Limpopo Province Celebrates Africa Day

Polokwane- The Limpopo Provincial Government led by Premier Stanley Chupu Mathabatha in conjunction with the University of Limpopo (UL) and both national and provincial Departments of Sports, Arts and Culture have commemorated the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

The OAU was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU’s establishment was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairperson, South African President (at the time) Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU). Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and economic integration among member states, and to eradicate colonialism and neo-colonialism from the African continent.

The 59th edition of the Africa Day celebrations were held at the University of Limpopo under the theme: Building Resilience in Nutrition for the African Continent in the Year of Unity and Renewal for a Better Africa and a Better World.

The UL was chosen as a suitable venue for this year’s commemoration as Africa Day event aimed to create awareness of the university brand in the Southern Hemisphere and the continent and to position them as a world class institution that is responsible to community development and embraces diversity, culture and heritage.

The Africa Day celebrations aimed to promote social cohesion and nation building among African nations, to encourage conversations and dialogues within communities to address xenophobia and tribalism; to promote cultural tolerance and integration; and to stimulate competitive markets for trade among African countries.

A memorable event saw the UL launching the National Anthem Festival, an annual choral competition in which 10 high school district champions’ choirs and several community choirs from across the province performing national anthems from 16 different countries as well as the African Union anthem.

Premier Mathabatha reckons that Africa Day presents an opportunity for South Africans to recommit and reconnect themselves in support of all interventions to develop a better Africa for a better world.

“This is a very significant day in the lives of Africans, those who live in the continent and those who are found in the African Diaspora across the globe. On this day we acknowledge the progress that we, as Africans have made, while reflecting upon the common challenges we face in global environment.” Said Mathabatha

Mathabatha believes that Africa Day is a living tribute to a chain of many successes that have been recorded by the OAU and a special tribute to a chain of generations of former African leaders such as Nkrumah of Ghana, Emperor Selassie of Ethiopia, Julius Nyerere of
Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda “KK” of Zambia and a host of other African heroes and heroines.

“These leaders have played a pivotal role in the efforts to end colonization of the African continent and to promote unity and solidarity among African states. The truth of the matter is that Africa has achieved a lot since the formation of the OAU, however there is still much that can be done to advance the African agenda.” Mathabatha added

With calls for a boarder less Africa, by one of the political organisations gaining momentum in South Africa, Deputy Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture Honourable Nocawe Mafu insisted that Africa is not yet ready to open the boarders.

Mafu said African countries must allow themselves to develop first in order to compete on equal level without burdening one another.

“You cannot talk about a boarder less Africa whilst you have more poor countries and few doing better than them as far as developments are concerned. Those countries doing better than others would have to carry a heavy burden of those poor countries. So, allow all African countries to develop and once you are comfortable that you have done well with developing the continent, then you can talk about a boarder less Africa. Look at Europe, all their countries are developed, and it’ll be easy for them to call for a boarder less Europe because they compete equally.” Said Mafu

By: Maano Nekhavhambe