‘SA’s democracy cannot be compared to apartheid’

Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa is urging South Africans not to compare the hardships of today with those of the apartheid years.

Kodwa made the call as he launched the start of Freedom Month at Freedom Park in Pretoria.

Freedom Day will be celebrated on the 27th of this month, which commemorates the day that all South Africans participated in a democratic election for the first time in 1994.

It will culminate with the main celebration scheduled to be held at Klerksdorp in the North West.

Kodwa says South Africans should always remember that during apartheid, people were not at liberty to raise issues with the government.

Kodwa explains, “Well today there’s nothing wrong with people raising issues of poverty, it is their own government. In the past there was no government to raise their issues with. They cannot compare the past prior 1994 and now. Now they have their own government. The issues that face our government and our people today are serious. In the past it was the suppression of the people by that regime. Policies have been repealed and we do not have those that oppress our people in the basis of their political affiliation, beliefs and so on. But now we cannot say we’re celebrating our freedom while we still have people who do not have water, roads, electricity and so on.”