Banker S.A. January 2014 | Page 9

TRIBUTE TO MANDELA Passing of former South African President, Mr Nelson Mandela on 05 December 2013 The Banking Association South Africa I t is with heavy hearts and a profound sense of loss that The Banking Association South Africa learned of the death of former President Nelson Mandela, the giant of the liberation struggle and the founding father of our democracy. Nelson Mandela was a man of great moral and strategic vision who committed his life to leading the struggle to end apartheid. He was a man of principle and humility, whose pursuit of a multi-racial, non-sexist and all-inclusive South Africa never wavered through the 27 years of his imprisonment. Nelson Mandela lived to become a free man and to see his vision become a reality. South Africa has lost a father and the rest of the world has lost an icon who worked tirelessly to make this a better world. Madiba instilled the values of non-racism, honesty and selflessness into the democracy he led as the first universally elected President of South Africa. The opportunity is rarely given to a people that they should produce a single person who epitomises their hopes and expresses their common resolve as Nelson Mandela did. In simple language, he could convey the aspirations of all South Africans in their magnificent variety, explain their fears and prejudices and sense the feelings of even the most humble. Nelson Mandela may have departed, but he has left us a legacy that will live on in the millions who continue to defend and advance the freedoms, the values and ideals for which he stood. It is a legacy of courage, conviction and a belief in the equality of all people. Edition 8 Tribu є