Transcript: President Zuma on the occasion of the Inauguration on the President Elect Amando Emilio Guebuza, 14 January 2010, Maputo, Mozambique

Question:
Thank you Mr President for the opportunity. Mr President What is your significance of your coming to this inauguration of President Guebuza?

Answer
President Zuma: Well the significance is that once again this marks the deepening of democracy in Southern Africa. As you know in Mozambique there has been elections recently and we have come to the inauguration to celebrate together with our brothers and sisters in Mozambique the victory of his Excellency President Guebuza. It was indeed a well fought elections among the parties and I think President Guebuza has won convincingly and we are therefore celebrating the democracy, the deepening of Democracy in the Southern Africa.

We are very happy and we believe that if you take some years of this country, the conflicts that was here for a long time, the fact that we now have elections on a regular basis is something to be celebrated and we encourage our brothers and sisters that democracy is the best way of any Government.

Question
Business investments  from South Africa to Mozambique are very huge, is it beneficial to both countries or is it a one way?

Answer
President Zuma: It is beneficial to both countries, I think South African companies have established very huge firms here which has helped in terms of employment but also as you know that there is a history between these two countries of interaction and I think the interaction has grown since both countries are now free, it is therefore beneficial in many ways.

I think Mozambique is different from what it was before President Guebuza as well as South Africa  as well as relation to the economic interaction.

Question
Very lastly Mr President on matters at home, you have attended the most crucial ANC Lekgotla and also you have laid the ground during the 08th January statement, what do you expect members of the NEC to be talking to what you have told the nation in Kimberly?

Answer
Well we are looking firstly at the ANC to meet as we mapped out what we are going to be doing, that the leadership of the ANC is going to meet and try to unpack the actual things that we need to be doing particularly the question of delivery, service delivery. We are going to spend a lot of time on the mechanisms as to what we need to do better, different so that we can achieve what we have set ourselves to achieve that is what the ANC is going to be discussing and it would be expecting its government therefore to focus on that operation and concrete programs that its Government must put in place.

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14 January 2010.