There is unity in diversity
It is often said that if you want to see Africans unleashing their true happiness and fulfilment, give them the dance floor and allow them to sing their lungs out.
SCHOEMANSDAL – It is often said that if you want to see Africans unleashing their true happiness and fulfilment, give them the dance floor and allow them to sing their lungs out.
This rang true during the provincial celebration of Africa Day on Monday. The community came out in numbers to partake in the festivities and the day was marked with nothing but joy and embracing diversity.
Organised by the Department of Culture, Sports, and Recreation (DCSR), the day kicked off with a march against the recent sporadic attacks on foreign nationals in the country.
“We are now focusing on a new approach to leadership in Africa, we will not rest until all conflicts are peacefully resolved in all the corners of Africa. We will embrace diversity and live in harmony, that is where we aim to be, as a continent,” said the MEC for DCSR, Ms Norah Mahlangu-Mabena.
She also added that although Africa is plagued by so many challenges, education has now become the centre of focus, as it is used as a tool to shape skills and the mindset altogether.
We are faced with totally different struggles altogether, compared to our forbearers, we need to advance our skills through education, in order to equally compete with our peers from other continents. A sharp focus on education will ensure that we create institutions that will equip our people with the latest technological trends,” she added.
“We should be proud of who we are as Africans, and I’m glad this occasion is graced by the presence of leaders from our neighbouring countries. We have a common cause of working towards an Africa that will be free from poverty, disease, lack of economic opportunities, and underdevelopment,” she went on.
Leaders from Mozambique and Swaziland were also there to celebrate the day in one voice. “We are one, this is an undeniable fact.
Xenophobic attacks were nothing we couldn’t work together to resolve with South Africa. I’m so happy that we are united in song and celebration. This is how it should be all the time; it’s only the beginning of greater things.
We are family, that means we fight and reconcile at the end of the day,” said Ms Ester Fernando Tondo of, consul of Mozambique in Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
“This is home for us, it’s not taboo finding out that a South African has a relative in Swaziland and vice versa, that’s how strong the bond is. We have so many interactions, and I should also say that the recent attacks have no reflection or whatsoever to who and what we are as Africans.
We need one vision, as the continent, which we will all stand by. A United States of Africa, to be precise, but we know we will get there one day,” said Mr Vusi Nkambule, arts manager of the Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture.
See the pictures here: https://www.citizen.co.za/mpumalanga-news/221305/mpumalanga-celebrates-africa-day/
