Hon Speaker, all of us in this House can agree that the freedom we enjoy today came at a price. We managed to negotiate our transition with little bloodshed and we stunned the world with making what was believed by many to be impossible, possible. All our people came together, united behind the principles of reconciliation. We knew then that it was indeed going to be a process.
Building on reconciling with our past and championing social cohesion - building togetherness among our diverse people - is the process of reconciliation. It cannot be described in a single event or a single moment.
We have witnessed and experienced togetherness in our World Cup victories of 1995 and in 2007, in hosting the
world, showcasing our diverse and rich history in 2010 and cherished moments of victory, despite our hardships, politically, socially and economically. Sadly, thereafter, for many years, we seemed to have lost our way.
We owe it to our national rugby team in 2019 that have singlehandedly marked the end of this year, a victorious high.
We have seen in the past few days alone how many South Africans yearned for a moment to come together and unite in their support behind our national team that waved our flag patriotically and with enthusiasm. We all could once again say that we are proudly South African.
Let us be reminded and be grateful that such moments of victory will forever be recorded in our country's history, and that we hold onto what we promised ourselves in ensuring that the process of reconciliation would be ongoing.
South Africa is indeed stronger when we come together. We are better off united than apart. We showed the world before, beyond their doubts that we are a nation committed to building a home for all our people. We know full well that we can achieve any goal we set when we lift each other up through the down times and hold each up through the good times.
Much like in rugby, we must commit ourselves to focus on the scrum, as we come together as a force against all odds we still face as a nation and as a continent.
South Africa is geographically located at the bottom of Africa as a continent. This victory, is actually teaching us, as members of this House, that we are carrying on our shoulders, the rest of our continent. Therefore, we dare not fail. We salute our team. We are behind them and this is what South Africa needs, going forward. [Applause.]
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