African Union has tough choices
Africa knows conflicts – over 30 wars in the past 40 years. It knows political duplicity to cling to power. It is also wise on poverty and starvation – and Aids. Fighting hand-in-hand the scourge of hunger and Aids pandemic, a green revolution – the continent’s own a la Asia, strengthening healthcare and nutrition, removing economic stagnation caused by poor infrastructure, massive environmental degradation, and above all, regional integration towards more effective and more equal participation in the world economy in the face of globalisation – the 53-member African Union faces tough choices.
The third summit of African Heads of States in Addis Ababa is beset with the crisis in Sudan, intermittent conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Eritrea, Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Rwanda, Comoros, Liberia, border tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the collapse of economy in Somalia – as well as Harare which is accused of human rights abuses and political intolerance. The instability has cost the continent an estimated $201 billion.
In the case of the Congo-Rwanda dispute, the union has encouraged ways of easing mutual tensions – the type of diplomacy that’s developing as one of its most effective tools in reshaping the continent in the 21st century.
But like its predecessor – the Organisation of African Unity – the union has yet to find its rightful place in the global economic and political power equation. It has yet to acquire the resources to shape and lead Africa’s democratic processes. The union is a vastly expanded mandate from the OAU. Loosely based on the European Union model, it is Africa’s own experience, with its own economic rescue plan, reforms and mechanism to scrutinise everything – from bureaucratic transparency to the ‘grey’ areas such as civil rights – in order to accelerate good governance and squarely confront socio-economic challenges.
The OAU achieved the mission of African unity in the midst of colonialism and oppression. But the liberation failed to bring peace and prosperity. Now the three-year old union launched amid fanfare in Durban is struggling to go beyond the diplomatic niceties and make some tough decisions to consolidate the gains of the OAU. It has to ensure political and economic unity – a long- cherished dream of Africans – while accelerating the pace for sustainable economic development, peace and stability, and quality life across the continent.
Africa has seen many false starts in the last few decades. Fortunately, leaders are showing commitment to doing things differently. Hard decisions are imperative due to internal and external pressures that force Africa to realise the collective realities and the dangers of tiptoeing around them. The quest for unity has historical resonance – Pan-Africanism is rooted in civil society and popular struggle – and it befalls on the union to tap into this tradition of grassroots mobilisation to achieve the Africans’ aspirations for democratic institutions.
The moot question: Are governments ready to resolve the polemic issue of dilution of their sovereignty that the union entails? The union is too important to be their exclusive purview. The union is dominated by elected leaders, but the old-fashioned rulers among members are responsible for its image problem. Africa is again at a crossroads. Its time has come to look further inwards – through consensus, regional institutional capacities and result-oriented coalitions – to overcome cynicism. It is a tall order that cannot be achieved quickly.
True, the continent is conscious of its potential and the need to invest its best efforts. But how far goes the union, which is a manifestation of the collective demand for standing and addressing the problems together – is what matters.
- Bahrain Tribune
Africa knows conflicts – over 30 wars in the past 40 years. It knows political duplicity to cling to power. It is also wise on poverty and starvation – and Aids. Fighting hand-in-hand the scourge of hunger and Aids pandemic, a green revolution – the continent’s own a la Asia, strengthening healthcare and nutrition, removing economic stagnation caused by poor infrastructure, massive environmental degradation, and above all, regional integration towards more effective and more equal participation in the world economy in the face of globalisation – the 53-member African Union faces tough choices.
The third summit of African Heads of States in Addis Ababa is beset with the crisis in Sudan, intermittent conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Eritrea, Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Rwanda, Comoros, Liberia, border tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the collapse of economy in Somalia – as well as Harare which is accused of human rights abuses and political intolerance. The instability has cost the continent an estimated $201 billion.
In the case of the Congo-Rwanda dispute, the union has encouraged ways of easing mutual tensions – the type of diplomacy that’s developing as one of its most effective tools in reshaping the continent in the 21st century.
But like its predecessor – the Organisation of African Unity – the union has yet to find its rightful place in the global economic and political power equation. It has yet to acquire the resources to shape and lead Africa’s democratic processes. The union is a vastly expanded mandate from the OAU. Loosely based on the European Union model, it is Africa’s own experience, with its own economic rescue plan, reforms and mechanism to scrutinise everything – from bureaucratic transparency to the ‘grey’ areas such as civil rights – in order to accelerate good governance and squarely confront socio-economic challenges.
The OAU achieved the mission of African unity in the midst of colonialism and oppression. But the liberation failed to bring peace and prosperity. Now the three-year old union launched amid fanfare in Durban is struggling to go beyond the diplomatic niceties and make some tough decisions to consolidate the gains of the OAU. It has to ensure political and economic unity – a long- cherished dream of Africans – while accelerating the pace for sustainable economic development, peace and stability, and quality life across the continent.
Africa has seen many false starts in the last few decades. Fortunately, leaders are showing commitment to doing things differently. Hard decisions are imperative due to internal and external pressures that force Africa to realise the collective realities and the dangers of tiptoeing around them. The quest for unity has historical resonance – Pan-Africanism is rooted in civil society and popular struggle – and it befalls on the union to tap into this tradition of grassroots mobilisation to achieve the Africans’ aspirations for democratic institutions.
The moot question: Are governments ready to resolve the polemic issue of dilution of their sovereignty that the union entails? The union is too important to be their exclusive purview. The union is dominated by elected leaders, but the old-fashioned rulers among members are responsible for its image problem. Africa is again at a crossroads. Its time has come to look further inwards – through consensus, regional institutional capacities and result-oriented coalitions – to overcome cynicism. It is a tall order that cannot be achieved quickly.
True, the continent is conscious of its potential and the need to invest its best efforts. But how far goes the union, which is a manifestation of the collective demand for standing and addressing the problems together – is what matters.
- Bahrain Tribune
publicado por MP às 19:41
