Sadc Liberation Square to preserve regional unity, ideals

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Liberation Square, located within the Liberation City in Harare, is aimed at preserving and promoting the unity, dedication and ideological grounding that contributed to the region’s independence from colonial rule.

In a statement, the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK), which is overseeing the development of the Museum of African Liberation, said the monument will serve as a symbol of the unity and solidarity exhibited by SADC member states in their struggle against colonialism.

During the 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit held in Harare last week, SADC chairperson President Mnangagwa officially handed over the SADC Liberation Square to SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi during a groundbreaking ceremony attended by several regional leaders and other dignitaries.

INSTAK highlighted the role of Frontline States in spearheading democracy and fighting for liberation and independence in the region.

“The SADC we know today is the product of decoloniality and the natural offspring of the Frontline States, a group comprising Angola, Botswana, Eswatini (then Swaziland), Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania,” said INSTAK.

“This sextet united with Malawi, Mauritius and Zimbabwe to create the Southern Africa Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) at the inaugural Summit of Heads of State and Government in Zambia in 1980, which morphed into SADC at the 1992 Summit in Namibia.

“Prior to SADCC and SADC, the Frontline States were the arrowhead of democracy in Southern Africa. As a group, they were bombed and destabilised by apartheid South Africa, with the overt and covert support of the West and Ian Smith’s Rhodesia.

“Rebel movements were funded to fan civil wars in Angola and Mozambique.”

In addition, INSTAK said sacrifices made by the Frontline States demonstrated the unity and solidarity that will symbolise the SADC Liberation Square. “Some estimates put the number of dead because of this solidarity by the Frontline States at 2 million. At least another seven million people were displaced,” it said.

“The members of the Frontline States diverted money meant for their own countries’ national development so that they could support the liberation aspirations of Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

“We are talking here of money that could have been spent on the healthcare, education and infrastructure of their own citizens. But, like Kwame Nkrumah, they recognised that they would never be really free unless all of Africa was free.“According to a 1989 Commonwealth report, the Frontline States lost around US$45 billion in 10 years, which translates to ‘almost three times their combined foreign debt at the time’, due to their decision to stand with the oppressed and against the powerful.

“It was a steep price, and in many ways, these countries are still paying it as they try to play catch up in the development game.

“This is the history that the SADC Liberation Square in the Liberation City seeks to preserve and promote.”

The SADC Liberation Square, which measures one hectare, will be used to showcase the history of SADC. The Museum of African Liberation is now 20 percent complete, while micro-exhibits are open to the public. Work has also started on the Liberation Mall, touted to be the biggest such retail facility in the region when complete; while the Heritage Village is already open to the public.