The High Commissioner, Fernando Fazenda
The Executive Mayor of Nkomazi Municipality, Cllr Khoza
Our Traditional Leaders
Leadership of Frelimo
Leadership of the African National Congress
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are profoundly privileged to be part of the 40th anniversary of the Independence of our neighbours, the Republic of Mozambique. We have always shared cordial relations with the Republic of Mozambique as we were together in the trenches fighting for freedom and an end to colonization in our countries and Africa in general. The role that was played by Mozambique in our own liberation struggle was instrumental in our quest to attain freedom and we owe a great gratitude to Mozambicans who stood by us and made their country to be our second home when we were waging the struggles to defeat apartheid.
We therefore would want to send revolutionary message of congratulations to President Filipe Nyosi on the occasion of Mozambique celebrating its 40 years of independence. Mozambique continues to be an exemplary state on matters of democracy in Africa as the country regularly holds credible, free and fair elections where all citizens are given an opportunity to elect a government of their choice. We have had peaceful transitions in Mozambique and we can all learn about how the country has cemented democracy and allowed peaceful resolutions when faced with challenges. We would want to express our gratitude to Mozambicans for having entrusted Frelimo with an absolute mandate of governing their country and we have full confidence in the Frelimo-led government and as the ANC-led government, working together with them, we know that we will realise the aspirations of our people as we continuously meet and share policies that could make our countries better.
Mozambique has produced renowned leaders who never sacrificed the cause to liberate Africa and who worked hard to bring to end colonization and economic slavery of our people. In this regard, we fondly remember our leader par excellence, President Samora Machel who significantly contributed in the defeat of our previous colonisers and he was the first democratically elected president of the free democratic Republic of Mozambique and we remember him as we celebrate the independence of Mozambique today. President Machel accommodated us South Africans in Mozambique and allowed revolutionaries to camp in his country so that they could wage the struggle to free South Africa and Zimbabwe which was then known as Rhodesia. It was unfortunate for all Africans when he died in a plane crash in 1986 in our soil here in Mpumalanga and we always carry a heavy burden of grief when we think of how this crash robbed us of a leader who was committed to rid Africa of all ills that were afflicting it. We shall always remember President Machel as he was our leader and may his soul rest in peace.
We are annually commemorating the life of President Machel in Mbuzini at the Memorial Site where he perished and we will continue with the commemoration so that future generation could know the heroic deeds that Machel was known for. It is our mandate to preserve our history and heritage as part of telling our own story so that our people could know the correct history of our people and not learn a history that was influenced by our previous colonizers. We have an extraordinary responsibility of honouring the heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle so that today’s generation could draw strength from their deeds in their quest of creating a prosperous Africa.
As African leaders, we need to rededicate our efforts in working towards achieving peace, security and development of our continent so that we could shape our own agenda and be equally recognized by our peers from other continents. We need a radical approach in our economy so that we could eliminate the unfortunate tendency where Africa produces raw materials which are then exported and refined and then resold to us at exorbitant prices. We owe it to our forbearers to free our people from economic hardships so that Africans can have access to international trade markets and participate fully in the world economy and this will be realized if we could form strategic blocs like SADEC which is an instrument that has yielded positive developmental goals for our region.
We need focused Africans who will know how to accordingly respond to international markets and economic trends so that all our people could be given an opportunity to enjoy the wealth that our continent create and have their dignity regained. We need to foster relations that will end our dependence on the West so that as Africans we can address and resolve our challenges which might include economic challenges, conflicts and spread of disease among others. It is against this background that we commend the African Union for standing firm on matters of Africa as we cannot allow outsiders to dictate our policies and agenda as Africans should be given space to resolve African matters.
Ourselves as Mpumalanga Province, we have always worked well with our counterparts in Mozamique, Maputo, and we have strategic partnerships that enable us to work together to cement relations between our two provinces more importantly on matters of trade, culture and development. We were together this year when we celebrated Africa Day where we encouraged our people to live harmoniously among themselves in a comradely manner as our fore-leaders did. Our attitude towards each other has always been influenced by the historical bonds that were created among our people in the struggle and today we are privileged that we can have commemorations that allow us to educate each other about matters of culture through song and dance. We are also together in the sporting front and it is not rare to find Mozambicans rallying behind our Bafana Bafana and South Africans rallying behind the Mambas.
Programme Director, the 25th of July 1975, which is an Independence Day in Mozambique will always remain a historic date for people in Africa as it reminds us of gallant fighters who fought tirelessly to liberate Mozambique and we therefore wish the people of Mozambique well as they are going to celebrate this day. It has been 40 years of positive development for Mozambique and we urge all of you to continue making Mozambique a better country that it is today.
Long live the solidarity and friendship that unite the peoples of Mozambique and South Africa.
A luta continua! A vitoria e ta! Muito obrigado!
The High Commissioner, Fernando Fazenda
The Executive Mayor of Nkomazi Municipality, Cllr Khoza
Our Traditional Leaders
Leadership of Frelimo
Leadership of the African National Congress
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are profoundly privileged to be part of the 40th anniversary of the Independence of our neighbours, the Republic of Mozambique. We have always shared cordial relations with the Republic of Mozambique as we were together in the trenches fighting for freedom and an end to colonization in our countries and Africa in general. The role that was played by Mozambique in our own liberation struggle was instrumental in our quest to attain freedom and we owe a great gratitude to Mozambicans who stood by us and made their country to be our second home when we were waging the struggles to defeat apartheid.
We therefore would want to send revolutionary message of congratulations to President Filipe Nyosi on the occasion of Mozambique celebrating its 40 years of independence. Mozambique continues to be an exemplary state on matters of democracy in Africa as the country regularly holds credible, free and fair elections where all citizens are given an opportunity to elect a government of their choice. We have had peaceful transitions in Mozambique and we can all learn about how the country has cemented democracy and allowed peaceful resolutions when faced with challenges. We would want to express our gratitude to Mozambicans for having entrusted Frelimo with an absolute mandate of governing their country and we have full confidence in the Frelimo-led government and as the ANC-led government, working together with them, we know that we will realise the aspirations of our people as we continuously meet and share policies that could make our countries better.
Mozambique has produced renowned leaders who never sacrificed the cause to liberate Africa and who worked hard to bring to end colonization and economic slavery of our people. In this regard, we fondly remember our leader par excellence, President Samora Machel who significantly contributed in the defeat of our previous colonisers and he was the first democratically elected president of the free democratic Republic of Mozambique and we remember him as we celebrate the independence of Mozambique today. President Machel accommodated us South Africans in Mozambique and allowed revolutionaries to camp in his country so that they could wage the struggle to free South Africa and Zimbabwe which was then known as Rhodesia. It was unfortunate for all Africans when he died in a plane crash in 1986 in our soil here in Mpumalanga and we always carry a heavy burden of grief when we think of how this crash robbed us of a leader who was committed to rid Africa of all ills that were afflicting it. We shall always remember President Machel as he was our leader and may his soul rest in peace.
We are annually commemorating the life of President Machel in Mbuzini at the Memorial Site where he perished and we will continue with the commemoration so that future generation could know the heroic deeds that Machel was known for. It is our mandate to preserve our history and heritage as part of telling our own story so that our people could know the correct history of our people and not learn a history that was influenced by our previous colonizers. We have an extraordinary responsibility of honouring the heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle so that today’s generation could draw strength from their deeds in their quest of creating a prosperous Africa.
As African leaders, we need to rededicate our efforts in working towards achieving peace, security and development of our continent so that we could shape our own agenda and be equally recognized by our peers from other continents. We need a radical approach in our economy so that we could eliminate the unfortunate tendency where Africa produces raw materials which are then exported and refined and then resold to us at exorbitant prices. We owe it to our forbearers to free our people from economic hardships so that Africans can have access to international trade markets and participate fully in the world economy and this will be realized if we could form strategic blocs like SADEC which is an instrument that has yielded positive developmental goals for our region.
We need focused Africans who will know how to accordingly respond to international markets and economic trends so that all our people could be given an opportunity to enjoy the wealth that our continent create and have their dignity regained. We need to foster relations that will end our dependence on the West so that as Africans we can address and resolve our challenges which might include economic challenges, conflicts and spread of disease among others. It is against this background that we commend the African Union for standing firm on matters of Africa as we cannot allow outsiders to dictate our policies and agenda as Africans should be given space to resolve African matters.
Ourselves as Mpumalanga Province, we have always worked well with our counterparts in Mozamique, Maputo, and we have strategic partnerships that enable us to work together to cement relations between our two provinces more importantly on matters of trade, culture and development. We were together this year when we celebrated Africa Day where we encouraged our people to live harmoniously among themselves in a comradely manner as our fore-leaders did. Our attitude towards each other has always been influenced by the historical bonds that were created among our people in the struggle and today we are privileged that we can have commemorations that allow us to educate each other about matters of culture through song and dance. We are also together in the sporting front and it is not rare to find Mozambicans rallying behind our Bafana Bafana and South Africans rallying behind the Mambas.
Programme Director, the 25th of July 1975, which is an Independence Day in Mozambique will always remain a historic date for people in Africa as it reminds us of gallant fighters who fought tirelessly to liberate Mozambique and we therefore wish the people of Mozambique well as they are going to celebrate this day. It has been 40 years of positive development for Mozambique and we urge all of you to continue making Mozambique a better country that it is today.
Long live the solidarity and friendship that unite the peoples of Mozambique and South Africa.
A luta continua! A vitoria e ta! Muito obrigado!