Day celebrated by all
May 07 2008 01:13:55:537PM  - (SA)  
Boipelo Mere

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National and local artists like the Soweto Gospel Choir, the Ngwao ya Tshona Cultural Group, the Noupoort Gospel Choir and Dialogane tsa Tlhaping performed at the event.

A pledge of commitment was signed by officials from various government departments towards building a better life for all people and working in partnership with all sectors of society.

The Northern Cape Premier, Dipuo Peters, highlighted that the event was to salute the heroism, sacrifices and selflessness of the people who made it possible for everyone to be living in a strong and vibrant democracy.

She called upon everyone to work together to strengthen and entrench this democracy and ensure that the process towards a united, non-racial and non-sexist and a prosperous nation be accelerated.

She also said that South Africans were being given the chance to join hands and work together to accelerate the process that would ensure that the country became a fully developed and prosperous country that belonged to all.

“We must defeat homelessness, poverty, unemployment and all forms of economic marginalisation.

The premier called on all MEC’s to start implementing the “business unusual” policy through opening their offices to the public during flexi-hours and delivering better services.

She exposed certain municipal offices that she found closed during lunch with the response that everyone had gone on lunch.

“There always has to be someone on standby when a certain government employee is on leave or on lunch. We cannot allow people travelling so far for services just to be sent back without being helped because the relevant person is not available,” she exclaimed.

The premier said most people who need services could only go to the municipalities during lunch and that this had to be respected by responding to them.

Together the government, businesses, traditional leaders, women, the youth and workers should help the rural poor with simple yet critical programmes that would alleviate poverty and hunger, Dipuo emphasised.

She concluded that government, together with institutions of higher learning and business, could strengthen efforts aimed at addressing the shortage of skills in the province.

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