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PAMBAZUKA NEWS 309: AFRICAN UNON: TOWARDS CONTINENTAL GOVERNMENT? (2)

The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for
social justice in Africa

Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839

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CONTENTS: 1. Highlights from this issue, 2. Announcements
4. Comment and analysis, 5. African Union Monitor

Support the struggle for social justice in Africa. Give generously!

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1 Highlights from this issue
FEATURED THIS WEEK

SPECIAL ISSUE

TOWARDS CONTINENTAL GOVERNMENT?

PART 2
L. MUTHONI WANYEKI argues that more time is needed to ensure popular
participation in discussions about unity
SELOME ARAYA argues for a stronger role for the African diaspora
ROTIMI SANKORE says we need action on health and unity of the living,
not of the dying or dead
TIM MURITHI looks at how we got to where we are in the great unity
debate
ROUND-UPS: links to previous articles on African unity and to
interviews with activists about their fears and aspirations


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2 Announcements
SPECIAL ISSUE IN THREE PARTS - THIS IS PART 2
Firoze Manji

This week, to coincide with civil society meetings being launched in
Accra, Ghana, in the run up to the African Union (AU) Summit on
Continental Government, we publish a special issue of Pambazuka News.
Given the large number of articles and issues addressed, we will be
sending out Pambazuka News in three parts. Part 1 and Part 2 will
contain the main articles on the topic, and will be sent out,
respectively, today (Thursday), and tomorrow (Friday). Part 3, the
Links and Resources section, will contain some of your usual
favourites, letters to the editor, as well as the summaries of useful
websites. Thanks for your understanding.


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AFRICA UNITE
Muthoni Wanyeki

This paper attempts to re-visit the history of African unity and
highlight the reasons for the current impetus toward union among
Africa's leadership; explore the implications of the union on
Africa's current inter-governmental organisation, the AU; outline
challenges to the union project and set out conditions for its success.

The upcoming mid-year African Union (AU) summit of heads of state and
government has as its primary agenda a 'Grand Debate on the Union
Government'. The ideological differences present in the first three
decades of Africa's political independence seem to have been rendered
irrelevant due to the current ascendancy of neoliberalism as the only
valid ideological basis for economic organisation both within
national political-economies as well as globally. But new political
distinctions have emerged - in part due to the emergence of the so-
called 'new breed' of African leaders following the end of apartheid
in South Africa and the movements towards political pluralism
elsewhere. Such leaders have posited themselves as both able and
willing to speak and act on behalf of the rest of Africa - Africa
presented as being determined to re-birth itself as encapsulated in
the concept of the 'African renaissance'. Similarly, economic
distinctions are now also clear - in part as a result of the economic
directions initially pursued post-independence, in part due to
variations in both the presence and utilisation of mineral and other
natural resources and in part due to governance.

The result is that certain African states are, in effect, positioned
as metropoles for the other African peripheries. Such African states,
worried about the potential impact of union on their national
political-economies, are hesitant about the potential for immediate
union. Other African states, seeing nothing but advantages from a
union, argue that, given Africa's diversity, there will never be an
ideal time and now is as good a time as any. Others are simply
sceptical.

The scepticism is not unwarranted? Has the time come for union? Is
Africa's leadership genuinely ready for what union would entail?

The 'Grand Debate' in (fittingly) Accra this June seems set to answer
these questions. While idea of the 'Grand Debate' may seem incredible
given the lack of popular awareness of (let alone informed debates
around) the process leading up to it, its potential impact on Africa
and African peoples' is not in question. But the process leading up
to it is informed by motivations and rationales that are not as
incredible. In fact, an exploration of these motivations and
rationales reveal the process leading up to the 'Grand Debate' as
somewhat inevitable - informed both by history and by the current
context of Africa within the global political economy.

This paper thus attempts to re-visit that history and highlight the
reasons for the current impetus toward union among Africa's
leadership; explore the implications of the union on Africa's current
intergovernmental organisation, the AU; outline challenges to the
union project and set out conditions for its success. In so doing,
the paper sets out and critically assesses the study which will
inform 'the Grand Debate,' and drawing from debates within African
civil society (including the African women's movement) on the
experience of the AU to date. It also assesses the financial
proposals made by the study from the perspective of theory relating
to processes of integration.

It concludes by noting that the time frame given in the study is too
short. The low level of public awareness about the study, its
recommendations and the upcoming 'Grand Debate' are bound to militate
against implementation of the recommendations - even if the idea of
pan-Africanism is an idea that has long been aspired to. The
recommendations will be seen as imposed on African populations from
the top-down, rather than arising from a consultative process which
all Africans buy into and support. In addition, the financial
proposals in particular cannot be achieved (as the study itself
notes) within the nine years. Technical questions aside, they hinge
on critical pre-conditions for success such as, at best, African
citizenship (including African women's autonomous citizenship rights)
or, at least, freedom of movement across the continent - the
achievement of either which will be difficult to implement given the
varied economic performance of individual African states as well as
the persistence of internal conflicts across the region.

This is not, however, to suggest that the study's recommendations are
unfeasible. True, the experience of the AU to date paints a picture
of somewhat inconsistent and patchy progress that is more incipient
than felt on the ground. But it also points to a significant shift
towards meaningful collective action that bodes well for further
intensification of the regional integration agenda.

But for the study's recommendations to be achieved and the clarion
call 'Africa Unite' to be realised, political will will need to be
built up at the highest and lowest levels. Enhanced delivery by the
AU as currently constituted is critical. While working towards an
aspirational framework within a more reasonable timeframe, the focus
should now be on resolving the gap between the AU's normative
framework and institutional and programmatic or project delivery.

* This paper was commissioned by, and reproduced here with the kind
permission of, the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project
(AfriMAP), a project of the Open Society Institute (OSI).

* L. Muthoni Wanyeki is a political scientist based in Nairobi, Kenya.

* Please send comments to [log in to unmask] or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org

THE FULL PAPER IS AT:
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/42105

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THE AFRICAN DIASPORA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA
Selome Araya

It is essential to address the African diaspora's involvement in the
process of continental government. As we descend into the next phase
of the African Union's summits in Ghana, critical analysis of the
African diaspora's meaningful contribution must be integrated from
here on, writes Selome Araya.


'An African, therefore…is one who by accident of history and the
reality of geography is wedded to the African continent. A leading
advocate of this concept was Kwame Nkrumah' – Professor Godfrey N.
Uzoigwe

The current sea of summits and articles about the proposed 'United
States of Africa' has raised numerous discussions in regards to its
challenges and necessity. While these discussions are imperative, it
is also essential to continue to address another key element: the
African diaspora's involvement in the process. As we descend into the
next phase of the African Union's (AU) summits in Ghana, critical
analysis of the African diaspora's meaningful contribution must be
integrated from here on.

The African diaspora are people of African descent who live outside
continental Africa, having been dispersed around the world through
colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade or voluntary migration.
The AU has defined the African diaspora as '[consisting] of people of
African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their
citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the
development of the continent and the building of the African Union'.

Though the AU proclaims the importance of the African diaspora's
contribution, the minimal presence of the diaspora in the United
States of Africa decision making bodies sparks the question: Is the
United States of Africa being proposed only for those living in the
African states, or does it extend to those in the diaspora as well?
Does this unification really include the contribution of all African
people who are willing to participate?

The answer to these questions could potentially be the catalyst to
revive the once active plea for Pan-Africanism. More than unifying
the 54 states of the African continent, it could serve as the
mechanism to facilitate unity and solidarity amongst a people who are
dispersed throughout the world, yet still connected by their history,
ancestry, and bloodlines.

Though it has been adopted and embraced by African state leaders, the
notion of a United Africa has always resonated with Africans in the
diaspora. The concept of a 'United States of Africa' in fact was
originated by Jamaican-born leader and activist Marcus Garvey. He
first used the phrase in 1924 to call for the unity of Africans
collectively fighting for human rights, resisting racism and
exploitation in all parts of the world. Garvey's teachings helped to
shape the Pan-African movement, a movement formed in part with the
intent to bridge the diaspora with its homeland. The Pan-African
movement was also influenced by a United States-born African, W.E.B.
Du Bois.

Professor and author Godfrey N Uziokwe defines Pan-Africanism as 'a
political movement initiated by peoples of African descent in the
Americas, and later taken over by continental Africans, which aims to
liberate all Africans and people of African descent from the shackles
of political, economic, cultural, and intellectual domination' [2].
Ghanaian president and activist, Kwame Nkrumah, and other leaders
from the continent later adopted the Pan-African movement, expanding
it to include the decolonisation of the African continent
politically. At the first Pan-African Congress to occur in Africa in
1958, Dr Nkrumah acknowledged the extraordinary contribution of
people of African origin in the diaspora to Pan-Africanism:

'... Many of them have made no small contribution to the cause of
African freedom. Names which spring immediately to mind in this
connection are those of Marcus Garvey, and WEB DuBois. Long before
many of us were even conscious of our own degradation, these men
fought for African national and racial equality.'

The Pan-African movement solidified the need for global solidarity of
people of African descent to defend their human rights. Inspired by
the Diasporic Pan African Movement, Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, and
others, formed the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, though the initial Pan-African
movement included Africans in the diaspora, the OAU began to focus
more on continental concerns and did not develop a specific role for
people of the African diaspora. 'While the OAU helped speed the
independence of African nations, it did not reach out to the African
diaspora in a meaningful way.' This was first seen during the early
stages of the OAU, where members of the diaspora were largely absent
from the Pan-African meetings.

The OAU transitioned into the AU in 2001, and during this time, 'it
began the long-awaited outreach to the African diaspora' [4]. The AU
verbally recognised the diaspora as the '6th region of Africa',
adding it to the other five geographical regions on the continent.
Article 3 (q) of the AU's Constitutive Act Amendments states that it
shall 'invite and encourage the full participation of the African
diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of
the African Union'.

One of these attempts included the creation of the diaspora
Initiative within the framework of the OAU, created in 2003 to
connect people of spiritual and ancestral kinship to one another
through various mechanisms. In 2006, the AU's 6th Region Education
Campaign also partnered with the Western Hemisphere Education
Campaign (WHADN) in an initiative to serve as the 'interface
mechanism' that linked the diaspora with the AU.

However, while the diaspora has been invited to conferences and
summits, sometimes to merely 'observe', their role in making
decisions within the AU appears to still be minimal. The full
participation of the diaspora in the development of the United States
of Africa has yet to be conceptualised and there is currently no
policy to facilitate the involvement of the diaspora in the process.
In addition, although the AU's Constitutive Act states that it will
include the diaspora in its processes, there have been no written
policy changes. 'Examination of the Amendment, Article 'q' to the
Constitutive Act of the African Union reveals, however, that no such
'significant structural change' has occurred, stated Professor
Maurice Tadadjeu in a recent address to Repatriation News. This is
illustrated through the diaspora's inability to join or take part in
an important governmental body in Africa, the Pan-African Parliament
(PAP).

The diaspora currently does not take part in any deliberations. The
PAP states that it represents all people's of Africa, yet its
objectives focus solely on Africans living on the continent and make
no mention of the African diaspora's inclusion in or benefit from
these objectives. Full participation of the diaspora within the AU
would mean the diaspora having seats within the PAP. An example of
how this could be facilitated is by developing a joint body between
the AU and a governmental body in the diaspora. A policy report
entitled 'Building an African Union' suggests that 'Existing
institutions and organizations in the diaspora should be integrated
with the AU. A pan- African parliamentary union between the PAP and
the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) would be one such Innovation'.

An attempt at including the voice of all African peoples (the
diaspora) in the AU's decision making process was with the creation
of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union
(ECOSOCC) in 2002. The ECOSOCC is to serve as a consultative body and
is working to bring together civil society groups, including some
from the diaspora, to work with the AU. In regards to the United
States of Africa, this body is intended to serve as a consultancy at
assembly deliberations.

Diasporic 'representation' and decision making within the ECOSOCC,
however, doesn't equate to the diaspora having decision making power
within the AU or its United States of Africa government. However, the
ECOSOCC claims that this consultative body will play an active role
in partnership with African governments to 'contribute to the
principles, policies and programs of the Union'. Dr Tajudeen Abdul-
Raheem, General-Secretary of the Pan-African Movement in Kampala
Uganda and Co-Director of Justice Africa, however, believes that the
diaspora's role is not quite as active as it appears. He states,
'Even at the launch of the General Assembly (of the ECOSOCC) the few
diaspora persons there were mere observers'.

Mutually beneficial relationship and solidarity

The call for the African diaspora's full participation in the
formation of a United Africa may cause some to wonder, why is the
diaspora's full participation important and who would benefit from
such a relationship?

The theme of a proposed global summit in South Africa focusing on the
unity of Africa and the diaspora provides an overall response to this
inquiry. Entitled 'Towards the Realization of a United and Integrated
Africa and its diaspora', this summit will aim at producing 'a shared
vision of sustainable development for both the African continent and
the millions of people around the world who share an African
heritage'. The participants of this summit are calling for a global
dialogue regarding regional development and integration, economic co-
operation, and historical, socio-cultural and religious commonalities.

There are over 150,000,000 people in the diaspora who not only could
play a role in strengthening Africa's development and attempt at
unification, but who could also greatly benefit from a united Africa.
In essence, a mutually beneficial relationship would result from the
diaspora taking part in the development of a United States of Africa.
Revived Pan-African solidarity between Africa and the diaspora would
create partnerships needed to address issues of global concern and
provide mutual support as both groups are still weaning off the
impact that western imperialism had (and still has) on both.

If the diaspora and the African's living on the continent joined
forces with consistent cross-continental relations, support, and
inclusion, it could strengthen the entire African presence and power
in the world. Empowering Africans both at home and abroad is
essential in order to address the inequities and imbalances that
continue to bond us by our collective experience of oppression.
Through building mutual solidarity, networking, and mobilization,
both continental and diasporic Africans would gain strength.

According to the diaspora Initiative within the framework of the AU,
the diaspora can be of great benefit to the AU through:

• technical support for programs of the African Union
• public education and sensitization of the wider public in their
respective regions
• lobbying
• provision of a domestic political constituency for AU goals and
objectives
• advocacy
• fundraising and resource mobilization
• resource support through such measures as creation of Endowments
amongst others.

As this initiative reflects, the benefit that Africans in the
diaspora could bring to the United States of Africa is multi-layered.
Collectively the diaspora possesses an economic power that could
greatly assist African economic development initiatives and assist in
the continents struggle to break from the shackles of structural
adjustment programmes, globalisation, and 'debts'. The power that the
diaspora holds could also knock out the devastating choke-hold that
international NGO's have over continental crises. Due to
proportionately more access to resources, there is a wealth of
financial, technical and intellectual expertise in the diaspora.

The amount of resources and education that African's in the diaspora
have access to could surely help to strengthen the continental quest
at unity, provide support for other concerns affecting Africans on
the continent, as well as developing Africa's human resource
capacity. 'The African diaspora can play a part in enhancing Africa's
role in the world by promoting the development of the continent. A
genuine engagement by the AU with the diaspora could enhance Africa's
negotiating and resource mobilization capacity with the international
community.' [2]

However, on the reciprocal end, the AU could also greatly assist in
the struggle of African people's globally. At the Pan-African
Congress in 1958, Nkrumah recognised Africa's unity as being crucial
for the human rights of Africans in the diaspora to be respected.

'Long may the links between Africa and the peoples of African descent
continue to hold us together in fraternity. Now that we in Africa are
marching towards the complete emancipation of this Continent, our
independent status will help in no small measure their efforts to
attain full human rights and human dignity as citizens of their
country.' [3]

According to the diaspora Initiative, the AU can offer the diaspora:

• a measure of credible involvement in the policy making processes
• some corresponding level of representation
• symbolic identifications
• requirements of dual or honorary citizenship of some sort
• moral and political support of diaspora initiatives in their
respective regions
• preferential treatment in access to African economic undertakings
including consultancies, trade preferences and benefits for
entrepreneurs, vis a vis non –Africans
• social and political recognition as evident in invitation to
Summits and important meetings etc. [9]

The United African governmental body could also show solidarity and
provide support for the many injustices being inflicted on people of
African descent throughout the diaspora. This includes places like
Brazil, the United States of America, Haiti, France and elsewhere,
where people of African descent are suffering from human rights
violations exponentially by imperialist governments.

Speaking from the experience of an African living in the United
States of America, we have repeatedly found ourselves victims of
human rights violations and racist oppression by this government
since we arrived here. We are not supported, respected, or
represented by this government and have been mistreated by the
government itself. Examples of this include the continuous unjust
murders of African peoples by the state police departments as well as
the gross injustices against African people that preceded and
followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although there have been
governments and leaders in Africa who have fully acknowledged the
injustices that are occurring in America and elsewhere, being a part
of an African government would strengthen the diaspora's continual
struggle for justice. If Africans in America were a part of the
United States of Africa government, they could possibly have a
mechanism of support to hold the United States government accountable
for the violations they inflict on people of African descent.
Africans throughout the diaspora could have a connection to a
universal African government that advocates for drastic changes to be
made in regards to the global mistreatment of people of African
descent. In other words, Africans in the diaspora would have a
government that they feel a part of, instead of one they are in
constant combat with.

Just One Struggle

Proclamations about the African diaspora's right to play a crucial
role in the development of a United States of Africa also call for an
all-inclusive definition of what it means to be African.

Whether you identify as African, Black, being of African origin or
descent, African-American, Caribbean, Afro-Latino, New Afrikan, or an
African living abroad, one common trait holds true: we are all bound
by our origination from and lasting connection to the same land. The
African world is bigger than the territory and borders of the
continent. It spans the entire globe, and includes our presence on
all seven continents. The linguistic, geographic, and cultural
differences amongst us cannot negate the reality that we are brothers
and sisters. Separated by force, we have clearly been fragmented in a
myriad of ways. But beyond the borders and boundaries, throwing away
visas and passports, sidestepping our lack of common languages,
combating the cowardly European divide and conquer techniques, and
underneath any perceived differences, we are yet roots from the same
tree.

This attempted disjointing and cultural destabilisation should not be
the excuse for not supporting one another's struggles for
emancipation and freedom. In this case, realised Pan-African unity
could be our channel to justice on the continent and abroad.

This common ancestry has made our universal struggles and resistance
against oppression one in the same. Human rights activist and Pan-
Africanist El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) stated in his address
at the OAU summit in Cairo, Egypt in 1964, 'We in America (and
elsewhere) are your long-lost brothers and sisters, and I am here
only to remind you that our problems are your problems' [10]. He also
added, 'Since the 22 million of us were originally Africans, who are
now in America, not by choice but only by a cruel accident in our
history, we strongly believe that African problems are our problems
and our problems are African problems'10. More than being bonded by
our common African descent, Pan-Africanism was born out of this
collective bond to resist these 'powers' in solidarity, hoping to
strengthen our calls for justice and accountability. Shackled by
European states and scrambling for civil rights, the only true
difference in our struggle is geographic location.

We (African's globally) are all continuing to endure various forms of
oppression and atrocities inflicted on us directly, indirectly,
institutionally, economically, and even under the guise of
'humanitarian assistance' and development projects. Whether we live
in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, or Africa, African
peoples have been subjected to imperialist policies that have
undermined our worth, dehumanized our souls and attempted to keep us
enslaved under capitalism.

The diaspora Initiative also recognises this common African struggle:

'Indeed, the activities and challenges of both continental Africans
and Africans in diaspora continued to impact upon each other, with
history as a common reference point. Those transported across the
Atlantic began as second-class citizens in their new abode just as
the establishment of the colonial order of the African continent
relegated their brothers to the same status on the continent. Hence,
the quest for freedom and social emancipation became a shared
concern. Africans on both sides of the Atlantic divide felt the
impact of vestigial discrimination in the aftermath of the abolition
of the Slave Trade and the onset of the twentieth century.'

And so, if Africans in the diaspora are truly embraced as being
African and if the African struggles globally are acknowledged as
being one in the same, their inclusion in the development of a United
States of Africa should be automatic, clearly defined, and truly
participatory, and move beyond observer status. While there have been
attempts over the last six years to include the diaspora in
discussions pertaining to the African Union, a stronger presence in
the United States of Africa must be actualised and written policy on
the reciprocal relationship must be created.

*Selome Araya holds an MPH in Forced Migration and Health from
Columbia University. She works with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
in New York and is a freelance writer.

* Please send comments to [log in to unmask] or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org

REFERENCES AT:
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/42081

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NO! TO THE UNITED GRAVES OF AFRICA
Unity of the living and healthy – not a unity of the diseased, dying
and dead
Rotimi Sankore

From the 1-3 July 2007, African leaders will meet in Accra, Ghana at
the 9th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. The
major agenda item is the proposal and plans for the United States of
Africa. Africa's underdevelopment as manifested in its public health
catastrophe is not on the AU summit agenda. This raises the crucial
question of the kind of unity African leaders wish to achieve.
Significantly the debate about the proposed union has revolved mainly
around political issues without commensurate attention to the
development issues which were no less important to the founders of
the Pan African movement.

It is now six years since Heads of State of African Union member
states pledged in Abuja in 2001 to commit at least 15 per cent of
national budgets to health. To say it is tragic that in 2007 only two
out of fifty three AU member countries (Botswana and Seychelles) have
clearly met that pledge does not even begin to describe the
situation. It is beyond tragedy.

In these past few weeks, all roads led to the G8 Summit in Germany.
In what has become an annual ritual since the turn of the century,
international campaigners Bono, Bob Geldof and an impressive
assortment of Development and AIDS related organisations led the
calls for more aid to Africa, and for Africa not to be forgotten in
the clamour over climate change. As usual, selected African leaders
turned up with begging bowls and for photo calls. Leading
international campaigners have since described the aid pledged by the
G8 this month as 'a farce' and 'grossly inadequate'.

We know that many of the more developed countries have played
historical roles in under developing Africa. 400 years of industrial
scale slavery, in addition to colonialism, ruthless exploitation of
Africa's resources, cynical 'interventions' and the debt burden have
cost Africa dearly. The 'foreign' aid to Africa is a percentage of
what has been taken out in human and natural resources, and is but a
small step towards repairing the damage done to Africa.

But we also know that African leaders cannot seriously expect other
countries to commit to, or meet pledges to 'save' Africa when they
themselves appear indifferent to Africa's future. To be going forward
with plans for African unity without simultaneously meeting the most
fundamental commitment to African development – that of health - is
misguided to say the least.

It is comical for us to be calling on the G8 countries to meet the
recent Gleneagles pledges when the vast majority of AU member states
have not met their own Abuja 2001 pledge. This is not a pledge we can
afford to pass unfulfilled. The Africa Public Health Rights Alliance
(APHRA) and its '15% Now!' Campaign revealed on Human Rights Day
(December 10) 2006 that by crossing continental, sub regional,
country, health, disease specific and development information from a
wide range of agencies and institutions we computed that an estimated
8,000,000 Africans are dying annually from preventable, treatable and
manageable diseases and health conditions – mainly Malaria, TB, HIV,
child and maternal mortality. This figure does not include organ
related disease (heart, liver, kidney and lung diseases), an
assortment of cancers, vaccine preventable diseases and so forth
which could very easily add another million – or more. The
consistency of these figures over the past six years alone means that
Africa has suffered an estimated 48,000,000 preventable deaths since
2001.

By coincidence, the dream of the United States of Africa is planned
to be actualised by 2015, the same year the Millennium Development
Goals are to be met. If Africa's health catastrophe continues
unabated we could loose another 72,000,000 lives by then. This is the
equivalent of whole nations dying out within a year or a decade. Many
African countries (such as Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Gambia,
Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Namibia and Swaziland) have populations of
between 1-8,00,000. Most of the island countries have populations of
less than a million. Even Africa's most populous countries (DRC,
Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan - with the exception of Nigeria
at 130,000,000) all have populations of between 30-80,000,000.

It would therefore not be an exaggeration to describe over 120
million preventable deaths between 2001 and 2015 as genocide – by
inaction. In this case and for every life lost, government
indifference to Public Health is the equivalent of an Interehamwe
machete or Nazi gas chamber. If we were set up memorials to the
preventable deaths from one year alone, we would need 100 stadiums in
Africa with the capacity to each host 80,000 skulls – each a stadium
of shameful silence, and a monument to government without
responsibility.

Africa Must Unite! But for it to be a meaningful unity it must not be
a unity of the dead. It must not be unity as a continental graveyard.

Meeting the 15 per cent pledge will be a significant indication that
African leaders care for their countries and are prepared to live up
to their primary responsibility of keeping their citizens alive and
healthy. No meaningful and sustainable development of Africa can
happen without sustainable financing for health care. Indeed the
status of public health is the most significant indicator of social
and economic development. This is why the Right to Health is the most
crucial Right of all – we all have to be alive and well to exercise
any other Rights. The dead have no Rights – except perhaps the 'Right
to a decent burial'.

To postpone the meeting of the 15 per cent pledge to the future is to
accelerate the death of Africa. We call on the African Union to place
the 2001 15 per cent pledge on the July 2007 summit agenda and at the
very least to introduce it as urgent business [under item vii, AOB].
We further call on them to make it a major agenda item of the next
summit or to call a special summit dedicated to meeting the 15%
pledge. This should be preceded by a special summit of Finance and
Economic Development Ministers

To further illustrate the full scale of Africa's health disaster, it
is not enough to demonstrate only the unprecedented scale of
preventable death. It is also crucial to demonstrate the scale of
Africa's impotence and one example will suffice.

Without health workers, no amount of free medicines can be delivered
to citizens, and all 'foreign' AID is meaningless. Yet many African
governments have no clue how close to death their countries are due
to shortage of health workers of all categories.

The DRC with a population of 57 million, roughly equivalent to the
populations of UK, France and Italy has only 5,827 doctors compared
to the France's 203,000, Italy's 241,000 and the UK's 160,000. But it
is not just a case of the most developed countries being able to
train more health workers, or to poach from Africa to make up their
shortfalls. Cuba with a population of about 11 million has roughly
the same population as Malawi, Zambia or Zimbabwe. But Cuba has
66,567 Doctors compared with Malawi's 266, Zambia's 1,264 and
Zimbabwe's 2,086. Not surprisingly, Cuba has roughly the same life
expectancy (77 years) as the G8 Countries, the Scandinavian and other
developed countries while the average life expectancy for African
countries compared to it here is 37 to 40 years. The success of Cuba
in the areas of health care and education demonstrates it can be
done. Despite issues with the Castro government, western countries
have visited Cuba to study how they have achieved their health
success. To come anywhere near meeting the World Health Organisation
recommended health worker's to patient ratio or meeting the health
based MDG's these African countries compared to Cuba will need to
train and retain roughly 59,000 Doctors each in 8 years. The DRC will
need to train and retain at least 150,000. The numbers for nurses,
pharmacists and most categories of health workers are comparable
across board. This should be Africa's priority.

In other words, there is no alternative to long term in country
sustainable financing to rebuild Africa's Public Health systems
including health workers and improved working conditions and
remuneration for them, adequately equipped clinics and hospitals,
improved sanitation and environmental health, clean drinking water
and so forth. Without these Africa may achieve its dream of
continental unity, but it will be a fools paradise.

We are for a United Africa. But it must be a unity of the living, and
of a healthy African people – able to enjoy full civil, social,
economic and political Rights - not a unity of the diseased, dead and
dying. Successfully unity can only be based on successful development
of which health is the corner stone.

The Africa Public Health Rights Alliance and its 15 per cent Now
campaign calls on you to join the undersigned below in signing the
petition calling on AU member countries to fulfil their 15 per cent
Abuja pledge as the first genuine step towards a healthy United
States of Africa.

* Rotimi Sankore is Coordinator, Africa Public Health Rights Alliance
and its "15% Now!" Campaign.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/42108

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FROM PAN-AFRICANISM TO THE UNION OF AFRICA
Tim Murithi

Is it a realistic debate to be having at this time, when the
continent is afflicted with so many other problems and challenges? To
what extent are the majority of African people aware that this debate
is going on? Before we can even begin to grapple with these
questions, says Tim Murithi, we need to pose the question: how we
have got to the point that we are discussion a Union of Africa
Government or the so-called United States of Africa?


It is appropriate to reflect on the debate that has been raging on
the prospects for further continental integration and the impending
discussions on the Union Government Project. During the 8th Ordinary
Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African
Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 29 to 30 January 2007, the
decision was taken to devote the next meeting of the Assembly to an
elaborately titled 'Grand Debate on the Union Government'. From 8 to
9 May 2007, the Executive Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs met
in Durban, South Africa to brainstorm on the state of the Union. The
groundwork has therefore been laid for discussions to take place in
Accra about the direction that the AU should take.

We could question whether it is indeed appropriate and realistic to
be debating a Union Government at this time. Have AU member states
mastered the art of rudimentary unification? Do they yet speak with a
unified voice and act based on a common purpose? To add to this
casserole of doubt the continent is still afflicted by so many other
problems and challenges from conflict, to underdevelopment and
inadequate public health services. Ultimately, by adding a pinch of
scepticism about the genuine political will of AU member states to
pool their sovereignty, it seems that the Grand Debate may be no more
than a storm in a tea cup, much-ado-about-not-very-much. But perhaps
this is a bit dismissive!

Is it indeed a realistic debate to be having at this time, when the
continent is afflicted with so many other problems and challenges? To
what extent are the majority of African people aware that this debate
is going on? If they are not aware, who is having this conversation
on their behalf? How can a Union Government Project succeed if it
does not have the buy-in and the support of the people of Africa?

But before we can even begin to grapple with these questions we do
need to pose the question: how we have got to the point that we are
discussion a Union of Africa Government or the so-called United
States of Africa? Only by tracing the trajectory of the evolution of
the notion of Pan-Africanism can we begin to contextualize the
impetus behind the impending 'Grand Debate on the Union Government'.

This paper will assess the origins of Pan-Africanism and discuss the
norms that animated this movement. It will then assess how Pan-
Africanism was institutionalized in the form of the Organisation of
African Unity (OAU) and the present day African Union (AU). It will
argue that the Grand Debate on the Union Government is only the
latest incarnation of an attempt to institutionalise Pan-Africanism.
Understanding the reasons why Pan-Africanism gained currency as a
movement and liberatory ideology will help us to understand this
Grand Debate. The past in this sense is influencing the present and
will ultimately inform the future. The paper will assess the role
that civil society can play in contributing to the Union Government
debate. The paper will also question whether the Union Government of
Africa Project will be built on a solid enough foundation to realize
the aspirations of Pan-Africanism. It will conclude by assessing the
limits of continental integration.

What is Pan-Africanism?

It is often assumed that the process of continental integration begun
with an Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) convened in Sirte, Libya, in 1999. In fact, the process begun
with the Pan-African movement and its demand for greater solidarity
among the peoples of Africa. To understand the emergence of the
African Union we need to understand the evolution of the Pan-African
movement. A review of the objectives and aspirations of Pan-
Africanism provides a foundation to critically assess the creation of
the AU and its prospects for promoting the principles and norms of
peace and development.

Historically Pan-Africanism, the perception by Africans in the
diaspora and on the continent that they share common goals, has been
expressed in different forms by various actors. There is no single
definition of Pan-Africanism and in fact we can say that there are as
many ideas about Pan-Africanism as there are thinkers of Pan-
Africanism. Rather than being a unified school of thought, Pan-
Africanism is more a movement which has as its common underlying
theme the struggle for social and political equality and the freedom
from economic exploitation and racial discrimination.

It is interesting to note that it is the global dispersal of peoples
of African descent that is partly responsible for the emergence of
the Pan-African movement. As Hakim Adi and Marika Sherwood, observe
in their book Pan-African History: Political Figures from African and
the Diaspora Since 1787, 'Pan-Africanism has taken on different forms
at different historical moments and geographical locations'. Adi and
Sherwood note that, what underpins these different perspectives on
Pan-Africanism is 'the belief in some form of unity or of common
purpose among the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora.' One
can also detect an emphasis on celebrating 'Africaness', resisting
the exploitation and oppression of Africans and their kin in the
Diaspora as well as a staunch opposition to the ideology of racial
superiority in all its overt and covert guises.

Pan-Africanism is an invented notion. It is an invented notion with a
purpose. We should therefore pose the question what is the purpose of
Pan-Africanism? Essentially, Pan-Africanism is a recognition of the
fragmented nature of the existence of African's, their
marginalization and alienation whether in their own continent or in
the Diaspora. Pan-Africanism seeks to respond to Africa's
underdevelopment. Africa has been exploited and a culture of
dependency on external assistance unfortunately still prevails on the
continent. If people become too reliant on getting their support,
their nourishment, their safety, from outside sources, then they do
not strive find the power within themselves to rely on their own
capacities. Pan-Africanism calls upon Africans to drawn from their
own strength and capacities and become self-reliant.

Pan-Africanism is a recognition that Africans have been divided among
themselves. They are constantly in competition among themselves,
deprived of the true ownership of their own resources and inundated
by paternalistic external actors with ideas about what it 'good'.
Modern day paternalism is more sophisticated and dresses itself up as
a kind and gentle helping hand with benign and benevolent intentions.
In reality it seeks to maintain a 'master-servant' relationship and
does not really want to see the genuine empowerment and independence
of thought in Africa.

The net effect of this is to dis-empower Africans from deciding for
themselves the best way to deal with the problems and issues they are
facing. Pan-Africanism is a recognition that the only way out of this
existential, social, political crisis is by promoting greater
solidarity amongst Africans. Genuine dialogue and debate in Africa
will not always generate consensus, but at least it will be dialogue
among Africans about how they might resolve their problems. If ideas
are not designed by the African's, then rarely can they be in the
interests of Africans.

Institutionalisation of Pan-Africanism: The OAU

In the twentieth century, the idea of Pan-Africanism took an
institutional form. Initially, there were the Pan-African Congress'
which convened in the United Kingdom and the United States of
America, under the leadership of activists like the African-American
writer and thinker WEB. du Bois; the Trinidadian Henry Sylvester
Williams; and inspired often by the ideas of people like the Jamaican-
American Marcus Garvey. These ideas were adopted and reformed by
continental African leaders in the middle of the twentieth century.
Kwame Nkrumah who later became the first president of Ghana, Sekou
Toure of Guinea, Leopold Senghor of Senegal, Banar Abdel Nasser of
Egypt, Ali Ben Bella of Algeria took the idea of Pan-Africanism to
another level on 25 May 1963 when they co-created the Organisation of
African Unity (OAU). The principles of the OAU kept the spirit of Pan-
Africanism alive. The primary objective of this principle was to
continue the tradition of solidarity and cooperation among Africans.

During the era of the OAU the key challenge was colonialism. Since
1885, in what was then known as the 'Scramble for Africa' European
colonial powers had colonized African peoples and communities across
the entire continent. The Belgians were in the Congo, the British in
East, South, West and North Africa. The French in West Africa,
Somalia, Algeria and other parts of north Africa. The Italians in
Somalia. The Germans, who later lost their colonies following their
defeat in the Second World War, had to relinquish Namibia and modern
day Tanzania. Africans had successfully fought on the side of the
allies in the Second World War and after its conclusion they brought
their struggle for independence back home to Africa.

The OAU embraced the principle of Pan-Africanism undertook the
challenge of liberating all African countries from the grip of
settler colonialism. The main principle that it was trying to promote
was to end racial discrimination upon which colonialism with its
doctrine of racial superiority was based. In addition, the OAU sought
to assert the right of Africans to control their social, economic and
political affairs and achieve the freedom necessary to consolidate
peace and development. The OAU succeeded in its primary mission, with
the help of international actors, in liberating the continent on 27
April 1994, when a new government based on a one-person-one-vote came
into being in South Africa under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.
The OAU however was not as effective in monitoring and policing the
affairs of its own Member States when it came to the issues of
violent conflict; political corruption; economic mismanagement; poor
governance; lack of human rights; lack of gender equality; and
poverty eradication.

The preamble of the OAU Charter of 1963 outlined a commitment by
member states collectively establish, maintain and sustain the 'human
conditions for peace and security'. However, in parallel, the same
OAU Charter contained the provision to 'defend the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and independence of the member states'. This
was later translated into the norm of non-intervention. The key
organs of the OAU - the council of ministers and the Assembly of
heads of state and government - could only intervene in a conflict
situation if they were invited by the parties to a dispute. Many
intra-state disputes were viewed, at the time, as internal matters
and the exclusive preserve of governments is concerned.

The OAU created a Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution in Cairo, in June 1993. This instrument was ineffective in
resolving disputes on the continent. Tragically, the Rwandan genocide
which was initiated in April 1994 happened while this mechanism was
operational. It was also during this last decade of the twentieth-
century that the conflict in Somalia led to the collapse of the state
and the violence in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan led to the death of millions of
Africans.

These devastating events illustrated the limitations of the OAU as an
institution that could implement the norms and principles that it
articulated. Despite the existence of the OAU's mechanisms for
conflict prevention and management, the Rwandan tragedy demonstrated
the virtual impotence of the OAU in the face of violent conflict
within its member states. The United Nations (UN) did not fare any
better as all of its troops, except the Ghanaian contingent, pulled
out of the country leaving its people to the fate. Subsequently, both
the OAU and the UN issued reports acknowledging their failures. The
impetus for the adoption of a new paradigm in the promotion of peace
and security in the African continent emerged following the Rwandan
tragedy.

Regrettably due to the doctrine of non-intervention, the OAU became a
silent observer to the atrocities being committed by some of its
member states. Eventually, a culture of impunity and indifference
became entrenched in the international relations of African countries
during the era of the 'proxy' wars of the Cold War. So in effect the
OAU was a toothless talking shop. The OAU was perceived as a club of
African Heads of States, most of whom were not legitimately elected
representatives of their own citizens but self-appointed dictators
and oligarchs. This negative perception informed people's attitude
towards the OAU. It was viewed as an Organization that existed
without having a genuine impact on the daily lives of Africans.

The African Union

The African Union came into existence in July 2002, in Durban, South
Africa. It was supposed to usher Africa into a new era of continental
integration leading to a deeper unity and a resolution of its
problems. The evolution of the AU from the Organisation of African
Unity was visionary and timely. The OAU had failed to live up to all
of its norms and principles. Africa at the time of the demise of the
OAU was a continent that was virtually imploding from within due to
the pressures of conflict, poverty and underdevelopment and public
health crisis like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The OAU
effectively died of a cancer of inefficiency because it basically had
not lived up to its original ideals of promoting peace, security and
development in Africa. The African Union has emerged as a homegrown
initiative to effectively take the destiny of the continent into the
hands of the African people. However, there is a long way to go
before the AU's vision and mission is realised.

The AU is composed of 53 member states. It is run by the AU
Commission based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Chairperson of the
Commission is Alpha Oumar Konare. Its top decision making organ is
the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government, its executive
decision-making organ is the Executive Council of Ministers, who work
closely with the Permanent Representatives Committee of Ambassadors
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The AU has also established range of
institutions which will be discussed below.

If we know the 'purpose' of Pan-Africanism then the steps to achieve
its goals become clearer to understand. It is in this context that we
can begin to understand the emergence of the African Union. It would
be a mistake to view the African Union as an aberration that just
emerged in the last few years. It would be more appropriate to view
the AU as only the latest incarnation of the idea of Pan-Africanism.
The first phase of the institutionalization of the Pan-Africanism was
the Pan-African Congress' that were held from the end of the
nineteenth-century and into the beginning of the twentieth-century.
The second phase of the institutionalization of Pan-Africanism was
the inauguration of the Organization of African Unity. The third
phase of the institutionalization of Pan-Africanism is in effect the
creation of the African Union. It will not be the last phase.
Subsequent phases and organizations will bring about ever closer
political, economic, social and ties among African peoples. African
unity is an idea that can be traced back to the nineteenth-century.
The African Union is a twenty-first century expression of a
nineteenth-century idea. As such it is an imperfect expression, but
nevertheless the best expression of Pan-Africanism that can be
brought forth at this time.

Towards a Union of Africa?

The agenda to establish a Union Government of Africa or the so-called
United States of Africa is well underway. At the core of this debate
is the desire to create several ministerial portfolios for the
African Union. During the 4th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of
Heads of State and Government, from 30 to 31 January 2005, in Abuja,
Nigeria, the AU agreed to the proposals made by the Libyan Government
to establish ministerial portfolios for the organisation.

Specifically, in the 6th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of
AU Ministers, Libya proposed the establishment of the posts of
Minister of Transport and Communications to unify transportation in
Member States to be under the competence of the AU which will include
airports and main ports of African capital cities, highways, inter-
State railways, State-owned airline companies which are to become the
basis for a single African airline company. Ultimately, Libya
proposed that this should lead to 'the creation of a post of Minister
of Transportation and Communications'.

Similarly, Libya also proposed the creation of the post of Minister
of Defence to oversee 'a joint policy on defence and security of the
Union and provide for the reinforcement of peace, security and
stability on the continent'. This Libyan proposal noted that the
provisions of the AU Constitutive Act, of 2000, and the AU Protocol
on Peace and Security, 0f 2002, have effectively established a 'Joint
Defence Framework'. As a logical step in the implementation of the
Protocols and establishment of the institutions of the AU the Libyan
proposal emphasised the importance of establishing this post to
oversee and 'defend the security of Member States against any foreign
aggression and to achieve internal security and stability'. In addition,

Libya also proposed the establishment of the post of an African Union
Minister of Foreign Affairs. Central to its argument is that AU
countries undermine their own influence when its 53 Foreign
Ministers, each individually representing their own governments speak
simultaneously and occasionally in contradiction with each other. The
Libyan proposal notes that this post is necessary in order to
expedite 'the Continent's political, economic and social integration
and to reinforce and defend unified African positions on issues of
mutual interest' in the international sphere.

In order to respond to these proposals the AU Assembly decided to
'set up a Committee of Heads of State and Government chaired by the
President of the Republic of Uganda and composed of Botswana, Chad,
Ethiopia, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia' to liaise with the Chairperson
of the AU Commission submit a report by the next summit in July 2005.
In November 2005, the Committee convened a conference under the theme
'Desirability of a Union Government of Africa'. This meeting included
members of the Committee, representatives of the Regional Economic
Communities (RECs), technical experts, academics, civil society and
Diaspora representatives, as well as the media. The conference came
up with three key conclusions including the recognition that the
necessity of an AU Government is not in doubt; such a Union must be
of the African people and not merely a Union of states and
governments; its creation must come about through the principle of
gradual incrementalism; and that the role of the RECs should be
highlighted as building blocks for the continental framework.

Based on the findings of this conference the Assembly mandated the AU
Commission to prepare a consolidated framework document defining the
purpose of the Union government, its nature, scope, core values,
steps and processes as well as an indicative roadmap for its
achievement. The Assembly reaffirmed 'that the ultimate goal of the
African Union is full political and economic integration leading to a
United States of Africa'. The Assembly further established a
Committee of Heads of State and Government to be chaired by President
Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairperson of the African Union, and composed of
the Heads of State and Government of Algeria, Kenya, Senegal, Gabon,
Lesotho and Uganda. More specifically, the Assembly requested the
Committee to consider 'the steps that need to be taken for the
realization of this objective, the structure, the process, the time
frame required for its achievement as well as measures that should be
undertaken, in the meantime, to strengthen the ability of the
Commission to fulfill its mandate effectively'.

The Chairperson of the Committee of Seven, President Olusegun
Obasanjo of Nigeria, submitted a detailed report entitled: A Study on
an African Union Government: Towards the United States of Africa, on
July 2006, to the 7th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Banjul,
Gambia. Some of the key themes emerging from this report highlighted
the fact that Africa is over-dependent on the external world
particularly with regards to expatriate technicians and technology.

It also noted that Africa has not fully exploited its potential at
national, regional and continental levels with reference to trade,
education and health sectors. It notes that 'a United Africa would
have the unique potential of producing most types of food and
agricultural produce throughout the year'. The study also notes that
in the context of globalization 'the challenges of overdependence and
under-exploitation of its potentials have increased the
marginalisation of the continent in world affairs'. The study further
outlines the 16 strategic areas that an African Union Government
should focus on including continental integration; education,
training, skills development, science and technology; energy;
environment; external relations; food, agriculture, and water
resources; gender and youth; governance and human rights; health;
industry and mineral resources; finance; peace and security; social
affairs and solidarity; sport and culture; trade and customs union;
infrastructure, Information technology and biotechnology.

The study notes that the 'design and functioning of a Union
Government as a tool for integration would have far-reaching
implications on the existing institutions and programmes of the
African Union'. It further assesses the implications of a Union
Government on the organs of the AU. The most notable impact would be
the 'need to consider allowing a longer tenure (about 3 years for
example) for the President of the Assembly' of the AU. The President
of the Assembly would also be the unique spokesperson of the Union at
world or other special summits. Therefore the study notes that, 'it
would be desirable that the function of President be on a full time
basis and could be assigned to a Former Head of State or any
distinguished African with the necessary background and track record
for the job'. Another notable innovation would be that 'under the
Union Government, the AU Commission will be entrusted with the
implementation of decisions, programmes and projects in the Strategic
focus areas, which will constitute the Community Domain'. This notion
of issues falling under the Community Domain would assign the
Commission with 'the executive authority and responsibility to
effectively implement' policies. The study also recognises that 'the
logic of using the RECs as building blocks for the eventual deep,
continental integration remains valid. The challenge is in aligning,
synchronizing and harmonizing the integration efforts of member
states, the RECs themselves, and the AU'.

There are also national implications of the establishment of a Union
Government. The study notes that it is vital 'to build the necessary
constitutency for advancing political integration'. In this regard,
some countries have already set up Ministries in charge of
integration and other countries should follow suit. The study notes
that 'there is also a need to devise appropriate mechanisms for
legislative implications at the national level' and 'the direct
involvement of the people in promoting the Union Government could
also be in the form of national associations or commissions for the
United States of Africa'. In terms of financing the Union Government
the study discusses the possibility of establishing indirect taxation
schemes particularly with regards to an import levy and an insurance
tax. A meeting of ECOSOCC in March 2005 proposed 'imposing a five US
dollar tax on each air ticket bought for inter-state travels and 10
US Dollars on each ticket for travelers between Africa and other
continents'. Ultimately, the study is positive about the prospects
for a Union Government and outlines 3 phases for the transition to a
Union Government, including:

1. The initial phase – commencing immediately after the decision of
the Assembly at the AU summit in July 2007. It will include all the
steps and processes that are necessary for the immediate
operationalisation of the Union Government.

2. The second phase – will be devoted to making the Union Government
fully operational in all its components and to laying the
constitutional ground for the United States of Africa.

3. The third phase – will aim at the facilitation of all required
structures of the United States of Africa at the levels of states,
the regions and the continent.

The study recommends a 3-year period for each phase which will mean
that the United States of Africa will be formed by the year 2015.
Elections at continental, regional and national levels would be held,
paving the way for the official constitution of the United States of
Africa.

The study was considered by the Executive Council at its 9th
Extraordinary Session held from 17 to 18 November 2006 in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. According to the report of this meeting there was a
view that

1) 'all Member States accept the United States of Africa as a common
and desirable goal', but differences exist over the modalities and
time frame for achieving this goal and the appropriate pace of
integration; and

2) there is a common agreement on the need for an audit review of the
state of the Union in order to know the areas in which significant
improvements have to be made to accelerate the integration process.

The report of the Executive Council was submitted to the AU Assembly
in January 2007 which decided to devote the July Summit to a Grand
Debate.

The role of civil society in continental integration

It is important to include people and civil society in this Grand
Debate. To what extent are the majority of African people aware that
this debate is going on? If they are not aware, who is having this
conversation on their behalf? How can a Union Government Project
succeed if it does not have the by-in and the support of the people
of Africa? Can there be an African Union Government without African
Citizenship? Where are the African citizens in this debate? More
questions than we care to answer. To be fair the AU will convene from
28 to 30 May an all-inclusive continental consultation on the Union
Government Project, at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, as part of
the preparations towards the Accra meeting.

So civil society will have the opportunity to contribute to this
Grand Debate. There is also the issue of the extent to which the AU
is consulting with the wider African public on the issue of the Grand
Debate. The AU has established a website inviting public
contributions on this Grand Debate. However, some civil society
activists have argued that an African Union Government is a pipe
dream without laying the foundations for genuine African citizenship.

The limits of top-down continental ontegration

Will the establishment of a United States of Africa generate
accusations of lack of originality? Some key actors within the AU
want to have a US of Africa so that they can rival the power of other
global players. There is nothing wrong with such an objective in
principle. However, there are limits to a US of Africa. Notably, the
USA as it is currently framed is:

1. A top-down approach to continental integration;
2. Governed by the whimsical will of the leaders of African governments;
3. Has a tendency towards un-democratic practices, like lack of
consultation;
4. Through its formulation, which largely excluded African civil
society, effectively governed by the rule of Heads of State and not
the continental rule of law.

The objective behind the US of Africa should not be primary one of
increasing the level of global competitiveness of the continent.
Rather a primary focus should be on improving the livelihood of
African people as a whole. For this to happen further continental
integration has to be motivated by the founding principles of Pan-
Africanism, namely a commitment to democratic governance, human
rights protection and the rule of law. Anti-democratic actors who
herald and proclaim the importance of establishing a United States of
Africa, should not be allowed to replicate the anti-democratic
policies and practices at a continental level.

If Africa is striving for genuine continental integration based on
progressive principles, we should perhaps seek to forge a Federal
Union of Africa (FUA) rather than a United States of Africa. This
will begin to delineate and demarcate and articulate the founding
principles of a union of African countries and their societies. A
Federal Union of Africa should ideally be at once federal in nature;
based on the democratic will of its people; governed through the
consent of African people; and governed by the rule of law and the
protection of human rights for all African peoples.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, the Grand Debate on the Union Government is
indeed welcome. The injunction that the great Pan-Africanist Kwame
Nkrumah left us with is still valid: 'Africa must Unite, or
disintegrate individually'. Somehow the Grand Debate captures this
spirit and could be viewed as only the latest incarnation of an
attempt to institutionalise Pan-Africanism. Understanding the
motivations between Pan-Africanism will help us to understand this
Grand Debate. But it is also appropriate to question whether the
Union Government of Africa Project will be built on a solid enough
foundation to realise the aspirations of Pan-Africanism and improve
the well-being of Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora. The
past in this sense is influencing the present, it remains to be seen
whether it will ultimately inform the future.

* Dr. Tim Murithi, Senior Researcher, Direct Conflict Prevention
Programme, Institute for Security Studies (ISS-Addis Ababa Office).
This paper was presented on Africa Day, 25 May 2007, at the
Department of Political Studies and International Relations, Addis
Ababa University and an Oxfam-AfroFlag Vision Seminar, at Axum Hotel,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

* Please send comments to [log in to unmask] or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/42079

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ROUND-UP OF CSO DISCUSSIONS ON CONTINENTAL GOVERNMENT
Joshua Ogada

On July 2007 the ordinary Assembly of Heads of State of the African
Union will meet to discuss the nature of the continent's integration
agenda and the progress that has been made. This is the next, and
probably the most important step to date in what started off as a
desire to create continent-wide ministerial portfolio and has now
grown into a full-scale drive to establish a Union government for the
continent. This intergovernmental forum will assess the state of the
Union and attempt to map a way forward in terms of nature, scope and
time frame of a continental arrangement. In the lead-up to the grand
debate there has been substantial consultation among interested
parties at country and regional level across aimed at soliciting and
articulating the views of the African people on the proposal for a
continental government.

It is within this context that civil society groups met in Midrand,
South Africa to first and foremost reaffirm the need for broad based
consultation and input of the peoples of Africa. The meeting
underlined the importance of the Pan African Parliament in seeking
out and representing the views of their constituencies in the matter.
The meeting stressed the primacy of democracy and rights-based
governance. The groups also emphasized the need for governments to
facilitate the input of their citizens on the issue. Of equal
importance was the free movement of citizens of the continent through
the abolition of visa requirements as well as exploring mechanisms
for economic sustainability.

Nigerian civil society groups echoed these views when they met in
May. The meeting concluded that whereas the idea of a Union
government was desirable, there were challenges that needed to be
overcome before the vision became a reality, such as common political
and cultural values, identity, citizenship integration and state
power. Again the issue of democracy and human rights was highlighted
as an area of grave concern, and although fora such as theirs were
taking place there was a need for greater attention to maintaining
the vital link between the leaders and the people they represent in
as far as the latter's views were expressed and taken into
consideration. Needless to say, this is a major challenge given that
there still is a dearth of true democratic representation on the
continent.

In June civil society groups in Kenya met to discus the proposed
union government. In addition to echoing calls for greater attention
to democracy, governance, human rights and free movement and economic
participation for citizens across the continent, the meeting called
for public access to information about the process, principles of
good governance within the AU and African peoples sovereignty over
the continent's natural resources.

Debate in Ghana focussed on the institutional implications of the
Union Government, as well as the need for the people of Africa to
participate fully in the process. Concern was raised about foreign
interest in the process, as well as the risks inherent in modelling
western constructs of integration. As one speaker put it, "if indeed
Africa has to come together in a continental and economic bloc, we
all have to go back to school and unlearn what we have learnt in
order to connect top the peculiar circumstances of Africa".

Two schools of thought seem to emerge in the discussion. One favours
a rapid formation of a Union government as a clear sign of intent and
determination that will drive the process on. In other words, the
political will involved in forming the union will provide the
necessary impetus to ensure success of the venture, and advance the
goal of a United States of Africa from a nebulous dream cherished
since the heady beginnings of Pan-Africanism to a concrete reality.
The other seems to favour a more gradual process based on
strengthening the existing framework of the AU to ensure before
creating a full-fledged United States of Africa. This school of
thought is cognisant of the shortcomings of the AU as it exists
today, and the challenges faced even at the level of regional
economic communities in trying to forge greater integration.

African scholar Demba Moussa Dembele point to the lack of political
will as evidenced by numerous agreements on regional integration
dating back as far as thirty years that still remain unimplemented.
He attributes this to a lack of willingness of leaders to put the
interests of the continent above the personal and national. It is
however impossible to have this discussion without considering the
legitimacy of Africa's leaders and whether their authority stems from
the their own people. Dembele mentions external and internal factors
that challenge the process, and states that the external factors both
take advantage of, and aggravate the internal ones. He emphasizes the
need for a leadership that both listens to its citizens and stands up
to foreign domination.

At the Kenyan consultation forum Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem stated "it is
better to have imperfection with ownership than perfection without
any ownership", underlining the primacy of the African peoples in the
process. Whereas not all governments provide a voice for their
people, other equally important channels continue to open up, through
various national and trans-national civil society groupings that are
increasingly articulating the views of the people. These channels
must be encouraged and given voice. Whereas there have been various
consultations, clearly this is by no means sufficient or widespread
enough as far as the continent is concerned. Suffice it to say that
there is a commonality of views raised at these meetings in terms of
the issues affecting the rest of the continent

The debate has begun already and the voices of the people clearly say
that they must lead and the governments follow on the road to a
United States of Africa.

Useful links and Further Reading:

1. Grand Debate on the Union Government
http://www.africa-union.org/augovernment.htm
2. Pambazuka News AU Monitor
http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/
3. Communiqué from Kenyan Public Forum to popularise and inform the
Government's position on the AU proposal on Continental Government.
http://tin;yurl.com/23ukzy
4. Editorial: Leader must finally Decide on a Government. By Joseph
Kabiru
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=66&newsid=100342
5. Involve the masses in the fight for African unity. Dr. Tajudeen
Abdul-Raheem
http://www.africa-union.org/comments.htm
6. The Untied States of Africa: The Challenges. Demba Moussa Dembele
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/40573
7. Development plan for United States of Africa unclear. Ayuure
Kapini & Suleiman Mustapha
http://tinyurl.com/2faktu
8. Africa needs to look at the past to forge ahead. Dr. Mammo Muchie
http://tinyurl.com/25dol9
9. Submission from Civil Society Organisations to the Pan African
Parliament on the Proposal for Continental Government
http://www.africa-union.org/comments.htm
10. Afrimap – Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project
http://www.afrimap.org/research.php

* Joshua Ogada works with Fahamu and is Links and Resources editor of
Pambazuka News
** Please send comments to [log in to unmask] or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org

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INTERVIEWS WITH AFRICAN ACTIVISTS ON CONTINENTAL UNITY
Saloman Kebede

Popularise the Union, its time has come
Interview with Bougouma Diagne, Cultural Association for Social and
Educational Self-Promotion.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/42023

Without free trade and free movement, no need for Africans to unite
Interview with George Adhanja, The Kenya National Council of NGOs
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/42022

Open the borders, let Africans challenge HIV/Aids together!
Interview with Wasai J. Nanjakululu, a Kenyan based in Nairobi,
working on HIV/Aids policy at the Agency for Cooperation in Research
and Development (ACORD)
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/41570

No continental union without peace and security
Interview with Joseph Yav is a senior researcher at the Institute for
Security Studies based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/41123

A Fine Idea, let's prioritise peace, women's rights and health!
Interview with Roselynn Musa, African Women's Development and
Communication Network (FEMNET)
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/40992

Give room for civil society participation before adoption
Interview with Sanusi Ibraheem, The Intellectual Group, Nigeria
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/40991

Continental union is viable, but only with commitment and practice
Interview with Pastor Peter Omoragbon, Executive Director of Nurses
Across The Borders
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/40990

Democratic political leadership: pre-condition for continental union
African Union Monitor
Interview with Arnold Tsunga, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/aumonitor/

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LINKS TO PREVIOUS ARTICLES IN PAMBAZUKA NEWS

The United States of Africa: The challenges
Demba Moussa Dembele

Demba Moussa Dembele examines the external and internal challenges
faced by Africa in the face of globalization and the US led war on
terror and asks if the current African leadership is up to building
the United States of Africa in the present global environment.

English: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/40573
French: http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/40752

The essential building blocks of the pan-African vision
Issa Shivji

Issa Shivji continues the debate on the creation of a 'United States
of Africa'. Drawing on past experience and present initiatives of
regional cooperation in East Africa, he suggests that the economic
focus should be at the level of production – capital and labour,
rather than on trade. Politically, it should be people-centred rather
than state-oriented.

English: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/40765
French: http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/comment/41659

Pan African unity: Can Africa match the bid?
Gichinga Ndirangu

The idea of a United States of Africa is the visionary outcome of a
Pan African Unity. Gichinga Ndirangu presents the case for a United
States of Africa and points out some of the major stumbling blocks
that need to be overcome before Nkrumah's dream of a united Africa
becomes a reality.

Plan d'action pour un Etat fédéral africain
Sanou Mbaye (2007-05-25)

Au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale, deux écoles de pensées
dominaient les débats chez les militants des indépendances
africaines. Il y avait, d'un côté, les «modérés», alliés des
occidentaux, qui étaient partisans du maintien des frontières
artificielles héritées du colonialisme, et de l'autre, les
«progressistes» qui militaient pour des indépendances devant conduire
à la mise sur pied d'un gouvernement continental devant présider aux
destinées des Etats-Unis d'Afrique. Les premiers l'ayant remporté sur
les seconds, l'Afrique s'est ipso facto dotée d'un environnement
économique impropre au développement, comme cela s'est vérifié depuis
les indépendances.

http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/41661


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5 African Union Monitor
SOCIAL INTEGRATION AS A MEANS
Eyob Balcha

Eyob Balch writes as a young and concerned African who aspires to see
the realisation of the dreams of our forefathers. This can also be
considered as one of the many suggestions and recommendations that
will be forwarded to the AU Commission on its timely engagement of
establishing the African Union government.


I am writing this article only as a young and concerned African who
aspires to see the realisation of the dreams of our forefathers. This
can also be considered as one of the many suggestions and
recommendations that will, certainly be forwarded for the AU
Commission on its timely engagement of establishing the African Union
government.

For the last four and more years, I have been engaged with different
activities that have increased my understanding about the current
situation of our continent, and the paths that it is embarking on
towards its future. I've read different books and articles, discussed
with different people around me and attended various panels,
lectures, conferences and forums both at home and abroad as well as
with high level dignitaries/diplomats and with other ordinary African
citizens. All the times, I was eager to know the ideas and feelings
of these people about the issues of Pan-Africanism and the unity of
our continent.

Truly speaking, I myself have gone through different levels of
understanding about this particular issue and what I am thinking of
at this very moment is very much different from what it has been a
couple or more years before. Needless to say, peoples' perception is
also on process of change either to the pessimistic or to the
optimistic corner, even to no where. But their might be some basic
grounds where we should have, or better to have, common consensus
about the process of building the United States of Africa (USA).

I am a youth activist and a sociologist by profession and above all a
Pan-Africanist by spirit. And all what I'll be talking about will be
the results of these and other multiple identities that I acquire.
I've personally and organizationally involved in organizing a public
debate on May 25, 2007; marking the African Liberation Day in Addis
Ababa. I've come across different views and ideas of many Africans on
due process with their hopes, fears, concerns and even jokes. But my
basic concern is beyond all these. Through the related readings with
regard to the topic, I've come to know that there are two basic
arguments on the establishment of the African Union Government or the
USA.

The first bloc, alternative A, insists on the immediate union of
African states with one government citizenship, a common foreign
minister, a common defense force and a leader or a president of the
would be government. And the other, alternative B, is a proposition
based on gradual and time proven process of integration through the
regional economic communities (RECs) like the COMESA, ECOWAS and
SADEC towards the higher level of the union. Moreover, another
alternative, more likely alternative C, is cognisant of the fact that
gradual transformation is more acceptable but argues that the
establishment of the union should be through the existing system of
the AU because it has 'enough' Acts and procedures to do so.

According to Dr. Tajudeen Abdul- Raheem, General Secretary of the
Global Pan African Movement, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is leading
the first bloc through his project of the USA since 1999. Whereas the
second bloc has no recognized leaders but government officials
(ministers and ambassadors) of different nations are working on it.
Our PM, Meles Zenawi and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa are proponents
of the third alternative. In spite of all the fact that I've read and
heard about this issue, I haven't had any information about the ideas
of ordinary African on this issue. I remember that, when the then OAU
was transforming into the AU, the leaders were telling us that from
that very moment the level of interaction and engagement which was
restricted at heads of states and government officials' level will be
trickled down to people-to-people level. But what I am witnessing at
this very moment is that, it is still our political leaders who are
deciding on our lives without going through the rational process. As
far as I'm concerned, our leaders are once again too busy of
establishing another bureaucratic and cumbersome political system
which wouldn't belong to the real African people. They are still
doing their best to take forward their corrupted and mismanaged
economic system which is full of imperfect markets and inter-
competition; and their political system whose basic character is
understood in terms of lack of good governance and democracy, breach
of human rights and being considered as 'indigenous colonizer'. What
would we come up with finally when these incompetent and imperfect
states become united, 'United Weak States of Africa (UWSA)'!? May be
the UWSA will help us to differentiate the other USA from ours.

Finally I want to make two basic suggestions on the entire process.
The basic thing is a rights issue. We African citizens have the right
to be involved, consulted and be aware of each and every decision to
be made on our fate. What would a Cameroonian, a Zambian or an
Ethiopian, for that matter, would feel when s/he is told on one
blessed morning that he/she is no more a citizen of Cameroon, Zambia
or Ethiopia but Africa? We, African people, have the right to get
meaningfully involved on every process that concerns us and we should
claim our right in every appropriate manner and through all the
legitimate channels.

Besides this, I personally argue that neither political nor economic
integration is the sole means for the realisation of the union
government. I would say, social integration is the most appropriate
tool in our context. One may argue that both political and economic
integrations are part of the social integration.

But I would once again argue that I'm afraid that they are considered
in such a way since there are many non-political (I mean non-state
politics) and non-economic activities that have created a greater
bond among African people beyond any other means. Like for example,
the civic and non-governmental associations and organizations, the
trade unions, youth associations, women's' associations, the academic
institutions (think tanks), traditional and religious institutions
and the like should be given a much more emphasis and meaningful role
to play in the process. It is in these groups and institutions that
we can find real Africans at the grass root level. Just to mention,
according to the African Youth Charter, young people are defined with
in the age limit of 15 to 35, which is believed to constitute nearly
half of the entire population of the continent. And it is this
segment of the society on which all the social, economic, political
and whatsoever kinds of positive and negative realities of the
continent are manifested.

Therefore, on what kind of rational ground that we would accept the
decisions of our political leaders to establish the continental
government; without incorporating these peoples' idea. We should
first enjoy the real brotherhood and sisterhood in our respective
areas, through our cultures, arts and societal values among ourselves
in the spirit of being African, which will be a cornerstone for the
realization of our dream. It is people-to-people interaction and
integration that should be given the greater value in this process,
more than the periodic conferencing of the political leaders.

Let me be, humbly, sure that the process of establishing the union
government is for the mere benefit of each and every citizen of the
continent. Then, why do our leaders fail to materialise the basic
feature of 'democratic governance', i.e. participation. The AU will
be having its heads of states meeting coming July in Accra, Ghana
where they will be discussing about one and only one agenda – the
African Union Government/ the United States of Africa. But the
significant part of this continent's citizen are not aware of the
process let alone forwarding ideas and failed to be heard.

Finally this is the concern of one young African that, our leaders
should have a moment to set-back and to revisit their steps and we
Africans should demand our rights to decide on our fate by ourselves,
of course legitimately, for the realisation of our dream.

* Eyob Balcha, a youth activist in Ethiopia, is currently a graduate
student of sociology at the Addis Ababa University. His is also the
founding member of Afroflag Youth Vision (AYV), a local civic youth
organisation and the programme manager of the organisation.

* Please send comments to [log in to unmask] or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org


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