Africa Day: Our brothers and sisters on the continent are not our enemies - Ramaphosa
News 24 - 31 May 2022
President Cyril Ramaphosa has rebuked those who promote xenophobia in South Africa.
- In his Africa Day speech, he said Africans were not the enemies of South Africans.
- Ramaphosa called for dialogues to end xenophobia and intolerance.
"Our brothers and sisters from elsewhere in Africa are not our enemies."
So said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Africa Day, adding the country's enemies were poverty, crime, unemployment and social exclusion.
Ramaphosa also called for unity and tolerance in Africa.
The continent celebrated Africa Day on Wednesday.
He said the commitment to progressive internationalism meant South Africa would continue to play its part in enabling the continent to meet its aspirations.
Ramaphosa described the day as an occasion to reflect on collective responsibility to further the cause of unity among the continent's nations.
Africa Day commemorates the founding in 1963 of the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner to the African Union (AU).
Ramaphosa called on community and civil society groups, supported by the SA Human Rights Commission, to initiate dialogue and programmes that brought communities together and fostered tolerance.
Xenophobia
"We need to work together to defeat them and not turn on each other as Africans," the president said.
He added tensions between South Africans and nationals from other African countries were troubling, saying the divisions fomented by successive colonial and apartheid administrations had not yet been fully eradicated.
"As we address the critical issue of illegal immigration, as is our right as a sovereign nation, let us never become like the former oppressors, who sought to divide the African people and turn us against each other.
Africa Day was an opportunity for South Africans to learn more about the role of other African countries in our freedom struggle. Travelling across the continent, one sees streets and monuments dedicated to South Africa's liberation movement leaders.
"Even today, student movements and civic groups in some African countries commemorate events like the Soweto uprising. We will never forget this solidarity, or the cost of it, particularly for our neighbours in the SADC region.
"South Africa must never be seen as a place of intolerance. This is not just an insult to the people of the continent who supported us and gave refuge to our leaders, but also a betrayal of our constitutional values," Ramaphosa said.
"For us as South Africans, this day assumes the same significance as all the national days we observe in a democratic South Africa. Our freedom would not have been possible without the support and moral courage of the people of Africa and their leaders."
He added the cause of African unity had been given a new momentum over the past two years as the AU drove a unified and coordinated response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It should be a source of pride that our term as AU Chair in 2020 saw the rollout of ground-breaking initiatives like the first ever African Medical Supplies Platform, the appointment of special envoys that mobilised resources to enable the continent to fund its pandemic response, and the establishment of an African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team.
"Advancing the African Agenda was a fundamental tenet of South Africa's foreign policy.
"South Africa's socio-economic development, stability and progress cannot be assured without a peaceful, integrated, prosperous continent.
"We will continue to contribute to this effort, whether it is through peacekeeping operations, through our role as AU Champion for Covid-19 response, or through supporting development projects through our African Renaissance Fund."
Ramaphosa said South Africa would participate in two crucial AU summits in Equatorial Guinea later this week.
The summits will address terrorism, unconstitutional changes of government, and humanitarian assistance.
He added once fully operational, the African Continental Free Trade Area would enable local businesses to produce and sell goods and services to a market of almost 1.3 billion people across the continent.
"As a country, we are banking on increased intra-African trade as a key enabler of economic growth and job creation," Ramaphosa said.