Africa Day: Nothing About Us Without Us, Says Ramaphosa

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA|

LAST week media around the world carried heart-rending images of a young boy adrift off the coast of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. He was clinging to a makeshift buoy made of plastic bottles and desperately trying to make it to shore.
 
Over the years we have become accustomed to seeing images of African men, women and children crammed into boats and makeshift rafts trying to reach Europe.

According to relief organisations more than 20,000 people have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean since 2014.
 
As we observe Africa Day tomorrow, these tragic stories remind us of the huge task we have to build a better life for all the people of Africa.
 
While we celebrate the progress we have made towards building a peaceful and prosperous continent, events in faraway North Africa show that we still have a long way to go.