Zuma asks political parties to unite as mark of respect for Mandela legacy

President Jacob Zuma issued a plea for national cohesion on the third anniversary of the death of former president Nelson Mandela. "On this day in 2013‚ the first President of a free and democratic South Africa‚ President Nelson Mandela passed on‚ leaving behind a rich legacy of building a dynamic young nation‚ from the ashes of apartheid‚" Zuma said in a statement on Monday. "President Mandela taught us to unite and to love and respect one another as South Africans. He also taught us to build friendly relations with our neighbours and the international community as a whole. "Today‚ on the anniversary of Madiba’s sad passing‚ let us recommit ourselves to unity‚ and to working together to build our country‚ regardless of whatever political differences we may have." Zuma said a lot of good work has been done towards building a truly united‚ non-racial‚ non-sexist‚ democratic and prosperous South Africa‚ while acknowledging that "the road ahead remains long and full of challenges given the unending economic slowdown globally and locally and the need to continue building a better life for and with our people". "There is indeed a lot more hard work to be done‚ as we move towards the ideal society he (Mandela) envisaged when he said let there be bread‚ water and salt for all."