Rabat: The autonomy plan presented in 2007 by the Kingdom of Morocco to settle the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara constitutes a credible, serious, and pragmatic basis for achieving a lasting and consensual solution, Tanzanian academics Maxmillian Julius Chuhila and James Zotto said in Dakhla.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, in an interview granted to MAP on the sidelines of the presentation of their book entitled “Hurdles and Prospects of African Integration: The Question of Western Sahara,” the two authors stressed that this initiative enjoys growing international support, both on a continental scale and from foreign countries, such as the U.S. and several European states. They highlighted that the plan offers the Southern provinces greater autonomy in managing their resources and local affairs, providing a concrete and pragmatic response to the settlement of this dispute.

Chuhila and Zotto also emphasized that the growing support of African countries for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara reflects an awareness of the need to prioritize African solutions to African problems. They noted that this support rests on a sovereign analysis of the local realities and reflects an assertive will to overcome the inherited challenges of colonial histories.

The two Tanzanian academics pointed out that the persistence of the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara is a significant obstacle to African integration, hampering cooperation between states. They stressed that an Africa divided over issues of sovereignty cannot achieve true integration, adding that a peaceful, African settlement of this issue is essential to building genuine, lasting continental unity.

In this context, they recalled that the territorial integrity of states is an essential foundation of national sovereignty, enshrined as early as 1964 in the Charter of the Organization of African Unity and reaffirmed by the African Union. Referring to their book, the two researchers said it was intended as an academic contribution to enriching the debate on the Moroccan Sahara issue and African integration.

Through this book, they aim to stimulate reflection, question existing approaches, and encourage the search for sustainable, concerted African solutions to the challenges facing the continent.