Pretoria - Afrikaans musician Kurt Darren on Saturday called on South Africans to work together to help the current government move forward.
“(The) present government has teething problems but I think we need to work together to get through that,” he said at the Union Buildings ahead of his performance for the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma.
“We are an amazing nation.”
Darren will be performing for the second time during an inauguration. He previously performed in 1994 during Nelson Mandela's inauguration.
He could not hide his excitement about his performance.
“It's a great honour. I did it 20 years ago for Mandela here at the Union Buildings as well. Being here is fantastic for the nation, seeing so many cultures is wonderful,” he said.
Darren would venture into unfamiliar territories with his performance. He will be performing a hit song from South Africa's highest selling artist of the 90s, Brenda Fassie.
“I will be singing Kaptein and Vulindlela. That is the other side of the scale and that is fantastic. I have always been a fan of Brenda Fassie and I think its going to be awesome,” said Darren.
He called on South Africans to stop seeing each other based on the colour of their skin.
“We should stop thinking of black and white in South Africa. We should think of SA like TV, a high definition TV. That is my dream for the country,” he said
He said the country had come far since 1994 particularly in the education sector.
According to officials, about 18 000 were gathered at the lawns of the Union Buildings to witness Zuma's inauguration.
The lawn was a hive of activity with people watching proceedings on a big screen.
Earlier, there were shouts and cheers when planes performed fly overs. Cell phones were held high as thousands tried to capture the different flight formations. - Sapa