Last Updated: herald Saturday, 12 July 2003 President Mugabe elected AU vice chairman
From Innocent Gore in MAPUTO, Mozambique.
PRESIDENT Mugabe has been elected vice chairman of the African Union in
yet another show of confidence in Zimbabwe by Africa.
His election was endorsed on Thursday by African leaders during the
ongoing AU summit here soon after host President Mr Joaquim Chissano
had taken over as chairman of the 53-member Pan-African body from South
African President Mr Thabo Mbeki.
Cde Mugabe is one of the five vice chairmen of the AU who are elected every
year after the chairman has assumed his post to represent the continent�s
various regions.
He will represent Southern Africa.
As AU vice chairman, President Mugabe yesterday chaired a closed
session of the summit which considered a report on the implementation of
the New Partnership for Africa�s Development as a contribution to the
continent�s development.
A progress report by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the chairman
of Nepad Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee, was
tabled before heads of State during the session chaired by Cde Mugabe.
The report urges leaders to increase their efforts in ensuring increased
resource mobilisation from within their own countries through economic
transformation and the participation of the private sector and re-prioritising
budgets of respective governments to address challenges.
It says progress was being made in the resolution of conflicts and that 15
countries have acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism.
It also said that the initial Panel of Eminent Persons had been appointed.
The report said the urgent challenge facing the continent was food insecurity
in southern Africa and the Horn of Africa.
It expresses concern with the deadlocked World Trade Organisations
negotiations in Geneva and the destabilising effect of agricultural subsidies
and other support measures by developed countries on food production.
The report calls for more investment in education, health and the fight
against HIV/Aids and other communicable diseases.
It, however, notes the weak link between the Nepad Heads of State and
Government Implementation Committee and regional economic blocs.
"We need to ensure that Heads of State and Government who represent
regions on the HSGIC become champions of Nepad in their respective
regions. We must provide political leadership in implementing Nepad
programmes in our respective regions," it says.
It also expresses concern at the weak capacity to plan and implement
socio-economic development programmes at country and regional levels and
the popularisation of Nepad in member countries.
The AU heads were last night set to consider the draft protocols on the
Court of Justice, the African Charter on Human and People�s Rights Relating
to the Rights of Women and the draft convention on preventing and
combating corruption.
They were also to consider conflict situations in Africa, progress reports on
the ratification and operations of the protocol establishing the African
Economic Community and the Peace and Security Council.
President Mugabe and Kenyan leader Mr Mw�i Kibaki held bilateral talks on
the sidelines of the summit in their first meeting since Mr Kibaki was
elected last year taking over from Mr Daniel arap Moi.
"We met and discussed a lot of bilateral issues and touching on areas of
co-operation such as in agriculture," Mr Kibaki told reporters after the hour
long meeting. "There are no problems between ourselves and Zimbabwe," he
said.
King Mswati of Swaziland also met Cde Mugabe to discuss bilateral
relations.
The head of the Arab Bank for African Development Mr Medhat Lofty called
on the President to update him on the various projects the bank is funding in
Zimbabwe.
These include the Gwanda-Maphisa Road, the Dande irrigation project,
upgrading of Hwange Power Station and Netone.
Mr Lofty said his bank had extended a line of credit to the Agricultural
Development Bank (formerly Agribank) and other smaller projects in the
country.
The bank has funded projects worth US$90 million since the country
attained independence in 1980.
Mitayo Potosi
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