ONE OF the hardy perennials of any African Union summit is Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy’s grand plan for a “United States of Africa”.
A laudable vision, some say – despite wariness from major continental powers such as South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria – but most agree Africa still has some distance to go before even contemplating the idea. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU), with its long-term goal of complete political union, fills the gap.
In 2002, the AU replaced the Organisation of African Unity, which had, since its establishment in 1963, earned a reputation as something of a crusty old dictators’ club. Developed along similar lines to the EU, the African Union has 10 commissioners responsible for departments such as political affairs, agriculture and peace and security.
The body’s founding charter outlines its mandate to work for “democracy, human rights and development”. Critics say progress has been slow, but the fact that the AU has sometimes suspended coup leaders makes a change from the days of its predecessor.
The 53-member body faces many challenges, not least maintaining peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur – where yesterday the Sudanese government accused the joint UN-AU mission of aiding rebels. It has also struggled to prove its legitimacy both in Africa and to the wider world.
As delegates gathered for this week’s AU summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper offered this gloomy assessment: “The African Union, just like its predecessor . . . has not proved itself in any major way, and it is not clear whether in its present format, we can’t do without it.”
Funding for the AU comes from a variety of sources, including international donors. Last year, Ireland donated €1.5 million in support of its agriculture development programme. The Government also provided €3 million to support the AU mission in Darfur, which preceded the hybrid UN-AU force.
In his opening speech at this week’s summit, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon told delegates that Africa needed to address the issue of power grabs. The continent has witnessed four recent coups – in Madagascar, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania – prompting fears of a slide back to the era when so much of Africa chafed under dictatorships. As a result, member states this week decided that the AU needed more clout to act against unconstitutional changes of power. Tougher measures to censure coup leaders were approved.
Somalia, where an AU mission consisting of 5,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops is tasked with helping to ensure the survival of the country’s fragile UN-backed government, was high on this week’s agenda. As was Sudan, where tensions are rising in the run-up to April elections, and a 2011 referendum that could result in the south seceding from Khartoum. Many fear that major unrest in Sudan, which, as Africa’s largest country, borders nine other states – could trigger instability far beyond its borders.
But there was good news too. African Development Bank chief Donald Kaberuka said he expects the continent’s economy to grow by between 4.5 and 5 per cent this year, and by some 6.0 per cent in 2011.
As ever, Gadafy could be relied on for some of the summit’s most colourful moments. Smarting after other member states declined to support his bid for a second term as chairman of the AU, the Libyan leader launched into a tirade in which he declared such summits boring and his fellow delegates too long-winded.
The appointment of Gadafy’s successor, Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika, will no doubt soothe nerves left frazzled by the tumultuous chairmanship of the man who in 2008 declared himself “king of kings” at a ceremony attended by more than 200 African kings and traditional rulers.