Africans now enjoy.
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South Africa has also realised that freedom and security can not be enjoyed in isolation, and government is continuing to strive for peace and democracy throughout the African continent.
I certainly do not feel free until the playing field is level. BEE etc have reached their sellby date and should be scrapped,then I can think of howyousay FREEDOM FOR ALL.
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