KIBAHA: Liberation movements governing six Southern African countries have launched a five-year strategy aimed at strengthening leadership training, governance capacity and socio-economic development through a regional political training institute in Tanzania.
The 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, unveiled on Wednesday at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha, seeks to expand ideological education, leadership development and research programmes for cadres from the six ruling parties that jointly own the institution.
The parties include Chama Cha Mapinduzi of Tanzania, African National Congress of South Africa, South West Africa People’s Organisation of Namibia, Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front, Front for the Liberation of Mozambique and Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola.
The school, located in Kibaha in Tanzania’s Coast Region, was built in 2022 with support from the Communist Party of China and serves as a centre for leadership formation, governance training and ideological orientation for members of the six liberation movements.
Chairperson of the school’s Board of Trustees, Asha‑Rose Migiro, said the new strategy is intended to strengthen the institution’s role in supporting governance systems and development across the participating countries.
“The strategic plan invites us to think in terms of continuity and progression — moving from institutional establishment toward sustained impact,” Migiro said during a board meeting held at the school.
She said the institution’s founding parties must demonstrate their ownership through active participation and utilisation of the training programmes.
“Ownership is expressed through use. A school fully inhabited by its founders naturally becomes credible to partners, attractive to allies and sustainable over time,” she said.
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Strengthening leadership training
The strategy outlines several priorities, including expanding ideological and leadership training programmes, strengthening institutional capacity and increasing research outputs on governance and development challenges facing the region.
Migiro said the school plans to engage trainers from the six parties to improve its curriculum while expanding partnerships with academic institutions across Africa.
The institution also aims to diversify funding sources and increase student enrolment as part of efforts to strengthen its long-term sustainability.
“We expect the school to grow stronger and contribute to improving the lives of people in these six countries through implementation of the strategy beginning this year,” she said.
Regional and international participation
The launch meeting was attended by diplomatic and political representatives from the participating parties.
Among those present were Fikile Mbalula, Secretary-General of the African National Congress; Chakil Felizardo Passadas Aboobacar, Secretary-General of FRELIMO; and Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, Secretary-General of ZANU-PF.
Other participants included Peya Mushelenga, representing the Secretary-General of SWAPO, and Frederico Miranda, representing the Secretary-General of the MPLA.
Noluthando Mayende‑Malepe, High Commissioner of South Africa to Tanzania, also attended the meeting.
A representative of the Chinese government, Xu Sujiang, counsellor at the Embassy of China in Tanzania and a representative of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, joined the discussions virtually.
The meeting was also attended by members of the school’s governing board and management, led by Principal Marcellina Chijoriga.
The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School is intended to serve as a regional centre for political education and leadership development for liberation movements that played major roles in the struggle for independence across Southern Africa.
