By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to promote peace as the world marks the Nelson Mandela Day on Tuesday.
In his weekly newsletter to the nation, Ramaphosa highlighted the late Mandela’s towering legacy on his commemoration day that is not only celebrated around the world, but had its international observance declared by the United Nations in 2009.
“This is in testament to his role as a revered statesman, unifier and, above all, as a peacemaker. Striving for peace in the world, for an end to conflicts everywhere, and for a true international fellowship of humankind are the ideals Nelson Mandela stood for,” he said.
Ramaphosa highlighted that last month marked six months since the signing of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in Pretoria on the 2nd of November 2022.
“This peace agreement that South Africa played a role in brokering under the auspices of the African Union, continues to hold. Mandela said that ‘the heroes are those who make peace and build.’
“We will continue to follow in his footsteps by calling for political solutions to conflicts. We are fortified by the towering moral courage of great leaders like Mandela. That is why on this Nelson Mandela Day, I call on every one of us to promote peace everywhere,” the President said.
“As South Africa, we hold fast to the ideal that a better world can be achieved through engendering peace. This derives from negotiation and compromise over violence, the use of force and resorting to war,” the President said.
Ramaphosa said that South Africa’s contribution to world peace is through supporting societies in conflict, and this is largely as a result of Mandela legacy.
On 5 December 2023, the world will mark a decade since Madiba’s passing.
He said the country’s experience with negotiating an end to apartheid and with building a multiparty democracy is regularly sought out by parties seeking to bring conflict to an end.
Since democracy, South Africa has played such a role in Northern Ireland, Palestine, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Ethiopia, and most recently, in Sudan.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has initiated a global commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day along with a network of global partners who will be planting trees, and resourcing home-based/community food gardens across the world.