South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Saturday that people should not compare late former president Nelson Mandela with current President Jacob Zuma.
Speaking at Nelson Mandela Center of Memory in Johannesburg, Motlanthe said many people draw comparison of the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) at different times.
"Every generation determines what their mission is. Comparisons of different leadership should be on the basis of how each leader tackles problems affecting the people which arise from time to time. Leaders are not chosen because of one leader's eloquence or how can recite the quotations from Kaal Marx but on assisting the needy," Motlanthe said.
Motlanthe was speaking amid calls for a better leadership in the pro-Mandela era.
Earlier this week, former President Thabo Mbeki reportedly said South Africa needs a better leadership to deal with a more complex situation after Mandela's death.
"Exactly because we are dealing with this more complex struggle, we need to raise the level of the quality of leadership," Mbeki told a memorial service for Mandela at the Calvary Church, in Midrand, Johannesburg on Wednesday night.
Zuma on Saturday warned against attempts to "settle scores" following the death of Mandela, who died on Dec. 5 at the age of 95.
Certain politicians might use Mandela's death to try and settle scores, Zuma said at a ceremony to hand over Mandela's body to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Waterkloof Air Force Base near Pretoria.
"We should not think that Madiba's passing is a time for settling scores," Zuma said.
Zuma said trying to settle scores means that "you do not understand Madiba and you will never understand him, because he was a man of honesty."
"Comrades, I would be very happy that as we mourn and celebrate Madiba, we do not abuse his name," Zuma said.
After the handover ceremony, Mandela's body was flown to the Mthatha Airport near Qunu, Eastern Cape, where Mandela will be laid to rest on Sunday.
Recalling Mandela's contributions, Motlanthe said Mandela assisted the people until his last days on earth.
Mandela, he said, was involved in projects like sourcing funding for building clinics, assisting students with money and assisting the poor.
The deputy president chronicled Mandela's contribution to mankind from the days he was a member of ANC Youth League. "He was the volunteer in chief. He could volunteer to take difficult tasks. At one time we wanted a person who would go underground to organize the struggle. Madiba volunteered to do that and that meant he had to separate with his family and was in danger of arrest," said Motlanthe.
He said Mandela and his prison mates told their lawyers that if they were sentenced to death they should not appeal against the sentence.
That showed the bravery of Mandela and his comrades, Motlanthe stated.
He told how Mandela burnt his identity document in front of cameras putting himself at the risk of arrest.
Motlanthe said Mandela was brave and persuasive and can convince the most difficult to change the mind.
"On Robben Island he could talk us who were young then and guide us. He was a strategist and could use other prisoners to get old newspapers from prison warders because they could not give him those. His life is intertwined in the struggle of South Africa," said Motlanthe.
He said Mandela was a hands-on person who would visit the party branches to get the real stories.
