The National Council of Provinces held an Africa Day public lecture to mark the commemoration of Africa Day, which is celebrated annually on 25 May. The day marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (now the African Union (AU)) on this date in 1963. It is a day to celebrate Africa's unity and diversity, and to reflect on the continent’s persistent challenges, which continue to impinge on the common developmental goals of its people.
Dissecting the theme of this year’s lecture Pioneering Africa’s inclusive economic growth through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: optimising our levers for building the Africa we want, various speakers consider ways to achieve the Africa We Want, a cornerstone of the AU 2063 Agenda.
In her opening address, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ms Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, proclaimed that Africa Day marked the genesis of theoretical constructs aimed at advancing the birth of Pan-Africanism. “The development of the theory of African union, African rebirth, or Pan Africanism, that we today celebrate, is thus a product of this political injunction, whose intentionality saw clearly, the conflict between what is against what ought to be.”
An injunction, she claimed, that sought to propagate Africa’s identity, self-determination at home and diaspora. Its agitation for “ Pan Africanism served to promote the political, socio-economic, cultural unity, self-reliance and self-determination of Africa and its diaspora in the Americas, Caribbean and Europe.
It also played a critical role in restoring Africa’s pride of place in world affairs, she opined. “It served as a confrontation with epistemic and physical dispossession of the black world, so pervasive, in order to restore Africa to itself, as part a community of nations in the world.”
It is these urgencies that Africa Day seeks to ventilate and to bring to bear as it reclaims its being among nations and its continued interrogation of systemic challenges that hamper its collective progress, she maintained.
She further explained the significance of the form and nature of its commemoration and how it fits within the parliamentary architecture. “It is an invitation to a festival of ideas through forms of intellectual meditation, reflection, soul searching and repair; in ways that can make this parliament relevant, incisive and more attendant to the African agenda and its challenge to continue the long arc for Africa’s total liberation.”
The keynote address of the Africa Day lecture was delivered by the CEO of Peer African Review Mechanism, Prof Eddy Maloka. He expanded on the economic challenges and political achievements of Pan-Africanism on the continent. He cited a broad comparative history between the African continent and Europe to germinate the thesis of his thought on the subject matter. He claimed that unlike in Europe, “Pan-Africanism created the most successful regional communities in history.” But in the same breath, he conceded that “Unlike in Europe, we have failed in delivering prosperity for the people of Africa. This is an area in which Europe has been most successful,” he contested.
He further opined that this economic failure on the part of Pan-Africanism on the continent is not due to a lack of ideas. “ The AFCFTA, which is now the development framework of the continent, is a case in point.” Reinforcing his optimism on the prospects of AFCFTA, he maintained sternly that for the Pan-African project to succeed, it’s essential for both the members states and their households to be prosperous. “The poorer the households, the poorer the countries they live in. And if their countries are impoverished that would adversely affect the regional communities they aspire to build.” In his view, “this is an area in which the EU is doing better than us.”
However, he pins some of the continent’s persistent challenges and economic fragmentation on the choices that its leaders made after independence. Instead of emulating the US route after its revolution that united all of its states under a federal umbrella, African states chose to remain fragmented geographically, politically, culturally and economically. To him, the current fragmentation that the African continent is saddled with today stems from this historical choice made after the African states gained their independence from colonialism.
The President of International Parliamentary Union (IPU), Dr Tulia Ackson, proclaimed the importance of embracing effective and efficient multilateralism in tackling the multitude of challenges facing nation states, continents and the globe. “No nation state can solve its global challenges on its own. The complex nature of challenges of climate change emergencies, unemployment, inequality, poverty, hunger and geopolitical uncertainties and insecurity need complex multilateral solutions,” she stressed.
In the light of such a reality, she commended the AU 2063 Agenda for its multilateral approach to African challenges. “As stated by the AU 2063 Agenda, we should place our great emphasis on pulling our strengths together.” As such, she pointed out, it remains a valuable roadmap designed to “guide all our multilateral actions because today multilateralism matters more than ever”.
She is of the view that parliaments have a critical role to play in fostering multilateralism in addressing the challenges of their nation states. “Parliament must ensure that peoples’ views are not sidelined in discussions behind closed doors. And we, as lawmakers, we must translate international commitments into national realities.” She went further, “we should also listen to the foresights of civil society for they are the one closest to the problems we seek to address as a means to improve the well-being of our population.”
On an elevated level, as parliamentarians we must ensure that P20 and G20 commitments are implemented. She explained how: “As parliamentarians, we must put in place well structured mechanisms to oversee the implementation of commitments resulting from P20 and G20 summits. And produce annual reports of achievements and challenges as a means to create a strong, effective and democratic barometer of our multilateralism.”
One of the persistent drawbacks to African development is lack of economic integration that could leverage its resources and awaken its economic potential, which remains a missed opportunity, said the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Andrew Whitfield. “As a flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a key priority for the African continent and a catalyst for economic integration through the creation of a single market, regional industrialisation and improved intra-Africa connectivity.”
The Mr Whitfield quantified AfCFTA’s sphere of economic influence if it were to take root. “The AfCFTA represents a transformative shift in Africa’s economic landscape. It unites 1.4 billion people across 55 countries into a single market with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.”
But critically, he said, South Africa stands to benefit immensely from AFCFTA due to its advanced financial and economic sectors compared to its counterparts on the continent. “South Africa, as Africa’s most diversified and industrialised economy, is uniquely positioned to leverage this opportunity. Our established presence across the continent allows us to expand and diversify exports, promote investment and drive economic growth.”
Abel Mputing
23 May 2025
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