Zuma asks 'what would Tambo do?'

President Jacob Zuma has called on ANC members to rise above factionalism and petty squabbles and lead by example.

He was speaking about the legacy of former African National Congress president Oliver Tambo in Pretoria on Friday.

"What would he [Tambo] want us to do at this point in our history?" asked Zuma.

"He would call on the ANC, and on its members and supporters, to rise above petty squabbles internally and instead weld together a popular movement equal to the challenges of our times."

Tambo would have reminded them not to confuse the nation with factionalism, he said.

"The ANC must lead by example, displaying cohesion, clarity and respect for one another and for the nation as a whole.

"He [Tambo] would remind us that the responsibility of the ANC membership and leadership is to keep our minds when all around us are losing theirs."

Zuma said Tambo would require members to be steadfast in principle and display revolutionary discipline.

"He would urge us to continue on this mission of a fundamental transformation of our country and to work for economic freedom and the prosperity of all our people..."

"He would urge us to unite and build our glorious movement... and protect it from all sorts of negative tendencies, corruption, and opportunism."

Zuma said in Tambo's memory, ANC members should take forward the renewal of the organisation at its elective conference in Mangaung.

"We must recommit ourselves to renew the ANC's core values and principles, such as unity, selflessness, sacrifice, collective leadership, humility, honesty, discipline, hard work, internal debates, and mutual respect."

He said delegates should be pre-occupied with finalising policies discussed at the party's national policy conference in June.

The past 18 years, the ANC had worked hard to destroy the legacy of apartheid, he said.

"The three arms of the state -- the judiciary, legislature, and the executive -- work in equal partnership to transform society and deliver services in their realm of work.

"We know what we are doing and we know where are going."

Zuma said, in celebrating the international solidarity that assisted in attaining freedom in South Africa the Order of the Companions of Oliver Tambo would be conferred on several people within the country and others abroad.

Among these people were Jamaica's former prime minister Percival James Patterson, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Enuga Reddy and Rajni Kumar from India, Toshio Akiniwa from Japan, Brian Filling of the Free Mandela campaign in Scotland, and Jorge Risquet Valdes Salda from Cuba.