Discurso de Sexa Armando E. Guebuza_Cimeira da SADC no dia 18-8-2014

SADC:

A fundamental institution for Mozambique and the region

Farewell address by HE Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique, at the closing ceremony of 34th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government

Victoria Falls, 18 August 2014

It is with emotion that we address you all, at this closing ceremony of the thirty-fourth SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government. This was, indeed, a very fruitful event, during which, we openly and with our eyes firmly set on the future:

v  delved into our past;

v  interrogated our present challenges; and

v  devised plans and strategies to make our regional organization more and more capable in dealing with matters of regional integration as a stepping stone to continental integration.

We would like to reiterate our gratitude and appreciation to you, Mr. President Mugabe, to the People and Government of Zimbabwe for the warm hospitality accorded to us during our stay in this stunning city of Victoria Falls, the home of the spectacular wonders SADC and the whole world are proud of. 

This hospitality is not a surprise because it has been constant and consistent since the Republic of Zimbabwe first hosted the SADC Second Summit on 20th July 1981. Indeed, all of us here should salute you, Mr. President Mugabe, for being the ONLY President who has attended all the Ordinary Summits of SADC since its inception in Lusaka on the first April 1980, that is, 34 years ago!

Having been elected as our Chair, for which we congratulate you, Mr. President, is, in itself a glowing homage to your consistency and dedication to the ideals of SADC.  You made this clear, even yesterday, at the opening ceremony, when you eloquently reminded us of our epic journey which started in Tanzania.

We would also like to extend our congratulations to you, Mr. President Zuma, on your election as the Chair of the SADC Organ. We would like to assure you both of our readiness to provide you with all the necessary support for your success in the mission SADC has entrusted you with.

A word of gratitude goes to you, Mr. President Mutharika, for the manner in which you steered the Chairmanship of SADC. In the same vain, we welcome you and Mr. President Rajaonarimampianina, of Madagascar, as the new members of our SADC Family, an  organization that has been growing from strength to strength to become an important player in regional and international politics, diplomacy, security and development.

These achievements have been possible thanks to our unshakable unity and commitment with the well being of our people. It is thanks to these tenets that we have been able to build from scratch this majestic organisation that prides its 293 million inhabitants and is admired in the continent and in the world, at large, for its cohesion and achievements.

 Fellow Heads of State and Government;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Democratic governance is being deepened in our region. Regular elections on the basis of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing

Democratic Elections, the benchmark we have set for ourselves, have become the norm rather than the exception and the constitutional terms of office are adhered to in our respective countries. In this context, next 15 October Mozambique will go to the polls to elect the President, the members of Parliament and the Members of Provincial Assemblies. For this reason, this venue and this Summit take a special significance for us.

Indeed, Victoria Falls enters into our biography on the 29 March 1964, fifty years ago, that is, when we were on our way to join FRELIMO, our liberation movement at its headquarters in Tanzania. After going through difficult times, avoiding the dreaded Portuguese security forces in Mozambique and after receiving multivariate support from ZANU, in Harare, we were detained here by the Rhodesian police, alongside other comrades, as we were preparing to alight from the train and cross into Zambia.

We were deported to the hands of the Gestapo-like Portuguese secret police, PIDE. After some six months of daily psychological and physical torture meant to extract confessions, break us and coerce us to denounce our underground networks and betray our comrades, without success, we were freed. Subsequently, using other routes, we eventually reached Tanzania.

Victoria Falls today causes those trying days to come flooding back in our memory to remind us of the solidarity and support we received from our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe and in the region so that we could play our part in the liberation of Mozambique.

This event has also a special significance for us, since it is the last SADC Ordinary Summit we attend in our capacity as Head of State of Mozambique. Indeed, after two successive five year terms of office, we will abide by what our constitution proscribes and thus, hand over the baton to our successor to be elected on the 15 October.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In our maiden speech during the SADC Silver Jubilee Summit in Gaborone, in 2005, we identified five challenges SADC was faced with and we expressed our readiness to play our part in overcoming them. Briefly, these were the following:

v  Firstly, to popularise even more our organization;

v  Secondly, to mobilize more and more of our internal resources to complement what we were getting from our development partners;

v  Thirdly, to implement the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ;

v  Fourthly, to strengthen and diversify our development partners; and

v  Fifthly to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

We are pleased to note that we have collectively worked hard to score tangible successes against these challenges. These positive results were possible because we are all committed to the ideals laid down by the founding fathers of our organization. As we depart, we see new additional challenges in the horizon, which we are certain will be overcome by these great minds leading the region. As was the case in the past, our success in the future will lie in:

v  Identifying and building upon the available opportunities;

v  addressing the challenges, head on and united as one; and

v  steering away from the risks that retard and hamper our development.

Unity, dialogue and the deepening of mutual trust will remain fundamental pillars in SADC as new generations of leaders are emerging and welcomed into our organization to take on the mantle and carry on building the SADC we and the founding fathers will always be proud of. SADC has always been and will remain a region of promise and hope. We have the pedigree to take our region and our respective countries to greater heights, with programmes that put people at the centre.

As we bid farewell, we would like to thank our fellow Heads of State and Government and everyone else for all the kind and fraternal support and solidarity extended to us during our tenure. We have no doubt that this support and solidarity will be rendered to our successor, in keeping with the tradition of our great organisation. SADC has always provided us in Mozambique with a sense of comfort, identity, solidarity and security.

We thank you very much for your kind attention.