S. African leader urges unity as country marks Nelson Mandela Day

South African President Jacob Zuma has called on the citizens to jointly build a united and more caring society when the country marks the second Nelson Mandela Day.

Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dedicated 67 years of his life to the struggle for creating a better South Africa and the fighting against discrimination, Zuma said in a statement released Friday by the Presidency.

He said Mandela has become a symbol of the struggle to end racism, sexism and all forms of human degradation.

"In his memory, let us rededicate ourselves to unity, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, respect for one another and tolerance, " he said.

He urged South Africans to take forward Mandela's vision of ending poverty, inequality and unemployment and to build a more prosperous society in which all, especially the poor and the working class, are assured a better life.

It is said that many people in South Africa and across the world spend 67 minutes of their time on this day cleaning up the environment and doing community work to mark Nelson Mandela's 67 years of public service. Endi