Luanda - The executive secretary of SADC, Stergomena Lawrence Tax, highlighted Tuesday the contribution of all those who participated in the struggle for the liberation of the entire southern African region.
In a message, ahead of celebration of the Southern Africa liberation Day, on 23 March, Stergomena Lawrence Tax urged the SADC countries to take stock of the progress attained, under the established goals.
: '' Towards Economic Liberation 'and, thus, the vision of a common future that guarantees the progress of the economic well-being and of the standards of quality of life of the respective peoples, freedom, social justice, peace and security.
“Today, we celebrate, once again, the Liberation struggle day of Southern Africa, by remembering the children who paid the final price, fighting for the political liberation and freedom of our region. Our children's blood was not in vain, since the liberation struggle contributed to the freedom and liberation of the entire SADC region, ”the official said.
The official said that marking and celebrating the successes achieved, "we must remain aware that we have not yet been fully liberated, until we win the battle for economic independence (...)".
She is of the view that, in order to accelerate socio-economic development, in a sustainable manner, for the benefit of SADC citizens, Member States should commit to the SADC Vision 2050 and to the implementation of the 2020-2020 Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2030.
These plans, the official clarified, are based on a firm base of peace, security and democratic governance and on three interrelated pillars: industrial development and market integration; development of infrastructures to support regional integration; and development of social and human capital.
“In order to preserve the peace and security that we have enjoyed since the liberation of the region by the founders and the achievement of political independence by the Member States, we must remain in solidarity and condemn all possible forms of threats to peace and security, including cyber crimes, terrorism, extremism and hate speech, which threaten to reverse the gains made with peace, security and economic development in the region, ” - The executive secretary of SADC .
The executive secretary encouraged Member States to accelerate the inclusion of the History of the Liberation of Southern Africa in school curricula, for the benefit of current and future generations.
In her message, the executive secretary of SADC recalled that, with the death of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, the region lost one of its great leaders, who dedicated himself to the development of Africa.
On March 23, Southern Africa Liberation Day was instituted in 2018 in Windhoek, Namibia, during the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government.
March 23, 1988 marks the end of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, in southeastern Angola, where the FAPLA (Popular Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola) and the FAR (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba) faced the army of the greatest power regional military, South Africa, and former UNITA forces.
The organization includes Angola, South Africa, Botswana, DRC, Comoros, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
