The text of the Lbyan Leader’s speech via international mass media to put the African citizen
In the name of God.
As the African Summit in Addis Ababa approaches at the end of this month probably after a day or two, since the summit as usual and as the high-level team formed by the president of the union to evaluate the state of the African Union noted.
It says that the summit conference is an effective process in its current position because it convenes for two days the first of which all speeches and a ceremonial programme. On the second day the heads of states start to depart leaving the issue to officials who leave them behind and such officials maybe a minister and not even a minister.
Therefore the team formed by the President of the Union noted this flaw in the summit conference so the team confirmed the ineffectiveness of the conference. By that it meant the summit conference because it is convened for only two days. The first day is a ceremonial one and is spent on speeches especially by foreign delegates who are normally invited to attend. On the second day, heads of state start to leave leaving the matter to officials. This is what the team noted.
Therefore I viewed that since there is time to make the African citizen informed and I want him as well as the brothers, leaders of African states, to listen to this address well before the summit. I mean this talk is not only for today, tonight or tomorrow because I believe I would not find a time like the rest of my colleagues to talk about the African Union as it should be. Because the time, as the team which reviewed the state of the union noted, that the summit does not have enough time to allow the presentation of ideas and elaborate and in-depth discussions to reach an outcome. So I avail myself of this opportunity to present and say the thing that we could not accommodate in the limited period of the summit which is two days. In fact it is only one day. Before I review these statements there is an introduction.
There are facts I would like to present and underscore. First I would like to draw the attention of the African citizens and my colleagues on the African continent that the Addis Ababa conference should be what it was intended to be. It would be a decisive conference because in this conference a conspiracy that could constitute a veto on the unity and future of Africa becomes clear. That is a conspiracy to sell Africa in the auction and to divide it or subdivide it among world forces and compromise its future and the future of its children. Or there would be justifications for all that had happened in the past eight years after the proclamation of the African Union and this matter would become clear in Addis Ababa.
If again there is procrastination and justifications which we are accustomed to it means there is a conspiracy and those who are responsible for its implementation will be proved by time in the future and the African people will hold him to account.
Therefore now procrastination started and the government of the union and unity of Africa started to roll as in the past, like a football. Whenever you reach it you kick it forward without holding it. So the unity has become like a mirage. If it is proved in this forthcoming summit that up until now they still roll the government of the union or enlarging the executive council or taking decisive decisions on African unity it means there is a luring force whose task is to sell the future of Africa and compromise it. God willing, this will not be the case before us.
Anyhow Libya, which has an effective role, is an serious African force and it is for the sake of Africa and not for the sake of Libya. I would like to explain that the enthusiasm of Libya for the unity of Africa and the strength of Africa and for the establishment of an African Union government like the United States of America, Europe, China, Brazil, and India. This enthusiasm is for the sake of the African continent as a whole and not for the sake of Libya only.
Libya’s and interest will be achieved by the unity of Africa, by the existence of African sovereignty safe-guarded by one African defence, one African economic force and by one African market.
But we must caution them that Libya eventually will not take part in selling out Africa. I personally will never contribute to the selling of Africa in the auction and I would like to inform the African citizens on the continent from the furthest point that if I discover there is treachery, bribery, compromising the future and destruction of Africa or the selling of Africa I will not never take part in this.
And the African citizen will be informed by me about this bitter fact if it did occur. And I would like to say that those who ask why Libya is enthusiastic about African unity or why Qadhafi wanted African unity with such vigour I would tell them that this is for the sake of Africa and not for the sake of Libya only.
For Libya if it viewed the issue as an issue of wasting time it has other strategic options. First, Libya is part of the Mediterranean sea and this in itself constitutes s global and strategic space. Libya can play a decisive role in establishing a space other than the African space which is the Mediterranean sea space. In this case Libya would benefit from its participation with a strong and advanced side and has modern technology and this European or Mediterranean side is welcoming Libya to be its partner. Libya is a lake of oil and gas and has about 2000km on the southern Mediterranean coast. I hope this will not take place and the desert would not be a divide between what used to be called in the past ‘black Africa’ and ‘white Africa’ or ‘Arab Africa’ and ‘black Africa’.
They always used to say sub-Saharan Africa. Regrettably this may occur if the Sahara becomes a divide and North Africa and foremost Libya turns its back to the desert forming a strong space around the Mediterranean. This sea is a sea of civilisations, the heart of the world and we fortunately are located in the Mediterranean and occupy 2,000kms of it southern coast. Then Libya has another space which is the Arab space and it can play a role in establishing an Arab space from North Africa to Iraq and this is an oil and gas force, human resources force, resources and strategic positions from Gibraltar to the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden to the Straits of Hormuz.
Libya is also part of the Muslim world extending from Marakesh to Indonesia and it may play a role there. One day a very strong Islamic space may be constituted on the basis of Islam. This may take place.
An African space, a Mediterranean space, and a European Mediterranean space will be constituted. That is where the Mediterranean sea joins Europe. We at least the revolutionaries in Libya, have no inferiority oppression and conspiracy complex. That is the West, Europe, the Mediterranean is something fearful that would overcome us and colonise us. Why not the contrary? Why not they are the ones who fear and say that Arabs or Muslims would colonise us or they would change our cultures or they may spread Islam. We colonised them for 800 years, we colonised the Iberia Peninsula for 800 years. We colonised Italy for 300 years.
Why don’t the Europeans fear and say this old colonialism may return again?
We have a culture, why don’t the Europeans fear it and say they have a culture and a religion, the final religion addressed to the entire people that they may spread it to us. They don’t fear, they say you are most welcome if you want to take part with us in the Mediterranean. Europe and the Mediterranean are most welcome. We don’t have such complexity, we may take part with Europe and the Mediterranean and merge with it in everything and we are not fearful. We have a culture, a religion, belief or faith and we have a great historic legacy and we changed the map of the world several times. The Abbasid, the Ummayad, the Ottoman, the Andulsian, Carthage, Al Gabila states - all such maps of the empires - we are the ones who made them and we reached as far as the gates of Vienna under the Pyrennes mountains. We don’t have a fear complex from merging with Europe and the Mediterranean.
If Africa is going to compromise its future we have ready strategic alternatives. But the African countries are the ones who are going to die because they don’t have the possibility to get our of this grave which is wanted for these countries.
Since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity since 1963 - until now, that is about 40 years (about means more or less) which is more no Arab individual took the secretariat or assumed the post of the secretariat of the Organisation of African Unity. Nor the African Union Commission. From 1963 up to now., although one third of the Arabs are Africans. That is the speakers of the Arabic language in Africa. None of them assumed the responsibility for the post of Secretary General for 40 years. And eight years of the African Union. There is a conviction among the Arabic speakers who make up one third of the Arabs that they have no right to this post. Why? A tradition that Africa is black and they are the majority for instance.
However, we are now 150 million Arabs in Africa, that is Arabic speakers in Africa. We contribute 60percent to the budget of the African Union now. But it seems to me that this post became confined to non-Arabic speakers and that Arabic speakers are deprived of this post and we conceded. Now the African Union Commission is to be constituted. Obviously it is my opinion that this commission should be abrogated and replaced by the council of ministers or an enlarged executive council because the commission is without powers and without tasks and weight it is a dead body. And the commission cannot be relied upon.
The report by the team made up of president of the African Union says that the commission is characterised by inefficiency, lack of powers, and misunderstandings and responsibilities and and its relationship with the committee or representatives is characterised by tension, and mutal mistrust. This is its evaluation of the commission. It has no powers, no value and it is engaged with problems with the committee of permanent representatives and it is better for it to be abrogated and replaced by another executive body, a government or an executive council etc. However if there must be a commission why not one of the deprived for more than 40 years and who contribute 60 percent of the budget of the African Union and the Organisation of African Unity and whose number is 150 million, why shouldn’t they have the right to assume this post, the post of the chairman of the commission.
For instance we presented Ali Tereki. He is known to all African and he should be president of the African Union Commission. And the foreign minister of Gabon who is a candidate also to be deputy chairman and other candidates be commissioners and in this way the formation of the commission ends. This is without secret balloting by agreement of the African leaders. I noted that some were surprised. Why? How could Al Tereki from Libya, an Arab and from North Africa, why? As if there is a rule that nobody from this region has the right to assume this post. Until when will such deprivation and this illegitimate veto continue. If it is objected to in Addis Ababa it means there is a racist position. Why is there a racist position from the Arabs? Our African brothers have their justification.
First they consider Arabs immigrants from the Arab peninsula who came and occupied North Africa as they came and occupied Andulsia, the Mediterranean, southern Italy and elsewhere. The second thing, the Arabs not only accused but condemned by contributing to the slave trade in Africa and I announced this and recognised and condemned it strongly. I consider it a shame in the history of the Arabs especially the Arabs in Africa. In the Arab peninsula they treat the blacks as they treat slaves although slavery has no connection with the colour. The slave may be white, black or yellow and the Arabs contributed to hunting the Africans in the jungle as the Americans and the Europeans did. In fact the Arabs practised far worse racism than the racism of the West.
The West shipped blacks and used them like animals, muels, donkeys, camels and horses. As a physical muscle to cover swamps and pave the roads and build a new America and Europe. The Arabs however practised another racism: individualistic racism. They did not use them in such projects but they sold Africans and they processed them individually. The effects of this are still in Libya today and I am fighting such effects. We find that even in Libya social effects and I am against it and it should be abrogated. When there is a social event they bring a black family to cook the food. Why not a white family? If a white family wants to get a reward or money or knows how to cook why not a white family? Why should they only look for a black family to cook the food? Cooking could be done by a white or a black person. But this is the remains of existing Arab racism and we recognise it. When they bring folkloric groups they must be Libyan blacks. Why are the whites not the ones who beat the drums at such festivities. This is shameful and should be changed and it is the remains of racism that they practise. This is the racist culture of the Arabs. The Africans are aware of this and they know that the Arabs despise this race. They sold it and contributed to slavery. This is one of the things that made them that the Arabs should not assume a post. The position in the end is a racist position. The Arabs were initially racists and now the other Africans who are not Arabs are racist against the Arabs existing now.
The other issue that the Arabs in one period had a misunderstanding or shortsightedness during the phase of the liberation of Africa when they stood by the feudals and the sultans who were of Arab origin and sided with the Islamic communities. I mean the Islamic minorities in Africa. And no onw warned them against this mistake save Ahmed Ben Bella when he went to Jamal Abdel Nasser and told him Mr President there is a wrong strategic position exercised by yourself or by Egypt or by the Arabs. What is is? He told him you are making a broadcast inciting Muslims in Zanzibar and Tanjanika and Abyssinia and that region. But the Arabs there are feudals. They are sultans and kings and they are the remains of the old society and these countries want to get liberated. Then if you are attacking Nyere because the feudals in Zanzibar are against Nyere he is a liberation hero, an African hero. All African liberation movements are in Dar Es Salam.
Abdul Naser understood this and said correct and therefore there was a historic and strategic meeting between Jamal Abdul Naser and Nyere to liberate Africa and combat colonialism and racism. Revolutions that took place in Africa especially the socialist progressive revolutions, confronted the sultans, the remains of the Arab sultans, the sheikhs and the feduals who used to occupy vast areas of land enslave people and exercise slavery on blacks to the extent that during that period they asked leaders of the founding fathers of African Unity to deprive the Arabs from being members of the organisation. The Organisation of the African Union should be confined to sub-saharan Africa. Why? They said because the Arabs are racists.
This belief still exists today to a degree that when we say for instance Ali Tereki who is Libyan Arab to be president of the African Union Commission it arouses surprise. Some African leaders are surprised. They say, how, how? It means something new that breaks the custom that we made. The custom that there is a position against the Arabs.
If this takes place, let us suppose that they don’t accept Ali Tereki in Addis Ababa now it means, no doubt a racist position. There is no justification save a racist position. Why Al Tereki is the one to fill the vacuum after Konari? I mean Konari was head of state and he became chairman of the commission. After we removed Konari and replace him with another unknown official, no matter how he was, Konari would leave behind a big vacuum in the African Union Commission and this vacuum must be filled.
Tereki is a veteran, a skilled person, experienced, known by all the Africans. He specialises in Africa and is the best person to assume this post. But they say to you he is from North Africa from the Arabic speaking. We are not accustomed for one from this group to head the OAU or the African Union Commission.
This is the secret behind the surprise now. They were shocked when we presented this name. All of them were shocked. They said we are not accustomed to this. They said a black person is supposed to be the chairman of the commission. Obviously there was a racist culture existing from the Arabs against the Africans and from black Africans against Arabs from the days of Houphuet-Boigny and the days of Singaore.
On the other hand the Arabs were biased to their culture against the African culture. Ben Bella managed to take such a stand and directed this orientation in the right direction and Abdul Nasser was convinced by the explanations of Ben Bella and he reorganised his policies in Africa and played a very important role in Africa and in their unity. He helped the peoples and the liberation movement and played a very important role in Africa, their unity and helping the liberation movements. Egypt played a prominent role in the liberation of Africa.
Now Qadhafi came in this space and the phase of the armed liberation in Namibia by SWAPO movement and the armed liberation movement in Zimbabwe by Zanu and Zapu movement and the liberation movement of Angola from Portugese colonisation and the liberation movement of Guinea Bisseau and Cape Verde during the says of Amilcar Caprol and Ninu Vierra. And the South African Liberation Movement by the African National Congress (ANC) that was led by Mandela, the father of Mbeki etc. They were the founding leaders of this movement, ANC. And Frelimo and Remano in Mozembique and Frolina inChad, the Chadian National Liberation Movement. And the Mozembiquean National Liberation Movement.
There was a revolution in Libya which threw its weight behind the liberation movements and you will view the video of the liberation camps where thousands of African men were trained on Libyan soil. Because among other things, Libya was placed by the colonialist countries on the black list and considered a terrorist country which is full of camps of terrorist.
Terrorism for them was the liberation of South Africa and the ANC was at time a terrorist movement and Mandela was a terrorist who was sentenced to 27 years in jail. And the Swapo movement. led by Sam Injuma who was always in Libya was considered a terrorist movement. And the Angola Liberation Movement. They used to say that Angola was Portugese and they considered the movement a terrorist movement. They also considered Frelimo and Freolina and all these movements terrorist movements. They also considered Museveni, Zenawi, Issias Afeworke, Omar Al Bourj, Kokni Wadai and Lumumba : they were all considered terrorists who should be eliminated at that time.
Libya supported this liberation camp and up till now Libya pays the price for training thousands of African fighters and paid millions for the liberation of Africa. Up to now Libya pays the price of its effective participation in the liberation of Africa and this is duty and we have no remorse. This is an honour and a glory and there is also a benefit for Libya when the African continent becomes liberated and becomes one strong nation, like America, Europe and China.
Yet at the same time I caution to another phenomena, a phenomena I call the Serbbian or the Russian phenomena in Africa. You know that Serbia is the biggest state in the Balkans and does not desire the unity of Europe. It wants the unity of the southern Slavs, Yugoslavia. Why? Because if it unites the small Balkan states in a Yugoslav union, Serbia becomes the leader and the dominant one. And these small states become satellite states. I mean satellites that rotate like the planets that rotate around the bigger planet. Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, even Kosovo, they all used to rotate around Serbia. Serbia was the base.
And you have seen after the death of Tito rebellions started and they say we were colonised by Serbia. I met journalists from Slovenia and Croatia and they were telling me about Serbian imperialism. The first time I heard the word Serbian imperialism was from journalists from the countries that were part of the Yugoslav Union. They said because Serbia was dominating them and we are proxies to it.
And the era of the masses has ushered in and we will be liberated from the domination of Serbia. If Serbia were part of the European Union, that is a member of it, Croatia and Slovenia etc were members also they would be equals because they are all members of the European Union like Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, like Luxembourg, like Germany, like France. They are all equal members. However Serbia is imposing the unity of Europe and wanted its own regional unity, to become dominant. This is the interpretation and the analysis.
The same applies to the Soviet Union which was based on Russia and the evidence when the era of the masses came the Soviet Union disintegrated and these countries became independent. And now they became independent countries such as Ukrania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belorus, Latvia, Estonia, etc All these countries, 15 countries, 15 nations were under the domination of Russia. They are the ones who say this. Therefore Russia used to maintain this gathering around it to be the strongest. It is the center and the others are the peripheries.
This phenomenon is now present in Africa. It is the phenomenon of African Serbia or African Russia. There are countries with weight in Africa opposing Africa unity. Why? Because they want to lead regionally from Africa and to have a sphere of influence and a market for its products and semi colonise and satellite states. Therefore these powers always oppose one way of another the establishment of African unity or the establishment of a federal government. The establishment of an African federal government means all countries, large and small are equal. The united states of Africa will be like the United States of America. All equal states. If there is no African unity and there are only regional unities then the region will be going in the orbit of the larger dominant state in the region. Therefore the major countries in Africa oppose African unity because they want to be alone in dealing with the region and use it as a colony or as a market for its products.
This may change with the change of personalities and culture of the people. The phenomenon is there. This state could be Libya, Algeria or Egypt. It could be Congo or Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania or Ethiopia. It could be any state. You chose any state with some weight and resources. It could be the Ivory Coast or Senegal i.e. A state with some weight and with other statelets orbiting around it. Those who have such a vision oppose African unity because they want to be in a special region where they dominate. When the statelets in the region awake and know the conspiracy which involves bad will and his harmful they will rise up against the orbit imposed on them.
Gambia for example is in the midst of Senegal. It is a small stretch over the Gambia River. Therefore Gambia is like a worm. It was colonised by the English speaks English and is now independent. But Senegal was colonised by France. In such a situation the large state is Senegal but Gambia and Guinea Bisseau are statelets. Suppose the African Union is established. This means a federal government and that Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bisseau become equal like Algeria, Ethiopia or South Africa.
If there are United States of Africa all states become equal. Unity means equality and is beneficial for smaller states. Of course those who have this vision will not live long because the region we are talking about will have the same fate as that of the Soviet Union and the gathering of orbiting states will be over. We see the disintegration of federal Yugoslavia and is now attracted by European unity. All member states in federal Yugoslavia will become members in the European Union. They become equal like Slovenia and Serbia.
If there is any state and suppose it is Libya, it will have an orbiting group of states around it. This will not last long because these states want to be liberated from the Libyan grip. They want to become equal like Libya in the African Union and Libya becomes a state like any other state.
I want to alert African states that I may not find enough time to explain all this in the summit which is for one day. The first day is just a celebration and valueless speeches and guests from everywhere deliver speeches at the expense of African time. But in the second day we have the hard work and the people start to leave. I want to alert those with these intentions that they are going towards a dead end because smaller African states know their interests in equality among the bigger and the small countries. And equality is realised in the African Union, in the united states of Africa and not in regional units. The regional units have question marks.
Then we will have foreign trade. There has to be one minister for African foreign trade. Why? Because single African states, any state has no negotiating value with the African Union or with the US, China or Japan. If one minister goes to Japan to buy one hundred cars he will be overlooked. We want one African minister to go and say Africa will buy one million cars. In this case there will be competition between the US, Europe, Japan and China in order to sell a million cars a year for this client. This is because he is an African trade minister and can have a million cars. The one million cars will be bought by Africa and after that to be distributed. For instance Gambia takes ten cars, Libya one thousand cars and Malawi 100 cars. Each one according to his order.
But is you go alone to buy 100 cars from the European Union no one will take care of you. They will tell you we don’t have time, we are negotiating with one coming to buy 100 cars.
We told them let us brothers make a minister for foreign trade. And everything is for you. Instead of individually importing bring him here and he will have a vessel or a pool. If Gambia wants to buy ten cars and Libya will buy 100 cars and South Africa will buy 1000 cars and Egypt will buy 100,000 cars so he will go with this order, he goes with this collective list. This minister would not tell them this is for a given state. He will say Africa will buy one million cars in exchange for purchasing cotton or diamonds or uranium for such and such a price. They would say this is sound and this is an important customer we must compromise with him. However if you are going to buy only 100 cars what is the importance of such a customer. They will tell you we will buy your peanuts cheap, we will buy your peanuts, coffee and cotton cheaply and sell you our products at an expensive price, whether you like it or not. If you don’t like it you can go.
Obviously by my evaluation in fact I would like to commend the stances of the countries. (This is by experience) I want to praise the stances of the French speaking African countries.
African Francophone countries as I see them, are loyal to Africa. I don’t know why but it could be cultural. These countries are loyal to African unity and francophones are viewed as real eagles of Africa and the African Union.
The Arabs are not against African unity. But they aer not enthusiastic. That is because Arabs may still entertain hopes of Arab unity. And they believe that African unity comes second to Arab unity. They are not against it but they welcome it if it is there even if they are not enthusiastic to the same degree as the enthusiasm as the African francophones and I have to laud those nations and allow their leaders and their nations have to fear that. The leaders of the African francophones countries are the ones who are sincere about African unity.
Africa has sacrificed too much in order to fight the apartheid regime in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola. And Libya has basically sacrificed too much and paid a heavy price towards fighting these apartheid regimes in Africa until the nations have been liberated.
In fact we were expecting our brothers, after having been liberated from apartheid and have joined the Organisation of African Unity and are now in the African Union to be enthusiastic from African unity and to come a unionist force to delight us. But we were shocked. In fact they are the least enthusiasm. This is a fact for history and it is unfortunate. There is the Accra declaration as we said. The African Summit decided to name it the Accra Declaration because it is necessary to respond collectively to the major challenges of globalization that face Africa and we have to consolidate regional integration processes through a continental mechanism and that had been decided in Accra in line with our belief in the need to establish the United States of Africa.
We have decided the ultimate goal which is the United States of Africa and the means of that is through the federal African government.
However every time we get there in a summit and we want to apply this matter it is being dragged forward.
If that is repeated in Addis Ababa then it means there is a conspiracy, there is abandoning, there is bribery or selling. Something had been paid. This is treachery understood by all nations.
Therefore we have agreed to speed up economic and political integration for the African continent including the formation of a federal African government. This has been decided in Africa. We have to speed up. There is no time for slow steps. We have to speed up the formation of the federal government. This approach has to be applied in Addis Ababa. If it was applied it means the conspiracy is clear and there is treachery and abandonment and a paid price.
The next paragraph is to conduct a revision immediately and not slowly to establish the executive council according to article ten of the constitution or the constituent order which says that the executive council is to be formed of foreign ministers or any other ministers as we have decided to add other ministers to the foreign ministers.
Yesterday President Museveni who was the head of the committee to consider the federal government told me that this federal government includes the following areas: that is defence. This means that President Museveni who is the head of the committee thought about laying down the vision of how to establish the federal government. He says the federal government has to include defence, foreign affairs, foreign trade, energy, transport and railways.
President Abdullah Wadi says his vision is that it is made up from 17 ministries including heath, agriculture etc and that it is necessary for any federal government to be formed of the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, foreign trade and possibly transport. But the three ministries foreign, defence and trade are most necessary and without them it will not be recognised. It becomes a laughing stock.
This is strange. As an oil exporting country in Africa we are surprised. Libya proposed that African oil exporting countries like Libya, Algeria, Angola and Nigeria may establish a fund to assist African states who are suffering from a huge rise in oil prices. I proposed this to them during the African summit in Addis Ababa and in Banjul.
If there are people who are loyal to their nations they should have grabbed this proposal, stuck to it and benefited from it. But they just applauded and did not care about it afterwards. This means that we have rulers who do not care about the plight of their countries but God is above all. We have proposed this as an oil and gas producing and exporting country and if the people you want to help do not want that then it is their guilt.
Libya has investments in Africa. The African investments are almost a billion. Oil is a billion. The Libyan Oil Company is three quarters of a million distributed among a number of African states.
The communications company is half a billion. The African Airlines is half a billion. ”Cen-Sad” Bank is a quarter of a billion. The African Satellite is a quarter of a million. The portfolio has five billion.
All these are investments in Africa. Some Libyans believe that these are goods presented freely for the Africans. This is Libyan money invested and will bring benefits to the Libyans. It is better than buying Pepsi Cola or other things.
But if Africa is practising a racist policy or to compromise its future we have the investments which we can direct and give our backs to the Sahara. We can direct these investments towards the Mediterranean. Had we invested five or ten billion in the Mediterranean we would be the biggest influential country in the Mediterranean or in Arab countries or in Europe. Anyhow it is possible that that what this high-level team had to say which was formed by the chairman of the union to evaluate the union was not understood. The outcome of the recommendation of this team may be blacked out.
I would like to outline it and I want them to hear it in Addis Ababa or in the African capitals.
As regards the background of the African Union the team unveiled a contradiction in the texts of the constitutive act and steps to speed up the establishment of the union were not defined together with overlapping in the functions and powers of the bodies. They also recommended to reform and to set a time frame for the bodies and institutions of the union.
That’s it. We should decide on strengthening these institutions. The team confirmed the ineffectiveness of the conference (the summit conference) and that is because it is convened for only two days, the first one ceremonial and on the second the heads of state start to depart leaving the matters for the officials.
The executive council. The team recommended the need that the executive council comprise all sectors and not only the foreign sector.
We should in Addis Ababa constitute an executive council comprising of all sectors in accordance with the recommendation of the high level team formed by the president of the union and the foreign sector should only be one member and the executive council should be transformed into a council of ministers for all sectors.
This team upon which we bestowed our trust and was formed by the president of the union recommended that the executive council which now comprises of only foreign ministers into a council of ministers.
The committee for representatives which is a group of ambassadors present in Addis Ababa the team recommended to review its authority and tasks and that it comprises of unqualified people and created problems with the commission.
Technical committees.
All these are present in the constitutive act of the African Union. Their powers and work methods are not clear and it is recommended to curtail them and to rely on a council of ministers and not such ambiguous committees. These technical committees should be abrogated and replaced by a council of ministers. The commission inefficiency, lack of powers and misunderstanding of responsibilities and its relationship with the representatives committee characterised by tension and mutual mistrust. There is no need for such a commission.
The team noted a lack of interest of member states to ratify the decisions of the union and that there are 37 countries that have not yet ratified the amendments to the Constitutive Act and the list of that is present.
No country has ratified the non aggression and common defence treaty apart from Senegal, Libya, Congo, Gabon, Togo, Niger and Ghana.
The amendments to the constitutive act that we decided at the summit to end the contradictions stated by the report were only approved by Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Comoro Islands, Tropical Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Kenya, Gabon, Niger and Ghana. These are the only 18 countries, out of 53, that ratified the amendments because this team noted that and wrote saying a lack of interest of member states to ratify the decisions of the union and that there are 37 countries that have not ratified the amendments to the Constitutive Act.
The countries and regions go individually for partnership with Europe or with foreign countries and criticise the summit between Africa and other countries. I mean 50 African presidents go to meet the Prime Minister of Japan. This is something shameful.
The African Parliament.
The team discovered the fragile role of the African parliament, it has no role, the provinces or the regions upon which they rely. The team underscored their inability to realise any of their goals. The regions did not realise any of their goals and their memberships are ramified.
It excluded the ”Cen-Sad” community and asked it for the need to support the commission towards the mobilization of resources and the implementation of continental projects. The ”Cen-Sad” community was the one commended by the team and it was excluded from the negative evaluation and asked to continue its work.
NEPAD.
The team viewed that the spreading of NEPAD systems constituted a barrier that ought to be addressed and called for the necessity for the full integration of NEPAD in the African Union in accordance with the resolution of Mobutu in 2003.
Since 2003 in Mobutu the capital of Mozambique we decided to integrate NEPAD into the African Union. From 2003 until now there are people who are enjoying NEPAD and they don’t want to integrate it into the African Union. Is it a whim, a personal interest or a conspiracy.
The team also recommended freedom of movement and the immediate establishment of the union’s financial institutions which is the African Central Bank and the African Monetary Fund and the African Investment Bank. The team regrets the delay in the establishment of these institutions and deems it of utmost importance and called for its launch in no more than three months.
We should now in Addis Ababa decide that these institutions should be established before three months. They should be established otherwise there is a conspiracy that the African citizen should understand.
The need for the establishment for continental infrastructure.
I mean there must be roads, electricity and sanitation works at continental level. Speeding up the establishment of the African Common Market. These are the recommendations of the team in brief. Let them hear it today because maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow they will be blacked out.
We come to the agenda for the day after tomorrow. The subject of the summit. I mean the subject of the summit, the main topic to be studied is industrial development in Africa.
We are now in the phase of building the union, building the mechanisms of the union which will manufacture industry and agriculture, will make roads, infrastructure and the ones which will defend and safeguard. Who is going to implement industrial development. So many times we decided on the need to lift customs and the need for opening the borders and the need for movement and the need for the unification of this and that. Without a mechanism. We have no executive mechanism which is working daily to apply these things.
Now when we discuss economic development in Africa and industrial development this needs a minister of industry. This requires that we set up a minister for ind
ustry so we should appoint a minister of industry to apply this. Otherwise who is going to implement this because now we are not in the process of implementation. We are not in the phase of agricultural industrial implementation etc etc. We are in the phase of building African mechanisms which later implements these tasks. Now we will build a financial institution first before we talk about the need to relate it to finance. We set up a ministry of defence before talking about defence measures. Before we talk about industrial development we should set up a ministry of industry.
Under whose aegis will industrial development come. If there is no minister and ministry who is going to implement it. This is irrelevant. We should now speak about building institutions build African Union mechanisms and not talk about duties. For whom? Who is going to implement them? All of us want industrial development for Africa. Great,.There is no objection.
However we are not at that stage. We are at the stage of building bodies that are later going to implement this development, be it industrial or non-industrial.
Obviously the conference has on its agenda the discussion of the recommendations of the high level delegation the outcome of whose studies I have outlined.
These are the phases of the endeavour of the union government. The first thing that we have constituted was that we formed a committee chaired by President Museveni together with six presidents to make a proposal on the government of the African Union. This presidential committee worked and presented its proposal during the Sirte Summit. Instead of applying its recommendation another ten-member presidential committee was set up presided over by Obasanjo President of Nigeria.
By the way I talked about the eagles of Africa, the French speakers and they are enthusiastic. We should also include one such as President Obasanjo who is from the English speaking countries but he is among the enthusiasts of African unity. Nigeria realises that its destiny lies in Africa and not outside Africa and that it is an African country 100 percent and that it has no future but with Africa and by the unity of Africa and its strength is derived from the strength of Africa. And he is enthusiastic about African unity and exerted an effort at the committee which I spoke about which comprised of ten members.
When President Obasango presented this report - the Museveni committee talked about a union government. And instead of implementing it we set up a committee comprising of Obasango. So a committee was set up comprising of Obasango and he presented his report in Banjul. And when he came to Banjul instead of applying the objectors objected and said this needs a study. We referred it to the Addis Ababa summit and instead of applying it they said we have no time and we will allocate it to another summit in Accra.
We devoted the Accra summit only to the union government. When we arrived at the Accra summit a committee was set up comprising of five presidents from Libya, South Africa, Senegal, Gabon and Uganda of which three of us met yesterday. Rather four, South Africa did not come.
I mean I don’t know how many other committees are going to be set up in Accra and presented to us in Addis Ababa.
We will present these facts to them in Addis Ababa and what will happen? If nothing happens in Addis Ababa all strategic visions which could be serious what one was thinking about could become relevant. It is relevant that the Sahara becomes a divide between black and white Africa. It is relevant that North Africa separates. It is likely that the Mediterranean space be established. And it is relevant that North Africa and foremost Libya links its destiny with Europe with the industrial, progressive, technological and serious world. We do not fear Europe. They are the ones who should fear us.
We are the ones with beliefs, with religions and cultures. We are the ones who changed the world We are fearless. Those who want to adopt the customs of Europe let them free to take it. And those who want to adopt our customs let them come to adopt them. If your son becomes Italian or English or German or you going to prevent him? If he want to he can follow Germany and remain a German, why not? And if the German like our religion and culture and the French women use the veil and says I will be like the Muslim and Arab women, why not? Why are they afraid of such a thing? We are fearing that woman becomes naked and abandon the veil but why don’t they fear us, let them adopt the trend.
We are fearless, we can integrate with Europe or with the Mediterranean sea.
Tags: brother, cars, cate, europe, Food, hero, journalist, pace, planets, rbi, religions, sake, spira, ups