He made time for the rich and the poor – Mandela family

Nelson Mandela is being mourned not just by his family but by the world and the global support has been a help to his relatives, the family said in its first remarks since his death.

“It has not been easy for the last days, and it won’t be pleasant for the days to come, but with the support we are receiving from here and beyond, in due time, all will be well for the family,” family spokesman Temba Matanzima said.

Mandela was a humble man who “made time for the kings and queens, the poor and the rich, the great and small,” Matanzima said.

He thanked South Africans and people around the world for their messages of support over the past year while Mandela was ill.

“Madiba was not just a citizen of South Africa and the broader African continent, but a global citizen,” he said.

S Africa prepares for Nelson Mandela memorial service

The government of South Africa was working frantically on the weekend to prepare for Tuesday’s memorial service for Nelson Mandela, the “father of the nation.”

Officials were working around the clock “to meet the deadlines we have been set,” said Collins Chabane, minister for performance monitoring and evaluation in the presidency, on local radio.

Heads of states and dignitaries from around the world are expected to attend the anti-apartheid leader’s memorial service.

A memorial will be held in Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium. Mandela will be buried in his home village of Qunu on December 15.

All hotels and car rentals in the capital Pretoria and Johannesburg had been held in reserve to accommodate visiting dignitaries, travel agents said. South Africans were reflecting on the legacy of Mandela, who died Thursday evening at the age of 95 in his home.

Many people called radio stations to exchange memories and stories about the former freedom fighter.

Former president Thabo Mbeki noted that “all the major achievements of the (ruling) African National Congress come from the Mandela generation.”

Mandela is considered the founding father of democratic South Africa. South Africans now need to think about how they can live up to Mandela’s ideals of creating a non-racial, equal and inclusive society, Mbeki said.

“I think we have to admit we are not there yet,” he told local radio station Cape Talk.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said those who predicted the nation would experience racial tensions without Mandela as its moral compass would be “surprised how much stronger South African society is.”

Mandela’s funeral cortege will travel through Pretoria on three consecutive days

Nelson Mandela’s funeral cortege will travel through the streets of the capital Pretoria on three consecutive days, South Africa’s government said Saturday, encouraging people to line the route.

“Every morning, when the remains leave the mortuary to the lying in state, those routes will be made public,” said government spokesman Neo Momodu. The processions will occur on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Source:Voice of Russia

R.Sawas