Will the African Integration Revolution be Televised (2), (or a Tale of Africa’s Zeitgeist!)

“The Accidental Ecowas & AU Citizen”:

Will the African Integration Revolution be Televised (2), (or a Tale of Africa’s Zeitgeist!)

By E.K.Bensah Jr

After the indefatigable efforts of West African civil society organizations, including the Economic Justice Network, to stall and stop Ghana from signing an interim Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA) with the European Union, you could be forgiven for thinking the guard of African integration watchers might be let down. Truth be told, the stalling serves only as a reminder of Nkrumah’s call for eternal vigilance. That no less than the African Union has stated categorically that the EPAs are not “a priority” for Africa, but regional integration is, can only help vindicate all those who work assiduously every day towards the emancipation of Africa—be it in West Africa, or continentally.

Last week, I touched on three (out of five) major developments that might lend weight to the view that Africa’s about to take off in 2012. The first was the Africa Trade Forum, hosted by the UN Economic Commission in Africa; next was the Seventh Ordinary Session of Conference of African Trade Ministers that just concluded meetings in Accra on 3 December; third was the launching of the Least Developed Countries report in Geneva – at which I expressed disappointment that there was no coverage of it probably because Ghana is not an LDC.

The two remaining developments are the Second Congress of African Economists; and the ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee—and related activities by civil society—that concluded discussions in Accra on 1^st December.

Second Congress of African Economists

If there is a second, then it surely means there was a first – and the First Congress took place in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2009. The theme was: “Towards the Creation of a Single African Currency: Review of the Creation of a Single African Currency: Which optimal Approach to be adopted to accelerate the creation of the unique continental currency?” Doubtless, a heavy topic, so it is little wonder the outcome document is more than 200 pages!

The Second Congress of African Economists took place from 24-26 November in the West African state of Cote d’ivoire. The theme is “Achieving strong and sustainable economic growth in Africa to curb unemployment and promote regional and continental integration dynamics.” Unbeknownst to many African Integration watchers, the main objective of this gathering is to provide a platform for Economists from Africa; the continent and the Diaspora to “come up with concrete solutions to integration and development challenges facing Africa.” Above all, the Congress promotes knowledge sharing; and provides clear recommendations “to assist African countries in reformulating their economic policies with a view to addressing current socio-economic challenges.”

The Abidjan Declaration is the final outcome statement from the Congress. Recommendations were made on the following: foreign direct investment and domestic resource mobilization as a tool for alleviating poverty and generating employment in Africa; Unemployment as a barrier to sustainable economic growth in Africa; Governance, institutional reform and the role of the private sector in boosting economic growth in Africa; Africa and the new development paradigm; Boosting intra-African trade; and Aid effectiveness.

On “foreign direct investment and domestic resource mobilization as a tool for alleviating poverty and generating employment in Africa”, the Congress recommends that Africa should agree on its own definition of poverty as well as an appropriate system of measurement; second, the AU should work with member states and RECs to “develop a comprehensive plan for the promotion of long-term investment and strategies for the creation and retention of labour in Africa.”

On “Unemployment as a barrier to sustainable economic growth in Africa”, the Congress includes “comprehensive strategies should be developed aimed at the transformation of Africa’s natural resource based economies into knowledge-based economies…”; second, there should be more investment in research and development; third, gender dimension should be reflected in employment policies.

As regards “Governance, institutional reform and the role of the private sector in boosting economic growth in Africa”, the recommendation includes “specific strategies on SME development” and how they should be led by African countries; the need to improve the competitiveness of African industries; as well as the need for member states to “implement financial sector reforms aimed at deepening the financial system…”

With respect to “Africa and the new development paradigm”, the Declaration states that “African countries should consider enhancing the use of the Human Development Index to complement GDP as a measure of development”; African countries ought to work towards implementing African-led development initiatives, such as NEPAD. Above all, and most importantly, the AU; RECs; and member states ought to “take all necessary measures to expedite the regional and continental integration process as a stepping-stone towards integration into the global economy through measures such as the implementation of the Minimum Integration Programme(MIP)”, which was the outcome of the Fourth Conference of African Ministers of Integration(COMAI IV) in Yaounde, Cameroon, in 2009. In addition, African countries should set their sights on outreach with the Diaspora and seek “to build alliances” with them to attain development.

On “Boosting intra-African trade”, the AU should be tasked to work with RECs and Pan-African institutions “to promote monetary and financial integration in Africa”; African countries ought to take steps to implement regional and sub-regional agreements on free movements of persons; goods; services; and capital; the AU and member states should support “cross-border infrastructure development programmes”, such as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa(PIDA). Critical to all these ought to be the support given by the AU and its member states to boost intra-African trade and create a continental free trade area – as prescribed by the just-ended 7^th ordinary session of African Trade ministers here in Accra.

If there is anything that has brought into sharp relief this year the need for the AU to seek alternatives sources of financing, then it must be the Libyan crisis. Although this does not feature in the Abidjan declaration, what does is the need for the AU and its member states to continue to seek alternatives to the conventional sources of Overseas Development Assistance(ODA); and the donor funding, which is often late and inadequate in any case.

Little wonder, therefore, that in the final point on “Aid effectiveness”, the Congress recommends how “Africa should explore innovative sources of finance, including domestic resource mobilization n and Diaspora bonds as a means of reducing dependence on aid.” Closely tied to this is the proposal for a monitoring and evaluation mechanism, which finds expression in an “annual reporting on the delivery and utilization of aid within member states as well as regional institutions such as RECs and the AU.”

If, like me, you can feel some sense of Zeitgeist of African Integration, then you’ll look out for next week when I conclude on the fifth development that will contribute to sending Africa off to better places in 2012.

In 2009, in his capacity as a “Do More Talk Less Ambassador” of the 42^nd Generation—an NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://www.critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: +233-268.687.653.

Here are 7 Ways the African Union can Move Away from its Egregious External Strategy

Here are 7 Ways the African Union can Move 

Away from its Egregious External Strategy

By E.K.Bensah Jr

Back in March, I had the priviledge of visiting the African Union, while in Addis for some capacity-building on peace and security of the AU, and I was pretty impressed with the tall building the Chinese are building for the organisation.

Germany's GIZ is also building the AU's Peace and Security Department, and will be completed by 2012. It ought to remind the world, then, that the AU has "arrived" in grand style on managing peace and security.

What irked me, though, were my impressions when I landed in Addis eight days earlier. Given that I want this to be a positive thing, let me offer solutions for the way forward:

First, the AU should have some Memorandum of Understanding between itself and Ethiopian Airlines that would enable it showcase the AU to regular and first-time visitors in the plane. Alright, show your movies, but have a twenty-minute video of what the AU is, what it does and where it will be in the future! Instead, what you have is a fairly modern airport that does not give any impression that it is the capital of African diplomacy.

Secondly, the AU should arrange for every blessed hotel in Addis to host an AU flag. A quick drive through Addis and you will be surprised at the city’s inability to convey that “Africanness” you feel when you arrive in Brussels. From Zaventem airport to the heart of Brussels, where the institutions are, you are likely to see more than hundred symbols depicting that Brussels is the diplomatic capital of Europe! While flags are not the end-all and be-all, they are certainly a step in reminding all and sundry that the AU lives there!

Third, the AU should have information bureaus in every AU country. Failing that, it should have diplomatic missions in “strategic” countries, such as Algeria; Nigeria; Ghana; Senegal. It would admittedly be expensive to have an information bureau or mission in every country, so being selective about the countries where they should be hosted would make sense. In Ghana, only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has information about the AU, and if you can hold your head in disbelief for a second, it is nothing more than a “desk”. Simply put, they are telling the world that ECOWAS and AU might be important, but they are unwilling to spend resources to project the growing power of the AU. If we can accept that the Cantonments-based “The Round House” is home to the EU in Ghana, why can we not have a comparative mission in the AU in every AU member state? Does the AU not think this to be important enough?

Fourth, the AU is on New Media; it can be found on https://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Union/454340075407 . Truth be told, the AU is now a bit more proactive on Facebook, but could still do better. Despite the fact that it has some 2457 “likes”, it seems to have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the “likes” to the extent that it has not yet managed to respond to one single criticism or query on its apparent ineffectiveness. That said, I must give the AU benefit of the doubt when on 21 September last year, they run a campaign months earlier on http://www.makepeacehappen.net to raise awareness of 21 September as AU and UN Peace Day, and to celebrate the launch of the AU’s Year of Peace and Security. They have regrettably lost the momentum on that, and let the site atrophy without regular updates. 

Fifth, while it is not solely the work of the AU, it should be the frontline actor pushing to ensure that citizens of AU member states travel to the home of the African Union visa-free! In Ghana, cost of a visa is certainly not as prohibitive as that of an EU member state, but it is one cost too many. If we are to accelerate continental unity – whether through the regional economic communities or otherwise – free movement must be an imperative of the solution. If Europeans can travel freely to Brussels, why must Africans have such difficulty traveling throughout the continent?

Which leads me to the sixth point: cost of airline tickets. The AU is a member of the Association of African Airlines(AFRAA), which has for many years been campaigning for airline fuel costs to come down. As recently as July this year, AFRAA initiated measures to tackle the high cost of Aviation Fuel(Jet A1),which is a major operational cost item in the industry.
 

The AFRAA secretariat has resolved to assist airlines meet with fuel marketers to reduce fuel costs in conformity with stipulations in the AFRAA 2011  – 2013 Business Plan. The irony of it all is that the Ethiopian Airlines I have mentioned above is one of those airlines, alongside Kenya Airways, that do not want to be members of AFRAA.

Finally, the AU must get serious on re-vamping the websites of all its institutions, including those of any AU delegations around the world. These should all be found on the main AU site. Up-and-coming institutions like the African Monetary Fund; African Central Bank; and African Investment Bank ought by now to have had websites—at least in beta form—to showcase their history and where they are going. Without these, how are African citizens ever going to know about what the AU does, and how people can help achieve their vision?

from: http://www.thebftonline.com/bft_subcat_linkdetails.cfm?prodcatID=6&tblNewsCatID=63&tblNewsID=9398

In 2009, in his capacity as a “Do More Talk Less Ambassador” of the 42^nd Generation—an NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://www.critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: 0268.687.653.

Over Libya, Pax Nigeriana has Failed ECOWAS

“The Accidental Ecowas & AU Citizen”:

Over Libya, Pax Nigeriana has Failed ECOWAS

By E.K.Bensah Jr

The inchoate crystallization of a Pax Nigeriana is in serious danger of foundering.

 In 2011, Nigeria has had and enjoyed the priviledge of sitting both on the UN Security and AU Peace and Security Council -- as well as heading the chair of ECOWAS. At the Pan-African and global level, its performance has been questionable.

Instead of using the opportunity to demonstrate leadership for sub-Saharan Africa, it has given into its solipsistic whims, exposing the country less as a leader and more of a filibusterer. This thoughtless itch to go it alone has probably endangered not just the Nigerian Diaspora but other West Africans worldwide. Here's why:

First, to many observers and neophytes of ECOWAS alike, Nigeria seems to be synonymous with Ecowas. During the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, many Westerners reporting the crisis gave the impression it was led by ECOWAS, using tags like “Nigeria-led” ECOWAS. A piece by bloggers of the academic blog “The Westphalian Post” of 2 January, 2011[1] even went as far as writing this of ECOWAS:

“With France, Britain, the US and the EU preparing sanctions packages against Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria led ECOWAS [sic] threatening to mobilise the ECOMOG against Yamoussoukro, the loyalty of the army and Gbagbo’s apparatchiks may not last longer. Add to this ECOWAS’s decision to stop printing money for Côte d’Ivoire and the regime has its days numbered.”

Never mind the impression created that ECOWAS is “led” by Nigeria, and that the defunct ECOMOG mission of the nineties exists, but to even confuse ECOWAS with UEMOA (which was really the regional economic union that ensured bank notes had been stopped) speaks of a breath-taking ignorance of ECOWAS and its mandate by much of the West. 

Second, at a continental level, Nigeria's recognition of rebels has both endangered the sub-region and unwittingly irked the AU. Although some African countries have recognized the rebels, the AU officially has not. In addition, despite the fact that Nigeria refused to attend the Paris conference “welcoming” the TNC to the international community, as it were, lending some credence to an independent stance, few can deny how much Nigeria's stance looks pro-Nato and pro-West.

Third, far be it for anyone to assume that from Ghana we know what is going on on Nigeria’s domestic front as far as security is concerned, but there’s no gainsaying that while Nigeria must be lauded for wanting to open communication channels with Boko Haram, the extent to which it was successful has been demonstrated with the bombing of the UN building on 24 August.

The very incisive journalists in the Nigerian media must have written many column inches about it; I wonder whether—in fact I can confirm—most of my Ghanaian compatriots did not countenance sufficient cogitation over the issue to warrant discussion in the press through feature articles, for example, over the usual politicking.

In my view, whether Boko Haram is a domestic Islamic sect or not, that they exist is one existence of a sect too many, and too close to Ghana—not to mention a significant and nettlesome hindrance to the peace and security efforts being promoted by ECOWAS since it revised its treaty in 1993—not to merit consideration and attention by media practitioners in the sub-region.

In this case, Ghana could have capitalized on what some ECOWAS neighbours believe to be Ghana’s “arrogance” of feeling it to be the beacon of stability in the sub-region to join hands with its bigger neighbor in Nigeria to reflect on the ramifications of Boko Haram on the peace and stability of the sub-region. No-one need be told that the sub-region is both volatile and explosive, what with an abundance of natural resources, including Black Gold, coupled with our ever-porous borders.

These sparks ought to have been sufficient for Nigeria to have read between the lines, reflected also on the 17 June bombing, considered the many meetings of the INTERPOL-supported West African Police Chiefs Committee Organisation (WAPCCO) between June and August, and decided to get serious on encouraging and lobbying fellow West African countries to ratify the 2005 protocol establishing  the Criminal Investigative Intelligence Bureau(CIIB).

That Guinea-Conakry is the only ECOWAS member state to have established one at the local level ought to have given Nigeria fodder to begin lobbying that francophone neighbor into offering best practices for a possible model for the sub-region.

Meanwhile, Ghana does not -- and ought not – to escape finger-pointing here, for it was the country that recommended at Abidjan in 2002[2] at what would have been a meeting of WAPCCO that ECOWAS should be endowed with an FBI/INTERPOL-like intelligence system for ECOWAS to deal with cross-border crime. Since 2005, when the proposal for it was included in an ECOWAS Political Declaration,  Ghana seems to have kept mute on the issue – as if it is neither important nor necessitates reflection on given our equally-porous border we share with Cote d’Ivoire and the attendant security issues we experience.

Fourth, what the Nigerian Daily Trust calls the country’s decision to “re-formulate [its] foreign policy to reflect current global realities” is suspicious at best, dangerous at worst. Even if we forget it only goes to reinforce views of Nigerian’s surprising and remarkable volte-face, it has given Nigeria unwanted attention in an era where “terrorism” can be formulated into a convenient answer to intractable problems.

The Daily Trust’s editorial of 2 September is not without bite. It criticizes Nigeria for thoughtlessness, arguing that “to play [a] leadership role effectively, Nigeria’s leaders must be ready to think things through before they take any action on behalf of its people and on behalf of the peoples and countries of Africa.”  Considering how countries in the sub-region are concerned about the spillover of the Libyan conflict, the point about how Nigeria’s thoughtless act somehow endangering the sub-region can therefore not be sneezed at.

In the final analysis, no matter what Nigeria tries to do to save face, history is likely to judge it harshly. The opportunity lost to show leadership at a historic time when that country sits on the Councils of what are arguably two of the most prestigious international gathering on peace and security alongside South Africa, and to have the latter steal the thunder of Nigeria by offering a principled stance by not recognizing the rebels of Libya could certainly be conceived of as the beginning of the breakdown of any assumption of a Pax Nigeriana—and all the attendant respect that comes with such a status.

ekbensah AT critiquing-regionalism.org

In 2009, in his capacity as a “Do More Talk Less Ambassador” of the 42^nd Generation—an NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://www.critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: 0268.687.653.

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[1] http://westphalianpost.wordpress.com/tag/ecowas/

[2] http://www.panapress.com/ECOWAS-monitoring-situation-in-Cote-d-ivoire--12-465302-33-lang1-index.html

Reasons by 51 Member States for Establishment of African Economic Community (AEC)

Many Africans are unaware that alongside what is now the African Union(AU) is what is the "African Economic Community". Signed in Abuja, Nigeria (and known as the Abuja Treaty) of 1991, it came into force on 12 May, 1994--exactly seventeen years ago today.

In reality, 3 June will be 20 years since it was established, probably shifting the celebrations of 12 May up to 3 June to make it truly a Pan-African celebration!

According to the Republic of South Africa's official website, "since May 1994, the OAU has been operating on the basis of the OAU Charter as well as the AEC Treaty, and the organisation is now officially referred to as the OAU/AEC". It remains unclear whether that now means under the AU that the AEC is an AU/AEC...

===================

MINDFUL of the principles of international law governing relations between States;
BEARING IN MIND the principles and objectives set forth in the Charter of the
Organisation of African Unity;

CONSCIOUS of our duty to develop and utilise the human and natural resources of
the Continent for the general well-being of our peoples in all fields of human
endeavour;

RECOGNIZING the various factors which hinder the development of the Continent
and seriously jeopardise the future of its peoples;

HAVING REGARD to the various resolutions and declarations adopted by our
Assembly in Algiers in September 1968, in Addis Ababa in August 1970 and May
1973 providing that the economic integration of the Continent is a pre-requisite for
the realisation of the objectives of the OAU;

HAVING REGARD to our decision taken in Libreville in July 1977 endorsing the
Kinshasa Declaration adopted by our Council of Ministers in December 1976
concerning the establishment of an African Economic Community, objective to be
attained in successive stages;

CONSIDERING the “Monrovia Declaration of Commitment on the Guidelines and
Measures for National and Collective Self-reliance in Economic and Social
Development for the Establishment of a New International Order” and which, interalia,
calls for the Creation of an African Common Market as a prelude to an African
Economic Community;

CONSIDERING FURTHER the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos of
April 1980 reaffirming our Commitment to establish, by the year 2000, an African
Economic Community in order to foster the economic, social and cultural
integration of our Continent;

FINALLY CONSIDERING our Declaration made on the occasion of the Twentyfifth
Anniversary of the OAU and, in particular, the reaffirmation of our
commitment and our determination to take the necessary steps to accelerate the
establishment of the proposed African Economic Community;

NOTING that the efforts already made in the sub-regional and regional sectoral
economic co-operation are encouraging and justify a larger and fuller economic
integration;

NOTING the need to share, in a equitable and just manner, the advantages of cooperation
among Member States in order to promote a balanced development in all
parts of the Continent;

Have decided to establish an African Economic Community constituting an integral
part of the OAU and hereby agree as follows (...)

Read the full document here: http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/Text/AEC_Treaty_1991.pdf

Happy African Economic Community Day! Kindly Sign a Petition...

How the West in Libya Might Have been to Kill African Unity Dreams...

http://www.facebook.com/ekbensah?success=1#!/notes/emmanuel-mensah-acquaye/the-other-side-of-the-libyan-conflict/10150223710661350

AFRICAN MONETARY FUND, AFRICAN CENTRAL BANK, AFRICAN INVESTMENT BANK

The US$30 billion frozen by Mr Obama belong to the Libyan Central Bank and had been earmarked as the Libyan contribution to three key projects which would add the finishing touches to the African federation – the African Investment Bank in Syrte, Libya, the establishment in 2011 of the African Monetary Fund to be based in Yaounde with a US$42 billion capital fund and the Abuja-based African Central Bank in Nigeria which when it starts printing African money will ring the death knell for the CFA franc through which Paris has been able to maintain its hold on some African countries for the last fifty years. It is easy to understand the French wrath against Gaddafi.

The African Monetary Fund is expected to totally supplant the African activities of the International Monetary Fund which, with only US$25 billion, was able to bring an entire continent to its knees and make it swallow questionable privatisation like forcing African countries to move from public to private monopolies. No surprise then that on 16-17December 2010, the Africans unanimously rejected attempts by Western countries to join the African Monetary Fund, saying it was open only to African nations.

It is increasingly obvious that after Libya, the western coalition will go after Algeria, because apart from its huge energy resources, the country has cash reserves of around €150 billion. This is what lures the countries that are bombing Libya and they all have one thing in common – they are practically bankrupt. The USA alone, has a staggering debt of $US14,000 billion, France, Great Britain and Italy each have a US$2,000 billion public deficit compared to less than US$400 billion in public debt for 46 African countries combined.

Inciting spurious wars in Africa in the hope that this will revitalise their economies which are sinking ever more into the doldrums will ultimately hasten the western decline which actually began in 1884 during the notorious Berlin Conference. As the American economist Adam Smith predicted in 1865 when he publicly backed Abraham Lincoln for the abolition of slavery, ‘the economy of any country which relies on the slavery of blacks is destined to descend into hell the day those countries awaken’.

REGIONAL UNITY AS AN OBSTACLE TO THE CREATION OF A UNITED STATES OF AFRICA

To destabilise and destroy the African union which was veering dangerously (for the West) towards a United States of Africa under the guiding hand of Gaddafi, the European Union first tried, unsuccessfully, to create the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM). North Africa somehow had to be cut off from the rest of Africa, using the old tired racist clichés of the 18th and 19th centuries ,which claimed that Africans of Arab origin were more evolved and civilised than the rest of the continent. This failed because Gaddafi refused to buy into it. He soon understood what game was being played when only a handful of African countries were invited to join the Mediterranean grouping without informing the African Union but inviting all 27 members of the European Union.

Without the driving force behind the African Federation, the UPM failed even before it began, still-born with Sarkozy as president and Mubarak as vice president. The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe is now attempting to re-launch the idea, banking no doubt on the fall of Gaddafi. What African leaders fail to understand is that as long as the European Union continues to finance the African Union, the status quo will remain, because no real independence. This is why the European Union has encouraged and financed regional groupings in Africa.

It is obvious that the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS), which has an embassy in Brussels and depends for the bulk of its funding on the European Union, is a vociferous opponent to the African federation. That’s why Lincoln fought in the US war of secession because the moment a group of countries come together in a regional political organisation, it weakens the main group. That is what Europe wanted and the Africans have never understood the game plan, creating a plethora of regional groupings, COMESA, UDEAC, SADC, and the Great Maghreb which never saw the light of day thanks to Gaddafi who understood what was happening.

GADDAFI, THE AFRICAN WHO CLEANSED THE CONTINENT FROM THE HUMILIATION OF APARTHEID

For most Africans, Gaddafi is a generous man, a humanist, known for his unselfish support for the struggle against the racist regime in South Africa. If he had been an egotist, he wouldn’t have risked the wrath of the West to help the ANC both militarily and financially in the fight against apartheid. This was why Mandela, soon after his release from 27 years in jail, decided to break the UN embargo and travel to Libya on 23 October 1997. For five long years, no plane could touch down in Libya because of the embargo. One needed to take a plane to the Tunisian city of Jerba and continue by road for five hours to reach Ben Gardane, cross the border and continue on a desert road for three hours before reaching Tripoli. The other solution was to go through Malta, and take a night ferry on ill-maintained boats to the Libyan coast. A hellish journey for a whole people, simply to punish one man.

Mandela didn’t mince his words when the former US president Bill Clinton said the visit was an ‘unwelcome’ one – ‘No country can claim to be the policeman of the world and no state can dictate to another what it should do’. He added – ‘Those that yesterday were friends of our enemies have the gall today to tell me not to visit my brother Gaddafi, they are advising us to be ungrateful and forget our friends of the past.’

Indeed, the West still considered the South African racists to be their brothers who needed to be protected. That’s why the members of the ANC, including Nelson Mandela, were considered to be dangerous terrorists. It was only on 2 July 2008, that the US Congress finally voted a law to remove the name of Nelson Mandela and his ANC comrades from their black list, not because they realised how stupid that list was but because they wanted to mark Mandela’s 90th birthday. If the West was truly sorry for its past support for Mandela’s enemies and really sincere when they name streets and places after him, how can they continue to wage war against someone who helped Mandela and his people to be victorious, Gaddafi?

WHAT LESSONS FOR AFRICA?

After 500 years of a profoundly unequal relationship with the West, it is clear that we don’t have the same criteria of what is good and bad. We have deeply divergent interests. How can one not deplore the ‘yes’ votes from three sub-Saharan countries (Nigeria, South Africa and Gabon) for resolution 1973 that inaugurated the latest form of colonisation baptised ‘the protection of peoples’, which legitimises the racist theories that have informed Europeans since the 18th century and according to which North Africa has nothing to do with sub-Saharan Africa, that North Africa is more evolved, cultivated and civilised than the rest of Africa?

It is as if Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Algeria were not part of Africa, Even the United Nations seems to ignore the role of the African Union in the affairs of member states. The aim is to isolate sub Saharan African countries to better isolate and control them. Indeed, Algeria (US$16 billion) and Libya (US$10 billion ) together contribute 62 per cent of the US$42 billion which constitute the capital of the African Monetary Fund (AMF). The biggest and most populous country in sub Saharan Africa, Nigeria, followed by South Africa are far behind with only 3 billion dollars each.

It is disconcerting to say the least that for the first time in the history of the United Nations, war has been declared against a people without having explored the slightest possibility of a peaceful solution to the crisis. Does Africa really belong anymore to this organisation? Nigeria and South Africa are prepared to vote ‘Yes’ to everything the West asks because they naively believe the vague promises of a permanent seat at the Security Council with similar veto rights. They both forget that France has no power to offer anything. If it did, Mitterand would have long done the needful for Helmut Kohl’s Germany.

A reform of the United Nations is not on the agenda. The only way to make a point is to use the Chinese method – all 50 African nations should quit the United Nations and only return if their longstanding demand is finally met, a seat for the entire African federation or nothing. This non-violent method is the only weapon of justice available to the poor and weak that we are. We should simply quit the United Nations because this organisation, by its very structure and hierarchy, is at the service of the most powerful.

We should leave the United Nations to register our rejection of a worldview based on the annihilation of those who are weaker. They are free to continue as before but at least we will not be party to it and say we agree when we were never asked for our opinion. And even when we expressed our point of view, like we did on Saturday 19 March in Nouakchott, when we opposed the military action, our opinion was simply ignored and the bombs started falling on the African people.

Today’s events are reminiscent of what happened with China in the past. Today, one recognises the Ouattara government, the rebel government in Libya, like one did at the end of the Second World War with China. The so-called international community chose Taiwan to be the sole representative of the Chinese people instead of Mao’s China. It took 26 years when on 25 October 1971, for the UN to pass resolution 2758 which all Africans should read to put an end to human folly. China was admitted and on its terms – it refused to be a member if it didn’t have a veto right. When the demand was met and the resolution tabled, it still took a year for the Chinese foreign minister to respond in writing to the UN Secretary General on 29 September 1972, a letter which didn’t say yes or thank you but spelt out guarantees required for China’s dignity to be respected.

What does Africa hope to achieve from the United Nations without playing hard ball? We saw how in Cote d’Ivoire a UN bureaucrat considers himself to be above the constitution of the country. We entered this organisation by agreeing to be slaves and to believe that we will be invited to dine at the same table and eat from plates we ourselves washed is not just credulous, it is stupid.

When the African Union endorsed Ouattara’s victory and glossed over contrary reports from its own electoral observers simply to please our former masters, how can we expect to be respected? When South African president Zuma declares that Ouattara hasn’t won the elections and then says the exact opposite during a trip to Paris, one is entitled to question the credibility of these leaders who claim to represent and speak on behalf of a billion Africans.

Africa’s strength and real freedom will only come if it can take properly thought out actions and assume the consequences. Dignity and respect come with a price tag. Are we prepared to pay it? Otherwise, our place is in the kitchen and in the toilets in order to make others comfortable.


Culled From: http://sil.ghanaweb.com/r.php?thread=6674571

Understanding the Relationship between the AU, Africa's RECs and the African Economic Community(AEC)

from: http://regionswatch.blogspot.com/2010/08/understanding-relationship-between-au.html

If you are new to this blog, you might not know that I like to go on a bit...especially about regional integration;-))

Seriously, in my estimation, it is a fascinating discipline of international relations(IR) that's ever-so-ramifying, and ever-so-complex.

It's ramifying because of the various dimensions to it (c.f. the five different kinds of regional integration that exist, and the implications they have for the development of any kind of integration project), and complex because the more answers you get, the more questions arise!

Take the case of the African Union, the African Economic Community, and the Regional Economic Communities.

So we already know of the African Union.

This year, it celebrates its year of Peace and Security. It has an interesting website on http://www.makepeacehappen.net, where it is counting down to 21 September--the day of Peace. We also know that Uganda suffered a carnage on the last day of the FIFA 2010 World Cup because Al-Shabaab wanted to punish that country for sending troops to Somalia for the AU's Mission in Somalia

Last week I touched on the "rationalisation of the Regional Economic Communities". where I offered a brief historical survey as to how and why Africa, in its discourse on integration, likes to talk about "regional economic communities". The key year to remember is 2006--an important year for discussions and implementations on RECs.

What about the African Economic Community? (AEC)

I'd be happy to hear what you know of it--or don't.

I'm always operating from the assumption that what I offer here is assisting in building up the knowledge of someone, somewhere. So give me my soapbox, please!

Truth be told, the AEC is already in operation, and has been since May 1994. The Treaty establishing the AEC was signed in ABuja, Nigeria in 1991. The AEC offers a framework for continental integration. The RECS are mere building blocs towards the full realisation of the AEC.

As regards the AEC, it has set no less than SIX stages to be fully operational. Starting from 1994, it has allowed 34 years for FULL political and economic integration. That makes 2018/2019 an important year. So, if we're lucky, by 2020, the African Economic Community should be fully operational, with the 8 AU-recognised RECs possibly subsumed under regions of North, Central, East, South and West African Economic Communities.

I believe the reality to be very different by 2020. As RECs gain prestige in their comparative advantages of peace/conflict management; infrastructure, etc, they would be wont to maintain themselves as legal personalities in their own right, and not necessarily want to subsume their staff and competencies under one sub-regional economic community!

If what Ghanaian lawyer and academic Dr.Richard Frimpong Oppong says is anything to go by in his fantastic piece "the african union, the african economic community and africa's regional economic communities", given that the African Economic Community does not have a legal personality--that is to say that it has rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities under law, just as natural persons (humans) do--it already makes the framework upon which the African Union operates rather shaky and tenuous.

This is because while there is a protocol establishing the relationship between the AEC and RECs, "to what extent are the RECs bound by decisions of the AEC? Since the RECs, which have their own legal personality, are not parties to the AEC Treaty, what is the legal basis for assuming that they will merge and form the African Economic Community?"[italics are that of Dr.Oppong in his piece on p.94]

In my opinion, this is the crux of his piece--and a very important one at that too. Even more important is "rationalising", if you will, the relationship between the AEC and RECs as they progress and advance in their development. This other important point ought not to be lost on us mere mortals and students as we cogitate over the future of African integration and where the AU is going.

In my view, Dr.Oppong has opened up a whole new can of worms around African integration--some of which I will for sure be touching on over the next couple of weeks.

Can you blame me when I continue to search for the elusive quest of a critical and progressive look at regional integration, and still claim that it is ever-ramifying?