Maravi

ZIM envoy to UK optimistic of Africa's economic liberation

ZIM envoy to UK optimistic of Africa's economic liberation
By Sheikh Chifuwe in London
Tue 13 Mar. 2012, 13:58 CAT

ZIMBABWE'S Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Gabriel Machinga says the African dream of economic emancipation will one day be realised. In an interview, Ambassador Machinga, who is also acting dean of the African diplomatic corps, said Africans were determined to promote the continent on the global stage.

He said Africans, just like they fought against colonialism starting in the 1950s up until the independence of South Africa in 1994, were prepared to go through the economic emancipation process.

"What we are working at is the advancement of the African agenda and the African agenda is the one that seeks to elevate the position and role of the Africa continent on the global platform," Ambassador Machinga said.

"We have moved to another stage where want to look at ourselves not as a weak, poor, cheap and colonised continent because we come a long way. We would like to transform our former status, we would like to become a continent that has a bigger say."

He said the legitimacy of the African renaissance and realisation of its dream was very evident in the world politics and economy today due to its abundant natural resources, which were required to amass power and wealth for the continent.

Ambassador Machinga expressed confidence that the African dream would be realised because it was no longer a battle for politicians but all the Africans in their diversity.

"The dream is no longer in the hands of the leadership; it is driven by the people - if those in leadership are half-hearted, they are forced to dance in unison," he said.

"We shall continue to have problems but Africa should face up to these challenges. Africa should be different tomorrow."

He said the continent should take advantage of the technological advancement in communication to realise its dream in a record time compared to the time the European Union took to attain its current status.

Ambassador Machinga pointed out that the African continent was advancing its agenda through regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) and were now improving their geopolitics, which were a prerequisite to socio-economic emancipation.

"You find that all these regional bodies have mechanisms to try and address some of these social and economic problems that might arise. On the economic front, these regional bodies are working tirelessly," he said.

He acknowledged that the realisation of the dream would not be easy and that the process would take long and needed resilience by the Africans themselves.

Ambassador Machinga argued that African countries were now very clear about the investment policies in their respective countries saying such policies and principles were more tilted towards benefiting the indigenous citizens.

He said African diplomats had a responsibility to interact and campaign for investment in Africa following the continent's limitation in the technological resource and capital capacity to exploit the economic opportunities.

Ambassador Machinga warned against self-pity and resignation by the Africans about their situation, saying this 'was a serious enemy to the African dream' and would ultimately not help develop the continent.

He urged countries calling for reparations over the pre-independence exploited resources to refocus their energies towards claiming and realising the African dream.

"What has happened in the past is a reality, what we seek to do is that we draw lessons, we are not mourning about what already happened, these minerals may have been exploited to exhaustion ... we still have other reserves which can still transform our countries and the region. We can avoid mistakes of the past and negotiate," he said.

Ambassador Machinga said Africans had the capacity now than before to negotiate for terms that would benefit the local people and the continent in general.

He also said the Diaspora in the West were strategic ambassadors to advocate for technological transfer to the African continent. On the Zimbabwe situation, Ambassador Machinga claimed that the country had continued to record economic growth at the height of economic sanctions.

"...but we want to be careful about being infatuated by the growth rate; we want this growth to be translated into the better lives for the local communities in the villages," he said.

He explained that the land reform programme had taken root and that production had resumed to full capacity.

Labels: LAND REFORM, NEOCOLONIALISM, PANAFRICANISM

posted by MrK @ 5:16 PM