2014 New
Year Message by President Jacob Zuma
31 Dec 2013
Fellow
South Africans,
The year 2013 has come to an end.
It has been a momentous year,
filled with both successes and challenges, as we continued to work together to
build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
We will tomorrow, on 1 January,
begin an important year, during which the country will celebrate 20 years of
freedom and democracy and the successes we have scored.
We will reflect on how our
freedom and democracy were achieved and the progress we have made in the past
20 years.
We will also reflect on how we
will continue to work together as a nation to implement our Vision 2030, as
outlined in the National Development Plan.
Our country is today a much
better place than it was before 1994.
Life has changed for the better
for millions of South Africans, but some of our people are still waiting.
Therefore, our work is not yet
completed.
We must continue working together
in 2014, to build the South Africa of our dreams.
Informed by the National
Development Plan, we must continue to build a South Africa which inspires people
to achieve greater things for themselves and for their country.
We must continue to build a
society where there is work.
A society where everyone would be
able to continue to make a meaningful contribution to the development of the
country, because they would have been provided with the tools they need to
reach their full potential, such as education.
This is the society we must
continue to build together, taking forward the legacy of our much loved former
President and late father of our young nation, Tata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
We are still coming to terms with
our loss of this remarkable human being and world icon, and one of the greatest
leaders to be produced by our country and the African continent.
It is not going to be easy to
have another Nelson Mandela in our lifetime. However, he lives on in our
hearts.
The values he stood for must
guide our work as we continue to build on his legacy. In his memory, we must
continue to reconcile and to unite our rainbow nation and to deepen
non-racialism.
More importantly, unity must be
the rock upon which our nation is built, to borrow from Madiba’s own words.
South Africans must unite beyond
the barriers of race, creed, gender or class, so that we can succeed in
confronting head on, together, the challenges that face our beautiful country.
We must also, in Madiba’s memory,
work harder than ever before, to build a caring society which loves, protects
and develops its children.
They are our nation’s greatest resource
and our future. Children were also Madiba’s greatest love. In them, he saw the
foundation of a new nation.
We should also continue to build
even stronger relations with the world, building on Madiba’s achievements as a
citizen of the world and a global icon who opened up our country to many new
friends and development partners.
As we start the new year, let us
also remember one of the pivotal rights we gained in 1994, which Tata Madiba
could only exercise for the first time in his 70s -, the right to vote.
Those who have not yet registered
since the opening of the registration period must make use of the opportunity
which is open until February, so that they can exercise their hard-won right to
vote on Election Day.
Those who are using the roads during
the festive season, please ensure your safety and that of other road users.
The holiday period road carnage
has to stop and all road users must play their part by obeying the rules of the
road.
Compatriots and friends,
Let me take this opportunity to
wish all in our country, a successful and prosperous 2014!
I thank you. |
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