 | | The AU Theme of the Year 2018
"Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation."
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is the Champion of the Theme of the Year
Note: An earlier draft copy was mistakenly sent.
Some Valued and Avid Readers were not very pleased that Gender Equality was not included as a major outcome. "After former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, there is no female African Head of State or Government and all Heads of the other major African Union organs - AU Commission, AU ECOSOCC, Pan African Parliament, the AU Peace and Security Council are males after Dr. Nkosazana Zuma?" This is a question from our Reader.
Trying in vain to point out there is an African female president in Mauritius, H .E. Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim, her background was sent in response.
President of Mauritius: Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
"How come nobody talks about her, never heard of her?" That is a retort from the puzzled recipient. So we included her picture.
| | Voice of African Women. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana is the African Union Gender Champion. He launched the Gender And Development Initiative. GADIA
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The GADIA Advocates Charge Awards is a flagship initiative established by President Akufo-Addo to support sustainable gender equality and increase the participation and progress of women within the private sector.
Yes, the 10th AU Gender Pre-Summit was held on January 17, 2018 under the theme: "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Africa". There is a detailed and special report in a subsequent Edition. Gender is interwoven in the fabric of development. But it needs to be highlighted. Agreed.
In fact, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the AU also discussed the importance of having African women in high places. |
| By Evelyn Joe
Dear Valued Reader:
It is Aspiration 2 in Agenda 2063 if you weigh the impacts. Call it the Summit of Awakening or Reawakening but reckoning with the breadth and scope of three interrelated outcomes takes you to an era of legends: Senghor from Senegal, Nkrumah from Ghana, Toure from Guinea, Modibo from Mali, Nasser from Egypt, Bella from Algeria; Hassan 11 of Morocco and more. Their foresight is now the road travelled by the African Union (AU).
Aspiration 2: An integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa's Renaissance.
Aspiration 2 contains goals 8-10 and addresses the need to accelerate progress towards continental unity and integration for sustained growth, trade, exchanges of goods, services, free movement of people and capital through: (i) establishing a United Africa; (ii) fast tracking of the CFTA; (iii) improving connectivity through newer and bolder initiatives to link the continent by rail, road, sea and air; and (iv) developing regional and continental power pools, as well as ICT.
Jan 29, 2018: African Heads of State and Government
The 30th Ordinary Summit of the AU opened with the 35th Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (African Ambassadors accredited to the AU) on January 22, 2018, through the 32nd Session of Executive Council (African Foreign Ministers), and closed on January 29, 2018 after the Assembly of the African Heads of State.
President Alpha Condé of Guinea handed over the Chairmanship of the Supranational Authority to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt was elected the Chairperson for 2019. The three leaders form what recently entered into the AU vocabulary as "The Troika" - the incoming, outgoing and the future leaders working together.
There are many significant outcomes, from gender equity (noted), AU Pan-African Veterinary Vaccine, Continental Education Strategy for Africa, cassava to eradicate hunger, self-financing of the Union, to migration and development. These will be brought to our world-wide readers in subsequent editions of the eNewsletter.
This edition is on three decisions that took concrete forms to give the AU a federal character with Member States adapting and implementing decisions at local and regional levels to move toward an integrated Africa, which is pivotal for prosperity to flourish.
In turn, a more unified Africa enables the self-reliant capacity to achieve a peaceable Africa. You can aspire to the Africa where the "sound of guns will be drowned out by cultural songs and rumbling factories" as the Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki, expressed his own yearning during his campaign for his current post.
At his inauguration, the AU Commission boss said "The famine that ravages vast areas of Africa these days is a real humiliation for us. The immense potential of our continent and the enviable economic growth rate of many member states of the union leave us no justification of this hideous human tragedy."
This arching truth and Africa's vitality are inescapably linked to outcomes that only a unified Africa can achieve; not narrow nationalism.
1960: Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (center) of Ghana with President Modibo Keïta of Mali (left) and President Ahmed Sékou Touré (right) of Guinea at the signing of the Ghana-Guinea-Mali Union Agreement.
When the pages of Africa's history are turned, this Summit goes back to vivid dreams finding expressions, halted, for more than half a century, and evolving toward the mark. Accordingly, a visit with history is to enhance appreciation of the outcomes.
The three milestones are in the section: The Major Outcomes: AU Flagships.
The Spy Charge and Counter Response
Pan African diehards and critics may have been tuned to the cluster of activities in Addis Ababa.
Just as well, there were related head turning matters outside. As a German Minister urged quick passage of European Union legislation against Chinese takeover, a French newspaper, Le Monde, announced that China has spied on its African friends at the AU headquarters, transferring data from Addis Ababa to Shanghai in the dead of night for five straight years from 2012 to 2017.
According to Le Monde, the massive hacking was detected in January 2017 when data usage spiked up between 12 midnight and 2:00 a.m. whereas people could not have been in the building working for that to occur. Hidden microphones were said to be left in place for the espionage after the Chinese handed over the building as a gift of friendship.
An obviously exasperated China's Ambassador to the AU, Ambassador Kuang Weili, denied it, termed the charge "ridiculous and preposterous," accused the Western world of not being happy with China-Africa friendship, and indicated that the report was designed to put pressure on relations between Beijing and Africa.
He said: "China-Africa relations have brought about benefits and a lot of opportunities. Africans are happy with it. Others are not." When asked about the others, he said: "People in the West. They are not used to it and they are simply not comfortable with this." Meanwhile, an unflappable Chairperson of the AU, H.E. Paul Kagame, gave a rather bemusing response. He denied knowledge of the alleged data theft but does not mind being spied on. However, he thinks Africa should have gotten its act together sooner and built its own headquarters.
Independence to Account
Since its formation as the Advisory organ to the African Heads of State and Government and the main entity mandated to engage the civil society in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and build viable public-private partnerships, the African Union Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (AU ECOSOCC) is poised to get its own Secretariat.
The amendments of Articles 10 and 14 of the AU ECOSOCC Statute and the related Rules of Procedure constitutionally removed CIDO in the AU Commission as the Secretariat.
Over the years, unchecked, CIDO as a suitable Secretariat played out as an office assistant overpowering the CEO and Officers (the Leadership) of AU ECOSOCC, much to the disorientation of the managers (the Membership) and baffled shareholders (civil society), which an AU Audit in 2012 found strange and abnormal. It took a CEO of timber and caliber to resist the secretarial encroachment.
Ahead of the Summit, Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Malanji appealed for support from the diplomatic corps as the country assumes Chair of the SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation in August this year.
On January 16, 2018, the Minister also announced to the diplomats accredited to Zambia that his country is making final preparations to host the AU ECOSOCC through which Zambia would contribute to the development of the African continent.
"Zambia is making final preparations to host the Economic, Social and Cultural Council through which the country would contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the African continent. I look forward to Zambia hosting more international organisations in the spirit of multilateralism. I wish to assure you that I'm committed to steering the ministry in fulfilling it's mandate of promoting and maintaining international relations in pursuit of Zambia's Foreign Policy," the Minister said.
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The Major Outcomes: The AU Flagships
SINGLE AFRICAN AIR TRANSPORT MARKET (SAATM)
Free Skies
In 1999, in what is known as the Yamoussoukro Decision, African countries aspired to free their skies for air travel. On Sunday, January 28, 2018, the AU took the first big leap on the goal, launching the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to transform intra-African air travel, lower prices and increase connectivity.
As stated by the AU, "SAATM is vital to the achievement of the long-term vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa under the AU Agenda 2063; that it will bring about the enhanced connectivity across the continent leading to sustainable development of the aviation and tourism industry with immense contribution to economic growth, job creation, prosperity and integration of Africa." Twenty-three (23) Member States have declared their Solemn Commitment to the immediate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision towards establishment of a Single African Air Transport. More will undoubtedly come on board. Opening up the continent's skies could be a huge gain for African airlines, which would work under a common regulatory framework, and a relief for intra-continental travelers who endure often illogical and time-consuming routes via Europe and the Middle East when flying between African countries.
The achievement is geared to increase Africa's global share of the aviation industry. The total population of Africa accounts for around 17% globally, but the continent's proportion of air travel passengers varies between 2-4%. In a statement, Rapahel Kuuchi, Vice President for Africa at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said: "Greater connectivity will lead to greater prosperity."
"An IATA survey suggests that if just 12 key African countries opened their markets and increased connectivity an extra 155,000 jobs and US$1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries."
Writing for CNN World Report in an article titled "Sky's the limit as Africa makes major move towards aviation single market" published on January 31, 2018, Chris Giles summed up his report, " while the European Union steps from crisis to crisis, the pursuit of Pan-Africanists towards a more integrated and united continent is slowly taking flight." READ ON |
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AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
The AU General Assembly adopted a protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (AEC) relating to Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence and Right of Establishment and its Draft Implementation Roadmap.
The making of the AEC has been in the books longer than the Yamassoukro Decision. In 1991, 51 Heads of State and government signed the Abuja Treaty, which entered in force in 1994 to establish a roadmap towards an African Economic Community: Abuja Treaty
What does this mean for ordinary understanding? It means the right of African citizens to live, go to school, and work in any Member State.
The example of Kenya, ahead of the time, nails down the significance. At his inauguration on November 28, 2017, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta declared:
"For my fellow Africans, the free movement of people on our continent has always been a cornerstone of Pan-African brotherhood and fraternity. Today, I am directing that any African wishing to visit Kenya will be eligible to receive a visa at the port of entry. To underscore Kenya's commitment, this shall not be done on the basis of reciprocity. The freer we are to travel and live with one another, the more integrated and appreciative of our diversity, we will become. The political balkanization that risks our mutual security, the negative politics of identity, will recede as our brotherhood expands to embrace more Africans. Finally, to our Brothers and Sisters in the East African Community, you are our closest friends; our fate and yours are joined at the hip; our troubles and triumphs are yours, and yours are ours. I will work with you, my brothers, the leaders of the East African Community, to bring a renewed energy and optimism to our union. Together, we can deliver the peace and prosperity for which our citizens are crying out; divided, we will struggle to realize the full potential of our people. Left: President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Right: President Idriss Déby Itno of Chad.
The African Passport launched during the 27th AU Summit in July 2016 at the AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda is expected to be available to African citizens in 2018.
It means those living in their Member States and in the Diaspora should be able to obtain one upon getting a passport for the first time or renewal of an old passport.
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AFRICAN FREE TRADE AREA (CFTA) The Heads of State resolved to convene in an Extraordinary Summit on March 21, 2018, preceded by an Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council on March 19, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, to consider the CFTA Legal instruments and sign the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. The Assembly requested the AU Commission to convene an Extraordinary session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs to consider the said instruments prior to the Summit. Just a bit of background
CFTA was scheduled to be launched in December 2017.
At the 18th Ordinary AU Summit in January 23 - 30, 2012 in Addis Ababa, under the theme "Boosting Intra-African Trade," African Heads of State and Government adopted a decision and a declaration that reflected the strong political commitment of African leaders to accelerate and deepen the continent's market integration. They endorsed a plan to set up CFTA by 2017.
At the 25th AU Summit held in June 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the leaders launched the negotiations for the establishment of CFTA. It marked a major milestone forward. Just to give the reader some insights on the promise and persuasion of the CFTA:
H.E. Macky Sall of Senegal pointed out that Africans trade only 12% of their merchandise among themselves and emphasized the urgent need for the continent to come together and establish one African Free Trade Area. "We now have to make a giant step to make the CFTA a reality", he said.
He urged African countries to learn from the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had implemented a single passport to facilitate the intra-regional movement of people and goods across the West Africa region. He also mentioned that trade-related infrastructure is key to the implementation of CFTA. "Infrastructure has to be the priority and without it, trade between African countries will never be improved," he stressed.
H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, one of the Champions of the CFTA, highlighted how important and critical CFTA is for the Continent. He indicted that CFTA means, amongst other developments, prosperity, job creation for youth, peace and security and agricultural development. He noted that 6 out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa and CFTA will build one common African market and address the challenges of youth migration and poverty issues.
He deplored the fact that Africa is still exporting its raw materials to third countries, depriving itself of the opportunity to create decent jobs for its people.
He insisted that countries should remove artificial borders that fragment the African market. "I can assure everybody that the CFTA, if it is implemented, will benefit big and small countries. We just have to remove the artificial boundaries we have created for ourselves and that have been inherited from colonial times", he said.
Then Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Mrs. Hanna Tetteh, pointed out that Ghana fully supports the implementation of CFTA. "The CFTA is a vehicle to empower our young people to create jobs and a better life for our people", she said.
How does the ordinary African citizen understand CFTA? Once in full force, the CFTA will include all African countries representing over a billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of more than $3.4 trillion.
Some of the benefits of CFTA:
Unlocking Africa's tremendous potential to deliver prosperity for all Africans: Research by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other institutions indicate major benefits expected to emerge from the CFTA, including boosting trade and welfare gains and fostering a vibrant and resilient African economic space. These, in turn, could serve as a springboard for more beneficial integration of Africa into the global force and economy. Opening of regional markets to African goods and services is set to boost intra-African trade: It has been estimated, for instance, that the full liberalization of trade in goods (manufactures and agriculture), backed by rules of origin compatible with Africa productive capacity, could have raised the share of intra-African trade in total African trade to around 22 per cent with the improvement of trade facilitation measures, especially transportation linkages and customs clearance for intra-African trade. There are major unexploited opportunities for regional trade in Africa particularly in agriculture, including sustainable agriculture such as organic products: A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) study noted that Africa has almost two thirds of the world's uncultivated and/or unused arable land, which may be used to expand agricultural production to supply African consumer s.
Source: UNCTAD: Economic Development in Africa Report 2013 - Intra-African Trade: Unlocking Private Sector Dynamism.
Beyond intra-African trade expansion, CFTA has the potential to stimulate structural transformation in African countries when governments formulate and implement appropriate economic development policies that are linked to the CFTA.
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