Africa24 September, 20262 min read
President Ramaphosa Calls On South Africans To Celebrate National Heritage Day In Unity
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Ramaphosa urged South Africans to strengthen national unity, celebrate diversity and ubuntu. Guided tours and activities showcased South Africa's diverse cultural heritage nationwide.
Unity, ubuntu, dignity
President Cyril Ramaphosa marked National Heritage Day by calling on South Africans to strengthen national unity and uphold the values of ubuntu and human dignity.
Ramaphosa delivered the address at Bongolethu Sports Stadium in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape Province, and urged citizens to build a more equal society.
Ramaphosa said, "We must record it. We must teach it. We must practice it. And above all, we must pass it on," referring to the country's "Living Human Treasures" and other traditional knowledge holders.
Ramaphosa also condemned gender-based violence, saying the abuse, rape and killing of women was not part of South African heritage, and he said he would address the nation in the coming days on government measures to tackle gender-based violence and the investigation into the killings.
Parties frame integration
The ANC marked Heritage Day by calling for greater integration among South Africa’s different cultures, with ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu saying the party rejects claims that the population struggles to co-exist in harmony. Bhengu said, "We must firmly reject the idea that diversity must mean division," and she added that South Africa’s strength lies in integration, mutual respect and a shared constitutional compact.
RISE Mzansi National Leader Songezo Zibi criticised what he called the narrow framing of Heritage Day as mainly cultural displays, and he warned that moments of unity often fade as divisions return. EFF spokesperson Thembi Msane warned that South Africa cannot meaningfully speak of unity and a shared heritage while women continue to live under the threat of violence and femicide, saying, "A country cannot celebrate its heritage while women are unable to move freely and safely within their own communities."
Living heritage and risk
The South African Government News Agency said Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address during National Heritage Day celebrations at Bongolethu Sports Stadium in Oudtshoorn under the theme "Celebrating Our Living Heritage: Strengthening the Ties That Bind Us." Ramaphosa said, "Our heritage is living because it resides in people," and he pointed to living heritage in homes and communities, the knowledge of traditional healers, and the work of craftspeople, music and dance.
Ramaphosa warned that belonging cannot only be something written in the Constitution, saying, "It must be something people experience in their daily lives." Ramaphosa tied the day’s message to unequal lived freedom, saying, "This freedom is not equally lived by someone who lives in a community where the streets are safe, and someone who lives every day with the fear of crime."