April 27, 2014

A man cheers and waves a flag during Freedom Day celebrations at the Union Buildings in Pretoria today, making the 20th anniversary of the end of apartheid politics. Reuters pic, April 27, 2014. President Jacob Zuma led celebrations today to mark the 20th anniversary of post-apartheid democracy in South Africa, saying it was closer to achieving the dream of a united multi-racial nation.

"Our country has done well," Zuma said at a ceremony held two decades after the first all-race election that saw Nelson Mandela become the country's first black president.

"We all have a good story to tell."

"We have moved closer to our cherished dream of a united non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa," he said at the "Freedom Day" ceremony held in the gardens of the Union Buildings, the seat of government in Pretoria.

South Africa is now the most developed country on the continent and boasts among other things, a strong constitution and an independent judiciary.

But its successes have been sullied by mismanagement and high-level corruption blamed largely on the ANC-led government, as well as a legacy of racial inequality, poverty, rampant crime and a lack of basic services.

The government failings have become a rallying point for the opposition ahead of general elections on May 7, the fifth since the end of decades of sanctioned racial oppression.

But Zuma who himself has been tarnished by corruption allegations used his speech to warn rivals not to dismiss the "tremendous" gains in the country of 51 million people.

"I am sure you all agree with me that working together in the past 20 years and the past five years, we have made South Africa a much better place to live in," Zuma said.

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