By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril urged the party members to remain vigilant against the internal divisions that threaten the very fabric of the party.
Ramaphosa delivered Oliver Reginald Tambo memorial lecture.
Tambo was the party’s leader from 1967 to 1991.
The longest-serving ANC president died from a stroke in 1993, shortly after witnessing the death of South African Communist Party (SACP) general-secretary Chris Hani.
Ramaphosa said that unity must be a priority to honour the legacy of Tambo.
“The most serious existential threat we face as the ANC comes from within our movement has been ridden with factional activity, naked careerism and personal ambition.”
Ramaphosa noted that the ANC has increasingly struggled with “ill-discipline, political intrigue, ideological rifts, and rising intolerance of divergent viewpoints.”
He emphasised that honouring Tambo’s legacy demands an unwavering commitment to the party’s cohesion and purpose.
Ramaphosa reminded attendees that they are “inheritors of a great example” that Tambo set during his time as ANC president in exile.
“Today marks 107 years since the birth of OR Tambo, a hero whose great name is forever and indelibly inscribed in the hearts and minds of our people,” he noted, framing Tambo’s leadership as a template for the ANC’s future.
Despite the multifaceted challenges the ANC confronts, Ramaphosa expressed confidence in the party’s unique position as a change agent in South Africa.
Ramaphosa said it is only the ANC that has brought fundamental change to the lives of South Africans in the last 30 years, even though some sectors have written it off.
“We have heard about the ANC now joining the pantheon of national liberation movements that have in quotes failed in governing, all this said of an ANC that over the past 30 years has brought about deep, fundamental, and lasting change to the lives of millions of South Africans.”
Ramaphosa said in spite of the many challenges faced by the party, the ANC remains the only party that is capable of changing the lives of South Africans.
October is Oliver Tambo’s birth month; he was born on 27 October 1917 in Bizana, Eastern Cape, and later settled in Wattville, Ekurhuleni.