SOUTH AFRICA AND TANZANIA STRENTHEN TIES THROUGH ECONOMIC COOPERATION

By Our Correspondent, Morogoro TANZANIA

President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has called for South Africa and Tanzania to build on their rich history and deepen these ties through economic cooperation and development.

“We need to work together to bring investment into this region, to develop social and economic infrastructure, to create employment and opportunity,” said the President.

He made the remarks during his visit to Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO) in Morogoro, Tanzania.

The visit follows the President’s state visit to Tanzania at the invitation of his counterpart, John Pombe Magufuli.

Morogoro provided a home and shelter for ANC apartheid activists during the liberation movement.

The town, west of Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam, was also the host of the ANC’s landmark consultative conference held in 1969. The conference was a pivotal moment in the struggle for liberation and effectively defined the path for the ANC.

“We return here because we desire – like the people of this area and all the people of Tanzania – to see this as a place of development, of commerce, of learning and of prosperity.

“Together with the people of Tanzania, we want this place to have a future that is as glorious as its past,” said President Ramaphosa.

That is why we are greatly encouraged by initiatives like the SOMAFCO Future Africa Precinct, which aims to remember and celebrate our past while investing in infrastructure and economic opportunities that make a tangible difference in the lives of the people of this area.

This builds on the valuable work that the SOMAFCO Trust has been doing over several years to deepen the ties of solidarity and understanding between the youth of South Africa and Tanzania and thereby encouraging tourism and other investments opportunities.

“It is work that serves to remind young people of the importance of this place in the history of our country and of the contribution that Tanzania and several other African countries made to the attainment of our freedom.

“Through these efforts, the ties between Morogoro and South Africa have been sustained although a quarter of a century has passed since most of our people went back home,” said the President.

He called on the two countries to work together to open up markets in South Africa and other parts of the region for the goods produced in this region.

“Let us share the skills, knowledge, experience and technology that we possess,” he said.

Concluding his address, President Ramaphosa highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a powerful instrument for industrialisation and inclusive development.

The AfCFTA will bring together all 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion.

“On behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, I wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to President Magufuli and the people of Tanzania for the invitation to feel once again the warm soil of Mazimbu,”said the President.

Following his visit to SOMAFCO the President will lead the South African delegation to the 39th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for 17-18 August 2019.