OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 2.20pm.
ABOUT 100 public servants on Friday morning surprised President Thabo Mbeki with a party and a cake for his 57th birthday.
Among those attending the function at the Union Buildings in Pretoria were Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Zuma, her deputy Aziz Pahad, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad, and Sport and Recreation Minister Ngconde Balfour.
Mbeki was presented with a card and a large cake featuring the South African flag and the words: “Happy Birthday President Mbeki”.
Those present sang to Mbeki before pledging to serve him to the best of their ability.
Mbeki expressed his surprise, saying he had received two messages from children he would have brought along if he had known about the party.
The first, a poem in Afrikaans from a Pretoria boy, congratulated the President on his birthday, with the boy stressing that he was born on the same day.
In the second letter, an 11-year-old Johannesburg girl also sharing Mbeki’s birthday asked him to bring her a birthday present at her school.
Mbeki thanked those present for keeping the public service running while the previous Cabinet was busy with the recent election campaign.
He said South Africans expected their lives to be improved by the new government, adding: “This is an expectation that all in government cannot disappoint.”
After cutting his birthday cake, Mbeki passed the first slice to Zuma, and received a kiss in return.
Asked about his plans for the rest of the day, he said: “I have taken the day off”.