Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed the Government of National Unity (GNU)’s commitment to overcoming South Africa’s challenges despite ideological differences.
The President was responding to the debate on the Opening of Parliament Address (OPA) on Monday.
Ramaphosa had delivered the OPA on Thursday night, with political parties debating it on Friday.
“We are now a Government of National Unity, formed in the cause of rebuilding our nation. We are committed to putting our differences aside and working together for the common good. I’m really pleased that the members of the [GNU] demonstrated a unity of purpose and the commitment they have to advancing the interests of all South Africans during the debate and in what they will be doing as leaders of the [GNU].
“Behind us are 62 million South Africans who want and need us to succeed. And we will succeed as the [GNU] even though others don’t wish us well, succeed we shall. As Minister [Pieter] Groenewald has said, we have before us an opportunity to restore and build. So let us use this opportunity. In the challenging and difficult times, we live; this unity will be our comfort, the unity that we are forging our courage, and it will be our greatest strength.
Behind us are 62 million South Africans who want and need us to succeed and we will succeed. As Minister Groenewald has said, we have before us an opportunity to restore and build.
So let us use this opportunity.
https://t.co/xk1PYmCnla— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 22, 2024
“It is time to get South Africa working again,” the president said.
Ramaphosa highlighted the importance of working together to achieve the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024-2029 and stressed that South Africa is not a “hopeless case”.
“Much of what has been said during this debate has confirmed that we have entered a new era in South African politics. It is an era of hope. It is an era of optimism for the people of our country and for its future. We must demonstrate in word and in deed that this is an era of a government of national unity and not a fleeting convenience.
“We have had, and will continue to have, points of divergence, as the spirited nature of the debate has demonstrated. At the same time, we all understand what is expected of us by those who put us here.
“They expect us to chart this country towards the ultimate goal of a better life for all. Talking to each other and working together and in the end, pulling in the same direction. That direction is towards the implementation of the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024-2029…the programme that will guide the seventh administration,” he said.
The president called for builders, not destroyers, to foster development and shared prosperity.
He urged leaders to rise to the challenge of building a capable, ethical state and an inclusive economy.
“And in this effort, as Minister [John] Steenhuisen says, we need the builders, not the breakers or destroyers. We need weavers and not vultures. Those who share this vision of a better South Africa will find the doors of the Government of National Unity always open to cooperation and collaboration.
“It is expected of us all who have been entrusted with positions of leadership within the Government of National Unity and in this Parliament that we rise to the challenge to be builders and not breakers. We must be at the forefront of building a capable, ethical developmental state, of growing an inclusive economy, and reducing poverty,” Ramaphosa said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
