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Thursday, May 23, 2013
African Union celebrates 50th year | eNCA
African Union celebrates 50th year
ADDIS ABABA - African nations this week mark the 50th year since the founding of a continentwide organisation that spearheaded efforts to liberate Africa from its colonial masters.
Now leaders want to map out the next 50 years of political and economic integration.
Konjit Sinegiorgis was a young diplomat tasked with distributing documents to the assembled heads of state when the founding congress of the Organization of African Unity was held in May 1963.
Sinegiorgis said the OAU "brilliantly" accomplished its primary task.
"Its primary mandate was to liberate Africa from the shackles of colonialism and apartheid. I think in that regard it has done brilliantly," said Konjit, now Ethiopia's ambassador to the African Union, the successor to the OAU.
The weeklong 50-year celebrations culminate Saturday in the Ethiopian capital where African leaders will be joined by foreign dignitaries including United States Secretary of State John Kerry.
African leaders will also consider Agenda 2063, a blueprint they say will bring socio-economic and political transformation to the continent.
Kerry, who recently expressed concerns over China's growing influence in Africa, is expected to be joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, Vice Premier Wang Yang, at the celebrations in the AU headquarters, a building whose $200 million constriction costs were paid by Beijing.
The 53-member African Union, which began in 2002, has been trying to emerge as a force for stability on a continent regularly troubled by violence, conflicts and coups.
One key achievement of the OAU and AU "has been to set standards and norms that we are now using at the continental level," said Erastus Mwencha, deputy chair of the AU. "We are now talking of having norms such as a protocol on governance, on elections and so forth."
As the AU strives to make peaceful transfers of power across Africa the norm, it often sanctions coup leaders and suspends membership of states. But it also often fails to mobilise resource to enforce its decisions.
The AU is also a long way from its founders' dream of a united Africa. The continent sees a huge disparity in the economic and political conditions of its nations.
South Africa is an economic power, while citizens in countries like Somalia, Sudan, Congo and Chad suffer from warfare and poverty.
A coalition of over 120 civil society groups from across Africa and the Middle East on Wednesday issued a warning about conflicts in Sudan.
The groups called on the AU to support a bolder approach to peace there.
But the continent also boasts nine of the world's 15 fastest growing economies, Rwanda President Paul Kagame wrote last weekend in The Wall Street Journal, and the AU head says the continent's future is brighter than its past.
"If you look at the last 10 years, Africa has been growing economically," said AU chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. "There has been quite a lot of development even in terms of infrastructure, not enough yet, but countries have been working hard."
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says Africa's medium-term growth prospects remain strong, at 4.8% in 2013 and a projected 5.1% in 2014.
"Yet this impressive growth story has not translated into economic diversification, commensurate jobs or faster social development," said the U.N. in its latest report.
"Most African economies still depend heavily on commodity production and exports, with too little value addition and few forward and backward linkages to other sectors of the economy."
Improvements are being seen in education, child and maternal mortality rates, and gender equality.
As African leaders meet later this week, the 50-year strategic plan is expected to be high on the agenda.
Dlamini-Zuma said the decades-long quest for Africa's political and economic integration are to be answered by the blueprint.
Energising and galvanising the people of the continent toward an African Renaissance is the aim of the week's celebrations, Dlamini-Zuma said over the weekend.
As Africa looks to write plans for the future, activists are calling for more efforts to respect its citizens' rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote to Kerry to urge him to include the issue of press freedom in his discussions at the AU Summit.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Emperor Haileselassie one of the founder of African Unity Statue to be erected
May 17, 2013 - President Girma Woldegiorgis in a letter sent to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn asked for a statue to be erected in honour of the late Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile-Selassie I, according to the Reporter.
“A statue must be erected to commemorate the Emperor…he was the first leader of Africa and I think he deserves a statue,” the president said during the interview.
According to the president, the Ethiopian government is making good progress on the matter and hopes that it will materialize.
It is to be recalled that Kwame Nkrumah's statue, which was unveiled at the African Union (AU) headquarters, has sparked anger amongst Ethiopian scholars, historians and politicians, who feel Haile-Selassie deserved the honor.
Back then, Members of Parliament have also been drawn into the debate and raised the issue with former prime minister, the late Meles Zenawi.
Meles downplayed the request and defended the decision to honor Nkrumah, the former Ghanaian leader, whom he described as a pan-African.
What has further angered locals was that, with the AU headquarters being in Addis Ababa, many expected a statue of Haile-Selassie to be erected.
Ethiopian historians said they also remembered Selassie for his leading role in the creation of the OAU.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Foreign minister discusses Sudan land bridge with Ethiopian FM - Daily News Egypt
Foreign minister discusses Sudan land bridge with Ethiopian FM
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EmailForeign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr released a statement on Sunday saying a land bridge linking Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will be open in two months.
On Saturday Kamel Amr met with Ethiopian’s foreign minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebrevesus during the African Union’s executive council meeting in Ethiopia to discuss bilateral relations, particularly in the areas of trade, investments, education, agriculture and health.
According to the statement, Kamel Amr also discussed the road linking Egypt with Sudan and Ethiopia, saying it will promote trade between the three countries.
The road is part of a greater land bridge project aimed at connecting Cairo to Cape Town, allowing for faster travel and increased trade across the region.
The project was announced in 2010 when Egypt and Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding to create a road linking several major cities along a route between both nations. The initial investment cost was estimated to be $500m.
In 2012 the government announced the project would be finished by September but its opening was delayed due to minor disagreements surrounding visa requirements and customs at the border.
Both ministers agreed on making preparations for the fifth session of the joint committee, set to coincide with the passing of 85 years of diplomatic relations.
Kamel Amr also spoke about continued coordination between both countries regarding the Sudanese crisis. According to the state-run news agency Al-Ahram, the two countries supported dialogue in order to resolve several issues stalling the peace process, which includes land disputes and natural resources.
The executive council meeting ended Saturday, ahead of the African Union Summit.
President Mohamed Morsy was originally set to travel to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to attend the summit on Sunday, but cancelled his trip due to the ongoing turmoil in Egypt. Kamel Amr took his place in the meeting, reading from a speech prepared by the president who, according to his speech, had pressing commitments which prevented him from attending.
Morsy praised Ethiopia and its leadership, lamented for recently deceased African leaders and praised the work done by the African Union, saying in spite of all that has been achieved through Africa’s struggle, the fight continues for the sake of freedom, development and human dignity.
The summit will address regional security issues including African intervention in Mali, continuing disputes between South Sudan and Sudan, and developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo where fighting between MK23 rebels and government troops has left over 30,000 civilians displaced.
Ethiopia’s Hailemariam Elected as African Union Chairman - Bloomberg
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was elected by African heads of state as chairman of the African Union today, replacing Benin’s President Yayi Boni.
The 47-year-old Hailemariam, who became leader of Ethiopia after the death from illness of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in August, will serve a one-year term as head of the African Union, or AU.
The 54-member continental bloc’s assembly is meeting in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The AU faces several security challenges on the continent, including rebellions in Mali, easternDemocratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, and continuing tension between South Sudan and Sudan which have failed to implement agreements on borders.
“We should do everything possible to help restore constitutional order in Mali and safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” Hailemariam said.
The Addis Ababa-based AU Commission is headed by South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was elected for a four-year term in July and is the first woman to head the organization’s secretariat.
Hailemariam, a former foreign minister and deputy prime minister, is from the minority Wolayta ethnicity that has historically been excluded from power in Ethiopia by more populous groups. He is also a Protestant in a nation dominated by Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg atpmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
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