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Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi (pictured) has lambasted Morocco for its continued occupation of Western Sahara 53 years after the formation of the African Union saying it is a shame that the union’s decolonisation agenda is yet to be completed.

Minister Mumbengegwi regretted that the AU did not see the urgency to tackle the of Western Sahara’s occupation at the level of the United Nations, particularly among members of the Security Council.

Addressing delegates on the occasion of Africa Day celebrations on Wednesday, Minister Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe would continue to support Western Sahara until it attains its independence and called on Africans to pay tribute to the 31 pioneering African nations which met in May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to form the Organisation of African Unity.

“To this day, our brothers and sisters in Western Sahara still wallow under occupation from a fellow African country. The case of Western Sahara remains an albatross on our collective conscience. There is need to give the much needed impetus to the long journey for self-determination of the Saharawi people,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.

“We have seen all manner of obstacles intended to stifle the holding of a referendum to determine the future of Western Sahara. The recent dispute between the UN and Morocco resulting in the expulsion of some civilian and political components of the UN Mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (MINURISO) by Morocco is very fortunate,” he said.

“Only recently, the AU Special Envoy was denied formal audience at the United Nations Security Council. These developments are deplorable. We must demand that (MINURISO) be restored in full and that it starts to organise the long overdue referendum on Western Sahara which is MINURISO’s core mandate.”

The celebrations were held under the theme “Africa Year of Human Rights with particular focus on the Rights of Women”.

Cde Mumbengegwi demanded that former Mozambique President Joachim Chissano, who is the AU chairperson’s special envoy for Western Sahara, be formally heard by the Security Council.

He said this year’s celebrations were special as they occurred on the day youths through the Million-Man March decided to honour President Mugabe for steering the work of both SADC and the AU which led to historic decisions.

Minister Mumbengegwi said despite women’s demographic superiority and tremendous contribution to economies, they are yet to be given due recognition.

To address the anomaly, Minister Mumbengegwi said the AU declared the period 2010 to 2020 a “Women’s Decade”.

He said Zimbabwe demonstrated this commitment to women empowerment by the adoption of the 2013 Constitution which outlawed all forms of discrimination in the political, economic, cultural and social spheres.

Minister Mumbengegwi said Africans should reflect on why they remain the poorest people globally despite the abundance of natural resources and human capital.

“Yes, we know this situation has its historical antecedents in colonialism where the exploitative system was designed to create wealth in colonial metropolis while the colonies remained poor,” he said.

“Post-independence, poverty has continued despite abundant natural resources. Why then do we continue to be hewers of wood and drawers of water 53 years after we formed the OAU?”

Minister Mumbengegwi said there was need to push for the implementation of Agenda 2063, saying although it is “ambitious”, the targets were achievable. Agenda 2063 emphasises the need for Africa to industrialise fast to speed up development.

“As African countries, we need to challenge the status quo by reclaiming ownership of our resources, embarking on value addition and beneficiation processes in order to derive maximum benefits from our vast but finite natural resources,” he said.

The Dean of African Diplomats and the Democratic Republic of Congo Ambassador Cde Mwawapanga Mwanananga agreed with Minister Mumbengegwi that Morocco’s behaviour was unacceptable and “foreign to African culture”.