Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 13 • Number 4 • 4th February 2009
African Leaders Vow to Work Toward ‘United States of Africa’
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African leaders meeting at a summit in Ethiopia this week agreed to work to forge a ‘United States of Africa’, despite the fears of some nations that such a move could threaten national sovereignty. The heads of state and senior officials present at the African Union summit, which met from 1-3 February in Addis Ababa aimed to hash out the details of how to bring the continent together under a single pan-African government, as well as how the continent’s leaders should respond to the ongoing economic crisis.
The outgoing president of the African Union, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, said the goal was to create an institution with a bigger mandate, eventually moving toward a union government.
“In principle, we said the ultimate is the United States of Africa,” Kikwete said. “How we proceed to that ultimate, there are building blocks.”
On Sunday, the officials agreed to set up a new African Union Authority to replace the existing AU commission. The authority, which the leaders hope to have up and running by mid-year, will have slightly more power to deal with issues such as poverty, infectious diseases, education, and other legal issues. However, the authority will have the difficult task of alleviating the doubts that many African nations harbour about whether the new authority will respect national sovereignty, and how resources and power will be divided between the national and regional levels. Funding for the authority has not yet been made clear.
“Essentially, it’s a compromise between those who would have wanted an accelerated transformation to a union government, and those who were looking for a gradualist approach towards this transformation.” says Professor Onyejekwe a participant in the discussion of African Unity.
“But what this does basically is now to create secretaries with various responsibilities at the continental level, but falling short of now transforming the AU into a United States of Africa,” he said.
Some officials that oppose say the new authority say that it would add a layer of bureaucracy that the continent does not need.
The main agenda of the summit, boosting Africa’s energy and transport networks, was overpowered by the global economic recession. Several African nations have recently experienced volatility in their stock markets and currencies, said Abdoulie Janneh, chief of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. The official also called on the African nations to assemble a “coordinated and coherent” response to the current global financial crisis, climate change, and challenges of peace and security on the continent.
“We need to increase agriculture production and diversify into manufacturing and services in order to provide jobs…Diversification will also give our economies the resilience to deal with future economic shocks,” Janneh said at the meeting.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi set an ominous tone for the economic debate:
“Our economic prospects are such that unless we act, and act now and decisively, the majority of African states could become failed states over the coming decade,” said Zenawi. “The consequences of such an outcome are dire.”
Also during the summit, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya was elected the new chairperson of the African Union. While some leaders consider Gaddafi too erratic for the position, it was the turn of a North African representative to lead the bloc, and the controversial Libyan was the only one present. Gaddafi led the calls for the AU to create a union government that he believes would boost Africa’s international standing, and vows to push for this unity during his chairmanship.
“I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa,” Gaddafi said.
“Conflicts overshadow talks on African Union’s Future,” AFP, 2 February 2009; “UN deputy chief calls for coordination of African nations,” CHINA VIEW, 1 February 2009; “UN urges African economies to diversify,” REUTERS, 29 January 2009; “Leaders claim progress made toward unified Africa,” ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1 February 2009; “African Union to Adopt Proposals to Strengthen Commission,” VOA NEWS, 3 February 2009; “African Summit hears dire economic forecasts,” VOA NEWS, 3 February 2009.
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