It was an awesome feeling seeing journalists and news anchors praise South Africa's hosting of the World Cup on BBC, CNN, Sky News, Al Jazeera and read outstanding articles about our country from journalists and others who visited South Africa.

The FIFA 2010 World Cup has without doubt put South Africa in an excellent situation to make the teenage years of the 21st century the best years yet for South Africa.

I think this successful hosting of the World Cup in South Africa has meant so much to this country and can be compared to when the Soviet Union put the first human in space and when the USA put a man on the moon.

As a country we should channel this positive energy, attitude and enthusiasm to make South Africa a first world country for all, providing the best education for our kids, a health care system that is able to treat us when we are sick, decent jobs for all people, safety from crime and high living standards for everybody.

I hope the positive energy and success of hosting the world cup according to the best standards is not stolen in the coming days by individuals like Julius Malema.

Now more than ever, South Africa should not allow Malema to create fear, division and depression in the people of South Africa and ruin our reputation around the world in the same way that George W Bush destroyed the goodwill and sympathy earned by the USA in days after the terrorist attacks in 2001

South Africa can now not only dream, but also put into plans bold policies to give everybody a home to live, 100% literacy, 100% employment, parks in every corner, libraries in every suburb. South Africa can host the Olympics and the other world cups again and most definitely we can put satellites and people into space.

Today, I know that wherever South Africans maybe, whether in the big cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, in all 9 provinces, whether in Port Shepstone or Port Nolloth, from the Kruger National Park to the Kalahari Desert and everywhere in between and around the world, we all feel proud to be South Africans.

I hope President Zuma and the leaders in the ANC realise that this opportunity should be seized to make South Africa an even more incredible and awesome nation.

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