Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has urged all South Africans to put their differences aside for the greater good of the country.
Speaking at the Reconciliation Day celebrations at Freedom Park in Pretoria on Friday, where he officially opened an access road between the Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park, Zuma said all South Africans needed to contribute to the reconciliation process.
"All of us black and white must join hands to transform our economy. In that way we would have moved many steps forward towards national reconciliation," he said.
Zuma also called on businesses, labour, religious groups and communities to unite and to actively play a role in reconciliation.
The Day of Reconciliation was crucial in the nation's efforts to heal the wounds of the past and to build an inclusive society, however, government was well aware that reconciliation was a journey and a one-day-a-year event.
Zuma said reconciliation was a two-way process and in order for reconciliation to take root, communities needed to participate in the journey.
Government was doing its bit by providing basic services, ensuring quality life for all South Africans and other efforts that were aimed at addressing the imbalances of the past.
The most fundamental steps taken towards full reconciliation was the extension of basics services and quality of life for all, especially those who suffered under apartheid - the black majority, he noted.
Decisive steps had also been taken to improve the quality of education and health services to all, as well as the establishment of integrated human settlements across racial divides.
Turning to the celebrations, Zuma noted that all three arms of the state - the executive, the judiciary and legislature - were represented at a high-level for the first time at this national celebration.
This was a demonstration of the collective responsibility of nation building, regardless of the autonomous and independent role each played, he said.
The President paid tribute to those who fought for freedom, remembering the generation that came before who fought to create the free, non-racial and non-sexist society currently enjoyed by all.
"We remember that our freedom was not free. It came at a high prize. Many gallant heroes and heroines made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity and freedom."
There was no better place to commemorate the day than at Freedom Park which stands as a monument to human dignity and democracy, he noted.
