Your Excellency, President Museveni;
Honourable Ministers;
Members of the media;
It is a great honour to my good friend and brother, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and the members of his delegation on the occasion of his state visit to South Africa.
Your Excellency, on this visit we recall and celebrate the excellent historical relations between our two countries and peoples. These relations date back many decades, and were cemented during the struggle against apartheid, especially when Uganda provided solidarity and support to the South African liberation movement, during a difficult period in our history.
The ANC camp in Kawaweta, Uganda, was started as a result of Resolution 435 of the United Nations which paved the way for the independence of Namibia. This resolution required that UMkhonto weSizwe vacate camps in Angola, and consequently Uganda, under President Museveni, was more than willing to accept the cadres of the ANC, in 1989.
During the period 1989-1994 the population of Kawaweta was to increase from about one hundred to over two thousand. Your support in assisting their repatriation to South Africa at the defeat of apartheid is also most appreciated Your Excellency.
President Museveni took a great risk in providing shelter and camps to ANC freedom fighters. He did this because he believed in freedom and justice, and believed that every corner of Africa should be free from oppression.
Your Excellency, we vividly remember our visit to your country last year. In this regard, we wish once more to thank Your Excellency for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to us during that visit.
I am pleased to announce that we are donating equipment to the value of seven million rand to the Oliver Tambo School in Kawaweta. We will also be sending books to the library as promised during my State Visit last year. Our Department of Defence and Military Veterans will liaise with their counterparts in Uganda in this regard.
Your Excellency, our bilateral partnership spans across a wide spectrum covering political, economical and social cooperation. Your visit to South Africa takes place within the context of consolidating the African agenda and further maintaining the already strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.
South Africa and Uganda have, especially since 1994, enjoyed close bilateral relations, underpinned by the South Africa-Uganda Joint Economic Commission, which was signed on 12 December 2005. On the fringes of the AU summit held in Uganda in July 2010, an Agreement establishing a Joint Commission of Cooperation was signed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries.
During our discussions today, we emphasised the importance of strengthening our bilateral relations in a number of fields, including energy; agriculture, forestry and fisheries; public works and infrastructure development and social development.
Of particular importance is the need to prioritise economic cooperation through trade and investment, thus creating job opportunities in our respective countries. In this regard, the South Africa-Uganda Business Forum which is meeting on the margins of this visit will go a long way in identifying further areas of economic cooperation between the private sectors of our two countries.
Ladies and gentlemen, more instruments have been added to the list of agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between our two countries. In this regard, we have just witnessed the signing of the a few agreements.
The Agreement on Cooperation in Social Development will enable the two countries to collaborate in areas such as HIV and AIDS, particularly with regards to home-based care. In addition, both countries will collaborate on capacity building programmes for care-givers.
This agreement, which will elaborate additional areas of cooperation, is envisaged to step up the fight against HIV and AIDS in both countries. As you are aware, Uganda is one of the few African countries which have had considerable success in dealing with HIV and AIDS.
The Memorandum of understanding on Public Works and Infrastructure Development essentially involves collaboration on issues such as legislation and policy development, planning, civil works, manufacturing of building materials, quality assurance as well as the monitoring, evaluation and regulation of the construction industry.
It also entails joint research and exchange programmes for built environment professionals, such as artisans, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers, property managers and valuers.
The agreement on Bilateral Co-operation in the Field of Agriculture envisages a co-operation in a wide range of fields such as animal and plant health, soils, fertility and water management, rural development, food security agricultural investment, storage and processing, research collaboration and co-operation in multilateral issues.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Sanitary and PhytoSanitary Measures aims to prevent the introduction into both countries of foreign plant diseases, pests and weeds; disease agents of animal and fish diseases and products of animal and fish origin which are harmful to human health.
The MoU between the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the South African Bureau of Standards will enable cooperation in promoting and maintaining standardisation and quality management and assurance in the provision of commodities and the rendering of services.
The MoU between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Uganda Industrial Research Institute will enable cooperation in various areas such Agro and Food Processing, waste management, business incubation and others. The signing of these instruments is a clear indication of our collective determination to take our relations to higher levels for the mutual benefit of our respective countries.
We have directed our ministers to work towards finalisation of other outstanding agreements. Ladies and gentlemen, in our discussions, we also reflected on developments relating to the East African Region as well as global and multilateral matters of interest and concern.
President Museveni and one worked together for a number of years on the resolution of the complex Burundi conflict. We valued his support as chairperson of the Great Lakes Regional Initiative on Burundi, and appreciated his passion for peace for stability in the continent.
Today we exchanged views on the latest political developments on the continent and reiterated South Africa’s commitment and support for Uganda’s leadership in the peace, development and security efforts in the continent.
On the international front, we have reiterated the need to reform the United Nations, particularly the Security Council and the Bretton Woods Institutions. South Africa has succeeded Uganda in the UN Security Council and will work tirelessly to raise issues of international peace and security in the interests of our regions and the African continent.
Ladies and Gentlemen, given our historical ties, we felt that a freedom fighter such as President Museveni cannot leave our country without visiting an important site of the triumph of the African people against colonial aggression – the site of the Battle of Isandlwana.
This is where amaZulu warriors armed with only spears and shields defeated a well-equipped British regiment. The commemoration of the one hundred and thirty first anniversary of this historic battle tomorrow, on 22 January, encourages Africa to demonstrate that it can score major victories, despite the legacy of colonialism, apartheid and all forms of oppression and underdevelopment inflicted upon the continent in the past.
May I conclude by reiterating our pleasure in having our esteemed guest, President Museveni and his delegation on his historic visit to South Africa. This visit must ensure that these relations that were forged in the trenches of struggle now translate into strong socio-economic ties that benefit the people of Uganda and South Africa.
I thank you.
