‘Apartheid to blame for moral decay’

The ANC blames the moral decay and social ills in the country on apartheid.

This was revealed by ANC national executive committee member Mathole Motshekga during an election manifesto briefing on social cohesion and moral regeneration.

According to Motshekga‚ the ANC leadership recognises “the deteriorated moral fibre and social ills, which is part of the legacy of apartheid”.

“We recognise that the deepening moral degeneration and social ills [are] part of the apartheid legacy and that is why‚ apart from establishing the moral regeneration movement‚ the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] has convened a national inter faith gathering to launch a social movement for renewal,” Motshekga said.

“So‚ it is the ANC that wants to reverse all the negative legacy of apartheid and arrest this trend that is deepening.”

Motshekga said that the governing party was also seized with the agenda of fostering the values of the country’s constitution to tackle socio-historical divisions “caused by many years of colonial and apartheid rule that flourished on reification of human difference‚ especially along racial and ethnic lines”.

This‚ he said‚ was evident in public spats‚ particularly on social media, which were mostly along racial and ethnic lines.

For its part‚ the government had, among other things, developed a targeted focus on the national flag and the national anthem as unifiers.

Motshekga said students who were calling for a decolonised national anthem were misinformed and needed the guidance of the elderly.

“We must understand that we have the responsibility to educate society‚ especially the younger generation who would say we need to decolonise the national anthem.

“We do not want to create a country for students‚ we want to create a country for all South Africans‚ young and old.

“And Madiba‚ when he came with the proposal that we endorse the national anthem which we still endorse‚ he had foresight and knew that as a leader of society we must not leave anyone outside‚ however a minority they are,” Motshekga said. –