Magashule urges youth to be more patriotic
2012-11-01 16:42
Bloemfontein - Young South Africans must be more appreciative of their country, Free State Premier Ace Magashule said on Thursday.
"We do not act like patriots," he said at the opening of a provincial youth summit at the Philip Saunders Resort.
"If we do not love South Africa, the Free State or the town we come from there will be no prosperity in the country."
Magashule said the ANC government could not work miracles.
He said no government would be able to restore 300 years of separate development in 18 years.
"In 2030 there will [still] be unemployment and people without houses."
Magashule said it would take time to undo the legacy of apartheid.
He acknowledged that the new South Africa had created tenderpreneurs, which was a sad development.
"Everybody wants to leave school now and become a tenderpreneur and not work."
He said a tenderpreneur was a person who would spend R1m on a party for one night, while his neighbour was hungry next door.
Magashule that even if people embraced aspects of non-racialism, as long as they did not open the country's wealth to all it would never prosper.
The premier told youth delegates that if they lamented and complained about the past they would not move forward.
"Do not forget [the past], but move forward."
Magashule said that in contrast to other African countries where youth did voluntary community work, South African youth often wanted everything from the government.
"This government must give a house, electricity, jobs. They never think to be job creators."
Magashule urged the youth to go out and reconstruct South Africa, the Free State and the towns they came from.
"We need to wake-up and do things ourselves."
- SAPA
