LUSAKA, Zambia 

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Sunday renewed calls for Pan-African unity and inclusive development as the continent marked Africa Freedom Day, 62 years after the founding of the Organization of African Unity.

“We must silence the guns and invest in peace. Instability anywhere on the continent is instability everywhere. Africa cannot afford to be divided by conflict when the dream of unity and prosperity is within reach,” President Hakainde Hichilema said in a Facebook post commemorating the day.

Hichilema paid tribute to the continent’s founding leaders, including Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, Tanzania’s Julius Mwalimu Kambarage Nyerere, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah. He said their vision of independence, unity, and Pan-African solidarity must now be carried forward by a new generation of leaders.

“The current generation of African leaders must rise to the occasion by prioritizing inclusive economic growth, rooted in transparency, prudent fiscal management and a commitment to ensuring that development delivers jobs and opportunities for all Africans, especially the youth and women who remain the backbone of our continent's future,” he added.

Hichilema also called for reforms to global finance systems that have long marginalized African countries.

“The continent must continue advocating for a more equitable international financial architecture, one that no longer reinforces historical inequalities but enables Africa to define its own path to sustainable development,” he said.

Africa Freedom Day marks the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity, the forerunner to the African Union.