Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has died today at the age of 90, was a key leader in the moral struggle against the apartheid system in South Africa, but the impact of his life’s ministry and witness extended far beyond the borders of his own country and beyond that historical moment. Also in the post-apartheid era, his principled commitment and engagement for justice for all remained unwavering. Tutu believed passionately that the Christian faith is inclusive of all, and that Christian responsibility is for the good of all people. His leadership strengthened us all in that belief and continues to call us to action upon that belief.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca said Archbishop Tutu was a stalwart contributor to the ecumenical movement during joyful times and times of great challenge, and taught us all the value of persistence. “We thank God for giving us Archbishop Tutu for 90 years,” said Sauca. “Through his life and works he has become an image of dignity and freedom for all human beings and inspired many to use their gifts and talents in the service of others and the mission and prophetic task of the church.”
Los Angeles, California/USA - May 31, 1994: South Africa Bishop Desmond Tutu leaves Chasens restaurant.
President Cyril Ramaphosa expresses, on behalf of all South Africans, his profound sadness at the passing today, Sunday 26 December 2021, of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
Archbishop Tutu, the last surviving South African laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, passed away in Cape Town at the age of 90.
President Ramaphosa expresses his heartfelt condolences to Mam Leah Tutu, the Tutu family, the board and staff of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Elders and Nobel Laureate Group, and the friends, comrades and associates nationally and globally of the iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner.
President Ramaphosa said: “The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead. “A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.
“As Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission he articulated the universal outrage at the ravages of apartheid and touchingly and profoundly demonstrated the depth of meaning of ubuntu, reconciliation and forgiveness.
“He placed his extensive academic achievements at the service of our struggle and at the service of the cause for social and economic justice the world over.
“From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights.
“In his richly inspiring yet challenging life, Desmond Tutu overcame tuberculosis, the brutality of the apartheid security forces and the intransigence of successive apartheid regimes. Neither Casspirs, teargas nor security agents could intimidate him or deter him from his steadfast belief in our liberation.
“He remained true to his convictions during our democratic dispensation and maintained his vigour and vigilance as he held leadership and the burgeoning institutions of our democracy to account in his inimitable, inescapable and always fortifying way.
“We share this moment of deep loss with Mam Leah Tutu, the Archbishop’s soulmate and source of strength and insight, who has made a monumental contribution in her own right to our freedom and to the development of our democracy.
“We pray that Archbishop Tutu’s soul will rest in peace but that his spirit will stand sentry over the future of our nation.”
A series of Bible studies leading up to the WCC 11th Assembly, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022, is newly available from the World Council of Churches (WCC).
The Department of Health has announced that it will start administering the Johnson & Johnson booster shot from Thursday, 24 December 2021.
This is after the South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) on Wednesday approved the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) booster shot to be taken at least two months after the original dose for adults over the age of 18.
The local drug watchdog also authorised the heterologous booster, also known as mix-and-match jabs, for those who had the Pfizer jab, at least after six months after the second dose.
However, according to the department, only homologous boosting is currently permitted, meaning people may only get the same vaccine that they received as their primary vaccination series.
We have come to the end of another challenging year owing to our prolonged fight against the coronavirus, which has also compounded slow economic growth and deepened economic hardships for businesses and households.
Therefore as we rebuild the economy to improve our livelihoods, we do so aware of our commitment to creating a better life for all South Africans.
The prevailing environment dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it, is bringing to the fore, both challenges and opportunities that collectively have changed how we do things, how we structure our lives, how we work, how we worship, as well as how we interact and conduct business.
These changes demand on everyone’s part, more ingenuity and adaptiveness as we live alongside the virus.
To date, we have demonstrated our ability to adapt and innovate as we did with the recently held elections of our local representatives, whose task is providing essential services to our communities.
Through the recent elections, we confirmed that even under extra-ordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, we do act with courage in making our voices heard.
We communicated to the world that, to us, no adversity is greater than our treasured right to exercise the constitutionally entrenched right to vote for the government of our choice.
In the face of a devastating pandemic, we made a bold statement that we remain committed to building our country as a beacon of democracy and freedom.
For those of us in government, these elections and their outcome, offer a new opportunity to do things differently, to set our priorities right, and to deliver with speed better services to the people.
During our last Christmas message, the mood in the country was subdued, and the situation we were finding ourselves in, possibly hopeless.
We went into the festive season, grappling with a virus we knew little about in terms of how best to respond to its devastating effects.
We were gripped by fear and uncertainty.
Since then our knowledge of this COVID-19 pandemic has improved.
We are in a far better situation than we were last season, as a result of the development of vaccines to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
Despite cumulative cases of new infections and the recorded fatalities since the last festive season, we have made progress in sailing through the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic.
Through collaborative work and international solidarity, scientists continue to excellently and timeously make discoveries that benefit the world in taking science-based decisions that place us in a better position to defeat Covid-19.
We thank President Cyril Ramaphosa for all his efforts in securing us the much needed doses of vaccines.
While we continue to work hard to prevent the loss of lives, the increasing number of recoveries at the country level, bears testimony to this scientific progress as well as our level of preparedness for this fight.
We salute all those who have chosen the path of vaccinating against the virus. Equally, we thank all the healthcare workers, COVID-19 Vaccines ambassadors, sports men and women, and artists who were in the frontline of vaccination campaigns to encourage their fans to do the right thing for all our sake.
With their action we have edged closer to reclaiming our normal lives and freedoms, free of restrictions imposed on us by coronavirus.
We encourage those who are still sceptical of COVID-19 vaccines and their efficacy, to rethink their position in order to ensure that we move forward, and together we defeat this virus.
Vaccination remains an important tool to contain the negative impacts of the COVID-19 that continues to surge across the world.
Fellow Compatriots,
Christmas is a time for love, hope and giving. We regret that some amongst us have lost their loved ones. In the same vein, others have had the most challenging two years of their lives as a result of loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We know how painful this may be.
We are conscious of how such adversity may shatter our hopes and dreams for a better life.
In some instances, this resulted in forgoing some of our unique and treasured traditions that define the very being of each and every one of our families and friendships.
Even in such situations, we remain a caring nation whose character, means being our neighbour’s keeper.
That is why we are touched by the generosity of spirit by individuals and communities who reach out in our hour of despair, to help by among others, providing shelter, food and clothing to those in need.
We implore our fellow compatriots to build on this human virtue, and continue with many other acts of Ubuntu and generosity that define our very being. It is such and similar actions that contribute to nation building.
We also dedicated the year 2021 to the memory of uMama Charlotte Mannya Maxeke. During the year, we held a number of commemorative events and celebrated 150 years since the birth of this stalwart and freedom fighter known for her many firsts.
We were time and again reminded of her acts of selflessness toward the emancipation of women in society and the freedom of all humanity across race, gender and ethnicity.
Yet as we continue to live in freedom and democracy, women of our country are fighting a seemingly endless battle against violence, that is meted by those who ordinarily should give them care.
This scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, is coupled with abuse of children especially girl-children, the rising number of new HIV infections among adolescent girls, new and missing cases of TB infections, substance abuse, discrimination against key populations and all other forms of social ills that persist in our communities.
During this Christmas period, let us be reminded that each one of us is responsible for making our country a better and safer place to live in.
It behoves leaders at every level and facet of society to work together to address these social ills and build cohesive, peaceful, healthy, and resilient communities.
As government, we draw inspiration from the exemplary leadership of traditional leaders, faith-based leaders and civil society in general for collaborative partnerships towards responding to social ills and challenges confronting our nation.
This year, we have collectively laid a solid foundation to strengthen and accelerate our response to COVID-19, HIV and AIDS, TB, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), including other social ills like substance abuse that continue to affect our communities.
There can be no denying that a safe and secure South Africa is not only beneficial to our citizens and communities, but is good for our children to learn and thrive, for our healthcare workers to save the sick, and for tourism and investments to flourish, and lead to job creation.
Nothing stops us from working together in unity, in building a society that is shaped and guided by positive moral values, care, dignity and respect for human life, especially for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Fellow Compatriots
This time of the year is called the “Festive Season” because it is associated with festivities and being together with family and our loved ones.
However, like the rest of the world, we are in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic that is mainly driven by the Omicron variant and its various strains.
We are also in a summer season that bring about extreme weather conditions in some parts of our country, resulting into fatal lightning, storms and floods.
In this regard, our thoughts and prayers are with affected families in the OR Tambo district in the Eastern Cape and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, who lost their loved ones and suffered destruction of their properties.
All these challenges should not make us fearful. Instead, we should at all times take necessary precautions to keep ourselves safe.
Bound by our collective, determination and unity of action, we will overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and set our country on a firm path of recovery.
We are a resilient nation that always triumphs. This too shall pass, and we will emerge stronger as a nation.
Many of us will be travelling to various destinations throughout the country. Therefore safety and security should become a priority to all of us.
To this end, we have in all the spheres of government, intensified our interventions to improve the effectiveness of the Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign.
We appeal to all road users, both drivers and pedestrians, to respect one another, obey the rules and stay safe during this festive season.
Even as we take the necessary precautions, let us hold on to the promise of a better tomorrow, for when we keep hope alive, we see light at the end of a dark tunnel that leads us to a better tomorrow.
Let us all be responsible citizens in words and deeds!
On behalf of the President and government, we wish you a restful period, a peaceful and safe Festive Season and a Merry Christmas.
The letter emphasized that countries instituting discriminatory travel bans that harm the people and economies of low and middle-income countries will not end the COVID-19 pandemic. The faith-based groups urged increased global access to vaccines.
“Waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines should be treated as an urgent matter,” reads the letter. “Our lives are intertwined. Making COVID-19 vaccines accessible to all should be regarded as part of a race to save all of humanity.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to duty after ending a week of self-isolation following his positive test for COVID-19 on 12 December 2021.
According to Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, the President will chair the final Cabinet meeting for 2021 on Wednesday.
The President has extended his gratitude to all South Africans, leaders and friends internationally, who conveyed their good wishes during this period.
“In turn, the President wishes all persons infected with COVID-19 a safe and speedy recovery.
“President Ramaphosa repeats his call for everyone in the country to stay safe by being vaccinated, wearing face masks, washing or sanitising hands frequently, maintaining social distance and avoiding gatherings,” Gungubele said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday after experiencing mild symptoms.
According to Gungubele, Mantashe is in good spirits and currently in self-isolation.
“Government urges all South Africans to vaccinate and remain disciplined in observing all COVID-19 safety protocols to ensure a safe and joyful festive season with family and friends,” the Minister said in a statement.
President @CyrilRamaphosa has ended a week of self-isolation which followed his positive COVID-19 test on 12 December 2021.
The President thanks all South Africans and leaders and friends internationally who conveyed their good wishes during this period. https://t.co/YhF8U7kiiH
Women of faith who are African or of African descent held a powerful recent gathering, “Ubuntu: Remembrance, Diversity, and Advocacy in Uni
South Africa conducted 50 377 COVID-19 tests on Sunday, with 15 465 new cases detected.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of new cases in the past 24 hours were from KwaZulu-Natal (4 135), followed by Gauteng (3 582), Western Cape (2 849), Eastern Cape (1 303) and Free State (1 104), while the rest of the provinces recorded less than a thousand new infections.
#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 50,377 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 15,465 new cases, representing a 30.7% positivity rate. A further 3 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,348 to date. See more here: https://t.co/EHpxn0cw52pic.twitter.com/XjTYHi8dGv
Women of faith who are African or of African descent held a powerful recent gathering, “Ubuntu: Remembrance, Diversity, and Advocacy in Unity Now!” in which they shared their call to action with a sense of Sankofa, or a season of now while looking back and forward. The event was organized by the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) and Pan African Women of Faith (PAW).
The Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla calls for responsible behaviour and stronger compliance with COVID-19 prevention and treatment protocols during the festive season as the National Coronavirus Command Council retains the Lockdown restrictions at Adjusted Level 1.
The NCCC has reflected on the current COVID-19 situation and deliberated on number of recommendations tabled by the Department of Health as part of safety measures to prevent a possible surge in COVID-19 infections during the festive period, which is associated with all sorts of social gatherings like parties and weddings, which can be ‘super spreader’ events that carry a huge risk of transmission of the virus.
The Council has directed the department to closely monitor the rising COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations, mortality and recovery rates which are largely driven by Omicron variant, which is contributing to the 4th wave in the country. According to scientific studies, this virus is spreading quicker than in previous waves, but the rates of hospitalisations and deaths remain relatively low.
Therefore, it is on our hands to maintain the current break in the clouds into a lasting sunshine in order to have safer and joyous Christmas, and prosperous New Year celebrations.
“We call upon all travellers, especially those who are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated coming from areas declared hotspots, to get vaccinated before hitting the roads to protect their families and friends they will be visiting during this period associated with large social gatherings like parties and weddings, which can be ‘super spreader’ events that carry a huge risk of transmission of the virus”, said Minister Phaahla.
By getting vaccinated and following all safety precautions, will not only reduce the spread of the virus, but also take the pressure off our hard working healthcare professionals who have worked tirelessly to keep us safe.
Minister Phaahla adds that the department will continue to closely monitor the situation throughout this period in terms of daily infection cases, hospitalisations, mortality and recovery rates, and make necessary recommendations to the National Coronavirus Command Councils in the best interest of people`s lives and livelihoods.
The department working with provinces, will ensure sufficient vaccination sites remain operational, including pop-up sites at some public places like malls, open community sporting based venues and roadblocks. We also urge public transport operators to enforce compliance with mask wearing at all times, hand sanitising and open windows to allow sufficient ventilation.
