Rise Mzansi National Chairperson Vuyiswa Ramokgopa watches on as one of her party members lays a wreath at the memorial wall of the 69 victims of the Sharpeville Massacre on Friday
By Vuyiswa Ramokgopa MPL
RISE Mzansi National Chairperson
The following remarks were delivered by RISE Mzansi National Chairperson, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa MPL, during a commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre to mark Human Rights Day.
The National Chairperson was joined by
RISE Mzansi Chief Organiser, Makashule Gana MP, and Head of Internal Democracy,
Boitumelo Mpakanyane.
RISE Mzansi Chief Organiser and Member of Parliament, Makashule Gana
RISE Mzansi Head of Internal Democracy, Boitumelo Mpakanyane
RISE Mzansi Volunteers
People of Sharpeville and South Africa at large,
On 21 March 1960, one of the most brutal and significant points in our history took place, which resulted in 69 people losing their lives; and another 180 people were wounded just a few metres from here.
This was only the tip of the iceberg of people who lost their lives, livelihood, bodily integrity, reputation, and health in the fight for freedom and human rights in South Africa.
It should never be lost on us what happened to achieve our democracy, and what more needs to be done to ensure that freedom, democracy and human rights are experienced by all. This, especially, at a time where some believe that the South Africa of today is more racist that than apartheid South Africa.
So much so, that that they deliberately lie to the South Africa and the world about the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, the Expropriation Act, and other laws designed to, as per the Constitution, “Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental
human rights…”.
Our world-class Constitution, which was promulgated in 1996, represents a key victory in this fight. It enshrined a number of vital rights and freedoms including the right to life, equality, and dignity as well as the freedom of speech, association, movement, and trade.
The Constitution also goes a step further to command the government to progressively realise socio-economic rights including the right to housing, health care, food, water, and social security.
While the Constitution is a significant victory, it is not the end of the journey. Not everyone enjoys access to these rights and these rights will always be under threat if we do not remain vigilant.
South Africa still has a long road to travel.
Notably, over 6-million households in South Africa have to survive on only R 2,500 a month; more than 10-million South African households do not have access to tap water in their homes, of those 200,000 households have to walk for over a kilometre to access water; 2 million households live in informal dwellings; and at least 1.5-million South Africans reported to have endured severe hunger in 2023.
We see these conditions every day and we must not allow ourselves to become desensitised to them. It is our brothers and sisters who suffer every day, and as RISE Mzansi in the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of Public Accounts, the Gauteng Legislature and Gauteng Provincial Government, we must continue to advocate for the realisation of these basic human rights.
Beyond our fight for the realisation of the rights of all South Africans, we must also not allow the spread of disinformation and fake news to threaten our hard-won democracy and freedoms.
We have seen the impact of misinformation and disinformation in the US and its ripple effects has also reached South Africa’s shores; only to be perpetuated by right-wing organisations and political parties claiming to be for all South Africans.
We must continue to stay alert to the spread of these deliberately false narratives that have sought – and to some extent, succeeded – in undermining democracies across the world.
We cannot allow people to misuse our freedoms to spread such falsehoods.
We must also empower our own people to identify misinformation and disinformation.
Media and digital literacy are no longer options, but a necessity to safeguard our democracy.
These skills should be taught in our schools as well as our institutions of higher learning.
We enjoy the rights and freedoms we have today as a result of the unimaginable sacrifices made by those who came before us.
We cannot let their sacrifices be in vain. Instead, let us stand together to fight for the socioeconomic rights of our fellow South Africans, no one should be left behind.
We can also not allow our democratic freedoms to come under threat. Let us stand together in defending the frontlines of our democracy against the onslaught of misinformation disinformation.
We have come a long way; we have an even longer road ahead; but if we travel this road together, united in our diversity, we will truly build the South Africa we all deserve and honour the fallen women and men of our struggle for universal human rights.