President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to use the upcoming Nelson Mandela International Day to refocus national efforts on tackling deep-seated poverty and inequality.

Writing in his weekly newsletter to the nation, Ramaphosa emphasised that meaningful change requires a combination of structural policy reform and grassroots community service.

He stated that the government must ensure laws and policies protect workers while maintaining a regulatory environment that encourages investment.

“At the same time, we are continuing to improve our social protection system and helping people build livelihoods, gain skills and find work through our public and social employment programmes,” Ramaphosa added.

This coming Saturday, South Africa will join the global community in celebrating Nelson Mandela International Day. The day was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009.

Ramaphosa noted that July 18 is not just a local occasion that the world happens to notice. Instead, it is a global day of action designed to harness Madiba’s legacy to confront universal challenges: the fight against poverty, inequality, and injustice.

The President challenged citizens to view their volunteer work as part of a larger, systemic mission rather than an isolated event.

“The acts of service we perform this Saturday are not merely symbolic gestures, disconnected from the harder business of building institutions, driving investment, and changing systems and policies. They are part of the same effort,” Ramaphosa explained.

“So this Mandela Day, as we serve our communities, let us also renew our resolve to tackle the poverty and inequality that make such service necessary in the first place.”

Ramaphosa appealed to the public to dedicate their time to sustainable upliftment.

“This year, we ask every South African to heed that call. Let us give our 67 minutes through acts of service that feed the hungry, comfort the lonely, or support vulnerable communities, ensuring that Madiba's legacy lives on through our collective actions.”

Ramaphosa explained that Madiba was clear that overcoming poverty is not an act of charity, but an act of justice.

“So on this Mandela Day, let us also recommit ourselves to the difficult task of ending poverty and inequality in our country and in our world,” he said.

He noted that through the country’s G20 Presidency last year, government placed the issue of inequality firmly on the global agenda.

He said government is now working with other countries and institutions to establish an International Panel on Inequality to monitor global inequality, assess its causes and consequences and recommend the policies needed to reverse it … no nation can overcome inequality alone; we need coordinated multilateral action, rooted in solidarity and shared responsibility, he added.

“As a country, we must use Mandela Day to refocus our efforts to tackle poverty and inequality. We must sustain our investment in the education and health of our people, prioritising the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

“We must continue to direct energy and resources towards strengthening early learning in our schools and completing the overhaul of our skills development system. At the same time, we must continue to build a health care system that provides quality care to all who need it, regardless of their ability to pay,” he said.