Rwanda’s ambassador to China, Charles Kayonga, has rallied fellow African diplomats around the idea of total African liberation, saying that it does not only mean attaining political independence, but also economic development and prosperity for the people. Kayonga was speaking Thursday during a lecture at the University of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, at one of the three-day events organised by the Rwandan embassy in China to mark the Africa Day that is being celebrated this week. Africa Day, which falls on May 25, was formerly known as the African Liberation Day. It is an annual commemoration of the founding of the organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. The union, which is currently made up of 55 countries, was founded on May 25. The Rwandan embassy, as a diplomatic mission representing a country that currently chairs the African Union organised a series of events at different universities in Beijing to commemorate the African Day through lectures as well as giving information about Africa to both African students as well as Chinese. Delivering a lecture about Africa’s liberation journey for the past 60 years and challenges to sustainable development, which was also attended by different diplomats from African countries, Kayonga said, “Total liberation of Africa implies not only achieving political freedom and independence but also attaining economic development and prosperity for our people. These have been the double and mutually inclusive quests of the Organisation of African Unity or African Union today,” he said. For him, sixty years after the first conference of independent African states, Africa has made progress and is poised to take its destiny in its own hands, marching towards a more prosperous future in which its citizens are empowered to reach full potential. Citing the progress made in the 1990s and 2000 like the end of Apartheid in South Africa as well as other tragedies, including the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the envoy said that this opened up several African regions for business and development. “Moreover, with the establishment of the African Union with a robust peace and security agenda, peacekeeping operations have greatly improved conditions in some of the affected countries such as Somalia, South Sudan, DRC, Central Africa, Darfur (Sudan), Mali, and we appreciate the role of countries such as China which has peacekeepers in South Sudan,” he said. Quoting from President Kagame’s acceptance speech while taking over the AU chairmanship in Addis Ababa last year, Kayonga said that today Africa’s defining challenge is to create a pathway to prosperity for its people, especially the youth. Noting that it is estimated that Africa’s youth will double to 830 million by 2050, he said that this presents a huge opportunity for more productivity. According to available data, Africa’s population grew at an average rate of 2.6% between 1950 and 2014, which is faster than the global average of 1.7%. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
