allAfrica.com: Africa: African Heads of State Gather in Maputo for AU summit (Page 1 of 2)

African heads of state and government have a busy few days ahead of them, as they meet for the second summit of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, from 10-12 July.

All week, the foreign ministerial Executive Council has been drawing up the agenda and recommendations that the African leaders will debate, endorse or reject during their 3-day summit.

With some devastating crises afflicting the continent, their citizens look to them for the leadership to end Africa’s armed conflicts and address problems like drought and famine, as well as speed up development, promote democracy and strengthen regional integration and trade.

But there are already blots on the continental copybook.

One of the top items on the summit agenda is the creation of the Peace and Security Council, the organ envisaged to help resolve wars in Africa, through direct intervention.

Yet barely a dozen countries have ratified the protocol that will establish the Council, broadly based on the United Nations’ Security Council. Ratification by half of the AU’s 53 member states is required to bring the Peace and Security Council into being.

In the twelve months since the African Union was inaugurated at its first summit in Durban, South Africa, several new conflicts have been added to already existing wars on the continent - including a civil war in Cote d’Ivoire and an upsurge of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia and Burundi. There have also been a number of attempted and successful coups d’etat in the past year.

So, for instance, the new military leader of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, has not been invited to Maputo in accordance with an AU decision that those who come to power by force are not welcome.

But Madagascar, whose leader Marc Ravolomanana was excluded from the AU’s Durban launch in 2002 because of his accession to power by force, will make a splashy comeback this year, again taking up its seat. Madagascar has even been named the host of next year’s AU summit.

Divisive topics

However Zimbabwe, in a state of economic and social collapse, will not be on the agenda for discussion. "As you can see from the agenda, Zimbabwe is not on it. It is not a subject that will consume our time," Mozambican foreign minister, Leonardo Simao told reporters, Monday. Simao is the incoming chairman of the AU's Executive (ministerial) Council.

Zimbabwe remains a divisive issue and consensus is one of the building blocks of the new African Union. Some nations support President Robert Mugabe, whilst others think he has mismanaged his country and should go. Critics say, however, that it is hypocritical to side-step the Zimbabwe crisis given the constant repetition of the AU's mantra of "finding African solutions to African problems."

Another glaring problem is the massive shortfall in membership dues. How to finance the Union is already a concern since the AU is short of cash. Finding new sources of funding and revenue for its operations will need be an integral part of the debate among Africa’s leaders in Maputo.

Summit sources said eight countries face possible exclusion from the summit, for being behind with membership payments by two or more years.

Those in line for sanctions are the Central African Republic, the Comoros Islands, the DRC, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles and Somalia. The penalties would include preventing debtor nations from speaking or voting during AU meetings, at both summit and executive council level, or from presenting candidates from their countries for posts.

The AU's debt, estimated at US$39m, date back to the Organisation of African Union, (OAU) which was replaced by the AU in South Africa last year.

The Executive Council, made up of foreign ministers, passed a resolution Tuesday increasing contributions from the five wealthiest members of the organisation - Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria and South Africa - who pay the lion's share of costs.

In return, these member states are lobbying to be allocated a larger share of the 749 posts in the African Union Commission (secretariat). The proposal has been referred to the summit for a final decision.

An annual budget of $41m for the African Union is estimated for 2004.

Operational costs are likely to increase substantially to cover the planned 17 institutions of the AU, rising to $65m once all the organs are fully established, said outgoing interim Commission chairperson, Amara Essy.

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