President Uhuru Kenyatta during the ANC birthday celebrations.[Photo/PSCU]
President Uhuru Kenyatta today attended a colourful event to celebrate South Africa ruling party’s 106th birthday.
Thousands of ANC members at the Buffalo City Stadium in the industrial town of East London went into a frenzy as President Kenyatta and his delegation entered the venue.
Jubilee Party leaders Vice-Chairman David Murathe and Secretary-General Raphael Tuju accompanied President Kenyatta.
South Africa Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the President of the ANC, said President Kenyatta’s visit is a clear indication that the two countries want to work together to grow their economies.
“The economy of Kenya cannot succeed if the economy of South Africa fails, and the economy of South Africa cannot succeed if Kenya’s economy fails,” he said.
He said South Africa has a lot to learn from Kenya, especially in agriculture sector, which is well developed.
“By modernising agricultural production and developing a substantial pool of skills, we would not only improve food security, but also develop agro-processing, the manufacture of agricultural inputs and increase exports,” said the ANC President.
He said the visit by president Kenyatta would strengthen the bonds among the citizens of the two countries and the ruling parties.
“President Kenyatta and the Jubilee delegation are here to express fraternal relations between the people of the two countries,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
Calling for the unity of the party, Mr. Ramaphosa said the ANC has produced many great sons and daughters who spent their adult lives in the service to the people of South Africa.
He said 2018 has been dedicated to the remembrance of liberation hero, President of ANC and South Africa Nelson Mandela, who would be 100 this year. Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95.
“He is one of the greatest leaders South Africa has ever produced and whose fame has spread across the globe,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
In recognition of the service the veteran liberation leader gave and his role in the leadership of South Africa and the world, the ANC declared 2018 the “year of renewal, unity and jobs”.
Ramaphosa and his team were elected last month and will lead the ANC to the elections in April next year.