POLOKWANE, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday called on the army to help the continent achieve its dream of silencing the guns.
Ramaphosa said this when addressing the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) during the Armed Forces Day commemorations in Polokwane.
He reminded the soldiers that they are commemorating the Armed Forces Day when the country have assumed the AU chairship.
"South Africa looks to the SANDF to assist us to meet our obligations with regards to supporting continental peace and security. We count on the SANDF as an organ mandated by the Africa Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) respectively to discharge the important responsibility of promoting peace," said Ramaphosa.
He pointed out that the soldiers should help the continent to realize the dreams African founding fathers such as Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, Democratic Republic of Congo's Patrice Lumumba and others.
He said while Africa has made progress there are still instability in some parts of the continent which needs attention, citing Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Sahel as examples.
"As a continent, we have set milestones towards the attainment of a better and safer continent for all Africans, but our progress remains mixed. Conflict continues in several African countries, undermining our collective efforts to achieve peace and security," said Ramaphosa, commander in chief of SANDF and the AU chair of this year.
The AU aims to end fighting in the continent this year and have a theme -- Silencing the guns.
