Note to editors: These speeches are embargoed until delivery
Bridget Masango MP – DA Spokesperson on Social Development
“As members of the 7th Parliament, can we rise to the critical challenges facing us? Can we set aside our political differences, if for nothing or no one else, for the sake of those whose rights exist on paper, but remain unrealized? Can we reduce the number of stunted children, lessen the abuse of women and children, and alleviate the vulnerability of the elderly starting today?
“Let Heritage Day 2025 be the start of a changing experience. The change that will allow all South Africans to meaningfully celebrate their culture and diversity in a country that belongs to them.”
Andrew De Blocq MP – DA Spokesperson on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
“Fires frequently rip through fynbos (a species unique to South Africa). Like fynbos, our country has been burning. We have been suffocating in the smoke plumes of crime, poverty, and unemployment. We have been burning in the flames of populist politics stoked by persistent inequality and lack of basic freedoms.
“Our homes and institutions have been tarnished and charred by the soot of corruption and failed service delivery. But the secret to fynbos is that every thirty years, it needs to burn. The smoke and heat are the cues for dormant seeds to germinate and sprout the next generation of proteas. The old and moribund must make way for the new growth.
“From the ash, green shoots will soon be seen, a symbol of hope, new beginnings, and a new chapter.”