THE Dean of Ambassadors accredited to Zimbabwe and Rwanda’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James Musoni, has challenged Africans to decolonise their minds and harness the continent’s potential to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.
Musoni made the remarks during a Press conference in Harare on Thursday ahead of the 2026 Africa Day celebrations, which will be commemorated under the theme Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Achieving Safe Sanitation Systems to Realise the Goals of Agenda 2063.
The Press conference was also attended by Ethiopia’s ambassador, Rashid Mohammed Abdulwahid, and Algeria’s ambassador, Mohamed Seoudi.
Speaking to journalists, Musoni said Africa’s development can only be realised when Africans begin to believe in the continent’s own capabilities and strengths.
“One of the key pillars of this Africa Day celebration is to reflect on how we colonise our minds,” he said.
“So, to decolonise our minds, we need to find a way of looking at Africa, its capacity and be able to develop it.”
He called on governments, the private sector and development partners to invest in job creation and skills development to empower its people.
“So, private sector, through investments, through job creation, and many actors should work very hard to make sure that we fill these gaps.
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“We build on the talents, we train, develop capabilities required to match with our needs, and be able to harness very well and effectively the potentials that we have.”
Musoni also expressed concern over the growing migration of African youths to foreign countries in search of better opportunities.
“We see people dying crossing the Mediterranean because there is that mindset that life is there, but at the same time there are also real challenges here in terms of unemployment.”
He also highlighted that empowering African youths and creating opportunities on the continent would help restore the dignity and value of Africans.
“As Africans, and I think in the spirit of this Africa Day celebration, we should work very hard from the private sector, Europe, other partners, communities and everyone to make sure that we bring back our dignity, bring back our value, and develop the potentials that we have, and be able to achieve the Agenda 2063 very quickly,” he said.
Meanwhile, this year they have organised Africa Day celebrations through various sporting activities involving all 22 embassies accredited to Zimbabwe. The activities will start with a golf tournament and will also feature soccer and volleyball competitions aimed at promoting unity and cooperation among African nations represented in Zimbabwe.
Abdulwahid, Ethiopia’s ambassador, and Seoudi, the Algerian envoy, are overseeing the preparations of these commemorations.
