Democratic SA’s made progress but more must be done: Ramaphosa

The duty of government is to direct all the country’s resources to conquer poverty‚ joblessness‚ racial hatred‚ anarchy‚ violence and lawlessness‚ illiteracy and idleness.

By doing so‚ South Africa will be on a path of growth‚ development and lasting freedom‚ President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Freedom Day celebrations at the Dr Rantli Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein.

On this day 24 years ago‚ South Africans were for the first time able to exercise their right to vote as equals before the law and marked an opportunity to build a better life for all through the democratic Constitution and progressive laws.

Great progress has been made‚ said Ramaphosa‚ but despite the improvement in the lives of many - through better education‚ health care and basic services - much more remained to be done.

“So many of our people experience hunger‚ millions are still unemployed‚ many still do not have houses‚ electricity or even clean water.”

Ramaphosa said the country needed to create broader economic opportunities if it were to end poverty.

“We need to grow our economy and create decent work. We need to attract investment on a much greater scale and we need to improve the education and skills of our people.”

At the same time‚ the country needed to transform the ownership‚ control and management of the economy so that black South Africans and women were fully represented and equally benefited.

“In short‚ we need to intensify radical economic transformation.”

Ramaphosa said the country was embarking on a new investment drive that aims to draw local and international investors into those parts of the economy that have the greatest potential for job creation.

“We are sending out four special envoys on investment to meet potential investors in major centres across SA and across the world. We want to raise $100 billion to create jobs.”

Ramaphosa also said government was working to make the country’s economy more competitive and more attractive to investors.

“We are sustaining our massive investment in infrastructure‚ building roads‚ bridges‚ railway lines and ports‚ as well as schools‚ hospitals‚ colleges and clinics.” He added that government was fixing state owned enterprises to ensure they could meet essential social and economic needs more efficiently.

And government was working to empower the youth through education‚ skills development and workplace experience. “This year‚ we have introduced free higher education for students from poor households‚ which will have a profound and lasting impact on the distribution of skills and opportunities in society.”