SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki described cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth on Thursday as ”a courageous pioneer for South Africa and his continent, Africa”.
”Past competition between nations has given way to co-operation, and our own Mark Shuttleworth and South Africa as a whole are proud beneficiaries of this endeavour, and of the goodwill of the Russian government and space research authorities,” Mbeki said in a statement issued shortly after the 28-year-old South African multi-millionaire blasted off into space.
”Mark is a courageous pioneer for South Africa and his continent, Africa,” Mbeki said. ”In making his childhood dream a reality he has shown us the possibility of the impossible. He is the embodiment of the optimism and confidence of a nation to whom even the stars cannot be the limit.
”I look forward to talking to Mark on South Africa’s Freedom Day on Saturday, to wish him well in his endeavours and to thank him on behalf of the nation, for the pride that he is to all of us. I am certain that, when he returns, South Africa shall give Mark the warmest welcome ? fit for the African achiever he is.” – Sapa