Remarks

Remarks by Ambassador Dennise Mathieu
U.S. Independence Day Celebration
July 2, 2009

Good afternoon!  And welcome to our July 4th celebration – 2 days early -- which marks 233 years of independence for the United States of America. 

During Independence Day gatherings, Americans all over the world celebrate our freedom and democratic ideals – values that we share with the people of Namibia.  And I’m pleased to note
our bonds of friendship continue to grow and strengthen, and our nations enjoy a broad and productive partnership in many sectors. 

Taking a look at some of last year’s accomplishments and this year’s joint endeavors shows just how far we’ve come together.  This year, Namibia experienced one of the worst floods in her history and the American people quickly responded with humanitarian assistance. 

The United States Government, through USAID, granted $700,000 American dollars to the Namibian Red Cross and UNICEF to provide victims in the flood-affected north and north-eastern regions of the country with shelter, health, hygiene, safe water and sanitation, boats and emergency equipment.  Some of our greatest achievements over the past year have been in the health field – in the fight against HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis-- under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. 

In 2009, America’s commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS in Namibia will remain strong, with PEPFAR providing $108 million American dollars to the Namibian people.  And together,
we’ll redouble our efforts to prevent new infections; ensure the sustainability of care and treatment programs; and use our funds as effectively and efficiently as possible.   

As you may recall, it was only a short month ago when more than 1500 health professionals from 60 nations came together in Windhoek, to participate in the 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Conference.  I’d like to commend President Pohamba for launching the conference; and Health Minister Kamwi for his leadership during this important gathering.  I also applaud the hard work of all the government officials who helped make this the best Implementers’ meeting to date.
 
I also want to acknowledge the participation of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly and parliamentarians as well,  and of course, Namibia’s First Lady, Madam Penehupifo Pohamba. 

Implementation of the Millennium Challenge Compact Agreement, a grant of $305 million American dollars over a 5-year period -- and designed to support  Namibia’s Vision 2030,
is underway and will contribute to the development of  Namibia’s agriculture, tourism
and education sectors.  By this time next year, we’ll be busy rebuilding schools, providing text books to every public school student in grades 5 through 12, constructing veterinary service centers, and supporting the increased participation of rural Namibians in the tourism sector.

Our other programs, from Peace Corps, to arts and education exchange programs, from defense cooperation, to building Namibia’s capacity to fight money laundering, and from fighting trafficking in persons to building stronger trade ties, have been tremendously successful over the past year and will continue to flourish in the year 2010. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the United States held historic elections last year and we were extremely impressed and gratified by your interest in and knowledge of our political system.

We witnessed the peaceful transfer of power from Republicans to Democrats, from an outgoing President who had served for 8 years to a relative newcomer on the national political scene. 

In his short time in office, President Barack Obama has already started to fulfill some of his promises.  He promised that he would reach out to former adversaries, and bring together
America’s best and brightest to help him run the country. 

And he’s done so. 

His toughest rival during the primary, Hillary Clinton, is now Secretary of State.  He said that he would move American troops out of Iraq in an orderly fashion, and there’s now a timetable in place.  He said that he would close the facility at Guantanamo Bay and we’re in the process of doing so.  

In seeking to open a new dialogue with Cuba, President Obama announced a series of changes
in U.S. policy to that end.  I hope you all are familiar with the speech he made in Cairo last month, where he stated his personal commitment to pursue an outcome so the aspirations
of both Israelis and Palestinians can be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians
 each live in peace and security.

With regard to Africa President Obama welcomed Prime Minister Tsvangirai to the White House, and as a commitment to the forces of reform in Zimbabwe, he announced that the United States will provide 73 million American dollars in assistance aimed at strengthening good governance; addressing Zimbabwe’s HIV/AIDS crisis; providing in-kind education assistance; and enhancing food production with seeds and fertilizer packs. 

President Obama will make his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa when he visits
Ghana next week, in recognition of Ghana’s democratic gains.  I hope you’ll be able
to listen to his speech on July 11.

The Namibian elections in November are rapidly approaching and I see many of the same
democratic values here that I saw during the recent elections in the United States. 

President Pohamba commented in his New Year’s speech that:  [quote] “the conduct of free and fair elections is the lifeblood of any democratic system.  It’s through elections that the electorate can express their preferences for leaders and for policy options and strategies
championed by different political parties.” [end quote].  We couldn’t agree more.

President Pohamba further called on all political parties and individual citizens to cultivate a culture of peaceful, non-provocative election campaigning.  We applaud him for these words.

This is, after all, the essence of democratic elections.  It was only through a peaceful,
inclusive process that President Obama was able to win in the United States – a process that allowed him to actively campaign in any state, city, or town regardless of the location’s
prevailing political culture.  I’d like to congratulate Namibia’s civil society groups for the voter education and training that they’ve conducted so far and will continue to carry out.  I also want to acknowledge the media for its critical role in reporting on the progress of the electoral process; informing voters about rallies and speeches; what the parties stand for, and their goals and differences.  An impartial and professional media is a keystone of a democracy and helps ensure a level playing field. 

We support Namibia’s democratic gains and in this context, we hope the Born Free generation -- the youth of Namibia -- will also participate and make their voices heard in the elections in November.

But democracy isn’t just about elections, and democracy doesn’t grow in a vacuum. 

A nation must nurture and sustain the democratic process, and advance in such important areas as judicial reform, rule of law, transparency and good governance, anti-corruption, and respect for human dignity. 

As President Abraham Lincoln said during his Gettysburg Address:  “a government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.” 

Distinguished guests, In conclusion, may I now propose a toast in honor of the goodwill and friendship between the people of Namibia and the people of the United States and to the health and well-being of His Excellency, President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Thank you.