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Zimbabwe's failure is AU's demise
By
Arthur
G.O. Mutambara
AFRICA
Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU). On this day we celebrate the great
occasion when 32 independent African countries came together to form
this continent-wide organisation whose platform was the total liberation
of Africa.
The objectives of the OAU included the following: promote the unity and solidarity of African States; co-ordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa; defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence; eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; and promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Hence, the mandate of the OAU was simple, but momentous: to complete the liberation of the continent from colonial rule, and to foster unity and solidarity among its newly independent members.
Consequently, the 25th of May is a day on which we observe the creation of the OAU and pay tribute to the African revolutionaries, who through a common vision of unity, decided to seek joint African solutions to the challenges that confronted the continent.
The spirit of that era is typified by the disposition of one of the OAU founders, the African visionary, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: “The Independence of Ghana is meaningless without the total Independence of Africa. We as Ghanaians are prepared to surrender our national sovereignty in part or in total in pursuit of African unity."
That was then. How many African leaders can say this today?
In July 2002 the OAU was succeeded by the African Union (AU), while amalgamating with the African Economic Community (AEC), but kept the date and name of Africa Day. The historical foundation of the AU originated in the Union of African States, an early confederation of African states, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the OAU and the AEC (formed in 1981). While acknowledging the end of settler colonialism, the transformation into the AU entailed embracing a wider mandate that included promoting democracy, human rights, and sustainable economic development. There was a vision for a more unified entity, a legislative body, and other institutions of common governance.
Whereas the central organising principle of the OAU was political independence for African states, that of the AU centers on sustainable economic independence from the West, rooted in regional integration, beneficiation, fair trade, technology transfer and export based investment. The demand for effective leadership has never been greater. The long-term aims of the AU include a single currency, an integrated defence force and a cabinet for the AU Head of State.
With a membership of 53 states, the AU seeks to help secure Africa's democracy, human rights and sustainable economy by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market. The overall dream is to establish a peaceful, democratic and prosperous continent.
Acknowledging the Achievements
Thus the significance of Africa Day continues beyond the life of the OAU into the era of the AU. We must continue to celebrate the achievements and dreams by Africans, while acknowledging our failures. The victories include; the successful execution of national liberation struggles, post-colonial efforts at state crafting, OAU/AEC evolvement into the AU, and the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to address African challenges and ensure that the 21st Century truly becomes an African Century.
During its term of existence, the OAU had stellar performance in executing its mandate of ridding the continent of colonialism. Many countries, including our own, partly owe their liberation to the support rendered by the OAU’s Liberation Committee. When South Africa achieved democracy in 1994, effectively ending the last vestige of settler exploitation, the African continent was finally able to stand up tall and proclaim: “We are free at last!”
As we plough through 2007, most African countries have overcome many obstacles and have begun building an Africa that belongs to all Africans, through smart partnership between government, civil society and business. In particular there is emphasis on leveraging women and the youth in strengthening solidarity among Africans.
The African Union is taking root, with many of its institutions already established. The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has been inaugurated as a platform for the articulation of aspirations of the peoples of Africa. A woman was elected as the Parliament’s first Speaker. The convening of this regular session of PAP confirms the determination of the peoples of Africa to promote and achieve the unity of our continent. To realise these goals, the PAP, made up of representatives elected by the African masses, will discuss a number of important pan-African issues of the day, consistent with its mandate to help determine the African agenda. As the PAP meets, its agenda seeks to enhance their mandate to contribute to Africa's renaissance.
Throughout the continent, commendable progress has also been made in the implementation of NEPAD, especially in the priority areas of agriculture, infrastructure, environment and health; all key areas in reducing poverty, promoting social stability and improving the quality of life. We have seen the establishment of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), one of NEPAD’s most important and innovative features, with the aim of fostering the adoption of policies and practices leading to political stability, economic growth, accountability, good governance and democracy.
Taking Stock of the Deficit
Of course, much remains to be done. With political freedom came new challenges for Africa. Leaders that brought liberation have become dictators denying fellow Africans human rights and economic opportunities. Our continent continues to be afflicted with hunger, disease, civil strife and general economic underdevelopment. We are the only region of the world where more than 50% of school-age-children do not have access to education. We are also the only region of the world that has experienced negative net economic growth in the last thirty years. As a continent, we still lack the capacity to intervene and effectively deal with incidences of famine and civil strife. Tragedies like Darfur and Zimbabwe stare us in the face, without effective African resolution. We ought to do better!
Africans must keep striving to address both HIV/AIDS and the persistence of violent conflict in various parts of Africa, which continue to hold back development by destroying social and economic infrastructures, diverting resources and tearing asunder the social and cultural fabric of affected societies. The international community must continue to complement the efforts made by Africans themselves, through fairer trade, greater aid and significant debt relief. On this Africa Day, it is imperative for Africans to rededicate themselves to that partnership and agenda.
Zimbabwe: Reflections on Africa Day
Currently Zimbabwe is completely out of step with the economic vision, value system and frameworks that are being developed regionally and globally. The strategic direction of the Zimbabwean state is at variance with objectives of both the OAU and AU. Clearly, the dysfunctional Zimbabwe economy cannot be properly integrated into COMESA, SADC, and the AU. Regional inflation is benchmarked at 20% while Zimbabwe is experiencing inflation levels approaching 4000%. SADC as a grouping will continue to be affected and the success of COMESA is put in jeopardy.
The vision of a vibrant AU rooted in the foundation of an integrated continental economy will be elusive with an unresolved crisis in Zimbabwe. Equally significant and important to note is that countries in the region are also experiencing major social effects from mass migration from Zimbabwe into those countries.
Furthermore, the brutality, political repression and economic subjugation currently taking place in Zimbabwe do not bode well for the ethos, principles and values of the AU and the African Renaissance. In fact what is happening in Zimbabwe is an outright negation of the African revolution ignited in Ghana (1957) and whose construction was formalized on 25th May 1963 (Africa Day). The fight envisaged by Nkrumah and his contemporaries was an all-inclusive, anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist continental-wide struggle, whose premise included democracy, freedom, liberty, equality, universal suffrage, justice, equity, socio-economic justice, and prosperity.
We have none of these in Zimbabwe. Our nation is going through an unprecedented economic and political crisis authored by the autocratic and illegitimate government of Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. There is increasing repression while the economic crisis is deepening. The recent arrest and brutal physical attacks on lawyers (including the President of the Law Society) have demonstrated that this regime has lost any semblance of legitimacy.
It is imperative for SADC and the AU to realise that Zimbabwe’s failure is their demise too. They must understand that when Zimbabwe coughs, SADC catches a cold, while the AU is rendered sickly. Under globalisation there is no country that can prosper and stay competitive without effective regional integration. The global survival paradigm is regional economic integration predicated upon regional and continental sovereignty that supersedes national sovereignty. Any economic meltdown in one regional member is catastrophic to the group’s strategic, economic and political interests.
The Zimbabwean crisis is an African crisis. It’s a bloat on the continent’s record. Today on Africa Day we call upon the Africans to take a vested interest approach to the Zimbabwean crisis. It is in this context that we embrace and salute the mediation efforts by SADC through President Mbeki of South Africa, the decision by the PAP to send a delegation to Zimbabwe, the comments by President John Kufuor of Ghana and President Levi Mwanawasa of Zambia. All these activities and overtures constitute a triumph of regional sovereignty and Pan-Africanism over narrow, perverted and misconceived notions of national sovereignty.
However, these efforts are not enough. We need to see more leadership on Zimbabwe from the AU, its institutions and leaders. While the AU must overtly support the SADC initiative, they must also institute their own mechanisms of intervention and solidarity. This should be food for thought for African leaders as they prepare for the 9th AU summit to be held in Accra, Ghana in July 2007. The demise of Zimbabwe symbolises the failure of African institutions and leadership.
Conclusion
All Africans must deploy a vested interest strategy on Zimbabwe. No African nation should oppress and denigrate its citizens under the guise of misplaced notions of national sovereignty. The OAU had a dubious distinction of doing little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from abuse by their own political leaders. Hence it was derided as the “Dictator’s Club”.
The AU has a unique opportunity to shed this image and de-link itself from such a legacy. Africa’s leaders should abide by a new creed, built on a uniquely African foundation, which fosters the respect of citizen’s rights and commits each nation to the improvement of people’s quality of life on a sustained and sustainable basis.
The AU should clearly condemn and confront charlatans like Robert Mugabe, who are fond of grandstanding as Pan-Africanists and anti-imperialists while they casually trample over the human rights and economic opportunities of their own citizens. Africans must seek to develop the principle of continental sovereignty that protects the socio-political-economic rights of Africans everywhere. This is the only way, we as Zimbabweans, can extract any meaning from celebrating Africa Day.
In conclusion, we congratulate the African continent on 44 years of striving for African liberation, unity and prosperity. Much has been achieved, and yet more work has to be done. We urge African leaders to take seriously their new mandate of promoting democracy, human rights, good governance and sustainable economic development. An injury and injustice to one African is an assault on all Africans. Our posterity as Africans is defined by a common destiny.
Through African Unity, We Shall Overcome.
The Struggle Continues Unabated.
Arthur G.O.
Mutambara is MDC President
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