Ramaphosa calls on leaders to copy upright Xuma
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the country’s political leadership to emulate liberation Struggle icon and former ANC president Dr Alfred Xuma by being ethically upright.
Ramaphosa delivered a eulogy at the reburial of Xuma in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape yesterday.
Xuma, the first black medical doctor in South Africa, led the ANC from 1940 to 1949, and it was under his leadership that the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and the ANC Women’s League were established, increasing the radical posture of the party.
Ramaphosa said the country’s current leaders had to follow in Xuma’s footsteps and emulate his principles.
“His tenure was free of scandal and suggestions of impropriety.
“We should follow in his footsteps in the positions we have been entrusted with, in national government, in our provinces and in our municipalities.
“He took his role seriously and discharged it faithfully.
“He forged consensus and unity. “He understood then, as we do today, that if we fall prey to division, dissent and discord, we will never achieve our aims,” he said.
Xuma is also credited with leading the process of cooperation between the ANC and other liberation forces, including the Natal Indian Congress and the Transvaal Indian Congress.
“It was under the leadership of Dr
Alfred Bathini Xuma that the ANC adopted the African Claims’ document at its annual conference on December 16, 1943.
“This seminal document laid out the African people’s demands for full equality and citizenship rights. Most importantly, it prioritised the South African people’s right to land ownership,” Ramaphosa said.
He said the document demanded a fair redistribution of land and was critical of the colonial race-based system.
Xuma was, however, accused of being too conservative and too sceptical of communists and the ANCYL.
Ramaphosa said Xuma had inherited a weakened ANC which was distant from communities and that it was under his stewardship that it recovered and its unity improved.
“Under Dr Xuma’s leadership, the ANC was built into a strong and cohesive political force, leading the Congress Alliance into a programme of mass action in the 1950s.
“He understood that the ANC must be built from the grassroots, and that its strength and power lay in the branches,” he said.
It was also under Xuma that ANC membership was extended to women.