Nyusi calls for unity among former liberation movements

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi

He was opening a summit of heads of the former liberation movements attended by the presidents, or their representatives, of Frelimo (Mozambique), MPLA (Angola), the ANC (South Africa) SWAPO (Namibia), ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe) and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzania).

Speaking in his capacity as President of Frelimo, Nyusi told the summit “the end of colonialism and of apartheid in our countries marked the start of a new historical stage. It is a stage where we have, on the one hand, won political power, but, on the other, we must, in the battle for economic development, build the dignity necessary for our peoples”.

Parties are not like individuals, Nyusi stressed. “They cannot and must not grow old”, he said. “Instead, they must remain young because the ideals we defend are as necessary and legitimate as they were yesterday”.

“Our parties have already proved that they are not ephemeral”, he continued. “Our parties did not emerge out of greed for power. They are the result of the people’s cause. They result from a genuine desire for liberation and a pressing will to emancipate our peoples”.

The new front the former liberation movements face, Nyusi said, is the economic front, for which “we need once again our collective intelligence, based on solidarity and concerted determination”.

“The current international economic conjuncture is clearly less favourable to us”, he warned. “Together we must reflect on more effective economic measures so as not to interrupt the growth of our countries”.

There was no doubt about the brotherhood and political cohesion between the six parties, and so similarly “there should be no fears about our economic relations”, Nyusi declared.

He called on the parties to influence the governments of their countries “to open the gates to our business people and other stakeholders in our economies, so that they can work together in order to find a way out that avoids the suffocation that the present conjecture seems bent on imposing”.

“Economic cooperation will certainly sustain our political survival”, Nyusi insisted.

Other peoples, countries and parties “should regard us not as a threat, but as partners”. The liberation movements in the past were partners against oppression and discrimination, and today “we are loyal partners in development”.

Two other heads of state are attending the summit – Jacob Zuma, president of the ANC and of South Africa, and Hage Geingob, president of SWAPO and of Namibia. MPLA president Jose Eduardo dos Santos is represented by Roberto de Almeida, the party’s deputy president.

Jakaya Kikwete, who is no longer President of Tanzania, but remains at the head of CCM, is represented by CCM secretary-general Abdulrahman Kinana, while the president of ZANU-PF, Robert Mugabe, is represented by the party’s secretary for administration, Ignatius Chombo.