WINDHOEK – The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) has reminded the Angolan government of the 2013 memorandum of understanding on oil and gas, saying the agreement needs to be effected very soon.
“It is our wish that the new year present must be the finalisation of this agreement by our two governments,” Dr Elijah Ngurare, SPYL secretary, told the congress of Angola’s youth wing of the ruling party, MPLA (Juventude do MPLA) in Luanda, last week.
Namibia and Angola signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for crude oil importation in June 2013, for Namibia to import crude oil from Angola with the oil refined in a third country at Namibia’s expense. The MoU, which if implemented is expected to bring cheaper fuel into the country, is valid for three years, and the SPYL now reminds that time on the MoU is running out.
The SPYL’s appeal comes hot on the heels of media reports that the agreement has stalled because of various bureaucratic hiccups by both the Angolan and Namibian governments.
Not only is the Angolan government said to be dragging its feet to implement the agreement, but the Namibian state owned institution that is supposed to work on a business plan for the agreement to come into effect is also accused of not coming to the party.
Ngurare, in his solidarity message at the congress, reiterated the SPYL’s support to the MoU that would “enable the Angolan oil to flow in Namibian cars,” while at the same time appealing to Sergio Luther Rescova Joachim, who was re-elected as first secretary of the JMPLA, that “we appeal to you comrade Rescova to continue reminding comrade president Eduardo Jose dos Santos on this important and strategic matter”.
“Once the Angolan oil is in Namibia certainly other countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique will follow suit.”
Ngurare nevertheless told the JMPLA congress, which took place on 16 to 17 October in Luanda, that the current fight for the liberation movements’ youth wings is to “translate political independence into economic independence for Angola and for Africa.”
Referring to the liberation movements’ youth wings as the “modern soldiers” who must “be armed with education, hard work, discipline and patriotism,” Ngurare said: “We are going forward and our collective march towards genuine economic empowerment of all our people is irreversible and unstoppable.
“As African young people, we have no courage to fight for what is not ours. What is ours, we know. In our fight for economic independence, we need no one from Portugal, London or Washington or elsewhere to tell us what is best for us.
“That is not their business. We are only defining ourselves within the context of the natural resources we have on this continent. Those resources were meant for us all not only a few.”
He added: “It is therefore not a crime to fight for economic independence. We must demand, not ask for, economic empowerment. Our people in rural areas all over Africa are crying for help. They know we have the resources to make their living conditions better. They know that Angola has enough resources to make a difference in their lives.”
Among the liberation movement youth wings attending the congress were those from South Africa’s ANC, Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF, Mozambique’s FRELIMO, from the Cape Verde, and the Young Communist League of Cuba.