Fellow Compatriots,
We have once again come to the close of a year that was, by all accounts, unique, challenging, and difficult. A year that caused severe disruptions in many facets of life and paralysed the well-being and livelihoods of many who were already marginalised.
This year, we celebrate Christmas and the festive season free from the restrictions of the past two years, which were meant to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We have survived the virus and adapted. We improved science, medicine, and technology to prepare for future pandemics.
We succeeded because all social partners were coordinated under policy in action. We applaud traditional and faith-based leaders for mobilising communities to vaccinate against the virus and dispelling vaccination myths despite the dissemination of false information.
Also, in 2022, terrible floods in different parts of our country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and the North West, killed many people and displaced a lot of families who lost their homes.
We also have families who have lost loved ones in horrific accidents on our roads, putting an end to many young, promising lives.
The overall effect is that some of our fellow citizens will have to spend the holiday season and Christmas without their families and friends.
As we rekindle the pleasure of living, re-establish long-standing friendships, and honour the gift of life and family unity, the return of many migrant workers and students during this season symbolises the value of family bonds.
While being a secular nation, South Africa has made Christmas day an inclusive day in our calendar thanks to its strong connections to family get-togethers, gift-giving, and celebrations.
This is very important because it strengthens social cohesion and bonds of togetherness, community unity, and giving thanks to loved ones who usually spend the year away from home looking for better opportunities.
Fellow Compatriots
Our country continues to make necessary progress as a member of a family of nations. Our life expectancy keeps going up because of better health care, especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS and TB, and a social safety net for the most vulnerable people.
However, the festive season should not make us complacent about the continued threat of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. We should take every precaution to protect ourselves from risky behaviour.
We also end the year facing rising levels of violence against women based on their gender, most of which comes from intimate relationships.
This is further worsened by the abuse of children, whom we should treasure and protect, for they represent the future existence of our nation.
The cancers of sexism, tribalism, racism, and ethnicity that undermine our collective being as a nation, have shown their ugly heads thus undermining social cohesion.
Collectively, these social ills undermine the commitment to building a united, democratic, and prosperous society we envisioned at the founding of democratic South Africa.
Approximately 6.5 million people in our country are food insecure. We should reflect on the poor, the less fortunate, the sick and frail while we celebrate Christmas with our families because they remind us how much change is required in society.
Our sincere gratitude goes to those who, during this festive season and throughout the year, have helped the hungry and homeless by sharing what they have.
Let us all join them in this act of kindness during this holiday season by doing the same for the food insecure and needy people in our own communities.
In this season of hope, let us renew our commitment to building a united and cohesive South Africa where everyone of us feels respected and treated with human dignity.
Fighting corruption and instilling ethics in our society is important for our very survival as a people, and every effort must be made to strengthen the movement for societal moral regeneration.
Fellow Compatriots
We also confront other development challenges including energy instability that presents itself through load shedding, which harms the economy’s productivity to generate jobs and growth, poor access to water, sanitation, and decent housing for some.
We must admit that the majority of people are still not on the path to a better and more prosperous society, which has been our shared goal since the beginning of freedom and democracy.
Wealth inequality, poverty, and a chronic rise in unemployment are unhealthy and unsustainable, undermining our collective efforts as a democratic government to build a socially cohesive society that is united in its pursuit of an inclusive, equitable, and better life for all. Land ownership is the foundation of our identity and tradition.
That is why we continue to work on transforming our society from the spatial development of the past by ensuring access to land for human settlement, industrial development, and agriculture to ensure food security.
As government our land reform programme will continue to work with Traditional and Khoi-San leaders to ensure that land administration and tenure systems reflect the culture, heritage, and development goals of traditional communities as key to economic and rural development.
In pursuit of economic reconstruction, we will measure the success of economic reconstruction by how well we deal with the rising level of youth unemployment. Equally, the well-being of our military veterans is also important for continued stability since they served the country and ushered in the democracy we enjoy.
In our collective memory and history, the liberation war veterans’ contribution to the fight for freedom and democracy are imprinted as a real catalyst for mass resistance that helped usher in the promise of a better South Africa.
At the dawn of democracy, their selfless service in support of our freedom, forms part of our heritage as a peaceful, democratic, and human rights-centred state.
To honour their contributions and uphold their dignity, we are relentlessly ensuring that their socio-economic rights and the well-being of their families are taken care of.
As difficult as our challenges may be, we should never let them depress us. Instead, they must renew our desire to overcome all obstacles to a better life for all South Africans.
As a country, we should not lose hope because we have the skills and potential to deal with the social and economic challenges we face. What we need more than ever, is unity of purpose.
As a society, we have far more in common than we do differences, and we should celebrate those bonds while appreciating our diversity.
We are a country that has overcome its troubled and tense past to become stronger, more united, and more successful in the face of hardship.
It is our conviction that our nation will get back on its feet.
Fellow compatriots,
This Christmas should be the start of a new season of hope, based on the sure knowledge that if we all work together, we can get back what we have lost and rebuild our country to the glory we want it to be.
Last year, we encouraged South Africans to be vaccinated against the Coronavirus so that we could “Return to Play” . This year, we returned to the sporting field and stages, and we played to win.
In the realms of sports, the arts, entertainment, education, and business, we have won a number of international honours and accolades that will remain in the books of history. We appreciate that South Africans have continued to demonstrate that South Africa is, indeed, a nation of winners.
We also congratulate all our matriculants, who have worked hard to reach their goals. We wish you well as you are about to take your first step out into the world.
During this holiday season, we urge all citizens and communities to refrain from alcohol and drug abuse, which frequently results in reckless behaviour, unjustified harm, and fatalities on our roads and in our homes.
Let us end this challenging year on a positive note and look at it as a moment for personal reflection as well as an opportunity to be better and do better.
Let us approach 2023 with renewed vigour and energy that will propel us to better the lives of all South Africans.
Thank you.
