President Jacob Zuma sings before addressing delegates during the opening of their elective conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, December 16, 2012.
JOHANNESBURG —
South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, says the ruling African National Congress party is “the only hope for the poor and the marginalized” during an address to the party convention at which he hopes to be re-elected party leader.
South African President Jacob Zuma began and ended his speech to the African National Congress convention with a moving struggle-era song about anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.
The road is long that we are traveling, but we will meet on Freedom Day, he sang on Sunday, which is a South African public holiday, the Day of Reconciliation.
President Zuma is not known as a compelling public speaker in English. But his singing voice brought many in the hall to their feet in praise of Nelson Mandela, who remains in a Pretoria hospital for a ninth day.
The groundswell of support in the hall may be short-lived. Zuma is hoping that he will be re-elected party leader at the five-day conference, which will make him heir apparent to the presidency again in 2014. The party also has to hash out hotly contested issues such as land reform and a proposal to nationalize parts of the mining sector.
Zuma said he believes the party he leads “remains the only hope for the poor and marginalized,” but his tenure has been criticized and marred with allegations of corruption and poor governance.
While citing the party’s achievements, Zuma said its mission has changed since its founding in 1912 as a party fighting injustice under apartheid. He said the ANC now runs a government and needs a cadre that knows how to run a government and succeed.
During the convention that runs through Thursday the party’s 4,500 delegates will choose between Zuma and his main challenger, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, for the ANC’s top job. Analysts almost universally have bet on Zuma over the quiet, professorial Motlanthe.
Though Zuma focused on the party’s recent achievements and goals, the hospitalization of the 94-year-old Mandela hung over the ceremony.
"We pay tribute in particular to Isithwalandwe President Mandela, the first commander-in-chief of MK, who is currently hospitalized in Pretoria. He is receiving good care from a competent and caring medical team. We wish him and family all the best during this time," he said.
And he closed his two-hour speech, with the song to the one man the ANC is united behind after all these years.
Nelson Mandela
1/16Nelson Mandela smiles for photographers at his home in Johannesburg September 22, 2005.
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2/16Nelson Mandela and his then wife, Winnie, salute well-wishers as he leaves Victor Verster prison on Feb. 11, 1990.
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3/16This undated photograph shows Nelson Mandela and his former wife, Winnie.
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4/16South African State President Frederik Willem de Klerk and Deputy President of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela prior to talks, Cape Town, May 2, 1990.
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5/16Nelson Mandela, is seen as he gives the black power salute to 120,000 ANC supporters in Soweto's Soccer City stadium, Feb. 13, 1990.
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6/16Then-African National Congress President Nelson Mandela salutes the crowd in Galeshewe Stadium near Kimberley, South Africa, Feb. 25, 1994.
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7/16Nelson Mandela and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II ride in a carriage outside Buckingham Palace on the first day of a state visit to Britain, July 9, 1996.
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8/16President Nelson Mandela and Britain's Prince Charles shake hands alongside members of the Spice Girls, Nov. 1, 1997.
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9/16Former U.S President Bill Clinton and former South African President Nelson Mandela speak during a Gala night in Westminster Hall, London, July 2, 2003.
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10/16Oscar winning South African actress Charlize Theron weeps at her meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, March 11,2004.
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11/16Nelson Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, wave to the audience during a Live 8 concert in Johannesburg, July 2, 2005.
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12/16Nelson Mandela jokes with youngsters as they celebrate his 89th birthday at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in Johannesburg, July 24, 2007.
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13/16Former South African president Nelson Mandela, center, followed by his grandson Mandla Mandela, rear right, arrives at the ceremony in Mvezo, South Africa, April 16, 2007.
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14/16Nelson Mandela waves to the media as he arrives outside 10 Downing Street, London, August 28, 2007.
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15/16Nelson Mandela waves as he arrives to attend the 2010 World Cup football final Netherlands vs. Spain on July 11, 2010 at Soccer City stadium in Soweto.
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16/16Nelson Mandela poses for a photograph after receiving a torch to celebrate the African National Congress' centenary in his home village Qunu, May 30, 2012.
