Planning Minister Trevor Manuel has urged the youth to build on Nelson Mandela’s rich legacy.
|||Cape Town - South Africa’s youth are the heirs of Nelson Mandela’s rich legacy, says Planning Minister Trevor Manuel.
“You are the heirs. Not in terms of inheriting (Mandela’s) money, but his values,” Manuel told a group of youngsters at Glendale Senior Secondary in Rocklands on Monday.
“Adopt those values and take ownership and responsibility of your future. I’m not going to be in a position of authority in 2030 when the National Planning Commission’s 2030 plan is expected to be realised, you are.
“Our problem is we want to hold on to positions, and your problem is you are not pushing us out of the way.”
Manuel, launching Mandela Month, said: “We hope that Madiba will still be physically with us on 18 July for his 95th birthday,” he said. “He is very important to us and has been able to motivate us through the struggle and after his release.”
Manuel reminisced about moments spent with the former statesman days before his release from the old Victor Verster Prison in Paarl (now Drakenstein) and as a minister in Mandela’s cabinet.
Cape Argus