The African National Congress on Saturday night bade farewell to its retired leader and former South African president Nelson Mandela at glittering banquet in Midrand, north of Johannesburg. Speaking at the function Deputy President Jacob Zuma said Africa could benefit a lot from the experiences of statesmen like Mandela, former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere and others as it drew up programmes to regenerate herself. Zuma was deputising for President Thabo Mbeki who was on stand-by to travel to Lusaka, Zambia for the heads of state summit aimed at ending the 11-month war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He described Mandela as a great man of special qualities, who had sacrificed much for the emancipation of South Africa’s disadvantaged millions.