Compliments of the season

ON behalf of the leadership of Ekurhuleni I would like to wish every resident in Alberton and Ekurhuleni a happy and prosperous 2016.

We already started the year on a high note with the excellent matric results in Gauteng and Ekurhuleni was a big contributor to the success in the province. I would like to congratulate all learners on their hard work and achievements, and wish them well for their future. As we celebrate the achievements of our top performers I would also like to encourage all learners to further their education. A tertiary qualification will help you enter the job market and make a contribution to society.

We are very proud of all the learners who did their bit and produced top results in Alberton and Ekurhuleni. A special congratulations must be given to the educators and teachers of our top performing learners – together we can build a better future through education.

Starting the year right I must comment on the outbreak of racist comments on social media that have sparked a national outcry. There is no place for racism in our country and these racially painful and disrespectful posts have undermined almost two decades of efforts to build a non-racial and non-sexist South Africa. I publicly distance myself from racism and racist comments as these kinds of views and opinions do not belong in a democratic society. I reject any form of racial discrimination with the contempt it deserves and call on all members of our community to join me in rejecting all racists in our community and country, whoever they are.

As a community we need to remain committed to the democratic process of building a non-racial and non-sexist society. People should exercise restraint and should not be allowed to polarize our society around race and colour. Let us cultivate a new culture of tolerance and fellowship between everyone in our community. We have made great progress in building this community and no amount of racism from individuals or groups must be allowed to destroy our society. We have successfully built an inclusive and culturally diverse community in Alberton and Ekurhuleni. I firmly believe that we must work tirelessly to continue this work of building a prosperous society united in our diversity. Together we must do more and move Alberton and Ekurhuleni forward.

Have a healthy and prosperous 2016.

Also See:

Ekurhuleni’s unbalanced budget