Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The South African ruling party, African National Congress (ANC) and Namibia’s ruling party, Swapo continue to be inseparable since the struggle history of apartheid.
This is according to Swapo President Hage Geingob and his counterpart, ANC President Cyril Ramphosa, who reiterated that the parties are bound by a history of struggle against the tyranny of Apartheid oppression in Namibia and South Africa.
“Our two Governing Parties, SWAPO and the ANC are inseparably bound by a difficult history of struggle against the tyranny of Apartheid oppression. Our camaraderie has been forged in the fiery cauldron of the war of liberation for the emancipation of both South Africa and Namibia. As freedom fighters, we walked hand in hand and worked side by side in different capitals of Africa such as Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Cairo, Luanda, Accra, Lagos, and in New York at the United Nations as well as other cities of the world, with the objective to end Apartheid in our two sister countries. Therefore, the bonds of solidarity between our two nations are etched in sweat and blood. They are etched in our collective and glorious history of struggle and triumph against the brutality of Apartheid,” said Geingob.
“In both our organizations Swapo and the ANC there is a lot that we share we are sister parties. We are their older sister as the ANC. A lot binds us together as we were together in the trenches fighting against the evil system of apartheid both here and in Namibia. And so we found a great deal of commonality in the objectives that we set out as liberation movements to free the people of our two countries but also to foster the development in our two respectful countries and we are linked at the hip in the most meaningful way both economically and both being people of Southern Africa,” said Ramaphosa
Geingob addressed the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) on Friday, while he was on a state visit hosted by Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa, in an interview with journalists after, added that during the state visit the two Presidents discussed the challenges and advancement that Swapo and ANC have faced on various fronts as well as the journey that both organizations have been on since their respective independence.
“We exchanged views on the journey that Swapo has been traversing since their own independence and the journey that the ANC is also traversing, the challenges that they have faced and the achievements that they are making on a number of fronts and there’s a lot that is common between our two parties. It was really a wonderful moment of exchange. He was the very first head of state and head of a party to come and address the National executive committee,” he added.
Moreover, Geingob said Namibia, like South Africa, is a young country going through the rough patches of a constitutional democracy and that the two countries should hold hands and move forward to create a better life for the citizens of their countries.
“Just like South Africa, Namibia is a young nation, going through the trial and tribulations of maturing constitutional democracies. As part of our democratic franchise, fundamental rights are guaranteed in our constitutions, including property rights, freedom of movement, association and expression including that of the media. However, all freedoms, including that of the media come with responsibility and accountability. What has been gained can also be lost if handled carelessly coming from this background of shared experiences of sacrifice and triumph, we should now hold hands and forge ahead to build together a better life for the citizens of our two countries,” Geingob stated.
