ACCRA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Lulu Xingwana, on Tuesday called on Africans to live the legacies of Nelson Mandela by taking action against poverty, as Ghanaians gather to mark the Nelson Mandela International Day.
The Day is to honor Nelson Mandela who for 67 years devoted his life to the service of humanity as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker, and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.
As a side event to commemorate the day, the United Nations Information Center and the South African High Commission in Ghana organized a clean-up exercise at Nima, a suburb of the national capital, Accra.
It was to eschew poor sanitation and its impact on livelihoods as well as encourage volunteerism.
Speaking at a durbar of schoolchildren to mark the Nelson Mandela International Day, Xingwana said much attention of Mandela's death had been focused on his fight against racial inequality and his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa but his major focus was on combating poverty and this was what should be prioritized.
"We have to accept that he cannot be replaced in person today but his legacy of selfless and principled dedication to equality and justice lives on. We need to stay through to his ideas, follow in his footsteps including his commitment to eradicating poverty and hunger," she said.
The Minister for Inner City, Abubakar Saddique Boniface, challenged Ghanaians to stand for their country and the continent just as Mandela sacrificed his life not for himself but for the entire world.
He proposed the construction of a senior high school to be named after Nelson Mandela to inspire youngsters to aspire high and improve access to secondary school education in the community where secondary school completion rate was very low.
This year's celebration is on the theme "Action Against Poverty."
