Zimbabwean diplomat, Hilda Suka-Mafudze appointed AU Ambassador to US

By Amos Fofung

ZIMBABWE’s Ambassador to Malawi, Hilda Suka-Mafudze, has been appointed the African Union (AU) Ambassador to the United States. She replaces Arikana Chihombori-Quao who was relieved off her duties last November.

The former member of parliament who was appointed Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Malawi in 2019 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to take up her duties as the AU representative in Washington DC.

Speaking to Zimbabwe mail, the newly appointed Ambassador said she will use the opportunity accorded to her to spotlight and better represent her continent Africa.

“I am humbled and appreciative to be able to represent my continent in the US…I am a true pan-Africanist and I know what we really need as Africa and where we want to be as Africans, all this is in my heart and on my fingertips,” she is quoted to have said before adding.

 “What we want as Africa is to be on the global stage as an equal with others. We have what it takes, and no one must, therefore, look down upon us. As Africa, we are at a stage where we know what we want and we obviously cannot, for example, continue to let our resources be taken as raw materials by people who by so doing are taking employment away from us.”

Quizzed on her vision for the continent, the career diplomat who also served as ambassador to Sudan said “I will contribute towards the AU vision on the intra-Africa trade and I will be alert to the need to entrench relations with the US. Let us not overlook the need for relations if we are to be competitive on the global space but that does not mean our inability to effectively manage what we have.”

“I represent the African Union, my chairman (Moussa Faki Mahamat) but I must also say I am humbled by the support I got from my country, Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his entire team.”

Promising to campaign for AU’s agenda 2063 which includes the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Ambassador Hilda Suka-Mafudze expressed her readiness to work towards attainment of the AU vision for a better Africa.