CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Africa |
PEACE
The Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) has held a two-day policy forum in Accra
to map out strategies for the continent’s security and development.
What did the forum tried to achieve?
There was immense laughter some weeks ago when a participant at a public forum in Accra, in all sincerity, questioned whether Africans have been singled out for punishment. «Why do Africans suffer so much?» he queried. «Diseases, hunger and starvation, coups, massacres, military adventurism, all continue to plague us - – what have we done to deserve this?» he asked.
The truth, however, is that Africa remains a difficult subject to discuss. Despite its immense potential, the continent has lagged behind owing to a string of defaults notably corruption, greed, ineptitude, nepotism and mismanagement among its leadership.
All available economic and social indices paint a sorry picture about Africa’s condition, and they portend greater catastrophes in years to come as HIV/AIDS, climate changes, shortsighted leadership and more, drive Africa to the brink. In almost every instance, Africa has failed miserably to aggregate her resources and efforts, so as to harness her immense human and natural capital for her collective benefit.
At a time when rich countries are forging ahead with research and development, Africans are still fighting each other for a multiplicity of reasons — differing ethnicity, family allegiance, religion, land, greed and bad governance.
A roll call of African countries today reveals disturbing incidents within them. Liberia, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Somalia and others are (or have been recently) either caught up in religious, ethnic, communal conflicts or have failed to uphold the tenets of good governance.
When one considers the vast human and resource potential of the continent, there is no excuse for Africa’s non-fulfilment. but it could well be asked why corrective measures taken have not worked, in the main.
Security and NEPAD
T
he GCA forum took as its theme: «Security and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)». It was attended by personalities including Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, Botswana’s President Festus Mogae, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and President Paul Kigame of Rwanda. A number of African ministers and senior officials from development partners, international organisations, and representatives of the private sector, civil society and the media were also in attendance. They discussed ways and means to ensure that the actions and commitments outlined in NEPAD‘s Peace and Security Initiative are implemented and sustained.The GCA is an inter-governmental forum that brings together key political, business and civic actors from African and partner countries to deepen dialogue and build consensus on Africa’s priority development issues. The first meeting of the GCA was held in Gaborone, Botswana, on 25 October 2001.
The Accra forum was quite frank about what is lacking in Africa’s security. Ghana’s President John Kufuor set the tone by stating that there is a need to address the fragility of the component states, since insecurity exists in many parts of the continent. He attributed the problem to over-centralisation of power and weak state institutions. «There must be a devolution of power to allow for realistic participation in governance by all the major stakeholders, in order to provide a safety valve for pent-up feelings that are often the cause of upheavals,» he stressed.
President Mogae appealed to African leaders to ensure that prospects of durable peace in Angola, Congo RDC and Sudan are deepened and strengthened. «We need to support peace negotiations in Côte d’Ivoire to bring a negotiated end to the conflict there. The costs of conflict are high, too high for the continent to continue to bear. Therefore conflict prevention has to be one of our priorities,» he pleaded.
But how many African countries have been able to pursue this objective of peaceful co-existence? In Côte d’Ivoire, President Laurent Gbagbo was accused by the rebels of playing the ethnicity card. In Sudan, people from the south complain of being marginalised. In Burundi and Rwanda, ethnicity seems to be tearing the countries apart. This is because the ethnic groupings tend to be suspicious of each other.
Meanwhile, whilst Kenyans are congratulating themselves over their electoral success, Togo’s long serving President, Gnassingbe Eyadema seemingly has had his country’s constitution tinkered with, so that he can run again (and of course win) as President. The revision of Togo’s constitution now makes it eligible for presidential office holders to present themselves for future elections without any legal limitation. Observers see the latest move as a ploy making it possible for Eyadema to seek re-election after his second mandate expires this year. If Eyadema’s move is reprehensible, Malawi’s proposals to let President Bakili Muluzi run for a third term in office is equally objectionable. And still, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has not found it appropriate to end his ban on political parties.
Like many others, Botswana’s President Mogae who is also a co-Chairman of the GCA, believes Africans need to contribute to lasting security as well as respecting human rights. Peace, stability and security are prerequisites for economic and social development. «It is for these reasons», stressed President Mogae, that the forum is devoted to a discussion of security within the context of NEPAD.
Determinants of insecurity
President Mogae said he is convinced that unemployment, lack of economic opportunities, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and abject poverty are major determinants of insecurity in Africa. Indeed, lack of job opportunities has rendered a number of youths susceptible to religious fundamentalism and armed robberies. This has found expression in Nigeria especially, where religious riots have been sparked off at the least provocation.
Participants noted that the kind of leadership provided by people such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela and a select few in Africa, is missing in present day politicians. There is also a general tendency in Africa to express unwarranted adulation to its political leaders. Such political adulation has kept many African leaders in power for far too long. An example of this is Ghana’s former President Jerry Rawlings when at one time he seemed to be down-playing demands for constitutional rule with the much-touted slogan, «hand over to whom?» Apparently at that time, Rawlings felt there weren’t «good people» in his country to be given the mantle of leadership.
Ghana’s present President, John Kufuor apparently sees the use of sub-regional groupings to keep the peace as the appropriate step to take. These peacekeeping forces, he maintained, could be rapidly mobilised to help in emergencies when the need arises. «It is only within a secure atmosphere that human resources and skills can be developed to catch up with the rest of the world. And it is only then can Africa become an attractive investment destination. At the moment, to any potential investor, Africa constitutes a monolithic, unattractive business address,», Kufuor argued. «The current generation of Africans has a responsibility to redeem the image of the continent, we owe it to our forebears and even more importantly to future generations,».