Citizens must get involved in building SA - Mbeki
President Thabo Mbeki and Cabinet ministers have advised that building South Africa is a task which is not only in the hands of government, but must involve communities, business, religion and the youth, writes Vivian Warby.
Addressing the first day of his two-day Presidential Imbizo in the Western Cape, President Mbeki said citizens need to help government to build the country, rather than expecting government to work alone on this task.
President Mbeki, accompanied by a high-level delegation of Cabinet ministers visited the people of Delft, Lwandle, Khayelitsha and Kraaifontein.
At his first port of call, the De Nova Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Kraaifontein, Mr Mbeki urged youth organisations to become activists against issues like drugs, which were destroying young people.
Youth organisations were involved with other things like "fighting elections", he said, when they should be fighting and challenging issues that were destroying youngsters, such as drug and alcohol abuse.
They should become activists and not victims in this fight, advised the President.
Turning to religious groups Mr Mbeki said that they had to do more than lament the evils of crime.
"We know from statistics that crime peaks over the weekend, and especially on Saturdays from about 2pm to midnight and that much of it is centred around the areas of taverns and shebeens," he told the church leaders.
"Men of the cloth needed to be visiting the taverns and shebeens and urging people to stop the drinking, the fighting, the shooting and the stabbings. That is the contribution they could make."
Addressing the Lwandle community near Cape Town later in the day, President Mbeki said a concern which was often voiced by the people was a lack of jobs, which they expected government alone to provide.
While government has a number of employment and skills development initiatives underway, the President urged South Africans to create their own jobs and set up their own businesses.
Article courtesy of http://allafrica.com
