By Hon. Chen Chimutengwende (M.P.)
In Africa, the greatest event in the year 2002 was the launching of the African Union (AU) in July, Durban, South Africa. It was a major milestone in African politics and is bound to change, for the better, the content and pace of African political and economic development. The greatest issue in Africa from 2002 to 2010 will be the African Union’s consolidation and development or its failure to do so.
If
Africa succeeds in consolidating and developing the African Union, it will make
Africa more cohesive than ever before. Africa will be able to speak with one
powerful voice in protecting and advancing its own interests in the
international relations system. The existence of a strong, anti-neo-colonialist,
independent, self-reliant and democratic African Union leading to a United New
Africa, which is sometimes referred to as the United States of Africa, will make
it impossible for the West to continue to divide, manipulate, marginalise and
exploit Africa.
Such
a United New Africa is the only guarantee for Africa’s survival as a fast
developing and democratic continent which would be free from all types of
exploitative schemes, corruption, oppression and socio-economic instability.
This situation is caused by forces which are either foreign or local or both.
Only a United New Africa can bring about stability and ensure that the vast
resources of Africa are primarily used for the benefit of the peoples of Africa
and not the opposite, which has been the case from colonial times to the present
neo-colonial period.
Many
African leaders from Kwame Nkrumah to Muammar al Gadhafi, contributed greatly
and so selflessly to African liberation and to the development of African unity
which has now resulted in the formation of the AU. These leaders must be
applauded by all people who want to see Africa unite, develop, prosper and gain
its rightful and dignified place in the international relations system.
The
AU will be a very different entity from the Organisation of African unity (OAU)
which it replaced. First, the main
objectives of the two entities are different.
The primary objectives of the OAU were to support liberation movements,
and to mobilise Africans and friends of Africa internationally in order for them
to effectively fight colonialism and for African colonies to gain their
independence. This was achieved under the OAU leadership. Therefore, in terms of
its main objectives, the OAU was a great success.
The
aim of the AU is to lead an intensified, well co-ordinated and sophisticated
struggle against neo-colonialism and for the total unification, democratisation
and the development of Africa and its peoples globally. This will be done
through the second liberation of Africa which must be unequivocally based on
Pan-Africanism. The first liberation struggle for African independence was led
and co-ordinated by the OAU and the second liberation of Africa will now be led
and co-ordinated by the AU. These two organisations with different objectives
and belonging to two periods in history could not have the same organisational
structure.
This
second liberation struggle is also equally about fighting for the re-structuring
and the democratisation of the current and unjust system of international
relations including its institutions and the international trading regime which
are all totally unfair to the developing countries and are in favour of the
interests of the industrialised world. This exploitative system is controlled by
the West for its own benefit and at the expense of the developing countries
especially Africa which is the most foreign dominated, poverty-stricken,
fragmented, manipulated and vulnerable region in the world.
The
western powers have even tried to treat the New Partnership for African
Development (NEPAD) not only as an independent programme but as an organisation
which should replace the African Union. This is why in a reply to a letter from
the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, President Thabo Mbeki of South
Africa had to clarify this issue when he wrote on November 6, 2002: “The AU is
the primary organisation that unites the people of Africa. NEPAD is its
socio-economic development programme. Accordingly, NEPAD is not an organisation
separate from and independent of the AU. It has been authorised by the AU in all
its elements, including the peer-review mechanism. ….Indeed, there is no way
in which there can be a NEPAD independent of and outside the AU, in as much
there can be no socio-economic development programme covering the member states
of the EU independent of and outside the EU.”
Therefore
those who say the AU is just a change of name for the OAU are Africa’s
detractors who are anti-African progress and committed to creating or promoting
anti-African western propaganda. They
attack the OAU saying that it did not achieve anything.
According to such western racists and their brainwashed non-white
puppets, whatever Africans try to do is always denounced as a failure even
before it starts. But patriotic Africans including the African Diaspora must
never forget that they are all at war with these powerful global forces. These
forces are determined to continue to use any possible methods to plunder the
resources of Africa primarily for their own benefit. This is the real essence of
neo-colonialism and imperialism.
The
AU will also have institutions which the OAU either did not have or whose
content has changed and these are listed here not necessarily in the order of
precedence or the importance attached to them by the AU but according to the
writer’s own emphasis. Most of them are contained in the Constitutive Act of
the African Union as follows: -
1.
The
Assembly of the
The
Assembly of the Union shall consist of Heads of State and shall be the supreme
organ of the union.
2.
The
Executive Council
The
Executive Council shall be composed of Foreign Ministers of Member States and is
answerable to the Assembly of the Union. The
Council shall co-ordinate and take decisions on policies in areas of common
interest to the Member States.
These
include the following: -
foreign
trade, energy insurance, mineral resources, food, agricultural and animal
resources, livestock production, forestry, transport, communications, water
resources, irrigation, education, culture, health, human resources development,
environmental protection, humanitarian action, disaster response and relief,
science, technology, nationality, residency and immigration matters, social
security, African awards, medals and prizes.
3.
The
Pan-African Parliament
The
Pan-African Parliament shall initially be composed of five Members of Parliament
from each of the Parliaments of Member States.
It will also initially be consultative and advisory only; and without
legislative powers. But the aim is
to make the Pan-African Parliament to evolve into an institution with full
legislative powers, whose members will be elected by universal adult suffrage.
4.
The
Court of Justice
The
Court of Justice of the African Union shall initially be advisory but eventually
should be the Supreme Court of the African Union.
5.
The
Executive Commission
The
Executive Commission shall be composed of Commissioners and shall act as the
Secretariat of the Union.
6.
The
Permanent Representatives Committee
The
Permanent Representative Committee shall be composed of Permanent
Representatives and Plenipotentiaries of Member States.
Its responsibility is to prepare for the work of the Executive Council.
7.
The
Specialised Technical Committees
The
Specialised Technical Committees shall be responsible to the Executive Council
and there will be seven such committees. These
will be composed of experts from Member States dealing with the following areas:
-
a)
Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters;
b)
Monetary and Financial Affairs;
c)
Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters;
d)
Transport, Communications and Tourism;
e)
Health, Labour and Social Affairs;
f)
Education, Cultural and Human Resources; and,
g)
Industry, Science and Technology, Energy, Natural
Resources and Environment.
The
Assembly of the Union may establish more committees if and when it becomes
necessary. The functions of the committees shall be to prepare projects and
programmes of the Union, and to follow-up and evaluate the implementation of the
decisions taken by the organs of the Union.
8.
The
Economic, Social and Cultural Council
The
Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be an advisory organ composed of
different social and professional groups of the Member States of the Union.
Non-Governmental Organisations will also contribute through this Council.
9.
The
Financial Institutions
a)
The African Central Bank;
b)
The African Monetary Fund; and,
c)
The African Investment Bank.
10.
The Peace and Security Council
The
Peace and Security Council shall be composed of 15 members from all the five
regions of Africa and appointed by the Assembly of the African Union.
According to the Draft Protocol Relating to the establishment of the
Peace and Security Council of the African Union, the functions and powers will
be as follows: -
a)
to promote peace, security and stability in Africa,
in order to guarantee the protection and preservation of life and property, the
well-being of the African people and their environment;
b)
to anticipate and prevent disputes and conflicts, as
well as policies that may lead to genocide and crimes against humanity;
c)
to undertake peace-making and peace-building
functions to resolve conflicts where they have occurred;
d)
to authorise the mounting and deploying of peace
support missions;
e)
to lay down general guidelines for the conduct of
such missions, including the mandate thereof, and undertake periodic reviews of
these guidelines;
f)
to recommend to the Assembly, pursuant to Article
4(h) of the Constitutive Act, intervention, on behalf of the Union, in a Member
State in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes
against humanity, as defined in relevant international conventions and
instruments;
g)
to examine and take such appropriate action within
its mandate in situations where the national independence and sovereignty of a
Member State is threatened by acts of aggression, including by mercenaries;
h)
to support and facilitate humanitarian action in
situations of armed conflicts or major natural disasters;
i)
to submit, through its Chairperson, regular reports
to the Assembly on its activities and the state of peace and security in Africa;
and,
j)
to decide on any other issue having implications for
the maintenance of peace, security and stability on the Continent and exercise
powers that may be delegated to it by the Assembly, in accordance with Article 9
(2) of the Constitutive Act.
In
order to enable the Peace and Security Council to perform its responsibilities
with respect to the deployment of peace support missions and intervention
pursuant to article 4 (h) and (j) of the Constitutive Act, an African Standby
Force shall be established.
In
its role, the African Standby Force shall, where appropriate, co-operate with
the United Nations and its Agencies, other relevant international organisations
and regional organisations, as well as with national authorities and NGO’s.
The
detailed tasks of the African Standby Force and its modus operandi for each
authorised mission shall be considered and approved by the Peace and Security
Council upon recommendation of the Commission.
The
African Union is currently working flat-out to produce details of, and setting
up these institutions and planning many more new ones which will make Africa
become a powerful, independent and a most formidable anti-imperialist force in
the world system. These institutions will help to bring African states, their
peoples and the African Diaspora together for anti-imperialism, democracy, human
rights which are both economic and social, peace, development and prosperity.
It remains true that united, Africa will stand and divided, it will fall.
The
AU needs and must facilitate the maximum involvement and support of the Africa
Diaspora at all the levels of its organs, programmes and activities. They played
a highly crucial and commendable role in the first liberation struggle and must
continue that role in the second liberation struggle of Africa. Their capacity
for playing that role is even greater now than ever before. The African Diaspora
must get citizenship in the African Union on request because it is
their primary base and home in this world of white racism and
imperialism.
In
its tasks, the AU is and must be supported at both the continental and global
levels by many NGOs which are Pan-Africanist, anti-neo-colonialist and
liberationist, and these organisations exist all over Africa and
internationally. The collaboration
between the AU and such NGO’s like the Harare based New Africa International
Network (NAIN) will need to get closer, systematic and well co-ordinated in
order for the AU to swiftly achieve its objectives.
It
is important, therefore, to strongly urge all patriotic Africans in Africa and
the Diaspora, and genuine friends of Africa internationally, to actively
participate in the consolidation and development of the AU and turn it into a
strong, anti-neo-colonialist, independent, self-reliant and democratic United
New Africa. (Chen Chimutengwende’s e-mail
addresses are
chen@unitednewafrica.com
and chenchim@yahoo.com
April,
2003