ZANU PF President and First Secretary, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, has called on liberation movements in the Southern African region to re-commit themselves to defending their founding values and independence of their countries.
He made the remarks during an address at the Liberation Movements Summit held in South Africa this Sunday.
Six Southern African liberation movements convened in Johannesburg to explore strategies for deepening cooperation and aligning their political ideologies in response to evolving global geo-political dynamics.
“The mission before us, as stated in our summit theme, is an urgent imperative. Counter-revolutionary forces have doubled-up antics to divide and fragment our movements. They are unrelenting in their nefarious quest to obliterate liberation movements from the political radar of our region. However, we must remain emboldened by our rich liberation history, which is our greatest teacher. The millions of people who look to liberation movements with hope for a better tomorrow should be a source of inspiration. Our democracy, freedom, and independence did not come on a silver platter.
“The infrastructure that denied us democracy and independence has mutated and expresses itself in numerous forms. These include through interference in the internal affairs of our parties and governments, sabotage of our economies, and at the worst, covert support of conflict and war, in our jurisdictions.
“We can not be complacent. Robust and fluid strategies are necessary to guarantee the perpetuity of our people-centred governance. We defeated them in the past, and we shall defeat them again, and again, and again. Through our unity and unbreakable solidarity, victory is always certain. Our synergies and collaboration must be bold and purposeful, while the exchange of ideas and perspectives among our parties should be responsive and honest to the realities we face,” he said.
President Mnangagwa, who is also the SADC Chairperson, highlighted that liberation movements are the only dependable institutions to deliver on people’s socio-economic aspirations.
“The responsibility and duty to build brighter and more prosperous countries for the next generations lies with us, liberation movements. Let us, therefore, bravely and unapologetically re-assert and re-commit ourselves to defending our founding values, independence, sovereignty, freedom, democracy and equality. We are the only tried, trusted, and dependable drivers of socio-economic justice, development, and regional stability. The people’s power shall always remain firmly secure under the governments of Liberation Movements,” he added.
Other regional leaders highlighted that the Summit presents an opportunity to revive Pan-African ideals of unity, non-aggression, peaceful co-existence, and South-South cooperation.
The Summit agreed to develop comprehensive strategies to counter exploitative and neo-colonial practices while also ensuring that liberation movements lead regional stability and development.
ZANU PF, ANC of South Africa, SWAPO of Namibia, Frelimo of Mozambique, Angola’s MPLA, and Tanzania’s CCM were represented at the Summit.
