Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa took a veiled dig at the EFF and emphasised the importance of democracy at the Human Rights Day commemoration event in De Aar, Northern Cape.
The EFF, in calling for an end to load shedding and for Ramaphosa’s resignation, held a national shutdown a day before the commemoration of the March 21, 1960, massacre in Sharpeville.
At that tragic event, 69 people were murdered and 180 wounded by the apartheid regime when police fired a volley of bullets into a peaceful crowd that had been protesting against pass laws.
This year’s commemoration event, however, was themed “Consolidating and sustaining human rights culture into the future”.
Speaking off the cuff, Ramaphosa said: “It is quite an important day for all of us because it’s a day on which we celebrate the great progress we’ve made as a people and as a nation in building a democracy that is founded on equal human rights for all.
“But it is in building of the democracy that we have, that we should be proud of, even though others would want to diminish this democracy, want to abuse the rights of others, intimidate them and compel them to participate in protest (during) days where they should go to work.”
Ramaphosa said he was “happy” the “majority … didn’t heed the call” and chose to exercise their right not to participate. Ramaphosa said rights should be exercised to the fullest with no one left behind.
Citing the Bill of Rights to punt the contentious National Health Insurance (NHI) as one on a list of human rights equalisers, Ramaphosa said everyone had the right to access quality health care services.
He acknowledged that the health system was ailing, but he also referred to positives in the current system. Ramaphosa said the NHI Bill, currently before Parliament, “is meant to correct this state of affairs”.
“The introduction of the NHI will enable every South African to receive quality health care regardless of their ability to pay,” Ramaphosa said.
The government was preparing to implement the NHI through the national quality improvement plan, he said. Ramaphosa said the government was putting in place the necessary staff and funding for the NHI.
“We are improving the quality of care in our clinics through the Ideal Clinic programme. Using the experience of the Covid vaccination record system, we will introduce an electronic solution to improve management of health records,” Ramaphosa said.
“We cannot claim to be a country that respects human rights if we do not do everything in our power and within our resources to ensure that all South Africans have access to land, housing, food, water, health care and education.”
In a statement commemorating Human Rights Day, Parliament’s Presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo called on South Africans to “reflect, protect and defend” the human rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
Elsewhere, a host of events took place to mark Human Rights Day across the country yesterday.
Historically, a site of gross human rights violations, the Castle of Good Hope will be the centre of commemorative events until Saturday.
This includes hosting and celebrating the last !Nu speaker, Ouma Katrina, spotlighting indigenous land rights through the !Habesi (Roots) Exhibition, on Saturday from midday until 6pm.
Castle CEO Calvyn Gilfellan said: "Human Rights Month is one of the commemorative highlights on our community events Calendar. This year's national theme ‘Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future’, is more than appropriate, and we have designed our programs to speak to it.
“In this regard, we are teaming up with partners Cape Heritage Museum, South African Heritage Resources Agency, the | Kx'am Foundation, various military veterans' associations and others to reflect on our difficult past, turbulent presence and uncertain but exciting future.”
In Langa, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania held its annual event, the Sharpeville Langa Massacre at Sobukwe Square.
The square is a site of the memorialisation of the 1960 Langa march which saw up to 50 000 people take part in protests over the Pass laws and the police’s aggressive response to the protests.
PAC Provincial Secretary Yonela Mazula said a night vigil was held on Monday, with attendees singing revolutionary songs and calling on the community to come out to commemorate the slain.
The Cape Flats Safety Forum protested outside the Mitchells Plain Police Station. Activist Sandy Schuter said one of the key issues raised was the 14 guns stolen from the police station as well as the police’s responses to the national shutdown, but inaction when it came to gang-violence on the Cape Flats.
In attendance were several people who had directly been impacted by gun violence.
The Sacred Unity Circle held a Matriarch Unity Gathering starting from the Princess Vlei Conservation Area.
In Gqerberha, several Learn4Life! Grade 9 learners, part of the Masifunde Learner Development joined by its seniors choir, marched for human rights.
The non-governmental organisation founded in 2004 runs development programmes for children and youth in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Learners could be seen assertively marching through the streets, with posters calling for the right to shelter, education, trans rights, and equality.