African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa says as the ANC is celebrating its 106th birthday, they took a decision to reconnect and reunite with the people who brought the party into power. He was addressing scores of people including traditional leaders at Nqadu Great Place, outside Willowvale, in the Eastern Cape.
Ramaphosa visited various areas of the Eastern Cape, including laying wreaths at graves of traditional leaders that supported the movement.
On Tuesday he visited the AmaXhosa King Mpendulo Sigcawu in a courtesy visit before the January 8th statement in East London on the weekend.
Ramaphosa’s visit to the Great Place forms part of paying homage to fallen struggle heroes including traditional and political leaders. He and his entourage brought three cows as a gift to the AmaXhosa kingdom while the monarch slaughtered an ox to welcome the top six.
Traditional leaders, including Contralesa’s former secretary Chief Xolile Ndevu and Prince Xhanti Sigcawu expressed gratitude saying it is the first time the top six visited the Great Place, pledging their support to the newly elected leaders.
Meanwhile, the first thing that the outspoken AmaXhosa king raised with the president is the release of AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo. He also mentioned the 17km gravel road leading to the Great Place.
“Among the issues that I want to raise is the issue of Zwelibanzi. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. So please Mr President when you go back to the office please consider ways of assisting us in releasing the King from jail. We have beautiful nature here but what is chasing tourists away. It is the bad condition of our roads, for all these to be addressed properly you and your government will have to work hand in hand with traditional leaders. “
Education was also among the key issues the monarch raised. “The president has been left with a huge responsibility of free education and not given the finances to implement that. If the free education initiative is not implemented in the next two years we must know it wasn’t his fault. The outgoing president had 10 years to do that but he didn’t do it.”
The president decided to stay clear of the appeal for the incarcerated King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s release. However, he pledged his support for traditional leaders.
Earlier on, he paid tribute to one of the ANC’s founding fathers, Dr WB Rubusana, before travelling to Nqadu Great Place.
“We were shaking the bones; we were bringing them back to life so that we can breathe fresh air into the African National Congress. The spirit of those bones is spreading around the nation today because it is speaking the revival of the ANC. We are an organization that has a history. We are reconnecting with our forbearers; we are reconnecting with the founders of the ANC. We are reconnecting with the natural leaders of our people by reporting back to them. We support the call for youth to be educated, skilled and uplifted.”
Ramaphosa again appealed to all the locals to accept the new leadership and unite behind them. Click below for more on the story:
