PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ANC UNITY AT MAXEKE COMMEMORATION
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the ANC Youth League to assist in uniting the party as it faces deep divisions and a serious fall-out come month-end when many members have to step aside or face suspension.
Ramaphosa made this call during his address at the 150th commemoration celebrations for Struggle stalwart Charlotte (née Mannya) Maxeke in the Eastern Cape yesterday.
The ANC also declared 2021 “The Year of Unity, Renewal and Reconstruction in the Year of Charlotte Maxeke”.
Addressing a congregation in the Nxukhwebe in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape, Ramaphosa said visiting her homeland “feels like I have come to the fountain of wisdom”.
He honoured Maxeke as a religious leader and social and political activist who was the first black woman in South Africa to graduate with a university degree. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from Wilberforce University, Ohio, in 1901. She was also the first black African woman to graduate from an American university.
Celebrations of Maxeke’s life come at a time when there are deep divisions within the ANC, with allegations of a splinter party called the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction emerging.
The governing party also recently took a tough stance against corruption among its members by activating a resolution that any member facing serious crimes and corruption charges or allegations must step aside from their positions or face suspension.
Ramaphosa said: “If we don’t unite, we are going to fall. The Youth League will work with us to make sure we unite the ANC.
“There is no other way but to unite the ANC, otherwise the ANC will continue to fall apart. We must address the issue of corruption within the ANC so that our people can regain their confidence in the ANC.
I can see that nearly all of you love the ANC, but you will love the ANC more if you see the ANC acting against corruption and those who participate in corruption.”