Hopewell Radebe And Tlhabanello Mmushi
2 July 2004
Johannesburg — Well run societies based on good governance may unite strife-torn continent
AFRICAN leaders are to consider expanding the African Union (AU) to include civic society groups at the body's third summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, next week.
Heads of state are being lobbied to entertain the concerns and suggestions of public society structures when dealing with a variety of issues including human rights and freedom of expression.
The organisations argue that this will contribute towards ensuring that citizens of member states develop a sense of ownership of the AU's aims and objectives, says Alpha Oumar Konaré, chairman of the commission of the AU.
This could also contribute to overcoming doubt that exists about whether the AU will differ from its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) accused of protecting political despots and dictators.
In an address to the fifth ordinary session of the AU's executive council in Addis Ababa yesterday, Konaré said a prerequisite for Africa to become "a force to be reckoned with, and relied on", would be the "total involvement" of the people in the AU's endeavour to integrate the continent .
President Thabo Mbeki will attend the summit next week.
Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma led the South African delegation to the executive council meeting.
She is expected to be elected chairwoman of the 15-member African Peace and Security Council, which will discuss recommendations for the implementation of the African Standby Force, and the early warning and response system of the AU. SA is one of five countries elected to serve a threeyear term on the security council.
Analysts say the greatest challenge facing the summit is the issue of funding the peacekeeping force.
According to Ross Herbert, peace efforts in the continent may be strained by poor financial commitment from member states. Herbert is head of the South African Institute of International Affairs' New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) and governance unit.
Contributions made by African countries to the Peace Fund an organ of the OAU between 1993 and 1996 amounted to $5m. The South African peacekeeping mission in Rwanda has, over the past three years, cost 800m, says Herbert .
SA is spending about R1bn a year keeping 10000 troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"SA is strained already, as it has too many troops out. For SA to be an effective force, it has to rotate 3000 soldiers in the field and around 9000 at home. Angola and Nigeria can do more," says Herbert .
Appropriate training is also essential, says Herbert. "The AU cannot hope to have an effective force with only men and guns, without proper training on procedure and practice."
Prof Shadrack Gutto, head of the Centre for African Renaissance at the University of SA, says the AU summit should focus on mechanisms that will put the force firmly in place.
"We cannot have a regional peace-keeping force without resources, and leave it to the whims of those who promise to assist", he says.
Gutto warns that the AU should not rush to set up a peacekeeping force, and end up copying the United Nations' failures.
SA stands a good chance of winning the bid to host of the Pan African Parliament, which will be decided at the summit, says Gutto. "SA chaired the preparatory committee, and played a major role in devising its rules.
"A great number of countries have an understanding that if (the parliament) were to sit in SA, it will get appropriate support ", he says.
On the issue of governance, the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, KY Amoako, says overall governance in Africa is getting better.
"Good governance is at the heart of the agenda of the AU, and the underlying dynamic of Nepad." He says that it is important that critics understand that building a capable state is not an event, but a process.
The AU will assist members. "All of us, but particularly the AU and Nepad, will be judged on whether or not capable states are being well fostered," he says.
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