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The country will overcome the energy crisis, corruption, poverty and unemployment if we join forces and work together, said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday.
Ramaphosa spoke at the commemoration of the Sharpeville Mbadacre this year on National Human Rights Day.
He added that the government has made great progress since the advent of democracy to ensure that eight out of ten South Africans have access to electricity at home. This achievement has, however, been marred by the current energy crisis in the country, which is severely affecting the economy and the population.
An urgent priority for the government, he said, was the restoration of energy supply with an affordable model.
"We have already faced challenges, challenges that seemed insurmountable, we have also faced what many people saw as the most difficult challenges and problems, and we have always prevailed. We did it when we could work together and never give up.
"We are going to overcome the current electricity crisis in our country, we will overcome it just as we will overcome the problem of apartheid, just as we will be able to overcome unemployment and overcome poverty. , crime and corruption. "
Last week, the country was in the phase of shedding with reports that Eskom could possibly implement phases 5 and 6 in the coming weeks.
"The energy crisis we are going through now will pbad."
To counteract the effects of load shedding, the government was also pursuing an ambitious effort to industrialize and attract investment, creating jobs. He said the government is committed to making the economy "on the path to stronger growth and recovery".
"The right to work is an important right that we would like to see our people realize and we work day and night to guarantee it.This very important right is realized.As long as a part of the population enjoys all or part of of these rights, while others are not respected, we will never be a society that is realized, we will always be a worried society. "
Commitment for human rights
He said that the government's commitment to human rights demanded that it face social challenges, a consequence of the apartheid regime and the current government.
"Issues such as energy, housing, water and health care are human rights issues.Our people enjoy a fundamental right when they are in a state of affairs. it deals with all these issues, it may not be mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but it's fundamental … to the well-being of our people. "
Ramaphosa also spoke about gender-based violence and the abuse of people with disabilities. He said that gender-based violence was a stain that was spreading in the country like a "forest fire".
People with disabilities are discriminated against in the workplace, making them vulnerable to abuse.
He was shocked by the fact that people with albinism lived in fear of their lives.
"We can not have a South Africa if other people are stalked for their physical appearance and get killed for their body parts, that must stop."
"We want the truth"
The families of the victims of the Sharpeville Mbadacre attended the event by wearing t-shirts bearing the inscription "We want the truth".
The Sharpeville and Langa mbadacres, where dozens of people were gunned down by the apartheid police, came to symbolize the moral superiority of the anti-apartheid cause, Ramaphosa told participants.
"Although deprived of the weapons of their oppressors, they were determined to defend what was right, whatever the cost." The regime had no respect for human rights, even the most basic, the right to manifest freely, they could not extinguish the torch of liberty borne by the brave men and women who preceded us. "
As part of this year's commemoration, Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Arts and Culture, said 100 homes of victims and families would become national monuments.
Human Rights Day was celebrated under the banner of promoting the promotion of indigenous languages.
In this regard, the President stated that a proposal had been submitted to Parliament to confer South African sign language status as an official language.
The Nama language was also celebrated as it was now in northern Cape schools. A book of language rules is also being finalized by the Pan South African Language Board, he said.
"It is said that when a language dies, a way of understanding the world dies with it, so the purpose of this year's celebration is to highlight efforts to conserve endangered languages."
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