The African Transformation Movement (ATM) commemorates Freedom Day, as a mark of political freedom and independence from a suppressive regime that ensured that segregation deprives natives of their rights in their own land. It should be noted that although South Africa attained political freedom, freedom in other avenues was never attained, and this is evident in the gaps between the rich and the poor during the time of this pandemic, where the poor are living on a few handouts as compared to the rich who have the buying power and flexibility of being cushioned during this hard time.
Political freedom is vain in the hands of a person who is not mentally liberated. The mark of freedom day for South Africans must be accompanied by the liberation of the mind, equality of all racial groups, regardless of economic class, gaps we have seen to be prevalent during the outbreak of the coronavirus that hit us as a nation. It is against this background that we encourage South Africans to be liberated enough to associate themselves with a movement that aims to put the needs of the people of South Africa first, as compared to just ticking boxes of grandeur practices. It is important for us as a nation to recognise that we are in a fight for the freedom of existence against the coronavirus, and many threats such as corruption, looting of state funds, unaccountable leaders, unethical practices and may more ills that are threatening the livelihood of South Africans, economically and otherwise. Failure to understand and grasp the concept of survival will ultimately work against us. We need to come out of this fight for freedom stronger as a nation and rebuild from a position of strength, be stewards of good governance, and find new economies that will sustain us forever as nation. As such, we stress the need for South Africans to pick up their war tools, stand up and fight regain control of their economy by first owning the informal economy and perfecting the model of informal economy ownership, industrialise and ensure that the employed strategies are rigid enough to stand the test of time. The threat we are facing as country has already seen a number of casualties, hence the strong need for us to rekindle our fighting spirit and ensure that the future of our children is secure, and that we leave no South African behind in this process. Issued by the African Transformation Movement