Municipalities to work together in the fight against poverty

Speaking at last week’s signing of a co-operation agreement between Ekurhuleni and Alfred Nzo, which is situated in the Eastern Cape, Gungubele stated it is critical that the relationship between these municipalities be formalized for the benefit of the people they serve.

“We are preparing for the annual commemoration of the life and times of Oliver Tambo and we know that this great leader sacrificed all he had so that as South Africans we could have a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous country,” said Gungubele.

“We therefore owe it to him to take his legacy of a better life for all forward and make sure that his spirit lives on.

“The big challenge is realizing what we are submitting to.

“We are submitting to the footsteps of giants meaning we are committing to live and lead our people like them.

“Be that as it may, we shall succeed with commitment and dedication no matter how difficult this may seem.”

His sentiments were shared by Alfred Nzo executive mayor Clr Eunice Diko, who shared that her region was “so excited about the partnership and looking forward to a productive and healthy relationship between all role-players”.

“We all have an obligation to preserve the history of our political icons,” she said.

“These are our forefathers of the struggle and we owe to our younger generations to share their history so that they never forget who we are and where we come from.”

Other partners in the deal are O.R. Tambo District Municipality and the City of Lusaka in Zambia.

These municipalities, however, could not attend the signing ceremony due to unforeseen circumstances.

They share a history in as far as Tambo is concerned.

The municipalities have committed to working together to among other things, eradicate poverty and address inequality, promote programmes of mutual interest and development, share knowledge and skills in the area of service delivery and help each other in the area of institutional development to enhance service delivery in the two areas.

Other areas of focus include heritage conservation and geographic renaming of strategic areas, cultural exchange, development of tourism products and policy development.

Special attention will also be given to the fight against HIV and Aids, expanding health care services to communities and pay attention to issues of safety and security in general.

The signing ceremony can be viewed as a very strategic kick-off of the 2014 edition of the OR Tambo Month programme.

Each year during the month of October, which is the month Tambo was born, the City of Ekurhuleni spearheads a month-long programme to remind South Africans of the legacy of Tambo — a leader who is a Free Person of Ekurhuleni.

Although born in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, Tambo resided in Benoni in Ekurhuleni before departing for exile.

He returned to the same home after 30 years in exile, only to pass away on the eve of the first democratic elections in the country in 1994.

This year’s Oliver Tambo Programme will get under way on October 4 with the annual Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Liberation Walk.

Meanwhile the cities have agreed to set up a task team that will ensure that plans are put in place to implement the agreement.

This team has been given the task of formulating a long terms strategy of taking this relationship forward.