Ekurhuleni executive mayor Clr Mondli Gungubele has committed the metro to helping the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape, in the fight against poverty.
Speaking at the signing of a co-operation agreement between the metro and Alfred Nzo, last Tuesday, Gungubele said it was critical that the relationship between these municipalities be formalised 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.
“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,” Gungubele explained.
“The big challenge is realising 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’s executive mayor, Clr Eunice Diko, who added 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 it 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 the OR Tambo District Municipality and the City of Lusaka, in Zambia.
These municipalities could not attend the signing ceremony, due to unforeseen circumstances, but they share a history in as far as Tambo is concerned.
The municipalities have committed to working together to 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 paying 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 October, which is the month in which Tambo was born, the metro spearheads a month-long programme to remind South Africans of the legacy of Tambo – a leader who was a Free Person of Ekurhuleni.
Although born in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, Tambo lived 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, to 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.
