| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| Haile Selassie I |
| click Ethiopian Flag to return to Selected Speeches |
| click Ethiopian Flag to return to Selected Speeches |
| Home | Haile Selassie I | The Church | Rastalogy | Organization | Church Store | Events | Related Links | Contact Us |
| Copyright © 2003-2004 The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. ~ All rights reserved. |
| Selected Speeches |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| Chapter III |
| Inter-Africa |
| Opens Africa Hall (Economic Commission for Africa: Its Responsibilities) Feb. 06, 1961 |
| Selected Speeches |
| Haile Selassie the First - February 6, 1961 |
On the occasion of the holding in Addis Ababa of the Third Regular
Session of the Economic Commission for Africa (E.C.A). We are pleased
to extend Our warm greetings to those who have come to the capital city
of Ethiopia to attend this Conference as representatives and observers. A
little over two years ago, We addressed the inaugural session of the
Economic Commission for Africa. In the years which have intervened,
African development has surged ahead on the irresistile tide which is
sweeping the entire continent to freedom. Many who attended that first
session in the capacity of observers have now become full members of
this organization, and We extend a particular welcome to those new states
whose representatives, for the first time, will play a full role in the
deliberations which will take place here.
It is a law of nature and history that the development of any people must
proceed simultaneously on all fronts. It is not enough that political
emancipation has been and is being achieved. We must also attain that
degree of economic freedom which makes independence a complete and
meaningful concept. Our economies must be strong and viable. The
energies which the African peoples expend to this end must be fruitful and
productive. After having won their political independence, at such labour
and cost, Africans must now similarly labour to escape from the economic
domination which could render their freedom illusory and ephemeral.
This is our task. It is not an easy task, and the challenge which it presents
it great. An age-old technique which we may expect to encounter again
and again in our struggle to attain independence in fact as well as in name,
it summed up in the maxim "divide and conquer." We may question
whether any action tending to the association of European and African
economies in the European Common Market should not be delayed until
the implications and consequences of this step have been fully considered
in this African forum. We must be ever mindful that our greatest weapon
is the oneness which we share as Africans. But it is not enough to be
Africans. That which pulls us apart and divides us must be pursued
relentlessly and inexorably. We must expand yet further communications
among the African nations, we must come to know one another better.
We must increase student exchanges and visits to one another's countries.
Our greatest asset is our unity, and we must exploit it to the fullest. It is
not true that the fundamental characteristic of unity is that each of us
accepts as his own the problems and difficulties which beset any of us,
whether in his culture or his economy.
The work which the Economic Commission for Africa has performed in
its short life is already laying a solid foundation upon which Africans may
work together for the solution of those problems which beset this
continent and for the realization of an ever-accelerating African economic
development. We congratulate the dedicated men and women who have,
under the ECA's able Secretary-General, already produced so much that
will be so useful in the future. In their future work, We trust that the
Economic Commission for Africa will not ignore studies and research
which can make a further contribution to their work and to African
development.
Nor should the Economic Commission for Africa ignore the contributions
it can make in other fields. In the field of social development, for
example, the Economic Commission for Africa could, with additional
assistance form the United Nations, undertake a comparative study of the
developing social life of African nations, with special attention being given
to agrarian problems. Cultural and natural resources are the mainstays of
the African economy, unless progress in these fields keeps pace with
development in other areas, a serious obstacle will be created to accelerate
growth in any area.
The responsibility for all this is in our hands. We know that the Economic
Commission for Africa will continue to serve the ultimate interests of the
African people, and We pray that Almighty God will bless your labours
and crown them with success.
Session of the Economic Commission for Africa (E.C.A). We are pleased
to extend Our warm greetings to those who have come to the capital city
of Ethiopia to attend this Conference as representatives and observers. A
little over two years ago, We addressed the inaugural session of the
Economic Commission for Africa. In the years which have intervened,
African development has surged ahead on the irresistile tide which is
sweeping the entire continent to freedom. Many who attended that first
session in the capacity of observers have now become full members of
this organization, and We extend a particular welcome to those new states
whose representatives, for the first time, will play a full role in the
deliberations which will take place here.
It is a law of nature and history that the development of any people must
proceed simultaneously on all fronts. It is not enough that political
emancipation has been and is being achieved. We must also attain that
degree of economic freedom which makes independence a complete and
meaningful concept. Our economies must be strong and viable. The
energies which the African peoples expend to this end must be fruitful and
productive. After having won their political independence, at such labour
and cost, Africans must now similarly labour to escape from the economic
domination which could render their freedom illusory and ephemeral.
This is our task. It is not an easy task, and the challenge which it presents
it great. An age-old technique which we may expect to encounter again
and again in our struggle to attain independence in fact as well as in name,
it summed up in the maxim "divide and conquer." We may question
whether any action tending to the association of European and African
economies in the European Common Market should not be delayed until
the implications and consequences of this step have been fully considered
in this African forum. We must be ever mindful that our greatest weapon
is the oneness which we share as Africans. But it is not enough to be
Africans. That which pulls us apart and divides us must be pursued
relentlessly and inexorably. We must expand yet further communications
among the African nations, we must come to know one another better.
We must increase student exchanges and visits to one another's countries.
Our greatest asset is our unity, and we must exploit it to the fullest. It is
not true that the fundamental characteristic of unity is that each of us
accepts as his own the problems and difficulties which beset any of us,
whether in his culture or his economy.
The work which the Economic Commission for Africa has performed in
its short life is already laying a solid foundation upon which Africans may
work together for the solution of those problems which beset this
continent and for the realization of an ever-accelerating African economic
development. We congratulate the dedicated men and women who have,
under the ECA's able Secretary-General, already produced so much that
will be so useful in the future. In their future work, We trust that the
Economic Commission for Africa will not ignore studies and research
which can make a further contribution to their work and to African
development.
Nor should the Economic Commission for Africa ignore the contributions
it can make in other fields. In the field of social development, for
example, the Economic Commission for Africa could, with additional
assistance form the United Nations, undertake a comparative study of the
developing social life of African nations, with special attention being given
to agrarian problems. Cultural and natural resources are the mainstays of
the African economy, unless progress in these fields keeps pace with
development in other areas, a serious obstacle will be created to accelerate
growth in any area.
The responsibility for all this is in our hands. We know that the Economic
Commission for Africa will continue to serve the ultimate interests of the
African people, and We pray that Almighty God will bless your labours
and crown them with success.
| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |