100 YEARS OF MADIBA
From the same balcony Ramaphosa will also address South Africa
WHILE the battle over who will be the country’s next president is on its last legs, democratic South Africa’s founding president is being honoured in what would have been his centenary year.
A year-long national and international campaign celebrating one of global history’s most loved and revered leaders will be launched at the Grand Parade and on the balcony of the City Hall where Madiba delivered his first speech after 27 years of apartheid incarceration, mainly on Robben Island, on the very day of his triumphant release, February 11, 28 years ago.
The main speaker at Sunday’s event is newly elected ANC president and soon-to-be SA president Cyril Ramaphosa.
The venue couldn’t be more historic for it was Ramaphosa, standing next to Madiba, who held the microphone on that balcony while Madiba addressed thousands of people on the Parade.
ANC national communications manager Khusela Diko said a technical committee headed by national deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte had been established for the event.
“We chose the Grand Parade because it was exactly because of its significance and the symbolism of the day, 28 years ago on February 11 at 3pm, Comrade Nelson Mandela addressed South Africa for the first time after being incarceration for 27 years.
“Standing next to him (on the balcony) was the chairperson of the national reception committee comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, in fact he even held the microphone for him. He is the president today,” she said.
“From the same balcony, in fact also at 3pm, Ramaphosa will also address South Africa.”
She said they had not set a target of how many people will attend Sunday’s event starting at noon.
“We would be grateful for each and every single person who comes. We would love to also hear in some way from people who were there on that day 28 years ago. So for us that is really the key issue,’ she said.
The campaign to honour Madiba in what would have been his 100th year is international, including a high-level meeting focusing on world peace ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders in September 2018 by the UN’s General Assembly.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation had also unveiled the “Nelson Mandela Centenary 2018 Be the Legacy”, a two-year programme to honour its founder.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa is to have one last meeting with President Jacob Zuma to conclude talks that will see the embattled leader leave the Union Buildings by the weekend or early next week.
Yesterday, Zuma’s fate appeared all but sealed after Ramaphosa told ANC MPs at a meeting of its caucus in Parliament that the beleaguered president had agreed to step down but wanted some issues to be “cleared” before handing in his resignation.
Ramaphosa has cleared his diary for the weekend to deal with Zuma’s departure.
And, in turn, Zuma will no longer attend the Ubuntu Awards tomorrow after they were called off, marking what appeared to be the end of his stay in office.
A number of MPs who attended the caucus meeting, and a source in the Presidency, painted a picture of a president winding down his business in preparation for departure in the next few days.
The MPs said Ramaphosa was keen to wrap up the discussions with Zuma by Sunday.
An ANC MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ramaphosa did not divulge the outstanding matters that Zuma wanted finality on.
“Ramaphosa said President Jacob Zuma was willing to resign but wanted certain things to be cleared before he could do so. The president (Ramaphosa) did not reveal those things that needed to be cleared,” he said.
A source in the Presidency also said Zuma could be gone by the weekend as he was wrapping up his business.