The Moroccan Sahara conflict is hindering not only North Africa’s regional development but also the socio-economic development of the whole African continent, wrote William Joseph Mudolo in an opinion piece published in the South African news outlet Independent Online (IOL) on Friday. He called upon the African Union (AU) to “reconsider its stance on this persistent conflict and to support Morocco’s claim” of sovereignty.
Mudolo, an international CEO with multiple master’s degrees from top British universities, said he came to the realization while writing his book “Africa on the Change” that African unity, stability, and prosperity cannot happen while a conflict that exacerbates regional instability remains pending for decades.
Morocco and the Sahara region have historical ties dating back to pre-Spanish colonization of the region, he wrote, and in recent years, Morocco has heavily invested in the region’s socioeconomic growth, especially in infrastructure, education, and health care.
In addition to the “autonomy plan” proposed by the Kingdom that could “provide an avenue for enhanced political participation of the Sahrawi people while ensuring the territory’s economic integration with the rest of Morocco,” Mudolo suggested that Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara would help to address illegal activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and even terrorism that are very present in the region.
“A resolution in Morocco’s favour,” he asserted, “would uphold the territorial integrity of African states, a principle enshrined in the AU’s Constitutive Act.”
Mudolo described Morocco as one of the flourishing economies in Africa with geo-strategic importance to both the African and European continents, while, in contrast, the Polisario Front represents a significant threat to the whole region.
Taking a pragmatic approach, he asserted that the AU must balance the practicality of governance with the implications for regional stability. Resolving this dispute is necessary to make the AU’s “Agenda 2063” work, and the AU must align itself with the realities on the ground and empower Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.
The resolution of the Sahara conflict “is imperative for the African Union, not a choice,” he said.