President Thabo Mbeki said on Monday he is concerned by the way people ask about how much African peace-keeping efforts cost, in the light of the current debate about the cost of the Pan-African Parliament.
”When we mention that we want to stop the war in the [Democratic Republic of] Congo [DRC], people must stop asking how much it is going to cost,” Mbeki told delegates at the South African Council of Churches’ (SACC) three-yearly conference in Johannesburg.
”Lots of people died fighting for our liberation on the African continent, but they didn’t ask how much it cost,” he said.
Mbeki was reacting to concern over the financial cost to South Africa after being selected to be the permanent seat of the Pan-African Parliament.
While welcoming the economic benefits related to the construction of the parliamentary buildings, the opposition Democratic Alliance last week said South Africa should not be saddled with all the costs as the country has other spending priorities.
Mbeki said that as a government South Africa is ”privileged” to have the opportunity to play a role in the ”historic process of the renaissance of the continent” and that the country has a responsibility to contribute to the solution of the problems facing the people of the DRC, Burundi, Sudan and Côte d’Ivoire.
The agendas set by the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development should be promoted.
”This will require that we take new decisions about the additional human and material resources we need to dedicate to this purpose,” Mbeki said.
Earlier, after he and his wife, Zanele, were welcomed with an enthusiastic gospel song, Mbeki thanked the council for its ”enormous contribution” towards the country reaching 10 years of democracy.
He said the SACC has placed itself among the masses working against repression by the white minority ”to secure the victory whose 10th anniversary we have just celebrated”.
Mbeki said that that as the Christian church maintains daily contact with millions of people in South Africa, it can make a critical contribution to reconstruction and development goals. — Sapa