His Excellency, Honourable President of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza,
His Excellency, First Vice President, Therence Sinunguruza
His Excellency, Second Vice President, Gervais Rufyikiri
Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Pie Ntavyohanyuma,
Honourable President of the Senate, Gabriel Ntisezerana,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Your Excellencies, Members of the Burundian Parliament
Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today is an important day in the history of relations between South Africa and Burundi. We have returned to Burundi, not in the role of a peace facilitator, but instead, for a State Visit to discuss areas in which our two countries can collaborate as equals, for the common good of our peoples.
We are here on a visit of goodwill, to deepen our contribution to the reconstruction of Burundi and the enhancement of peace and democracy.
Your Excellency Mr President,
Honourable Speaker,
We thank you for the arrangements that today we address the elected representatives of the people.
Parliament is an embodiment of democracy, a demonstration in any country that its people have a voice, and that there is accountability as well as checks and balances.
We thank the Speaker of the National Assembly and indeed the Senate for hosting us today.
Excellencies,
Honourable members.
Burundi has been close to my heart for many years. We spent many months in this country and in Tanzania looking for a solution.
Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for the cooperation you extended to us during those long protracted negotiations. I have not had an opportunity to extend my gratitude before.
We commend the Burundian people for putting their country first and working for peace and stability.
May I also thank the Burundian People and Government for the hospitality that was extended to the 700 South African troops that were in Burundi from 2001 to their final departure in 2009.
The withdrawal of South African troops in 2009 marked a proud moment in the history of South Africa and Africa's history as we all jointly moved towards the successful conclusion of the peace process.
It was a proud moment for the continent too, because the African Mission in Burundi was an innovation that saw the United Nations agreeing to support a peace mission in area where there wasn’t a complete ceasefire.
Some thought the mission would not succeed, but it did because of the support and determination of the Barundi people.
Your Excellency,
As said, we are not here to discuss the peace process. We are here to discuss post-conflict reconstruction and development and to work with the Burundian people towards a future of peace and prosperity.
But we cannot avoid stating that the story of Burundi is a victory not only for Burundi but also the African continent because we proved that as Africans we can achieve peace.
Allow us therefore to celebrate with you the achievements you have scored for choosing peace. We have seen new developments around Bujumbura that did not exist before, the fruits of peace.
We are also celebrating the progress that is being made around the continent.
In the past decade, we have witnessed most welcome changes around the continent, leaving behind an Africa that is a lot more stable than it was in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A number of countries, individually and collectively, have taken initiatives aimed at creating political stability, promoting social cohesion and respect for cultural diversity.
At our last count, 31 African countries had acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism. In the year 2010, we also witnessed more than 20 African countries celebrating their 50th Years of Independence from colonialism and political subjugation.
The celebrations were a reminder of where Africa comes from and spurred us to work even harder to achieve a peaceful and prosperous Africa.
These developments are important to our country because South Africa’s national interest is intrinsically linked to Africa’s stability, unity and prosperity.
Our foreign policy is informed by collaboration, cooperation and building partnerships. It is in this spirit that we are engaging with Burundi in this post-conflict phase.
It is also in this spirit that we promote multilateralism and collective responsibility in dealing with challenges facing the African continent and the contemporary world.
The United Nations is the foremost organisation that brings the world together to promote peace and stability.
We have committed ourselves to working with other like-minded member-states towards improving the working methods of the United Nations (UN) Security Council – in order to make it a more legitimate, accountable, transparent, representative and effective international body.
We take particular interest in the strengthening of effective partnerships between the UN and regional organisations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security.
The UN Security Council needs to be responsive to the needs of the developing world when it comes to the quest for peace and security.
Most importantly, it must be in tune with the African continent and give Africa the space to solve its problems while providing support, as was done with the Burundi peace process, which was African-led.
I am mentioning this Excellency Mr President and Presiding Officers of Parliament because of the current challenges facing the African Union (AU), with regards to the situation in Libya.
We have found ourselves in a situation where the developed world has decided to intervene in Africa in a manner that was not agreed to when the UN resolution 1973 authorising a no fly zone to protect civilians was passed.
We have found this resolution being abused in a manner that is totally unacceptable, which gives an impression that the NATO allies could in fact be seeking a regime change in Libya.
We reiterate the AU’s call for African solutions to African problems, and for a need for a cessation of hostilities to allow a Libyan dialogue.
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has agreed not to be part of the Libyan dialogue. What we need now is for the allies to allow the space for such a dialogue to take place.
At the last summit, the African Union passed a framework proposal to the Libyan parties and the international community.
The framework is aimed at ultimately ushering in a political process that will make it possible to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people to democracy, rule of law, good governance and the respect for human rights.
We urge African parliamentarians to work with us in promoting such African solutions. We would like to hear more from the Pan-African Parliament as well. The African Union should support the Parliament in its work, so that its voice can be heard on matters of conflict resolution in the continent, from Somalia to Libya.
Excellencies, as friends of Burundi, we applaud you for your participation in peace efforts in the continent.
Burundian troops participate in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), together with their fellow soldiers from the Republic of Uganda.
These troops have made an important contribution to improving the security situation in Somalia and provide invaluable support to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
This contribution demonstrates Burundi’s commitment to working for peace in the continent.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We reiterate that the primary purpose of our visit is to strengthen our relations further, and ensure that the hard-won peace in this country translates to an improved quality of life for the Barundi people.
The attainment of peace provides space for economic growth and development.
It was therefore a pleasure to welcome His Excellency, President Pierre Nkurunziza, as Chair of the East African Community, to South Africa in June this year to participate in the Second SADC-COMESA-East African Community (EAC) Summit.
We gathered together in Johannesburg to reflect on progress made in advancing the goal of greater continental economic integration and towards the establishment of a Grand African Economic Community.
We came together as African leaders because we know that we have the responsibility of bringing about substantive improvements to the material wellbeing and socio-economic circumstances of all our citizens.
As such, we are compelled to create enabling environments for our economies to grow and prosper.
The positive economic outlook for our continent presents a window of opportunity to place our respective countries and regions forming part of the unique Tripartite Free Trade Area configuration, on sustainable economic growth paths in the decades to come.
A larger, integrated and growing regional market would attract foreign investment, as well as provide a basis for enhanced intra-Africa trade.
We therefore commend His Excellency President Nkurunziza for his role in leading the EAC in these important negotiations for a landmark African initiative.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me reiterate that South Africa remains fully committed to working with Burundi towards sustainable development in this post-conflict reconstruction phase.
During this State Visit we have cemented cooperation in the fields of defence, higher education, agriculture, sports and recreation as well as trade and industry to name a few areas.
We want to see exchanges amongst our universities, our sports teams and coaches. We want to see further work to improve cooperation in agriculture to promote food security.
We believe that we have not fully explored the economic potential of this country. We are beginning to do so with this visit. As you have said Mr President, we want to reap the dividends of peace.
We are accompanied by a business delegation that has come to explore opportunities in this country. We trust that the interactions will lead to economic diversification, industrial development and job creation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We were happy to host a team from the National Independent Electoral Commission of Burundi (CENI) to observe our country's municipal elections.
The Commission went to South Africa to observe the elections and also to further enhance the capacity of the Commission, with a view to prepare for the 2015 Burundian Elections.
This visit was the second by the Commission to South Africa to observe elections, with the first visit having been made during South Africa's general elections in April 2009, shortly after the Commission was sworn in.
We trust that the visits were beneficial and that they enjoyed the dynamic environment in which our national and local elections took place.
Excellencies,
Honourable members,
Next year the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party and Africa’s oldest liberation movement, will be celebrating its centenary.
South Africa will celebrate this historic achievement with the continent, as it is an African achievement.
Very few parties survive as long as the ANC has done, under extremely difficult and repressive conditions of colonial oppression and apartheid.
We look forward to celebrating with the Burundi people too, given the ties between our two countries. I have extended an invitation to His Excellency to join us for this colossal celebration on 8 January next year.
Excellencies,
Let me remind you that South Africa will be hosting the 17th Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change on 28 November to 9 December 2011 in Durban.
This is an important conference given that Africa is adversely affected by the changing weather patterns and other problems which affect food security and human settlements.
We look forward to hosting a successful summit.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me sincerely thank His Excellency President Nkurunziza for inviting us to undertake this State Visit.
May I also extend our gratitude to the people and the government of Burundi for the hospitality extended to us.
And thank you for this opportunity to address the Parliament of the Republic of Burundi.
We wish the people of Burundi every success as you move forward to build a united, peaceful, successful and prosperous country.
I thank you.
Source: The Presidency
