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Indeed, South Africa should be taking a bow.

For as the world celebrates Madiba's 93rd birthday and pledges 67 minutes to doing good, all South Africans, especially those who are supposed to have taken the baton from him, should emulate his deep humanity.

We pray they will change to "We" this quote from Madiba: "I (We) stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people.

"Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me (us) to be here today."

In his Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Address in December 1993 Mandela said:

"We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and nonviolence, racism and human dignity, oppression and repression and liberty and human rights, poverty and freedom from want.

"In front of this distinguished audience we commit the new South Africa to the relentless pursuit of the purposes defined in the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.

"The reward of which we have spoken will and must also be measured by the happiness and welfare of the mothers and fathers of these children, who must walk the earth without fear of being robbed, killed for political or material profit, or spat on because they are beggars.

Burden of despair

"They too must be relieved of the heavy burden of despair they carry in their hearts, born of hunger, homelessness and unemployment.

"The value of that gift to all who have suffered will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of all the people of our country, who will have torn down the inhuman walls that divide them."

If our leadership can drink from this well of wisdom then:

• No South African should be homeless, hungry and illiterate in this land of plenty. We would be ashamed to have so much when our neighbours have nothing;
• Black Economic Empowerment would not be the preserve of the connected and politically powerful; and
• Our leaders would eat, sleep and dream of making the lives of all South Africans better.

Then, and only then, can we give Madiba an un forgettable birthday present. Our nation would be a carbon copy of our Constitution.

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Fri May 24 04:33:42 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 18, 2011

lucky7

I agree with the writer, gone are those days when leaders use to be servants of the people. Now our leaders are more interested in using poor/uneducated people as a stepping stone to line their pockets. Corruption has become a norm, the only people who has access to the wealth of the country are politicians. ANC has lost direction, it's no more an organization that use to represent the people, there are oligarchist within the party and they'll consolidate their position in power by all means, even if it means eliminating their own members to have access to tenders. Madiba's legacy has been stomped by politicians who claims to represent the poor while they amass wealth and the poor remains poor. Our leaders fought the demon of apartheid so that peoples life can be better but the status quo remains the same, it only changed at the top of the organization. I wish we can have more Madiba's in the making not another Mugabes we masquerade as politicians.
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