Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Pinky Kekana, has encouraged South Africans to inculcate a culture of saving and investment in order to realise the ideals of economic freedom.
“Today, we ask you to take hold of your [economic] liberty. Let us normalise savings and investment in property, as much as spend on funerals and weddings. Let us throw new business showers, as much as we throw baby showers.
“We need to have a culture of wealth creation and economic autonomy as much as we have a culture of spending,” said Kekana.
She was taking part in a panel discussion on economic freedom as part of Heritage Month. The discussion was organised by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), in partnership with I Am South African, on Thursday.
The panel discussion was aimed at calling all South Africans to refocus the lens on creating a new collective culture to strive for “liberty and true freedom” in the context of heritage.
Sthembile Ntombela from Brand SA emphasised the importance of South Africans encouraging each other to “making things happens”.
“We are a country that boast a rich heritage and we can use that heritage to emancipate ourselves,” Ntombela said.
Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sello Hatang said there is a need for the nation to focus on legacy building.
“When we talk about legacy building, we should ask ourselves about the kind of legacy we want to build, the legacy we want to leave behind.”
Touching on the recent July unrest, Hatang said the nation “should remain vigilant and not forget what we have learnt”.
“We should not forget the lessons learnt from the July unrest.”
Hatang said the nation should build a legacy that Madiba would be proud of.