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Felex Share Senior Reporter—
African countries should follow the footprints of the continent’s founding fathers and drive the African agenda in unity to overcome the challenges they are facing, diplomats have said. Speaking ahead of Africa Day celebrations tomorrow, African diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe said the continent should remain steadfast and ward off neo-colonialism, which impeded development.

The ambassadors’ sentiments dovetail with President Mugabe’s constant refrain that African leaders need to go back to source to avoid selling out the cause of the founding fathers who spearheaded the decolonisation of the continent.

Africa’s founding fathers, President Mugabe said, never vacillated on matters of principle like some incumbents who had lost ground and were allowing their erstwhile colonisers to dominate them.

Africa Day, which is observed on May 25 annually, was set aside to commemorate the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which is now known as the African Union.

Namibian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Balbina Daes Pienaar said only Africans would determine their destiny.
She said Africa had successfully eradicated colonial rule and should now work towards economic development.

“Africa Day is a special day not only to Africans, but all those who associate themselves with us,” Ms Pienaar said.
“Whenever we talk of Africa Day, our leaders have always referred us to the year 1963 when the OAU was born.

“Without the efforts of the AU founding fathers, I don’t think today we would have emerged. So, it’s time to reinforce that and work collectively in unity to take the continent to the level of the Africa we want.”

Added Ms Pienaar: “It is time to celebrate the footprints of the founding fathers bearing in mind that we also have our agenda, which should be a success.”

Among other developmental policies, Africa is pursuing Agenda 2063 whose thrust is to ensure all countries on the continent enjoy some form of industrialisation by that year that would lead to socio-economic transformation.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Mr Mwanananga Mwawampanga said Africa Day was time for introspection.

“The day is a special one to the people of Africa as it is time to reflect,” he said. “It is time for us to look at where we are coming from, where we are and where we are going.

“It is not a day about the leaders, it is a day about the youths and the people of Africa. It is us who should take Africa to where we desire. We are a rich continent, Africa is the cradle of mankind and it is us who should use the resources to determine our destiny. Focus is not on the leaders, but us working as a united front to achieve our goals.”

Mr Mwawampanga said African leaders had already played their part in terms of policy formulations and what remained was for people to work and create wealth for their countries.

Leaders collaborate under the AU to collectively address the challenges the continent faces, such as armed conflict, climate change, diseases and poverty.

Kenyan representative in Harare Ambassador Lucy Chelimo said Africa was beginning to reap rewards for following in the footsteps of its founding fathers.

“We are beginning to see an increased African voice in the global arena,” she said. “We are seeing an increased voice when it comes to the push for United Nations reforms, an increased voice in the United Nations World Tourism (UNWTO) and an increase in the number of agreements like the China-Africa and European Union-Africa agreements.

“Africa Day is a day we must celebrate with pride because our importance is being put to a higher scale because of the African Union. Without the founding fathers, we would not be celebrating.”

On Zimbabwe, Ambassador Chelimo said: “As we celebrate the day, I want to say special thanks to President Mugabe for shaping of the vision of Agenda 2063. It is from 2015 when he was AU chairman that we now have a more focused programme.

“We thank him for the guidance. He gave us a foundation of thought and now we are beginning to see solutions being sought to African problems.”

Ambassador Chelimo said more resources should be channelled towards empowering youths.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey H.E.Mevlut Cavusoglu said Africa’s future was promising.

‘’Africa is undergoing immense change. The positive transformation is fueled by the hard work, resilience and perseverance of Africans young and old who are determined to turn the page of poverty. We have every reason to believe that Africa’s future looks promising. In fact, we can see the positive momentum reflected through reduced geopolitical risks, sustained stability, economic growth, expanding trade, enhanced welfare and better living conditions across the Continent. Challenges to peace and security still exist. But they can certainly be overcome,’’ he said.