Pres. Thabo Mbeki's letter to Pres. Jacob Zuma

South Africa: Inspiring new ways

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our country’s democracy. But it is not just another anniversary, it is our 21^st anniversary. Of all the birthday’s the 21st is probably the most significant and as a person the 21 holds many meanings.

Our country has grown a lot and we have matured. We showed the world that we can indeed compete against the big boys and girls and we can stand bold on the podium with our gold medals, lift our winning trophy’s and host successful tournaments. Indeed South Africa: Inspiring new ways…

Normally the 21 is a symbol of adulthood and having matured, and what an ironic moment for our country following xenophobic attacks the past few days. Commemorating the 21^st anniversary of our democracy is an ideal opportunity to show our maturity, unite Africa and say #NoToXenophobia!

With our multi-ethnic society we are the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 53 million people, we the world's 25th-most populous nation. Our beloved country is one of a few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, with regular elections.

South Africa was the fifth country, the first (and only, as of January 2015) in Africa, the first in the southern hemisphere, the first republic, and the second outside Europe to legalise same-sex marriage.

Yes we have our challenges, and we not the perfect nation but South Africa’s pride is the motto in our Coat of Arms: Unity in Diversity.

Happy Birthday South Africa!

• Today also marks 15 years since the current Coat of Arms of South Africa was introduced: ǃke e: ǀxarra ǁke meaning "Diverse People Unite"

Youth: Pioneers of Reconstruction and Development

As South Africa commemorates Youth Day, it is important to know the day is about more than the death of Hector Peterson and the many others who died. It is also about the hundred of young people who stood up for what they believed was right and this sadly lead to the tragic death of so many.
Most of the young people I know show either little or no interest in this historic day. This happens with reason as most would say why dwell in the past if we have a future to work towards, why talk and talk about what happened and not what could be done?

Politicians will speak about our role as youth in our democracy and while their words might differ, the messages comes down to the same thing: the youth of today also face challenges.
South Africa's youth unemployment rate is not what it should be, gangsters rule neighbourhoods and this is becoming a comfort for so many. Drugs are used like I would eat sweets, if you don’t have a child before you are 21 then you not really that cool.

Despite these challenges our youth is good in technology, yet our lost generation, is a confuse generation. Confuse because:

• Some say there are no opportunities while there’s so many we just can’t decide what to go for.
• We think following friends is cool, and not thinking as an individual
• We think what we see, hear and our parents go through should also happen to me
• We sometimes don’t want to come out our comfort zones

The late former President Nelson Mandela said in 1995 “young people are reaching out to other to build a common future. This demands emotional maturity and moral strength.”

Our past is important and while we should learn from the past, we need to work on the present to move towards the future.
I would thus agree with Madiba, young people in their own unique way try and reach out to build a common future, sometimes society just tend to:

• Not see this
• Criticize the youth
• Reject the youth
• Judge young people

The common future Tata talks about is not just a common future amongst the youth but also all spheres of society.

At a youth day event in Zuurbekom in 1997, Mandela told young people “become pioneers of reconstruction and development, by your example you will be helping ensure that South Africa indeed becomes the country of our dreams.”
Building this common future would thus seek the moral strength and emotional maturity of all recognizing, informing, educating, motivating, encouraging and accepting the youth...