By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says celebrating Africa Day is to remind Africans of the resilience they posses and to celebrate its unity in its pursuit to overcome even the greatest of difficulties.
Africa Day is celebrated throughout the continent in commemoration of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity – now known as the African Union – in 1963.
This year will mark 60 years of the founding of the union.
The day focuses the nation’s attention on the development of our continent, regional integration, the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA), and the human, cultural and natural treasures of Africa.
“We use Africa Day to reaffirm the importance of consolidating democracy and consolidating good governance across Africa. The African Peer Review Mechanism will continue to enjoy our full support and cooperation,” he said.
“This Africa Day we commit ourselves to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to pursing national policies that advance gender equality, reduce poverty, inculcate sustainability into all aspects of our lives, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
He added that Africans have different languages and have different customs, faiths and traditions but are bound together by the invisible thread of Africanness.
“Our Africanness is our respect for our many differences. Our Africanness is our empathy and compassion for those less fortunate.
“There are times when we do not live up to these ideals. There are times when we fall short. But we need to strive for these values every day. Our Africanness is our largeness of spirit and our capacity to strive for co-existence, even with those who have wronged us.”
He said Africa’s focus remained on pursuing the ideals of the founding charters of the Organisation of African Unity and the African Union and on giving effect to the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063.
“Our eyes remain firmly fixed on the horizon as we work to achieve continental economic integration. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a landmark achievement. We are greatly encouraged by progress that is being made towards the operationalisation of the AfCFTA,” he said.
“This includes the commencement of trade on a small scale in parts of East and West Africa; the training of small businesses that is taking place on new trade portals and moves towards the operationalisation of the $10 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund.”
Ramaphosa said South Africa reaffirmed its commitment to peacebuilding on the continent and to being part of efforts to resolve conflict in regions such as the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Mozambique and Sudan.
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
At the same time, Ramaphosa says his administration is engaging with United States officials for an extention to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The agreement gives certain African countries preferential access to the US market.
Ramaphosa spoke on the sidelines of the Africa Day celebrations at the Cradle of Humankind on Thursday.
AGOA is set to come to an end in 2025.
Ramaphosa said he doesn’t believe the recent diplomatic spat with the US over allegations that SA supplied weapons to Russia will impact the discussions.
“I have not heard that they are reconsidering. We are going to be engaging in discussions, not only as South Africa but also as a number of other countries on the African continent about AGOA.
“So this is going to happen in the normal course so I will not elevate what we spoke about to a level of saying that is going to be one of the reasons they are going to use.
“AGOA’s time is coming to a termination or renewal, so we will like other countries will engage with the Americans to an extent and that is the normal course.”
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Video Courtesy of SABC.