Cape Town – The faces of senior citizens at the Imizamo Home for the Aged, in Hout Bay, lit up after they were visited by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, on Mandela Day.
Minister Brown says many people are what they are today because they were raised and looked after by senior citizens. Because of that, she would rather spend Mandela Day with pensioners – her favourite people.
Minister Brown said this shortly before handing out blankets and food parcels to the elderly, on Friday.
“This area used to be my constituency so it is not the first time that I am coming here. Senior citizens are the most important people in the society because without you, all of us would not be here.
“On this special day, that we celebrate Mandela Day, I would much rather spend it with my favourite people, and that is you senior citizens,” she said.
The Minister did her bit and joined tens of thousands in South Africa to heed President Jacob Zuma’s call to clean-up to honour the great statesman’s legacy.
Minister Brown interacted with pensioners, handed blankets and food parcels to several needy families in the area.
Accompanied by acting Eskom CEO Collins Matjila, the Minister then moved on to the township’s main road and joined over 200 women and youth – clad in blue Eskom overalls – and cleaned up the streets of the heavily dense township.
Prior to this, she said Eskom would later return to the home to replace their light bulbs with energy saving ones.
She said government would do all it could to find available land where decent human settlements could be built for residents.
The Minister also called on residents to refrain from connecting electricity illegally, saying it was hazardous and endangered the lives of all residents in the area.
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day celebrated on 18 July (on Mandela’s birthday). The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010.
Mandela Day is not meant as a public holiday, but as a day to honour the legacy of Mandela, and his values, through volunteering and community service.
