Samar Yahya

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — South Africa celebrated its 20th Independence Day at a reception hosted by Consul General Ebrahim Edries here on Sunday evening.



National anthems of South Africa and Saudi Arabia were played, marking the beginning of the occasion.



Welcoming the guests, Edries began his speech with a Nelson Mandela quote saying: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”



Edries said: “I would like to take this opportunity to convey the best wishes and congratulations of the president and people of the Republic of South Africa on the accession to the throne of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah nine years ago. This coincides within a few days with a very special day in the short history of democratic South Africa.



“It was today, a mere 20 years ago that all South Africans queued up for many hours to cast their vote. For the majority of us, it was the first time that we had voted. Having being denied the vote because of the color of our skin, South Africans in the millions were all too eager to usher in a democratic state and consign the unspeakable evils of the past into the dustbin of history.”



Since 1994, he said 3.3 million houses have been built for the poor in South Africa; access to electricity has increased from 34 to 88 percent, access to clean water increased from 62 to 95 percent; access to social grants increased from 2.5 million to over 14 million. In 2012, the South African government was ranked the second most transparent globally.



"The 2012/13 Global Competitiveness report shows South Africa has the secnd best banking system in the world, ranked first for regulation of securities exchange, first for legal rights, first for auditing and reporting standards and first for efficacy of boards," added Edries.



Consuls general, businessmen, bankers, top Saudi and South African personalities, and members of the South African community were among the guests to celebrate the event.