SA must learn right from wrong – Gordhan
MINISTER of Finance Pravin Gordhan told the congregation at the Juma Masjid Mosque in Durban yesterday that South Africa needed a new generation that knew right from wrong.
He and KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements MEC Ravi Pillay were honoured guests at Friday prayers, and were welcomed into the mosque with white shawls.
Gordhan went on to say: “We need to show them that fraud, corruption and bribing are not the way to run a society or economy.”
The two politicians later spoke about the election that will take place on August 3.
“These are very important elections in terms of where we find ourselves at this point in history,” said Pillay, speaking after Friday prayers.
“We’re at a point where things can go in different directions. There are over 250 political parties in the country, many of them with local interests.”
“As a voter, you can strengthen what will take us into bankruptcy, anarchy and chaos, or you can choose a purely oppositionist role.”
A person’s political identity was not a private thing, said Pillay. Instead, it affected the perceptions people had and our ability to achieve social cohesion. Pillay said South Africa did not have a mature, stable democracy.
“We’re still dealing with really mainstream problems. We need a strong reconstructive effort, and that needs a powerful centre.”
“We take our successes for granted,” said Pillay, and achieving diversity and social cohesion should not be taken for granted.
“Our country is diverse, and we forget what it takes to keep everything together,” he said.
In relation to external forces that may influence the country, like Brexit, Pillay said: “South Africa has a multicultural character. It’s very easy for forces to spook us, and so we still need that strong centre.”
Gordhan and Pillay asked the public to help the ruling party achieve trust and confidence in South Africa.
“It’s by doing the right thing that the ANC plans to build these values. We say that we have a great capacity for criticism, self-criticism and, most important, self-correction.”
Through communication, Pillay hoped to restore the culture of engaging with people through explaining and listening.