African leaders at the recent 9th organized
African Union Summit in Accra,
announced a common ground for the implementation of the union
government initiative.
This was after
several days of differences over the path and expected time frame for the
implementation of the programme. The 52 leaders, led by John Agyekum Kuffour, of Ghana, the AU
chairman, Alfa Omar Konare, AU
president, at the summit in Accra, though,
agreed for union government, could not
confirm on when that should take place.
Seriously, leaders
of the continent at the summit were separated by their diverse opinions and
differences on when the continent should
be governed by a single union government to promote democracy , economic
growth, and human resource development, as well as transparency in
economic management .
A group led by
Colonel Muamar-Al Qathafi, the Libyan President, which consisted of Robert Mugabe, president of the Republic
of Zimbabwe at the summit, called for
immediate implementation of the union government system, to liberate Africa from western influence, and to boost inter country
trade on the continent towards economic development.
Another group led by the South African President, Thabo
Mbeki, Umaru Yar’ Adua of Nigeria called for a step by step system by Africa countries to invigorate them towards a good
implementation process.
It has been noted that the significant transition from the Organization
of Africa Union to Africa Union was clearly acknowledged by many policy makers,
despite little evidence of action taken to put in place institutions and
processes that respond to new continental architecture.
Experts have argued that the AU summits are inadequately
prepared for, and in some circumstances, issues up for discussion or their
input are not requested. The capacity of governments to collate, analyze and
distribute information was identified as a serious constraint.
At the summit in Accra, which was held from the 1st
to 2nd July 2oo7, it was recommended that some of the key issues
that the AU government should consider is by ensuring that information
regarding summits is more effectively distributed for the public to access it.
That would provide a good grounding for participants to discuss their views on
issues that would be incorporated within the summit.
African business leaders, financial controllers and experts,
corporate heads and bank managers have called on African leaders to get in
talks and set a criterion which would be required of the countries to meet
before they are qualified to join the union government.
These include, common attainment level of inflation in
single digit level, and in a stable form, stable foreign reserve of not less
than 5 months import and low interest rates to the barest minimum level.
The need for total reduction of human right abuse and the
promotion of transparent and good democratic governance would prepare the
grounds for the initiation of the union government programme, to free the
locals from continuous economic woes experienced for several decades, after
independence.
The continental union
government proposed by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana, Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, and several others from Nigeria, Guinea
and Egypt
was the driving force behind the formation of the Organization of Africa Unity.
The idea collapsed after the overthrow and assassination of
Dr. Nkrumah and Emperor Haile Selassie respectively, but was revived at the AU
meeting in Lome, Togo in the year 2000, with several
African leaders calling for a continental leadership.
In that regard, a committee was established under the
chairman of Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda,
at the AU summit in Abuja
in 2005 to investigate the desirability and feasibility of appointing ministers
for certain portfolios for the AU. The committee, however, went beyond its
original mandate to propose the formation of a union government for Africa.
Another committee of Heads of State, led by Olusegun
Obasanjo of Nigeria,
the then Chairman of the AU assembly was set up to investigate the feasibility
of the proposal. Based on its report, the Executive Council of the AU, in
November 2006, recognized that the
formation of a Union Government for Africa was
a desirable goal, but expressed divergent opinions about the nature and the
time table of that government.
Many African leaders are of the view that with the emergence
of globalization, no single African country will be able to develop and
withstand the problems of the global economy on its own.