The expansion of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to 51 countries on the African continent will expose South Africans to what is happening on the continent and is also important as South Africa can now share its success stories with the continent more extensively‚ President Jacob Zuma says.

Speaking at the launch of SABC News 404’s expansion‚ Zuma said the move was long overdue and was cause for celebration.

“This development takes place during Africa Month and (is) therefore one of the key milestones in our celebrations.

“South Africa is an integral part of the African continent. Our hopes‚ dreams successes and challenges‚ are intertwined with those of the African continent. Our story is the story of the African continent.

“It is thus important that we are going to start sharing our success stories with the continent more extensively. We are also happy that South Africans will also be now more exposed to what is happening in the continent‚” the president said.

He said South Africans had gone through a long period of isolation in the past decades of oppression and apartheid colonialism. “Our country was a pariah in the eyes of the world and could not participate in world or continental affairs.”The dawn of freedom had ushered in democracy and the reintegration into Africa and the world. The country had also developed a remarkable constitution that enshrined the freedom of the media and freedom of expression.

“Today we are celebrating that freedom of using any platform to tell our stories and express ourselves. Freedom of expression is very important to the South African people as they fought tirelessly and relentlessly to obtain such freedoms‚” Zuma stated.

“Freedom of the media must include access to the media and information for our people. Through the SABC‚ we are moving ahead in realising that goal‚” he added.

“SABC News 404 must be a mirror on which we see ourselves as the African people. It must tell the story of our day to day lives‚ the story of our hardworking people who wake up every morning and try to make something of their lives‚ and the story of the work that goes into making our country a better place each day‚ done by millions of people each day.

“We also want to see the stories of success from the African continent so that we can learn from one another. There are successes in education in Zimbabwe‚ successes in information communication technologies in Rwanda‚ and indeed many other countries have a lot to share with us‚ and us with them.

“The SABC News Channel 404 must therefore bridge the physical borders that divide us and bring us as African nations together. We want to know the music they play in each African country‚ the food and the culture. And surely they want to know the same about us. SABC News Channel 404 must provide that platform for better understanding and appreciation of the rich culture in the continent‚” Zuma said.

The importance of the channel was that stories would be told by Africans to Africans.

“As Africans we still face the disadvantage of having our stories being told by people whose perspective is foreign to the continent. This must change. Africa has several good stories to tell‚ and these must be told‚” Zuma added.