President Hage Geingob has said Namibia will always be indebted to the people of Zambia for their unwavering solidarity and kindness.
As guest of honour at Zambia’s 58th Independence anniversary celebration in Lusaka yesterday, Geingob said when Namibians were victims of the apartheid aggression, seeking refuge and a staging ground to launch their fight for independence, the people of Zambia, under the leadership of the Late President Kenneth Kaunda, stretched out the hand of solidarity.
“It was in Zambia where Namibians found a home away from home. It was Zambia and its people who opened their homes and their hearts to welcome us as brothers and sisters. It was in Zambia where Swapo set up the Nyango Health and Education Centre, which at one stage catered for close to five thousand Namibians. It was in Zambia, right here in Lusaka, where the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN), was opened to provide training for Namibians,” Geingob said.
Geingob said Zambia fought a decisive battle against tyranny, subjugation and racial oppression – not only for their own freedom but also for the freedom of their Southern African brothers and sisters.
“The fierce flame of resistance against colonial oppression in Zambia galvanised us in the southern African settler colonies to fight for our own independence through liberation movements, such as MPLA, ZANU-PF, ANC, FRELIMO and Swapo.
“Indeed, you paid a heavy price for your steadfast commitment towards total freedom,” he said.
Geingob said he hoped that as Namibia and Zambia come together to commemorate the historic day, “we can be inspired to embody the ideals and values that the brave people of Zambia displayed during the darkest period of our region’s history”.
Through Agenda 2063, Geingob said as Africans, they have outlined the vision for the new Africa they want – and it is now time to translate the continent’s freedom into prosperity. “It is our duty to pick up the baton and embark upon the second phase of the struggle, the struggle for socio-economic transformation, as we strive to improve the standard of living of our people and bring about total economic independence.
“Our struggle for independence
enabled us to define our own governance architecture, through the establishment of processes, systems and institutions, which buttress our democracy,” he said. Geingob said this governance architecture is reflected in the African Union, through which they have established multilateral institutions and procedures to enable the continent to collectively examine questions of peace, stability and democracy – and to attain sustainable economic development.
“You stand as a living testament of one of the great sons of Africa, who fought for the liberation of our region. It is, therefore, befitting that you should join us, today, as we celebrate the freedoms fought for our people by our founding fathers, which set the foundations for the good sisterly relations that our two countries continue to enjoy,” Hichilema, who came to power in 2021, yesterday said.
“We are pleased that Namibia and Zambia share the need to intensify business engagements and ensure local participation through the creation of the joint ventures forum to promote business linkages between our two countries. We look forward to further cooperation under the framework of our joint permanent commission of cooperation, which we want to see implemented.”