The AU vision and stated objective for Africa is
âA united and integrated Africa; an Africa imbued with the ideals of justice
and peace; an inter-dependent and virile Africa determined to map for itself
an ambitious strategy; an Africa underpinned by political, economic, social
and cultural integration which would restore to Pan-Africanism its full
meaning; an Africa able to make the best of its human and material
resources, and keen to ensure the progress and prosperity of its citizens by
taking advantage of the opportunities offered by a globalised world; an
Africa engaged in promoting its values in a world rich in its disparitiesâ.
This ambition is reflected in a strong and shared Vision: âbuild an
integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, an Africa driven and managed
by its own citizen and representing a dynamic force in the international
arenaâ.
The AU Commission talks about freeing Africa from its current macro-, micro- and mezzo-economic constraints, most of which Africa inherited from colonialism and neocolonialism. These circumstances were facilitated by the negative elements indigenous to African society, which for selfish and self-centered reasons, gleefully cooperated/cooperate with the colonialist and neo-colonialists in this diabolical enterprise.
The AU Commission offers us this picture of Africaâs macro-economic and mezzo-economic state:
â 12 The Major Challenges of Continental Integrationâ
âWeak linkages and bridges between the resources of the continent
An integrated continent needs to be systematically interlinked and
yet the African continent has huge problems in this area. Overcoming
this obstacle is therefore one of the key first steps to undertake in
integrating the continent. A first challenge is reaching far greater public
levels of consensus on a shared vision of the future for the continent.
But it is also the infrastructure that is lacking that prevents people from
circulating easily around the continent and sharing their ideas and
experiences. Roads, rail links, vital bridges over major rivers and
telecommunications infrastructure are all patchy in their development,
hampering easy and fluid movement of people, information and goods
around the continent. Many rural areas beyond the capitals and major
towns remain hard to reach. Moving around the continent takes time
and effort and involves excessive costs that discourage integration and
trade. The lack of a common currency, and the need for visas at borders
discourage free movement from one country to another.â
and
âUniversities and other knowledge centres do not easily exchange students
or communicate fluidly amongst themselves. Associations and civil
society organisations work in restricted areas and do not benefit enough
from the opportunities that greater levels and easier networking would
bring...â
The AU Commission goes on to state
âFurthermore, one of the key aims of the African leaders who
established the African Union was to bring together the large number of
continental and sub-regional institutions established in Africa over the
past 50 years and make them work together in one inter-related and well
organised whole that could more effectively deliver results. Thus, for
instance, the AU Constitutive Act incorporates the African Economic
Community established by the Abuja Treaty (1991) and its regional
integration programme along with the RECs established to deliver that
programme.
In the economic development field alone, this inheritance from past
decisions has led to the existence of a dozen or so regional and subregional
economic organisations in Africa with many Member States
belonging to several of them. Inevitably such interlocking and
overlapping mandates result in confusion, most evident at times when
coordinated action is required, for instance during international
negotiations.
âThe complex discussions required to establish what groupings to
use for the current EPA trade negotiations with EU illustrate this well.â
and
âThe existence of several integration groupings in each of the five
Regions of the Continent has obvious disadvantagesââ
The above situation led the OAU and the ECA to undertake indepth
reflection on the whole question of rationalization. A seminar
organized by the OAU in 1993 on the African Economic Community,
concluded that rationalization of Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
was more of a political than a technical issue; and therefore called for
courageous political decision and action to reduce and/or rationalize
some of the IGOs with a view to turning them into specialized institutions
of the larger Regional Economic Communities.â
And it further observes:
âIn the present context whereby the African Union and all its Policy
Organs are gearing to tackle head-on the issues of peace, security,
governance and socio-economic development in Africa, rationalizing the
IGOs and RECs has become a question of collective survival.â
As to the actual achievement of continental integration, it has this to say,
â The Union would not be able to garner the necessary political
consensus for accomplishment of its mandate, unless we have in place
an appropriate governance tool.â
...
"The Vision of a united and integrated Africa will necessarily take
time to achieve. However, what is more important is to launch the
process, infuse it with an irreversible momentum and establish the
milestones to attain the ultimate objective.â
. ..
âOn this score, acceptance by Member States of gradual transfer of
sovereignty and delegation of power at Regional level might lead the RECs
to evolve from intergovernmental management approach to con-federal,
and later, federal management.â
âThis development will, in turn, dictate the evolvement of the African
Union: that is, intergovernmental management with transfer of
sovereignty, followed by con-federal management, leading to confederation
upon the RECs attaining the con-federal stage.â
All the above quoted excerpts were from the âCommission of the African Union: 2004 â 2007 Strategic Plan, Volume 2: 2004-2007 Strategic Frameworkâ
http://www.africa-union.org/AU%20summit%202004/volume%202%20final%20-%20English%20-%20June%202004.pdf
The AU gives us a glimpse into its overall view of the present African micro-economy in its web page on "The African Union Extra-Ordinary Summit On Employment And Poverty Alleviation In Africa," set for September:
âAfrica continues to face the serious challenges of unemployment, under-employment and poverty which will become worse unless more determined and sustained efforts are taken. Lack of or inadequate transparency, accountability and responsiveness to the concerns of the poor pose another challenge that can be a threat to security and stability and should be addressed through promotion of good governance and empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized groupsââ
â
âAfrica is a continent of extreme and increasing abject poverty characterized by ill-
health, illiteracy, food shortages, famine, malnutrition, unemployment and
underemployment, inadequate housing and other social services or amenities, etc.
Yet, the continent so richly endowed with natural resources. In the next 20 years, poverty is likely to decline in every other part of the world except in Africa where a dramatic increase is projected.
âPoverty is a multidimensional and cross-sectoral phenomenon. For example, social
indicators such as health impact upon and are turn affected by such issues of environment and this makes it play a pivotal role in poverty reduction and development. Reducing the burden of disease, laying emphasis on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other pandemics, will directly release African countriesâ potential to increase production and productivity and thus achieve high growth rates as well as human and social development. Access to education, health, water and sanitation, nutrition, etc. have intrinsic value for peopleâs well being and are closely linked to issues of poverty and employment. Education and training contribute to economic growth and development by raising peopleâs employability, productivity and poor peopleâs incomes. It is also important to highlight the fact that there is a strong link between drug production, trafficking and consumption on one hand and the deepening povertyand high levels of deprivation, on the other. It is, therefore, important to take a holistic and integrated approach when addressing employment and poverty issues. It is also necessary that social mobilisation for collective action, self-reliance and advancement becomes a key intervention for poverty alleviation. The African governments should put in place clear social development policies and a conducive environment for effective partnership with civil society to promote equitable and gender sensitive rural social development. This will empower poor women and men for self-reliance and advancement and will equip the nation with the capacity to contribute effectively to the development process.
âWhilst the Summit will reflect on income poverty alleviation, it is important to bear in mind that there is also the issue of human capital poverty alleviation and asset capital poverty alleviation. Income poverty relates to income derived from wages or from social grants, human capital relates to social services which are critical to improving the capacity of people and asset poverty relates to issues of housing and land ownership. â
And the AU posits the following set of objectives in response to this micro-economic reality:
"The general objectives of the Extraordinary Summit, therefore, include to:"
"i. Review and Reaffirm commitments and strengthen political will to the implementation of agreed relevant decisions and action plans." "
ii. Promote employment creation and income opportunities, including special projects for vulnerable and marginalised groups."
"iii. Promote capacity and institutional building, as essential elements to economic growth and productivity."
"iv. Elaborate programmes based on agricultural and informal sector and cultural industries to fast-track massive employment and income opportunities."
"v. Promote access to micro credit by SMEâs and micro enterprises especially for women and the revision of investment codes and regulations so as to create an enabling environment to promote entrepreneurship. "
"vi. Promote access to basic social services and improve systems for social security and social safety nets."
"vii. Promote integrated and inter-sectoral policies and programmes relating to employment creation and poverty alleviation."
"viii. Involve development partners and the private sector in programmes of poverty alleviation and employment creation."
"ix. Establish mechanisms to promote a dynamic private sector, investments and realization of labour-intensive infrastructure projects."
"x. Promote local development through establishing of effectively functioning Cooperatives."
Exrracts taken from the web page on
The African Union Extra-Ordinary Summit On Employment And Poverty Alleviation In Africa
http://www.africa-union.org/EMPLOYMENT/EMPLOYMENT.htm
Some aspects of the AU approach sounds alarmingly similar to the position of leading western spokespersons, for example the following statement attributed to former Sec. of State Henry Kissinger
"Without the moral commitment of the American people and of the international community, Africaâs tragedy will turn into the festering disaster of our ageâThe most pressing task must be to ease Africaâs suffering and defeat its epidemics. The long-range need is to reduce Africaâs political conflicts, help reform its political system, and, on that basis, bring Africa into the globalized world." Henry Kissinger
Others are exemplary, for example point âx. Promote local development through establishing of effectively functioning Cooperatives. â is something that would be very edifying for African society and humanity in general.
The problem with dependence on the supposed largess or even the enlightened self-interest of the western world, is the characteristics and essential nature of the western world. One of the leading ideologists of global European unity made these telling observations in the book, "The Europeans,â the Italian author, Luigi Barzini, defining the state and composition of this pan-European-societyâ
"...there are today other serious, sober, and objective reasons for the immediate creation of a European union. The West is in danger, as everybody knows. Europe is where Western ideas and hopes where born, It is their home. We want to defend them simply because we know that life without them is not livable. The greatest nation in the West, the United States should also be included among European nations...It is a dependance (i.e., dependence) or annex, philosophically speaking, of Europe." page 13
and later he specifies the main attributes of the unityâ
ââThere cannot be a really united Europe without a common currency and a common foreign policy, but above all, a common defense policy. This in the 20th century, means nuclear weapons and space defense. â p 266
The implications for humanity of this kind of continental unity, is precisely why Lenin rejected the concept of a United States of Europe, offering in its place the concept of a United Socialist States of the World.
Given the political, military and socio-economic implications of all this, it is clear that Africa needs a philosophy, a collective belief system, in short an ideology to inform the phenomena, ideas, practices, institutions, means and where withal, to guide us.
THE AU Chair himself is said to have made the following observation:â
ââLeadership must be encapsulated in some form of ideology; anchored in ethics and powered by moral considerations otherwise it becomes unfocussed, shifty, irrelevant, undetermined, self-serving, unproductive and dehumanizing. At the political level, the ethics and moral consideration of equity, justice, compassion, truth, respect and care for humanity must be constantly presentââ H.E. Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo
Notwithstanding the fact that many believe that the President's has demonstrated a somewhat cavalier approach to the realization of the lofty principles he has enunciated, the one thing that cannot be doubted is the fact that Africa sorely needs a unifying ideology.
Such an ideology, to serve the interest of Africans, must be derived from the experience and life of African people. An ideology that will not talk about empowering the people from the top down, but talk about the people themselves generating power, and exercising their power by then empowering their government representatives as according to the people's understanding and grasp of the needs of the society.
I, and many others, believe that the basis for such an ideology can be found in the theory and practice associated with philosophical consciencism.
Roy Walker
