Pretoria - South Africans should use Moral Regeneration Month to recommit themselves to building moral communities grounded in positive values, says Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile.
“We must use this period also to recommit ourselves to building moral communities, grounded in positive values such as respect for human dignity, equality, concern for others, peaceful coexistence as well as the upholding of honesty, integrity and loyalty.
“We must use Moral Regeneration Month (MRM) and beyond as a time of national reflection; where we reflect on the path we have travelled and the challenges we still face in not only being good neighbours to one another, but also good citizens of our country,” he said.
Mashatile was speaking at the North West Provincial Summit on Moral Regeneration and Social Cohesion in Mahikeng on Monday.
During the month of July, the nation is encouraged to reflect on what they can do individually and collectively to make the country a better place for all.
The decision to have MRM in July is premised on the fact that it is the month in which the Charter of Positive Values was adopted.
It is also the birthday month of former President Nelson Mandela, who is considered the prime mover in the formation of the MRM.
Mashatile said the task of building moral communities was an integral part of promoting a socially inclusive society that is caring and prosperous.
He said his department will continue to work with provinces to facilitate community conversations on social cohesion.
Mashatile said to date, they have facilitated 110 community conversations throughout the country.
“Our ultimate goal with these conversations is to provide a platform for South Africans to continuously engage with one another on what defines the South African nation, and what needs to be done to build the kind of society we can all be proud of.
“These dialogues are also informed by the reality that as South Africans, we have on many occasions proved ourselves to be a nation that thrives on finding solutions to difficult problems through dialogue, discussion and reaching out to one another,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
