ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR

Transcription

1 ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. SAM NUJOMA, FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA AND FATHER OF THE NAMIBIAN NATION, ON THE OCCASION OF THE CONFERMENT OF A DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE Honoris Causa, BY THE UNIVERSITY OF KINSHASA, 30 TH APRIL 2014 KINSHASA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO *Check Against Delivery 0 P age

2 Director of Proceedings; Your Excellency, Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and First Lady Madame Olive Lembe Kabila; Honourable Léon Kengo wa Dondo, the President of the DRC Senate; Honourable Aubin Minaku, the President of the DRC National Assembly; Your Excellency, Mr. Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon, the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Honourable Members of Parliament; Honourable Ministers; Honourable Governor of Kinshasa; Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Chancellor of the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Professor LABANA; Chairperson of the University Council and Senate; Distinguished Members of the University Council and Senate; Professor, Dr. Leo Mbadu Khonde, Professeur Ordinaire and Dean of the Faculty of Education; Distinguished Professors and Lecturers of the University of Kinshasa; Dear Students and Alumni of the University of Kinshasa; Distinguished Invited Guests; Members of the Media; Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a great honour for me to be here today to be conferred upon the Doctor of Philosophy degree, honoris causa, of the University of Kinshasa, through its Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences. Allow me therefore first and foremost to express my deepest gratitude for the exceptionally warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in your beautiful City of Kinshasa. It is indeed a great honour for me to be here today among eminent scholars, men and women of letters. I am particularly touched by the warm and fraternal reception accorded to us. The splendour and magnificence of the ceremonial setting is heart-warming. We, therefore, feel at home here among our brothers and sisters. In the same vein, allow me to take this opportunity to thank the Senate and the Council of the University of Kinshasa for conferring upon me, a Doctorate degree Award, honoris causa, on this day, declared as the day of teaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I am most grateful for this distinct honour and I accept it with humility and pride, on behalf of the Namibian people. Indeed, this honour is not for me only, but it is in recognition of the courage, determination, steadfastness and perseverance of the Namibian people against oppression and the white minority regime of South Africa. I am proud; therefore, to bring to you warm greetings from the people of the Republic of Namibia. 17 years ago, Africa and the world at large witnessed the inauguration of President Laurent Désiré Kabila as Head of State of the Democratic Republic of Congo. That inauguration, which coincided with the 37 th Independence Anniversary of this country, was a historical event in all its dimensions. 1 P age

3 This year marks the 50 th Anniversary commemoration of the assassination of the late Comrade Patrice Emery Lumumba, a name that became a symbol of African freedom and unity of a leader who was proclaimed a Hero of Africa by the Third All-African People s Conference, which I attended, in my capacity as the President of SWAPO, the Namibian National Liberation Movement, in Cairo, in March Today, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, under the leadership of His Excellency President Joseph Kabila Kabange, are now poised to embark on a road towards the reconstruction of your beautiful country. The road towards reconstruction is by no means an easy one. It will require the dedication, determination and commitment of all the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It will also require the support of neighbouring countries, and indeed the entire African continent as well as all people of goodwill and the rest of humankind. It is for this reason that we in Namibia are prepared to offer assistance to our brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whenever and wherever possible. This country is endowed with abundant natural resources and offers a potentially large market of more than 70 million people. In addition, your country has the Grand Inga Dam Project which could produce up to forty thousand Mega Watts ( MW) of electricity, more than a third of the total electricity currently produced in Africa. In fact, research in the past had shown that the Inga Project has the capacity to provide enough electricity for everyone on the continent with a surplus for export to other destinations in the world. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that Namibia is a dry and drought-prone country. The Democratic Republic of Congo, on the other hand, is endowed with abundant rainfall, as well as the mighty Congo River, which flows endlessly through the country, into the Atlantic Ocean. It is for this reason that we previously started discussions with you, with a view to tapping water from the Congo River to utilise the water for agricultural projects for the entire SADC Region. If I am allowed to elaborate on the important aspect of education and training, you will all agree with me when I say that knowledge is power, and that education is the greatest equalizer in society. Therefore, the African Union Member States should make more funds available in order to educate and train our youth. First and foremost, we must educate our youth as future agriculturalists, because one cannot talk politics to hungry people, as empty stomachs do not have ears. Indeed, adequate and sustainable provision of food and nutrition for Africa s development has now become one of the priorities on the global policy agenda, which includes the African Union declaring year 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security. 2 P age

4 In addition, of more than 400 Million Africans living in poverty, 70% live in rural areas that depend on agriculture. Moreover, more than half of Africa s population depend on agriculture for almost their entire livelihood. For this reason, at the AU Summit in Maputo, Mozambique ten years ago, as African leaders, we adopted the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). In that Summit we committed to reverse under-investment by allocating at least 10% of our national budgets to agriculture, while aiming to achieve at least 6% agricultural growth annually. A decade later, only less than ten (10) of Africa s 54 countries have kept the 10% promise which brought about food insecurity across the continent, while Africa spends $40 billion US Dollars importing food. We must stop importing food! According to the AU Framework released in January 2014, promoting agriculture and agricultural trade is one of the tools for deepening the African regional integration process. In this regard, the Democratic Republic of Congo, with its abundant rainfall as well as the mighty Congo River, can play a critical role in food security and food sovereignty in terms of quantity and quality to feed the SADC Region and the entire African continent as well as to export the surplus to Europe and the rest of the world and reduce food import in Africa. Otherwise, without the ability to adequately and sustainably feed our people and maximise on our massive agricultural potential, the African Union declaring 2014 as the Year of Agriculture and Food Security, will remain but empty words. We cannot talk about African dignity without the ability to feed ourselves while we have 60% of the world unused arable land. Similarly, we need to educate and train our youth as mining engineers, marine-biologists, geologists, doctors, not forgetting experts in vocational training fields. Our problems are not insurmountable but with unity, we can achieve self-determination. Africa is not a poor continent. Her human, intellectual, and natural resources, make her probably the richest continent in the world. However, if we cannot educate and train our youth, to be able to exploit our natural resources for the benefits of the African people on the continent and those in the Diaspora, Africa will continue to heavily rely on foreign experts to exploit our natural resources. I therefore urge the tertiary education institutions of our two countries and our region, to work together, and it is my wish that this great academic institution will continue to grow and develop well-trained and competent graduates for your nation and for the entire African continent. Accordingly, we must proceed from the premise that Africa is one continent; that her peoples are one people; and therefore our unity is of paramount importance to the pursuit of Africa s development. As I always say; A people united, striving to achieve a common good for all members of the society, will always emerge victorious! 3 P age

5 Once again, I accept this Honorary Doctorate award with honour and humility, on behalf of the Namibian people. Long Live the Democratic Republic of Congo! Long Live the Republic of Namibia! I thank you. 4 P age