Deputy Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, hon members and special delegates, Freedom Day marks a founding moment in our country's history, when all South Africans were for the first time afforded the opportunity to vote and elect a government of their choice. In our context freedom should not only mean the ability to exercise the democratic right to vote but also the emancipation from the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, as well as racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination.
Yet, this day also marks an important opportunity to reflect on the road travelled and the many successes we have attained in expanding services and opportunities to millions more of our people. Many people who did not have opportunities before now enjoy the benefits of freedom. Equal access to opportunities is a critical indicator on the freedom barometer, if we had such a thing. Therefore we cannot rest for as long as challenges remain that prevent all South Africans from enjoying their freedom - being free from poverty, inequality and discrimination. Indeed, these challenges remain key enemies to our collective goals.
This year's theme, "Working together to build unity and prosperity for all", highlights the fact that all sectors of society need to play an active role in realising our freedom, which will ultimately lead to unity and prosperity for all. In terms of the manifestation of inequality at local government level, our transformation from a society rooted in discrimination and disparity to a constitutional democracy posed, and continues to pose, particularly profound challenges. It is here that acute imbalances in personal wealth, physical infrastructure and the provision of services were and are often most obvious. The establishment of nonracial municipalities did not eliminate the disparities of the past. Thus, local government is the key site of delivery and development and is central to the entire transformation project of the new South Africa.
However, South Africans also have an obligation to be actively involved in the programmes of local government through public participation processes, such as the development of integrated development plans and ward committees. These are but some of the avenues for ensuring that citizens work together with councillors and local government to build prosperity for all.
Local economic development, LED, is a vital component of addressing, in innovative local ways, the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It empowers local initiative to ensure that local solutions are found for local problems. The Expanded Public Works Programme and community works programme are also important in achieving these goals - as are LED networks that identify, document and disseminate good LED practices by creating a forum to exchange knowledge and successful LED practices. Tourism remains a key driver of LED and the potential of this sector needs to be fully explored. The potential for LED to alleviate poverty and build prosperity for local people must be harnessed and has never been more important.
Local government has thus been given a very broad and challenging set of responsibilities. Effective performance against these expectations can only be met with coherent and co-ordinated support from national and provincial government, organs of state and civil society. The strengthening of co- operative governance and intergovernmental relations is therefore critically important. Enhanced co-operation and unity of action from national, provincial and local government will enable government to meet the needs of South Africans more effectively and to build the prosperity we so desire. It is therefore vitally important that we accelerate our efforts to tackle the constraints hampering effective co-operative governance.
In conclusion, Freedom Day serves as a reminder to us that the attainment of our collective freedom requires us to continually work together to eliminate the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, for it is only once these are eliminated and all South Africans enjoy a prosperous life that true freedom for all will be achieved.
We are committed to working with our partners in government, civil society and, most importantly, our citizens to ensure that this goal becomes a reality. It may be a long walk, but the sacrifices of so many people remind us that we dare not fail. Baie dankie. [Thank you.] [Applause.]