The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Zephania Ubwani
23 May 2008
Arusha — African Union heads of state started meeting here yesterday to deliberate on the proposed Union government amid differences on the modalities on how that could be achieved.
Only five heads of state, including President Jakaya Kikwete, had turned up for the summit by mid-day yesterday at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge instead of 12 who were expected.
They included presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Nigeria's Yar'adua and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Delegates from six other states, Libya, Botswana, Senegal, Cameroon and Egypt, were led by their respective foreign ministers or other high ranking officials.
The minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Bernard Membe, could not explain anything on the low turnout of the heads of
state, who make up the Committee of Twelve, and other officials.
He insisted, however, that the two-day summit would go through recommendations on the proposed Union government made by the AU Executive Council (Foreign Ministers meeting) that took place here early this month.
Mr Membe is the current chairman of the Council after President Kikwete became AU chairman during the summit which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia early this year.
In his opening remarks, President Kikwete admitted that Africa was still divided on the proposed Union government for the continent, an agenda which dates back to 2005.
According to him, there are those who supported the proposal to immediately establish the AU Government and others who preferred a gradual approach.
The latter group wants the Union government to be established through strengthening of the AU organs. It also wants strong institutions as well as rationalisation, harmonisation and strengthening of regional economic communities (RECs).
President Kikwete, who chaired the two-day summit, was categorical that all AU member states were agreed on the ultimate goal of establishing the AU Government.
"The only critical difference is between those who want the immediate establishment of the AU Government and those who prefer a gradual approach", he said.
He said the committee of 12 heads of state assigned the matter was also tasked "with a daunting challenge" on how it should advance the process further.
The AU chairman told the four heads of states and diplomats from the 12 African countries in attendance that the two schools of thought must be reconciled "in order to come up with recommendations for a viable Union government".
However, differences of opinion emerged later during the summit held in Accra, Ghana last year.
A high level panel was established to undertake an audit of the AU organs and institutions, with the view to strengthening the continental organisation.
Speaking at the mini-summit, the chairman of the AU Commission, Mr Jean Ping, said the proposal on the Union government emanated from the need to accelerate the political and economic integration of Africa.
He said the AU Executive Council, which met here two weeks ago, thoroughly examined all the issues and made appropriate recommendations on each of them.
The committee of 12 heads of state and government was mandated the task of seeing the possibility of establishing a union government for Africa during the last AU summit in the Ethiopian capital early this year.
"Specifically we have been tasked to examine the proposal made by the Ministerial Committee of 10 on the establishment of the Union government", President Kikwete said.
What will be decided during the mini-summit in Arusha on the proposed Union government for the continent will be presented to the next AU Heads of State summit to be held in Egypt next July.
The idea to create the Union government for Africa dates back to January 2005 when the 4th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State Assembly meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, unanimously agreed on the matter.
President Museveni chaired the first committee which was assigned to study the idea. It presented its report to the 5th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly held in Sirte, Libya in July 2005.
One of the most conspicuous absentee at the Arusha Summit is the Libyan head of state, Muammar Gaddafi, who first conceived the idea of Africa having one government.
Foreign Affairs ministry officials could not explain why the Libyan leader, who has never set foot on Tanzania, could not make it to the meeting.
Also absent were presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Paul Biya of Cameroon and those of Senegal, Botswana and Gabon.
Recommendations of the summit will be presented to the AU summit sheduled to take place in the Egyptian city of Sham El Sheikh on the Red Sea coast next July.
The Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, on the slopes of Mt. Meru, was a hive of activity yesterday as diplomats and officials from various countries met in one of its halls, but the media was barred.
During the recent meeting of Foreign Affairs ministers here discused an evaluation report on the AU commission's strength and weaknesses by the chairman of a high level panel led by Prof Adebayo Adedeji of Nigeria.
The Nigerian professor, a former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), was recently picked to lead a team of experts to audit AU as presently constituted.
The audit also aimed to review the structures and functions of RECs, including their relationship with the union in order to accelerate the integration of the continent.
"The audit is also intended to revisit the existing relationship between the union and other key continental players with a view to promoting coherence of policies and synergy among major players in the context of the intergration agenda", according to diplomats.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
