Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Jacob Zuma hailed, on Monday, the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s democratic elections and unveiled the bust of global icon, Nelson Mandela, in Parliament, in Cape Town.
Performing the ceremony, President Zuma noted that the bust shows how far South Africa’s democracy has come because 25 years ago Mandela was still incarcerated in prison in Cape Town.
Monday’s ceremony was also attended by former president FW de Klerk, who was the country’s last white apartheid leader and is widely credited for launching the negotiation process that ushered in a new order.
De Klerk and Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
“Through Mr. De Klerk, we were able to make a breakthrough to create the conditions for our new democracy,” Zuma said.
The 2.3-metre bust – in bronze on a granite plinth – depicts Mandela smiling slightly and looking out from Parliament towards the National Assembly building.
“It is hoped that the bust will provide a place for people to gather when they visit Parliament and that it will inspire public memory about the long and bitter road we have travelled to democracy and what still remains to be achieved,” government said in a statement.
