Hon Chairperson, we meet every year this time to reflect on the progress we have made as a nation and to evaluate to what extent the attainment of our freedom has transformed the lives of the poor and the marginalised in our society. It is also time to reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by those who walked before us, in order for us to enjoy the freedoms that only some of us would celebrate on Freedom Day this year. It is time to ask: Is our nation free?
When we spend in excess of R200 million on a Presidential compound whilst millions of poor South Africans don't have decent homes, we have to ask: Is our nation free? [Interjections.]
When the security forces in our country butchered protesters in Marikana, only because they were standing up for a better life, we have to ask: Is our nation free?
When former President Nelson Mandela said that South Africa belongs to all who live in it and yet President Zuma claims that the majority has more rights than minorities, we have to ask: Is our nation free? [Interjections.] When the rich get richer and the poor still get poorer; when millions of young South Africans remain unemployed with little hope of finding jobs to feed themselves; when the future of young people depends not on what they want to make of their lives but rather on political connections that they can develop; and when the only opportunities that are created for young people are for those who have political connections with the ruling party, we have to ask: When will our nation be free? [Interjections.]
How do we ask the millions of poor South Africans to celebrate Freedom day this year, when the only freedom that many of them can celebrate is the freedom to walk the streets looking for a job to feed themselves and their families. [Interjections.] How do we ask the millions of white and black South Africans to stand together and celebrate Freedom Day, when all we get from the ruling party is racial rhetoric that divides our nation and destroys the Mandela legacy of: One nation with one future. [Interjections.]
How do we ask the millions of South Africans to celebrate Freedom Day, when their futures are more dependent on a government grant, instead of an opportunity to realise their dreams through self-determination. I recognise that we have made many advances since 1994.
Almost 20 years after attaining freedom in South Africa, for those millions of South Africans who don't have jobs, who don't have homes and have little hope for the future; for them the long walk to freedom has only just begun. I thank you. [Applause.]