Tambo is the glue that continues to bind the ANC: Ramaphosa

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The late struggle icon, and former ANC President Oliver Tambo, has been hailed a hero, who didn’t back down in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa.

The ANC commemorated 30 years since his passing, which saw, party President Cyril Ramaphosa along with Second Deputy Secretary-General of the party Maropene Ramokgopa and the leadership n Gauteng, laying wreaths at his gravesite in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on Monday.

It was followed by a memorial lecture delivered by ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe in Boksburg.

It has been 30 years since Oliver Tambo passed away.

Today marks 30 years since the passing of O.R. Tambo. Help us keep his legacy alive today, and every day, by espousing his values of integrity, humility, servant and collective leadership, courage, mutual respect, self-criticism, pan-Africanism and selflessness. #TamboRemembered pic.twitter.com/TvU4LMaR1N

— Tambo Foundation (@TamboFoundation) April 24, 2023

Ramaphosa has described the late former party president and freedom fighter as a glue that continues to bind the ANC together. He says if it were not for the dedication shown by the likes of Tambo, who spent years in exile, South Africa may not have realised its democracy in 1994.

He says, there is a lot to learn from OR Tambo.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions joins South Africans to remember Isithwalandwe-Seaparankoe President O.R. Tambo who passed away 30 years ago today. #LalaKahleORTambo @TamboFoundation @SAfmRadio @UpdateAtNoon pic.twitter.com/4IlFuiBSaB

— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) April 24, 2023

“He understood that no matter the difficulties of the moment, he was to be the glue that would bind our movement together. And did he become the glue. He was the real glue. The glue that bound together the members of the ANC who had left and been scattered around the world and those who had remained, he bound us all together and became the real glue.”

Ramaphosa has called on ANC members to continue to forge unity within the party and it’s alliance partners, in honour of OR Tambo.

“It is only if we are united as the ANC, as the alliance and as a country that we will be able to overcome the many challenges that our people are facing today. Despite the advent we have made since the dawn of democracy, millions of our people are still faced with poverty, unemployment and inequality.”

Meanwhile, ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe has conceded they the ANC has not fully recognised the late struggle icon, Oliver Reginald Tambo.

#ORTambo frequently made compelling representations about the monstrous apartheid to various international organisations, such as the UN & OAU, which ultimately led to the declaration of apartheid as a crime against humanity. #RememberingORTambo pic.twitter.com/XCEVRtUMPe

— Gwede Mantashe (@GwedeMantashe1) April 24, 2023

He says instead the ANC has allowed Tambo to walk in the shadow of the late first president of the country, Nelson Mandela.

Delivering the OR Tambo Memorial Lecture in Boksburg, Johannesburg, Mantashe says Mandela and Tambo were friends and therefore should receive the same recognition, not only in the ANC, but across the country.

“Let me tell you something, I’m not comparing leaders, u Tambo, we have allowed u Tambo to walk in the shadow of Nelson Mandela, they were friends and partners. But we should have recognised Tambo more as members of the ANC, because he kept the ANC together for 30 years in exile and brought it intact.”

Mantashe says the ANC has an obligation to ensure that it performs well during the 2024 general elections, in honour of the late struggle icon, Oliver Reginald Tambo.