Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Ashanti’s King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has described the Kingdom of Eswatini as a symbol of African Monarchical Rule.
This he said when delivering his speech at the Jubilee Hall, Manhyia Palace on Friday during a State Banquet he hosted inn honour of His Majesty King Mswati III, who was on a four-day state visit to Ghana on the invitation of President Dr. John Dramani Mahama.
“Your Majesty, the timing of your State Visit could not have been more significant. You have come at a time of unprecedented global tension creating a state of uncertainty never experienced in history. In this uncertain world, the fate of Africa has become even more precarious.
“Whatever the eventual outcome of the new geo-political contests at play, the outlook for Africa cannot be bright. The one thing we can be certain about is that Africa cannot proceed the way she has done over the past half century of our post colonial existence. So, by your visit, destiny has brought us together, Ghana, the standard bearer of African liberation, and Eswatini symbol of African Monarchical rule, to work together, think together and to explore how Africa faces the challenge of turning this moment into an opportunity to carve new pathway to a greater future,” King Osei Tutu II said.
He said the challenge is great but the opportunity is greater. The King said it is only in the middle of the last century that Africa confronted the challenge of breaking free from the yoke of colonialism.
“That challenge was successfully accomplished barely six decades ago. But political independence has not delivered the prosperity our people deserve and we have been kept on the margins of society.
“The circumstances of the moment present us with the challenge of launching a new struggle as momentous as the struggle for political independence. It is a struggle to give meaning to our political independence by breaking free from the yoke of poverty and ignorance and lifting our beloved continent onto a new pedestal of prosperity and happiness for our people. It is not a struggle for the rhetories of the past and not a struggle for the ideologues,” he said.
King Osei Tutu II said theirs is a struggle that can only be won in the farm lands of the continent, in the industrial factories of every state, in waterways and mine fields.
“It is only by our success in managing the natural resources gifted to us by our Creator that we can earn for ourselves a justifiable place at the table where the true fate of society is determined.
“For let there be no doubt in our minds that the age of ideology is dead and we need to put behind us the era of whining and moral outrage over our past.
“The new world on the horizon is a world in which power flows out of the vault of the banks and out of the factory gate. There is no room at the inn for the unproductive. We may still hold on to the belief that all men are created equal but in the world on the horizon, all nations are not equal. Equality is now a function of the balance sheet, National sovereignty is subsumed by the power of the economy. So, either we begin to focus and build our own Heaven or we perish in our own hell,” the King said.
He described the visit by His Majesty the King as one of the happiest moments of their time, to be sharing the company of a unique guest, a towering statesman who is not just a shining leader of his people but a Great Symbol of Africa’s Cultural Authenticity.
“His Majesty King Mswati III, Head of State and King of Eswati Kingdom, is on a State Visit to Ghana at the invitation of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Dr. John Draman Mahama, and we have to thank His Excellency the President, for giving us the rare privilege of hosting this heroic visitor.
“It has allowed us the opportunity to borrow from a famous saying from the past to “retaliate” for the exceptional hospitality once accorded us by His Majesty in his majestic Kingdom.
In 2015, he invited us to be his guests of honour at the Nation’s famous Reed Dance festival. His Majesty and the entire nation gave our royal delegation a most memorable time over the five days of our visit,” the King acknowledged.
‘KING, PRESIDENT MAHAMA’S IS TO FORGE A NEW VISION FOR AFRICA’
KUMASI, GHANA – The Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has challenged His Majesty King Mswati III and President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana to forge a new vision for Africa.
“We look to you working together to set in trail a new economic order based on the effective utilisation of our natural resources to herald industrialisation on a scale to match the continents of Asia and Europe.
“We want to see an Agricultural Revolution that will turn our virgin lands into the grannies of the new world and put to rest the image of the basket case that has been Africa’s cruel burden,” the King said during the State Banquet he hosted in honour of His Majesty the King at his Manhyia Palace on Friday.
He said they would want to see African countries embracin the age of science and technology, including the miracle of Artificial Intelligence as the drivers of development.
The King said Africans have every reason to be confident that with leaders like His Majesty King Mswati III and President Mahama at the helm, they can face the challenge of the moment with courage and emerge victorious.
“Your Majesty, we are walking in the light of history. We are not only walking in its light; we are the agents of history. We represent the glories of our past but we are also the heralds of its future.
“To build our own heaven, we must be determined not to play second fiddle any more but dare to build our economies which will be able to compete on equal terms with the countries of Europe, Asia and the Americas. This is no delusion. We can. If we dare,” he said.
The King said there is no land mass on planet Earth richer in the resources of nature than Africa. He said the continent is even blessed with an accumulation of human resources with the requisite education to manage any constructive economic ventures.
“What we need is to liberate ourselves from the burden of trying to cast ourselves in an image satisfactory to the outside so we can feel free to manage our affairs in a manner that delivered what our people need. It calls for a sober review of the system of governance in many countries of Africa, to flush out the sources of unnecessary conflict and improve the prospects for consensus building and national cohesion.
“There is no reason why Africa cannot find the means to use the authority of its traditional leaders as catalysts for economic development on the same scale as the Middle Bast,” he said.
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