Now is not the time to give up on the ANC but rather to unite and deal with the organisation’s shortcomings and restore its values‚ says Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Delivering a tribute to the late struggle icon Ahmed Kathrada in the latter’s home town of Schweizer-Reneke in North West‚ Ramaphosa said the ANC had to recognise that many individuals and organisations that were once close to the organisation had moved away‚ concerned about the state of the movement and the country‚ convinced that the ANC did not have the means to correct itself.

Some‚ including the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation‚ were bringing together various groupings to establish a broad front against state capture and corruption.

“The anger of our people is real. The hurt is justified‚” Ramaphosa conceded.

He added that the ANC needed to have the political maturity to recognise that efforts to establish such a front was a signal of its shortcomings.

“We need to engage meaningfully with the various forces that feel alienated so that we can re-establish relationships based on principle and a clear value system.

“This is not the time to give up on the African National Congress‚” Ramaphosa said.

Now was the time for all the forces that had been part of the democratic movement to come together again and work with the ANC to confront these problems‚ he added.

“We will not be able to decisively end state capture‚ we will not be able to comprehensively root out corruption‚ unless we are united.

“It is at a time like this when we should unite and renew our movement rather than abandon it.

“We need instead to channel our anger and pain and to focus our every effort on our ultimate objective – the unity of our movement and our country‚ the restoration of our values and the freedom of our people‚” Ramaphosa said.