Samia stresses self-reliance

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged African countries to work together in the fight for economic independence.

The Head of State said as previous generations fought for independence, the current and future generations have a big task to ensure that nations in the continent get rid of economic imperialists.

Ms Samia made the remarks yesterday at the 12th Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) Congress in Matola area on the outskirts of Maputo in Mozambique.

“Our countries have gained political freedom thanks to our comrades who sacrificed their lives for the betterment of future generations, even though we still have wars to fight, colonialism still exists in many shapes and features,” President Samia said.

She added, “This marks a point where with great pride I commend FRELIMO and its Mozambique government in different phases for the efforts taken to achieve socio-economic development for the people of this country.”

She said fighting an economic war is not a small task, thus it requires sacrifice and sticking together as it was during the fight against colonialism.

“It is a struggle that should aim at strengthening the economies of our countries and the financial muscles of our political parties to enable them to form their plans and activities sustainably,” she said.

President Samia arrived in Maputo on Tuesday night for a three-day official visit straight from Britain, where she attended the national funeral and burial of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday.

Those in attendance at the congress included Second President of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano, Graça Machel and Tanzania Minister for Defence and National Service, Dr Stergomena Tax.

During her address, she reaffirmed Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s (CCM) readiness to continue strengthening the long-established relationship with FRELIMO and the commitment to stand with Mozambican people in making sure peace, stability and security remains the main concern.

“On behalf of CCM and the government of Tanzania, I take the liberty to assure you of our full support against terror activities in the northern part of Mozambique along with Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states,” she noted.

To be able to achieve economic independence, she said there is a bigger task to educate the young members of political parties, fortunately, there is a centre in Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha Tanzania, and the centre should be used to run ideology programmes to build the capacity of youths, women and the veterans because the world is dynamic.

“I bring up this point because as I was reading on liberation movements in South Africa, I came across an article by Professor Roger Southall of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in which he thought that, “Liberation parties in Southern Africa region will survive organisationally but the essence progressive forces will be dying and that hope of genuine liberation will depend upon political realignment alongside morale and intellectual generation.”

“I urge political parties to work together, it is true that not a single part can survive single-handedly and reap the desired fruits, our survival lies in us working together as comrades and allies,” President Samia said.

She went on to say that “The sustainability and future of African nations and generations depend on us since we are the only ones who truly understand what independence means to our people. We should not convert our independence struggle into a myth or a failed history,”

Filipe Nyusi, the President of Mozambique and the head of FRELIMO, the country’s ruling party, urged the discussions to divert from a divisive topic and centre on resolving the nation’s issues.

“Our ultimate goal is to secure victories in the next electoral cycle, a fundamental condition for us to continue to better serve Mozambicans. This is our purpose as Frelimo,”.

“We, therefore, call on everyone to conduct debates within our agenda, an agenda that unites us and not the agenda that may divide us,” Nyusi detailed in his speech.

Immediately after opening the proceedings, the party President said he expected the 1,500 delegates to focus on the daily problems of Mozambicans.

He said that the delegates were expected to focus on the daily problems of the Mozambican people, such as the cost of living, the fight against terrorism and the impact of climate change.

President Nyusi called for answers from “the society that stopped to listen to us today,” referring to the live broadcast by several television stations and the representation of all provinces among the delegates.

He also called again for reflection on the feasibility of starting to hold district elections in 2024, as defined under the understandings with the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, opposition) that led to the 2019 peace agreement.

This is not a fear of Frelimo to go to the polls, he stressed, but rather a realisation from those with experience on the ground, that the decentralisation process deserves further elaboration, he reiterated, in line with what he has been advocating in recent months.