The Executive Director of the Afrikan Continental Union Consult Committee (ACUC), Benjamin Anyagre Aziginaateeg, has renewed its call for a united and self-determined Afrika, stressing that the liberation of the continent remains unfinished business as long as the Saharawi people remain without full independence.
In a statement issued in solidarity with the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), the ACUC said African workers remain “the indispensable force” behind the continent’s development, yet continue to face systemic neglect, exploitation, and political marginalization.
“Afrika’s progress is built on the backs of her workers, men and women, youth and elders, the undeniable backbone of every national economy,” the Committee noted, adding that the persistence of poverty wages, precarious jobs, illicit financial flows, and governance failures threatens the continent’s future.
The ACUC emphasised that the alliance with OATUU, described as “the continent’s premier home-grown trade union centre, forged in the fires of national liberation”, remains central to advancing workers’ rights, democratic governance, and collective bargaining across Afrika.
Colonial Shadows and Union Inaction
The Committee described the unresolved status of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic as “a stark testament to Afrika’s unfinished decolonization,” calling for immediate and coordinated trade union intervention.
It also issued a stern critique of the continent’s labour movement for failing to assert its influence on the AU’s Agenda 2063, especially the target for a politically united Afrika within the first ten years of implementation.
“Now the ten years of the program have passed without action,” the statement said, adding that the inaction of unions in fulfilling their tripartite role is glaring and interpreted as the destiny of the Afrikan people, especially the working class, sold. A wake-up call!
The ACUC argued that the same organising energy trade unions used during the liberation struggles must be revived to confront today’s “complex neocolonial milieu” and to accelerate the push for continental unity.
A Call for Action, Not Rhetoric
The Committee laid out nine priority actions, including strengthening continental solidarity, unionising the informal sector, challenging illicit financial flows, and supporting reparations for slavery, colonialism, and genocide.
Central to these actions is a demand for a permanent Trade Union Forum for Decolonization to amplify the Saharawi people’s fight for self-determination.
“The time for a purposefully united Afrika is not tomorrow. It is Now! Now! Now!” the Committee stressed, warning that youth unemployment and governance failures pose growing risks of instability.
It urged unions to become more vigilant in governance processes, insisting that “the will of the workers must directly shape the destiny of our nations.”
Backing the OATUU Communiqué
Reaffirming its position, the ACUC declared its full support for the latest OATUU Communiqué, stating:
“We stand unwavering in our support for the Saharawi people’s inalienable and unprescriptible right to self-determination. Together, we strive for a unified, Ubuntuist Afrika, in full control of her own affairs and her own future.”
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