A time for honest reflection as dreams deferred

AS SOUTH Africans gather to mark our 31st Freedom Day since the end of apartheid, we do so with a mixture of pride, pain, and even trepidation.

- HERMAN MASHABA

We do so with pride because, despite its imperfections, April 27, 1994, remains an indelible milestone in our country's history - a day when millions cast aside the shackles of apartheid to claim their dignity and their right to choose their leaders. And we do so in pain because the promise of April 27 has been betrayed over the decades through missed opportunities, broken promises, corruption, and a general failure of leadership.

Looking back, I was 35 years old in 1994. Like so many at the time, I stood in one of the long queues that snaked for hours, my heart pounding in anticipation. I believed, as did millions of other South Africans, that our country was on the cusp of greatness. I truly did, and it really was. We had the world's goodwill, a constitution that was the envy of many, thanks to its inclusive, progressive foundation, and a people united by the desire to build a just, prosperous, and inclusive society. But as I reflected, I feel compelled to ask: How far have we strayed from realising that vision?

We all know that attaining political freedom was just the beginning. Even the architects of our democracy understood that true liberation would be incomplete without economic justice. Yet, three decades later, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies on Earth. Unemployment, especially youth unemployment, is at crisis levels.