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Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi

Nyemudzai Kakore Harare Bureau
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi 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 bloc’s decolonisation agenda is yet to be accomplished. The Organisation of African Unity was formed on May 25, 1963 and the African Union replaced it in 2002.

Minister Mumbengegwi regretted that the AU did not see the urgency to tackle the 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 unfortunate,” 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”.

Minister 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.

He 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.