Speech by MEC on the occasion of Centenarian Celebrations Pietersburg International Airport

30 October 2004

As we close the Social development Month, we call on our people to intensify efforts to preserve, care and support older persons.

We must commit ourselves to work together to strengthen the family values of love, care and support for the most vulnerable and weakest members of our society.

By taking care of our older persons, we preserve our history, culture and heritage, for they are its custodians. They remain icons of moral and social regeneration in our country and province.

As we move towards the closure of the first decade of democracy, full of pomp and ceremony, we dare not forget that we are free and making serious socio-economic strides due to the sacrifices of older persons. They were part of the struggle and fought tirelessly for the attainment of democracy and freedom, whose first decade we celebrate.

To this day older persons continue to sacrifice, playing the critical role in the upbringing of our children, particularly during these hard times when the country is confronted with high levels of poverty, HIV and AIDS, unemployment and other forms of vulnerability affecting our people.

We must built and strengthen the people’s contract to strengthen families and communities for a better life for older persons.

We thank your caregivers for preserving your life.

They have ensured that you have access to adequate food, water, health care and shelter, which allowed you to maintain optimum level of physical, mental and emotional well-being.

We hope that they will continue to do this work.

To our grandmothers and fathers: we thank you for a rich heritage of survival skills that you bring us everyday. We thank your unselfish giving of yourself to the communities, for caring for us.

May God Bless You

Thank you.

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