Africa remains aware of the brutal colonial experiences and continues to suffer the effects to this day, President Mnangagwa has said.
In a speech read on his behalf by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava at the inaugural Africa Peace and Security Dialogue hosted by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday, the President said Africa would not forget such a brutal past.
“As Africans, we remain cognisant of the experiences of the brutal colonial period and bemoan the neo-colonial effects which we continue to endure to this day.
“We were robbed of our human and personal integrity; our vibrant African institutions were compromised or destroyed; our value and knowledge systems were either violently suppressed or deliberately undermined,” he said.
“All this was underpinned by systematic psychological and physical violence against the people of Africa. This is a historical fact we cannot wish away. Indeed, in this history lies the causal factors of most of the conflicts that confront Africa. The need for an African Renaissance can, therefore, not be over emphasised.”
The President said peculiar peace and security challenges that Africa confronted today, included among others, the unconstitutional change of governments, inter-state and intra-state conflicts, effects of climate change, the debt trap, strained global governance institutions, transnational organised crime, illicit outflow of resources and terrorism.
“African governments are often blamed for presiding over weak political and economic institutions, hence the curse of conflicts. Yet evidence abounds that Africa has and continues to be deliberately made the theatre of political and military conflicts.
“Proxy wars within the context of the East-West rivalry and regime change agendas for easy access to Africa’s strategic natural resources, characterised this period,” he said.
President Mnangagwa, who is also the Sadc Chairman, said there had been more than 10 attempts of military takeovers in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since 2020, reflecting the influence of former colonial powers in the elite contests between civilian and security establishments.
“The Sahel region has been a bedrock of instability since the fall of Libya in 2011. The entire West African region has endured jihadist insurgencies and terrorism. As we meet, no lasting solution has been found.
“The 2021 to 2023 unconstitutional change of governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, among others in West Africa, were motivated by the military’s desire to remove what they perceived as Western-controlled governments. They demanded the withdrawal of French forces and for non-interference by ECOWAS in their internal affairs.
“The military leaders established a confederation of the three countries on 6 July, 2024, the political vehicle they hope to use to fight neo-colonialism. This effectively means the split of ECOWAS as a regional bloc. The three severed military ties with the West in preference for collaboration and co-operation with Russia. They intend to turn the confederation into a single sovereign state,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the conflict in Sudan since the removal of former President Omar Al Bashir in 2019 had been complicated by incessant external interference from countries such as Russia, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates.
“The East-West rivalry is, once again, at play. About eight million people have been internally displaced while more than two million have sought refuge in other countries in the region. Infrastructure is being destroyed on a daily basis. There is no end in sight,” he said.
The President said the dialogue at the Johannesburg meeting provided a unique opportunity to thoroughly interrogate the peace and security dynamics on the Continent with a view to isolating the impediments that continued to inhibit progress towards the implementation of Agenda 2063: The Africa we want.
The event came soon after the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York where delegates acknowledged the evolving multifaceted global peace and security challenges that deserved urgent attention and prescriptive solutions.
“The ongoing conflicts and the carnage that we witness every day are an affront to our collective efforts towards a peaceful and secure world. The global peace and security governance system is degenerating. We urgently need innovative approaches to address this global scourge in a manner that delivers transformative tangible results,” President Mnangagwa said.
The prevailing lack of global peace and security, he said, constituted an existential threat to the human race.
President Mnangagwa commended the Thabo Mbeki Foundation for promoting progressive and impactful home-grown African solutions.
“Unfortunately, wars and warfare are big business internationally. Those who benefit from this enterprise are determined to ensure that conflicts are perpetuated so that the global military-industrial complex remains vibrant.
“Our responses to the challenges we confront should be informed by this unfortunate fact. Perhaps, it is time to develop a Pan Africanist model of development informed and defined by the dictates of the 21st century,” he said.
The three-day event, which ended yesterday, was attended by political leaders from the Continent, academics and experts.