​Thembisa Shologu
MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe has called on  South African youth to appreciate the freedom they are enjoying today.
Speaking on Freedom Day in Dawn Park, Ekurhuleni, MEC Hlophe said South Africa was free today butmany of the country's young people did not have an appreciation of how far the country has come.
"Freedom becomes meaningless if we do not have an appreciation of what it means and how we have travelled to get to where we are.  
"We take the rights we have as enshrined in the constitution for granted. It is important that we have appreciation for our history so that we can connect it to what is happening today," said Hlophe.
She urged everyone from government to artists and people of influence in different arears to work together to make sure that the message of consciousness  is raised.
"The lengths, depths, pain and suffering people had to go through should never be taken for granted in ensuring that this freedom works and benefit all of South Africans," she added.
City of Ekurhuleni Member of the Mayoral Committee, Nomadlozi Nkosi said  Freedom Day was of great significance to the life of the country, it was a reminder of not only the struggles endured but of the inherent capacity to overcome under the most difficult of all the circumstances.
"It is a day of both celebration and reflection. The time has come for South Africa to become a country where every person is judged not based on the colour of their skin. 
"This is the South Africa that we must consistently strive for in honour of those who sacrificed their lives and, in the process, taught us not to dishonour the course of freedom," said  Nkosi.