SADC leaders pay tribute to anti-apartheid activist ahead of Durban summit

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to the late anti-apartheid activist Oliver Reginald Tambo on Sunday, laying a wreath at his statue in Durban. 

Ramaphosa was joined by other heads of state and government from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), ahead of the regional group's Monday summit. 

The bronze statue of Tambo in Durban's South Beach honours his lifelong mission against South Africa's apartheid regime. 

He served as President of the African National Congress both at home and in exile abroad, where he mobilised international support for the movement. 

Tambo died in 1993, just one year before Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa.

Regional summit

This week's meeting of the 16-member SADC will focus on economic development and regional security. 

Migration is also on the agenda, with Ramaphosa, who assumes the group's chairmanship, expected to call for member states to address the conditions pushing people to leave their countries. 

Anti-immigrant groups have planned a march on the conference centre to confront leaders over migration policy. 

The 16-member country SADC promotes sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security. Its aim is to promote the region as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.

This year's SADC summit is being convened under the theme “Resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World.”

The summit sets strategic priorities for regional cooperation, integration and development.