President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to donate half his salary to a fund honouring Nelson Mandela in a move aimed at encouraging his countrymen to do more for the poor. "This fund will be launched on July 18 to mark the 100th anniversary of Madiba’s birth," Ramaphosa said in Parliament during the debate on the presidency’s budget vote. He described the new Nelson Mandela Thuma Mina Fund as "a private, citizen-driven initiative that will ask all those with the means to contribute a small portion of their salaries to supporting the many small projects that build the nation". “As we undertake this important work together, as we travel further along the path of growth and transformation, we are imbued with a new spirit,” the president said. “In truth, it is a spirit rekindled. It is the spirit of Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, of solidarity, service and a shared humanity. It is the spirit that moved us to put our wars behind us, to cast aside our differences and to forge a nation...

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