Despite great strides over the last 26 years in building a common future in which all South Africans had a part, poverty and inequality continued to stalk South Africa and the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic was forcing South Africans to confront this reality.

President Cyril Ramaphosa made his weekly address to the nation on Freedom Day, on Monday, saying while we were all dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic not all South African were impacted the same.

“The social relief measures announced last week that are now being implemented are therefore as much about narrowing the gulf of inequality as they are about supporting vulnerable citizens through this trying time. The triumph of 1994 was about much more than being able to vote. It was about levelling the field for the black child and the white child, and making sure they each have an equal chance in life. The promise we made on the 27th of April 1994 can no longer be deferred,” he said.

Ramaphosa pointed out that the lesson to take away from the pandemic would be whether the country was able to turn it into an opportunity for a new society, consciousness and economy.
 
He explained that in this new society the provision of services to citizens was the priority of government and added that public servants needed to understand that they were servants of the people and should put the interests of South Africans ahead of their own.
 
The President outlined that, before the pandemic, government was deepening its efforts to address poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment and a weak economy, and warned that progress would now be set back many years, and its recovery will take a great deal of effort and resources.
 
“Even as we turn the tide on the coronavirus pandemic, we will still have to confront a contracting economy, unemployment, crime and corruption, a weakened State and other pressing concerns,” he said.
 
He called on everybody to find new, exceptional and innovative ways to overcome the constraints, explaining that government needed help.

“The collaborative spirit with which government, business, labour and civil society formations have worked to drive the national effort to combat the coronavirus is yet another affirmation of just how far we have come. Robust engagement, strong institutions, social compacting and consensus-building are all the fruits of the national democratic project that began in 1994,” Ramaphosa said.

He further urged South Africans to respect the rights of others, warning that violating the Covid-19 response regulations could expose others to the virus.