Founder of Africa’s largest independent humanitarian organisation, the Gift of the Givers Foundation, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says it is time to build the country, build social cohesion and bring people together.

He said this during the 4th Annual Marikana Memorial Lecture on Monday, ahead of the 11th anniversary of the Marikana tragedy.

On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service (SAPS) opened fire on a crowd of striking mineworkers in Marikana, in the North West, killing 34 people.

The then President, Jacob Zuma, announced the establishment of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, in terms of section 84(2)(F) of the Constitution.

“As a country, we have learnt from the Marikana tragedy,” Sooliman said, adding that it was not time to live in the past, but to reflect on the past.

He said his organisation was determined to double food parcels to the people of Marikana.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said the Marikana tragedy was a painful chapter in the country’s history that brought immense sorrow, challenges and anguish to countless families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price.

“As we remember the fallen, we cannot but be moved by the harrowing journey the families of the victims had to endure on that fateful day,” he said.

Makgoba emphasised the importance of providing a supporting shoulder to the families of the victims of the Marikana tragedy.

Source: South African Government News Agency