President Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed back against claims of deep racial divisions in the country and slammed detractors for overlooking the evidence of improving social cohesion since the dawn of democracy. Ramaphosa was leading the National Day of Reconciliation commemorations at the Ncome Museum in Nquthu, northern KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. He pointed out that South Africa’s critics, at home and abroad, were intent on painting a “false picture” of South Africa’s racial relations.
Those pushing that narrative were ignoring the daily realities of South Africans, he said. “They do not tell us what the surveys say: that the majority of South Africans are hopeful about the state of our democracy. They do not tell us that the majority of South Africans believe race relations have improved since 1994,” he said.
This comes amid allegations of human rights abuses and allegations of threats to property rights of Afrikaners and other minority groups fueled by lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity. The allegations, often espoused by US President Donald Trump include “deliberate persecution of white farmers, racially discriminatory laws and incitement of violence against minority groups through chants like ‘Kill the Boer’.” This has resulted led to tensions between the two countries. In an attempt to dispel the narrative, Ramaphosa highlighted daily examples of cultural cross-over among South Africa’s youth.
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He referred to pictures of children of different races learning and playing together, friendships and neighbourliness across racial lines, which he said those critics often omitted in their portrayal of the country. For as long as the majority of black South Africans live in poverty, our country will not find true reconciliation Ramaphosa also spoke about how the detractors ignored to mention the country’s successful land restitution projects, where communities shared land and the emergence of black commercial farmers and instead choosing narratives designed to further divide citizens. “They are painting a false picture designed to sow fear and hatred.
We must not let them succeed in their efforts.” He warned that leaving such narratives unchallenged risks undoing nation-building efforts and reversing hard-won gains made since 1994. “If we continue to build our nation as South Africans, united, there will be no one who will be able to plant the seed of discrimination and exclusion among us.”
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