OR TAMBO CENTENARY
KEY MESSAGES
South
Africa will this year celebrate the centenary of the birth of Oliver Reginald
Tambo. Oliver Tambo was born in the Nkantolo village outside Mbizana in the
Eastern Cape on 27 October 1917.
He
is the late former President of the African National Congress and one of the
key founding fathers of South Africa’s liberation and constitutional democracy.
The
centenary celebrations will take place under the theme “Life and Legacy of OR
Tambo” and are expected to run until
December 2017. The celebrations will be used to draw lessons from his life and
understand the qualities that made him succeed in uniting the ANC.
Tambo
was the longest ever serving president of the ANC from 1969 to 1991. He has
been described by President Jacob Zuma as a “solution oriented leader who
always sought to move forward on the basis of building consensus”.
President Jacob Zuma last year established an
Inter-Ministerial Committee to prepare for the centenary celebrations.
KEY MESSAGES
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SUPPORTING
STATEMENTS
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The OR Tambo centenary is the celebration of his life.
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· Let’s honour the
sacrifices and contributions of OR Tambo towards a free, non-racial and
democratic South Africa and use the
centenary celebrations to learn more about the immense sacrifices our
struggle icons made so we can live if a democratic South Africa.
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OR
Tambo was an acclaimed internationalist.
who believes that countries should work together and try to understand each other:
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· OR Tambo mobilised the
international community to support our struggle against apartheid.
· He also led key processes
from the Harare Declaration to the adoption of the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa.
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OR Tambo laid the foundation for our democracy.
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· South Africa is today a constitutional democracy
founded on the principles of human dignity and equal rights for everyone
because of his leadership.
· We are building on his legacy to create a society
envisaged in the Freedom Charter and Constitution.
· The world
continues to marvel at our transition from pariah state to an admired
democracy.
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Let us protect OR Tambo’s legacy.
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· In the spirit
of our late icon, OR Tambo let us join together to create a united and
prosperous nation as he intended.
· As government
we remain committed to eliminate poverty, unemployment and inequality by 2030
through the National Development Plan.
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Let us join hands and move South Africa forward.
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· Government, business,
labour and civil society need to work together to create the country OR Tambo
envisaged.
· All South Africans have
to play an active role in their communities in improving people’s lives and
making sure their elected leaders deliver.
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