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Durban: Over the past few days, the people of this country expressed their feelings following an unfortunate incident involving myself and Ms Nompilo Mkhize at Cubana in Pietermaritzburg.

It is with a sense of humility that I express my gratitude for the constructive criticism, guidance and support I have received from the people of this country of all ages.

Equally, I express my sincere appreciation to the family and friends of my sister Ms Nompilo Mkhize.

Despite the hurt and high emotions that ran higher and ensued after this unfortunate incident, the spirit of Ubuntu has finally prevailed and brought us together.

Without dwelling much on the legal issues, I do wish to point out that this prevailing of the spirit of Ubuntu has resulted in both of us withdrawing cases that we had opened against each other.

Indeed, a new chapter has been opened. I believe that with the support of the people of this country – we will put the past behind us.

Constructive comments and guidance on various media platforms are a very profound demonstration of the will and capacity of the people of this country to rise above pain, division and strife to build a common future based on reconciliation.

The past few days have made me hopeful that we can build a future which we can all embrace and be proud of for many generations to come.

As we move forward, I wish my sister Ms Nompilo Mkhize all the best in her studies. I am inspired by her passion for education. Her determination to excel will take her places

As a child of this province - KwaZulu-Natal, I offer to continue to work with learners and young people in this province and other parts of the country to nature their talent. I understand that being in the limelight means that at all time I must be a mentor and a role model to many young people and offer my support in many forms.

In particular, KwaZulu-Natal is becoming a leading destination for the film and television industry. It is not suprizing that hit television series such as Uzalo and Imbewu are shot in this province.

I offer to work with young people and all stakeholders to ensure that we build the film and television industry to be an employer of choice. This is important given the fact that the creative industry has been affected due to lockdown regulations that started in March last year.

We must therefore work together to ensure the recovery plan for the creative industry as a whole. In doing so, I understand that young people have the capacity to inject new ideas such that we become competitive.

We have seen the online streaming of content and also live performances which have ushered in a new era. This is what we need to focus on as we move forward.

Once I again I wish to thank the Mkhize family, my family and the people of South Africa for their support and guidance over the past few days.

God bless you all !!!

Issued by Phindile Gwala