President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver a keynote address at the national commemoration of Human Rights Day in Koster, North West, on Monday, under the theme “The Year of Unity and Renewal: Protecting and Preserving our Human Rights Gain”.
On this day in March 1960, 69 people were killed and 180 wounded in Sharpeville in the Vaal during a protest against the apartheid regime’s pass laws.
The venue for this year’s official commemoration is an area bedeviled by high unemployment, a lack of service delivery and rising poverty.
Gauteng News spoke to some residents from Koster to hear their expectations ahead of the presidents address and all of them shared the same sentiments on service delivery, unemployment and corrupt leaders.
Lesego Molopo who is a resident there said “We are not getting any service delivery here, this government doesn’t care about us, we struggle to even get a basic thing as water,”
Molopo said they have elected councillors but since the elections they have never heard or seen those people they elected. “We have never held even a single meeting with the councillors. I feel like our rights are being violated and sadly by our very own leaders,” he added.
Another resident Sarah Kgahlane said the youth in the area is unemployed and most of them have completed Matric.
“Young people in this area are unemployed, both those with and without Matric, our children cannot do Matric and come to stay with us at home. Today the President has to touch on that and come up with ways to address the problems we are faced with,” said Kgahlane.
