Several African journalists, representing different media platforms, on official visits to Morocco are delighted to have an eyewitness experience of the country, which they describe as very disciplined and focused.
Among them, five Kenyans, including Geoffrey ONDITI, Chief Producer Content Development KBC, Tony Mochama, writer and Journalist at The East African and Khainga O’Okwemba, Producer and Sub-Editor at KBC, who gathered for a discussion on a KBC TV channel, noted that Kenya has a lot to learn from Morocco, whose progress is attributed to a certain collectivism under the patriotic leadership of the Kingdom’s Sovereign.
Before discussing Morocco’s chances and potential to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Kenyan journalists spoke of the difficulty of the journey. Despite the fact that Morocco is in Africa, they had to travel to Asia, then to Europe before returning to Africa. In the opinion of the journalists, this situation does not have to be. Tony Mochama revealed that very soon, a direct line will be established, linking Casablanca to Nairobi. At the same time, he said that before the end of the year, Kenya will open a diplomatic representation in Rabat, which would greatly enhance relations between the two countries.
In the spirit of pan-Africanism, Mochama spoke out in favour of Moroccan integrity considering Sahara as part of Morocco, citing as an example the case of Ethiopia, which is striving to bring the renegade province of Tigray back into its fold. “I have supported Addis Ababa’s action for the reintegration of this part of the country within the framework of regionalism and continentalism. This is the best way to proceed as opposed to secessionism which remains an outdated solution,” he said.
“People start seeing separatism as a threat sponsored and hosted by a hostile neighbour country, that is not good for panafricanism”, he added.
The African journalists embarked on the tour to see the state of Morocco, in particular its preparation to host sporting events, including the 2025 African Cup of Nations. They described the Moroccan sports infrastructure as state-of-the-art and impressive, especially as the stadiums were built by Moroccan architects. The six cities visited, Tangier, Agadir, Fez, Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech, are expected to host the 2025 AFCON.
The internal transport made on modern trains, on a continent which many parts are still stuck in the basics, left a deep impression on the media team and they began to wonder how Morocco had achieved so much with resources not comparable to the natural endowments of some sub-Saharan countries. Kenyans believe that Morocco is well on its way to achieving the great and shining goal of becoming what it calls “the Dubai of Africa”, given the developmental strides proclaimed and inspired by its monarch, King Mohammed VI.
In particular, Morocco harnesses and taps into its own knowledge-base and the seriousness at this approach is the additional title given to the Foreign ministry to reflect the interest in citizens in the diaspora. It is at the core of the mobilisation process that engulfs and engages all specific segments of Moroccan society to contribute in building their own country.
The journalists did not miss the opportunity to talk about Morocco’s tourism potential, crowned by 12 million annual tourist visits, compared to Kenya which has a huge tourism potential, yet attracts only 2 million tourists per year. The Kenyan journalists believe that Morocco may be doing something different from all the others, such as its strong aversion to corruption.
To conclude their conversation, they said that Morocco is one of the main producers and exporters of phosphate-based fertiliser, which is considered the centrepiece of its phenomenal growth in agriculture, which has led to food sufficiency. The visitors felt that the abundance of food they tasted was not a choreography but the reality of Morocco.