The granddaughter of the late former president, Nelson Mandela, Ndileka Mandela, encouraged people not to lose hope in life, since her grandfather was a person who always had hope.
Ndileka said this at the commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the passing of Mandela, which was held at the Nelson Mandela Museum. A special library was also officially opened as part of the anniversary.
“It is painful because there are no projects that could assist the community members in our areas to find jobs.
“We are supposed to have many firms here; for instance our area has lot of aloe that could be used to make money so that the people of this area could benefit.
“We are happy that you have opened a library that would assist our children to get more information,” she said.
She added that they know that people were living in the situation which led them to lose hope, but if Mandela did not lose hope, they should keep on dreaming because one day their dreams would be fulfilled.
She also encouraged people to ensure that they donate groceries and clothes to less-fortunate people.
The Deputy Speaker in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, Mlibo Qhoboshiyane, said the area of Mthatha was supposed to be well developed because it’s the home of the political legends.
Qhoboshiyane said even the atmosphere of this town should attract people, so that even investors could be willing to come and change the situation.
“It is not right to see people worried when visiting this town because of the high rate of crime. Mandela spent 27 years in prison. Now we are commemorating eight years since his passing, but it is still hard for us to follow in his steps.
“We should always remember that even though Mandela is no longer with us, he managed to fight for us and dedicated his life to us. We believe that his spirit will never die,” said Qhoboshiyane.
The chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Museum, Dr Nomvuselelo Songelwa, said, “We must make sure that we leave our legacy so that even when we are gone, our generation could follow in our footsteps.
“People should stop always putting a burden on government but all of us must do things in order to meet our government halfway,” said Songelwa.
