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Solomon has been honoured for her dedication to building a united Cape Town in the new South Africa.
former mayor of Cape Town Theresa Solomon with archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1988. Picture: Gallo Images
While the ANC and the DA are at loggerheads on a number of issues, both parties have united to bid farewell to Cape Town’s first female black mayor.
Politicians gathered at the Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Lansdown at the funeral service of Theresa Solomon, who died at the age of 79.
The current mayor of Cape Town, who is deployed by the DA, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said Solomon provided leadership in Cape Town during uncertain times.
“She led this City through a period where no one had any idea where this country was going and whether this unbelievable democratic miracle we had achieved would last and succeed.
“I was too young at the time, but I can only imagine how strange and new that time was for everyone in South Africa and how difficult it must have been to steer a city the size and complexity of Cape Town through that time,” he said.
Hill-Lewis to honour Solomon’s legacy
Hill-Lewis said leadership came naturally for Solomon.
“Mayor Solomon had such an inner voice, and that is why leadership came naturally to her. Her love for the city and, in particular, the people of Mitchells Plain, was evident in everything she did.
“She wanted children growing up in the Cape Flats to have the best possible chance of living a life of dignity and safety and opportunity,” he said.
He said the city would rededicate itself to work towards the ideals that Solomon believed in.
ANC tribute to Solomon
On the other hand, the secretary-general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, told mourners that Solomon played a crucial role in the liberation of South Africa.
“Comrade T was a gain of our revolution, on whose shoulders future generations will stand and gain immeasurable insights into the sacrifices her generation made.
“Comrade T emerged from the very soul of our people’s struggle, born in District 6 in the 1940s, comrade T experienced apartheid brutality first hand when her community was shattered by forced removals,” he said.
Mbalula said that after 1994, Solomon embraced the new South Africa and the process of building one nation.
“After liberation from the bondages of apartheid, she did not seek position or praise; instead, she poured her energy into healing the wounds of the past and building the new society she had fought for.
“Comrade Theresa’s post-apartheid roles cemented her legacy as a nation builder. As Cape Town’s first black female mayor, she championed the transfer of housing ownership. As high commissioner of Tanzania and Canada, she carried the nation’s flag with grace and never forgot her roots,” he said.
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ANC seeks to close weak gaps in the Western Cape
Meanwhile, Mbalula told the media on the sidelines that the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) will be in Cape Town this weekend to meet with branches and structures.
This is part of efforts to strengthen the party in the province since it was unseated by the DA in 2009.
The DA is also now in charge of the City of Cape Town.
“We are here to strengthen the ANC in the Western Cape and work with the leadership of the province to strengthen the province and close the gaps where there are weaknesses. That is what is important for us and why we are here,” he said.
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