Citizens Coalition for Change(CCC) Secretary General Charlton Hwende Friday reignited the debate around a single African currency system which was initiated by the late Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi.
In a tweet , Hwende said Africa must continue to push for the one African dream which would usher in a new African currency and ditch the USD.
“Brother Leader killed for advocating for the unity of Africans (United States of Africa) and a common African Currency (Gold Dinar). We must continue pushing for these dreams and end the dominance of the US$,” Hwende said.
Brother Leader killed for advocating for the unity of Africans (United States of Africa) and a common African Currency (Gold Dinar). We must continue pushing for these dreams and end the dominance of the US$ pic.twitter.com/aaKpSYxO6Q
— Chalton Hwende (@hwendec) April 22, 2022
The tweet attracted comments from users alleging that Hwende was departing from his party’s stance to stick with the U.S government and remain allies.
However, clarifying the views, Hwende told 263Chat that the views expressed were individual ones.
“That tweet is not a reflection of what CCC stands for , these are my personal views as a politician and a Member of Parliament,
“What I’m trying to say is that we need to stand united as Africans . We must strive to unite as Africans, not just as Zimbabweans. We tend to benefit more if we are united as a continent,”Hwende said.
He stated that Afrcan leaders should strive for one government, one passport and one border.
Before his death in 2011, Gaddaffi was vocal about a United States of Africa spanning Cape Town and Cairo as a way of ending the continent’s conflicts and defying the west.
Gaddafi pushed for a United States of Africa to rival the US and the European Union (EU).
“We want an African military to defend Africa. We want a single currency. We want one African passport,” Gaddafi said at one time.
Howeve, the idea failed to secure enough support from his African counterparts. Some suspected that Gaddafi wanted the job for himself.
There is a case for challenging borders that were drawn up by European imperialists and which continue to inhibit travel and trade which Hwende said is a possibility of African leaders and citizens unite.
“Im not better qualified to comment t=on this as economists are , but I believe if this comes to fruition, we will have a bigger currency , better economically, and we will manage to have control over our resources unlike the current situation where our resources are being to China and other countries,” Hwende said.
Hwended added that a United Africa allows for better trade negotionas as can be seen with the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to ease trading among African countries.
“If Zimbabwe takes advantage of this, we will have one of the biggest currencies on the continent. We will have a better currency since we have failed to manage the one we have,” he said.
