A mind to rebuild Africa For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Africans will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows – but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.
Let’s do it for Africa! As an opening for this book, it will be a dishonour to not note and appreciate the efforts and dialogues through global summits from Cape to Cairo for decades – that have pulled the African people from across the continent to wail, speak, unite, plan, commit and strategize to build Africa and make it a home that we all want it to be. However, the amount of work done compared to what needs to be done calls for urgent sleeve rolling efforts to work faster, peacefully and with an intention to change the trajectory of the current African narrative. As is, Africans are divided, broken and misaligned in their striving efforts to make right – in silos – and this is not working due to disunity. Africans, let us unite!
Our strength is in our unity and in seeing Africa for what it is capable of achieving. And to pressurise our policy makers to see beyond what our eyes can see and legislate for policies that will make our future selves so grateful to be Africans. And this we must do – not just only for our children, but for all of Africa.
The current state of Africa points to a prodigal who is still wondering, is pulled away by trying to model the western ways of managing our continent – adopting to western and European cultures, bound by their mandates and their regulative policies that make Africans devalue their continental heritage and ability to govern itself. It is time for Africa to rise and change this – because Africa is top discussion in big economic discussions of countries outside Africa, where as Africans prioritise leaving the continent to find what is deemed a better life out there.
It seems as if everyone want Africa, except for the Africans, and seeing a INTRODUCTION: THE GREAT RESET OF AFRICA – Resolutions, Strategies and Sustainable Development Priorities towards Agenda 2063 10 need to support each other, from one country to another covering Cape to Cairo, and work towards intentional and disruptive ownership of our continent for a better report and model of Africa towards the Agenda 2063 Geneva Conference. Africa is a capable well educated and resourceful continent to run its affairs without pressure and imposed cultures, norms and politics of other cultures.
Let us give ourselves time, heal each other with forgiveness and trust that we are more than enough to become the model continent – on our own, even if we battle for a short time but allow ourselves time to pick-up again like never before. Africa has everything it need to be what it should be. It’s time! Waiting for Geneva
Convention 2063 without any pro-active efforts towards the change we want, and without improving our policies, economic systems and livelihood will be trivial, costing us yet another generation that will be left despondent, confused and defeated to turn into mediocre and accept things as they currently are at the expense of our continent. This book, The Great Reset of Africa – resolutions, sustainable developmental priorities and strategies towards Agenda 2063, cannot be a discussion in isolation of the Geneva Convention Agenda of 2063.
It is a tool to challenge policy makers to proactively come on board to address the ills of continental progressiveness. In fact anyone who will have the audacity to touch on the topic relating to the year 2063 and beyond, should better be seasoned enough to align with the priorities as tabled in both the Agenda for the Geneva Convention for 2063 and all its strategic priority areas and intentionally participate in the resolutions that are stipulated in this resolute mandates.
We should all come in one voice to collaborate and build together not pass each other or over each other, to speed up what need to happen next towards progress. Therefore, having said that I want to emphasise that the purpose of this book is not to steal the limelight from those who have tirelessly contributed positively to the work achieved, but to contribute towards advocacy and challenge policy makers of Africa to consider these resolutions in an effort to better position Africa as model continent and to advocate for best practice continental governance towards a successful GC Agenda for 2063, and to make significant contributions that will empower Africa to be a model continent of reference projecting a pan-African vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. Before we look into the resolutions I will table in this book, I want to refer to the post 2015 Africa development agenda as an essential step towards the implementation of Agenda2063. Agenda 2063 is a roadmap for the development of a peaceful continent, integrated, prosperous and people- oriented; it defines strategic steps to achieve this vision in the and upon which this book will continue to build.
THE GREAT RESET OF AFRICA – Resolutions, Strategies and Sustainable Development Priorities towards Agenda 2063 11 The Common African Position (CAP) on the development program post 2015 was based on the following seven pillars that meet the aspirations of the African people: i. Structural economic transformation and inclusive growth; ii. Science, technology and innovation; iii. People-oriented development; iv. Environmental sustainability; v. Natural resource, risk and disaster management; vi. Peace and security vii. Funding and partnerships. And to achieve this enormous task, Africans need to unite and speak one language both literally and figuratively. For Progress Sake I deliberated long enough, in fact for six years before I wrote this book, as I was trying to understand the mandate assigned to my spirit about this assignment and while trying to understand what felt like “a must birth” assignment. I kept searching for clarity and I embarked on reading about the work that had been done in an effort to rebuilt Africa in the past; and use that to find the missing link of what was not exploited to proactively get the result we need for the Africa we want. In my observation Africa lacks a push to attain radical and pro-active implementation of prior talks and to take seasoned, direct and impactful steps that will keep the vision of the “Africa we want narrative” alive on a day to day basis. The more I kept thinking about this, a bulb lit inside me, then I knew talk have to be unpacked into activities of change, and a clear elephant bite strategy which can finish the elephant in the room was needed and to best explain it, coming up with this book, The Great Reset of Africa – resolutions, sustainable developmental priorities and strategies towards Agenda 2063, and acting on these resolutions became a needed solution for the plans we all see working for Africa. During my short employment as Head of Policy for the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) I found myself battling sleepless nights – lying awake pondering on the enormity of tasks that Policy makers and legislatures are entrusted with for the wellness of others. I found myself burdened with possibilities of attaining a world where everyone is considered and heard and made to feel that they matter. My thoughts grew from being the voice of addressing our member needs but to that of a global lens of leadership with a pro-active Africa orientated governing systems that will bring answers and solutions to all Africa citizens. Till to date, my pondering thoughts, questions, THE GREAT RESET OF AFRICA – Resolutions, Strategies and Sustainable Development Priorities towards Agenda 2063 and the unrest I feel when I think of the current state of Africa brought me back to where I started thinking deeper about, a simplified, clear and resolute approach to the Africa we want – the African cultured Africa – so to say!! So I tabled the necessary day-to- day activities that I thought would keep a mind of a collaborative Africa – as we want it. In my mind and I started to see Africans in one accord, united, holding hands and loving Africa and all it stands for and fighting to preserve all it can give to both the African child and the foreigners of Africa. I saw One Africa, though in fact it has borders but without any barriers and limitations for the African people – I imagined the United States of Africa, not countries in isolation but states within the African continent, in harmony and with far much reaching economic development and health systems and resources that enrich us. That became my African dream – as I realised for the sake of our continent’s restoration and upliftment that I need to birth these thoughts I see as answers and come up with this Strategic Continental Resolutions towards Africa 2063. With this book, I want to challenge policy makers to rekindle, and remember that we have been inaugurated by our birth right to take Africa back from those who are trying to grab it for its potential – making us apologise for being Africans, but to see light that we can manage Africa and allow our cultures and wealthy indigenous, moral and ethical beliefs guide our decisions and help craft our policies – the African way, without being intimidated or being apologetic. I could not come up with a word heavier than to resolute. We have revolusioned, but now we need to resolute to change the current narrative of Africa for the better. Defining the terms The Oxford dictionary explains the word resolution as a firm decision to do or not to do something. While the Cambridge English dictionary gives this definition: a formal statement of decision or opinion. Both widely used dictionaries allude to a decision. But also the Oxford dictionary also sighted seven other words that also best describe a resolution and I want to refer to these words and keep them as we move into the resolutions about Africa 2063 Resolution Master Plan: Intention Resolve Decision Intent Aim Aspiration Design THE GREAT RESET OF AFRICA – Resolutions, Strategies and Sustainable Development Priorities towards Agenda 2063 13 These words are current, progressive, implementable and singular in nature.
Meaning, they should be perceived with an understanding that every African must resolute to do something in their own power to build towards a better Africa. And my resolve, my aspiration, my intent, my decisions, my design and my aims stem from a place that harness the power we have as Africans to make Africa a better continent that is self-sufficient and sustainable. Therefore, the implementation of these resolutions, sustainable developmental priorities and strategies should start with one mind, influencing another and move to small actions of implementation that will end up in an all-inclusive majority point of view and a continent that commit to the adoption and implementation of these resolutions. Nothing should stop the implementation of these resolutions.