Address by His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa to the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Your Excellency, ThePresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr Joseph Kabila Kabange andMadame Olive Lembe Kabila

The President of theNational Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honourable AubinMinaku

The President of theSenate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honourable Léon Kengo wa Dondo

Your Excellency, ThePrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr Augustin MatataPonyo Mapon

Honourable Ministersfrom both the government of the Republic of South Africa and the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo

Honourable Members ofthe National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Letme begin by extending my deepest gratitude, that of my wife and indeed of theentire South African delegation, for the invitation to undertake this importantState Visit to your beautiful country.

 

Wehave been truly touched by the warm welcome and hospitality that we havereceived from your Government and the wonderful people of the Democratic Republicof the Congo.

 

Imust also convey how deeply honoured we are by the historical significance ofthis State Visit, which is the first State Visit from the Republic of SouthAfrica to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

 

Weare certain we will further solidify the close ties between our two greatnations and peoples.

 

Italso gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to address here today, ajoint seating of this great parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

SouthAfrica will forever be proud of the humble role we were able to play inassisting you, our brothers and sisters of the DRC, to achieve the democracyyou enjoy today.

 

Indeed,it was on this very day, the 29th of October, in 2006, that thesecond round of the first democratic elections ever held in the DRC took place,which saw Your Excellency elected as President of this great nation.

 

Sincethen, great strides have been made in strengthening and consolidating youryoung and vibrant democracy.

 

Indeed,it was with great vision and courageous leadership, YourExcellency, that you initiated the recently-concluded process of nationalconsultations, in pursuit of the goal of fostering a greater sense of nationalunity and cohesion amongst the Congolese people.

 

I further wish to commend the Government of the DRC, on the promulgationof laws which will establish both a Constitutional Court and a Human RightsCommission.

 

As you will know, these are institutions which South Africa places greatvalue in, as both have played pivotal roles in the shaping of South Africa’sdemocracy and in championing our steadfast commitment to human rights.

 

As always, Your Excellency, South Africa stands ready to share from ourexperiences and lend of our expertise where possible, in assisting your greatnation to further strengthen and deepen your democracy as well as to furtherentrench your impressive commitment to human rights.

 

Indeed,it is in this same spirit of the well-established cooperation between our twogreat nations, that we accepted your gracious invitation to undertake thishistoric State Visit.

 

Ourexperience has taught us that together we can do more and we therefore lookforward to extending and deepening the close relations between our two greatnations.

 

Wecan do this across the many areas of shared interest, and in pursuit of abetter future for our two great nations and peoples.

 

Inthe spirit of “Ubuntu”, which means “I am because we are” and which is a coreprinciple underpinning the work of the South African Government, we willcontinue to stand side by side with the DRC.

 

Wewill work together in seeing this great nation assume its rightful place as a fellowpowerhouse of the African continent.

 

Inthis quest, Your Excellency, we are forever inspired and driven by the strugglesof our brothers and sisters who have come before us, many of whom lost theirlives in laying the foundation for the freedom and self-determination we enjoytoday.

 

AsSouth Africans, we will forever be grateful for the solidarity we received fromthe Congolese people during our liberation struggle.

 

Indeed,it is this proud history of struggle and of overcoming adversity, even in the mostdaunting of circumstances, shared by our two great nations, which shallcontinue to inspire our joint efforts going forward.

Thisinstills in us the confidence that we shall succeed.

 

Weare reminded however, that while our proud nations have broken free from theshackles of colonialism and Apartheid, that our struggles are not over and thatwe must never rest.

 

Indeed,our proud nations, like many others on our continent and throughout the world,are still confronted by amongst others, the paramount challenge of overcomingpoverty and providing our peoples with the dignified quality of life and theopportunities which they deserve.

 

Inovercoming this shared struggle, we are driven by the words of one of the greatestsons of the DRC and indeed of the African continent, Former Prime Minister,Patrice Lumumba, who challenged us “to ensure that the lands of our fatherlandtruly profits its children.”

 

Sotoo, are we driven by the words of South Africa’s father of the nation and belovedworld icon, Former President, Nelson Mandela.

 

Hereminded us that “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act ofjustice!”

 

Itis this outstanding caliber of wisdom and leadership which will continue to guideour combined efforts going forward and which will continue to shape therelations between our two great nations, long into the future.

 

Inthis spirit, it is with great pleasure that an important Treaty on the GrandInga Hydropower Project has been signed this morning.

 

Thesigning of this Treaty is a major step towards the realization of the longcherished dream of the people of this great nation.

 

Thislong talked about Project has got the potential to change the economicprospects of the DRC, the region and the Continent.

 

YourExcellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Imust convey how particularly pleased and excited I am by the progress takingplace towards the realisation of the Grand Inga Hydropower Project.

 

Thisincredible feat of human ingenuity, when completed, will have the capacity topower Africa and indeed to export electricity beyond the continent.

 

SouthAfrica is extremely proud to be working so closely with the DRC, in realisingthis accomplishment.

 

Thisrepresents one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken on the Africancontinent, and one which will long be a resounding symbol of the rise of Africaand her people.

 

YourExcellency,

 

Theagreements that we will enter into on this occasion, will further complementthose which already exist between our two great nations.

 

Thesewe have regularly reviewed in our annual Bi-National Commission, the lastmeeting of which took place in Pretoria in October 2012.

 

Allowme to express again, Your Excellency, the high regard with which South Africa viewsthe opportunity which this annual High-Level forum affords our two nations tofrankly review our progress in meeting our cooperation commitments.

 

 

Inthis regard, let me also express how very much we are all looking forward to celebratingthe 10th anniversary of our Bi-National Commission next year, herein the DRC.

 

Indeed,this occasion will have further cause for celebration, as next year also marksthe 20th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy.

 

Thisis a democracy which, while young in age, has weathered many storms and continuesto grow in maturity and strength.

 

Your Excellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladiesand Gentlemen,

 

Ithas always been South Africa’s firm belief, that in order to overcome poverty andto achieve the prosperity through development, which both our great nations seek,it is imperative that the essential preconditions of peace, security, andstability must first be in place.

 

Imust therefore express that South Africa remains deeply concerned by theenduring conflict in eastern DRC, perpetrated by local and externally supportedarmed groups on innocent Congolese civilians.

Wedeplore the devastating loss of life, the human suffering, the displacement of morethan a million civilians and the damage to property which this intolerable situationhas resulted in.

 

Iextend the deepest sympathy of the people of South Africa to the Congolesepeople for the hardship they continue to endure as a result of this conflict.

 

SouthAfrica, which not too long ago, itself endured the heavy toll of conflict and whichemerged united and stronger than ever, again stands in solidarity with the DRC,in overcoming this serious challenge.

 

Indeed,as I address you here today, proud sons and daughters of South Africa, serving underthe banner of the United Nations Intervention Brigade, stand shoulder toshoulder with their Congolese compatriots, united in the goal of restoringpeace and security to eastern DRC.

 

YourExcellency,

 

Asyou will well know, the decision to call upon the sons and daughters of thenation’s defence forces to serve in the face of eminent danger, is always a difficultone.

 

Nevertheless,my decision to do precisely this, in support of the international community’sefforts to restore peace to eastern DRC, is one which I firmly believe in.

 

Whileit remains South Africa’s strongly held position that conflict should beresolved through negotiated, political solutions and indeed we commend theGovernment of the DRC on its efforts in the Kampala talks, it is neverthelessthe case that this optimal strategy cannot take place indefinitely and at allcosts.

 

Indeed,this was the message that the international community conveyed, when it wasresolved through United Nations Security Council Resolution 2098 to establishan Intervention Brigade which has been deployed in eastern DRC, with anunprecedented intervention mandate.

 

Together,we united in sending the message that for too long have the people of the DRC enduredthe incalculable suffering as a result of recurrent cycles of conflict.

 

Enoughis enough, the time for peace is now and to those who would challenge this fortheir own self-interests, we stand firm in the message that your time is nowup, lay down your arms, as no longer will the misery you inflict be tolerated

 

Your Excellency,

 

Through the presence of the Intervention Brigade andindeed through the parallel international forums focused on restoring peace toeastern DRC and the Great Lakes Region, I am encouraged that now, perhaps moreso than at any other time in history, the eventual resolution of the DRC’seastern security problem is finally in sight.

 

Allow me to take this opportunity to salute YourExcellency for the high level of commitment which the DRC continues todemonstrate in the implementation of its national and regional commitments interms of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and theregion as supported by the UN, the AU, the SADC and the InternationalConference of the Great Lakes Region.

 

We trust that all the parties to the Framework willfollow this example, in particular as far as the regional commitments to thenon-interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring states, the refusal ofany assistance to armed groups and respect for the sovereignty and territorialintegrity of other states are concerned.

 

Excellency,

 

The people of the DRC can have confidence that muchas so many of them stood by South Africa in our struggle for liberation that sotoo will South Africa remain firmly committed to assisting the DRC to achievepeace.

 

As South Africans we know that our future is inextricablylinked with that of the people of the DRC, the region and the continent.

 

The hardship of the Congolese people is ourhardship and equally, your prosperity is ours.

 

On that note, Your Excellency, DistinguishedGuests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to renew to the people of the DRC, thewarm regards of their brothers and sisters in South Africa.

 

Allow me to convey again the spirit of comradeship andcooperation that underpins our visit to your beautiful country and which shall driveus as we go forward in unison.

 

I thank you.