Is the ANC making a mockery of its former president's legacy?
The ANC says it is using a commemoration event for its longest-serving president, Oliver Reginald Tambo, to introspect, but others believe the party has made a mockery of his legacy since taking power in 1994.
A wreath-laying ceremony was held for Tambo at the Tamboville cemetery in Benoni, Gauteng, on Monday, on what would have been his 108th birthday.
The ANC’s regional secretary in the City of Ekurhuleni, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, says the party must use the occasion of Oliver Tambo’s birth to reflect on the party’s misfortunes.
“I think coming here today forms part of revival, introspection and some sort of pilgrimage where we must reconnect with our leaders and introspect on where we went wrong and take courage from some of their lessons.
“We are excited that irrespective of the circumstances of where we find ourselves, we are still able to converge and pay tribute to our former leader, comrade Oliver Reginal Tambo,” he told Newzroom Afrika.
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Missteps and corruption
In the years since Tambo’s death in 1993, the ANC has reached remarkable highs of securing a large majority victory and governing the country, and improving many areas and citizens’ lives.
But the party has also been accused of acting too slowly to improve the lives of other South Africans, as it became more synonymous with corruption, greed, state capture, infighting, and crises than with service delivery.
Several “rejuvenations” and a New Dawn later, the party lost outright power in last year’s election and relied on political enemies for its survival.
Dlabathi acknowledged that the party had taken a hard knock in recent elections.
“We obviously find ourselves in an unfortunate moment where the electorate has not necessarily given the ANC the absolute majority to govern, we take comfort from the fact that we do form part of the collaborative government,” he said.
The slide continues
The ceremony also comes as parliament’s ad hoc committee investigates claims that some senior ANC leaders have been colluding with criminal elements.
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