South African President Thabo Mbeki lauded the newly-formed African Union as an engine for transforming the continent and he urged African leaders to work together to build the continent’s infrastructure and to fight poverty.
”Africa is of a particular experience; it is one of military coups, dictators, tiny little economies and all manner of things that have never worked,” said Mbeki, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations Thursday.
”Out of this was born the African Union and what we are now talking of is strengthening partnerships within Africa to help us deal with our own problems.”
Mbeki said South Africa and other nations in Africa are struggling with problems of infrastructure, development and education. Countries can get pharmaceuticals for people suffering from disease, he said, but countries can’t distribute them because there is no infrastructure in place.
”Part of our heritage means that we must build the
infrastructure ourselves to deal with this problem, but do we have the capacity to do that?” he said.
”Does Africa have the capacity to deal with the challenges of the 21st century?”
Mbeki has been one of the chief proponents of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development, as part of a plan offering billions of dollars in new aid to those nations that improve their political, economic and social conditions.
The partnership is based on the idea that foreign investment will help spur development more than foreign aid.
Mbeki criticised the World Bank, saying what he called the age of the ”viceroy” governors is over.
”They used to say, ‘This is your problem. This is how we will solve your problem and here is the money to fix the problem,”’ he said.
”But if you disagreed and said, ‘This is not your problem,’ the viceroy would say: ‘Well, you won’t get the money.’
”That was a very disempowering relationship — one of donor and recipient — and we hope to end that kind or reliance.”
Mbeki has been a driving force behind the formation of the African Union in July. As its first chairman, he has said the union will act as an engine to transform Africa, sparking foreign investment and development through the promotion of democracy and good governance.
The union, which replaced the Organisation of African Unity, is envisioned as a federation that includes a parliament, a security council and a standby peacekeeping force. But many critics remain doubtful that African leaders will be willing to give up even a small piece of their power to the new body.
The OAU was derided within Africa and abroad as little more than a bureaucratic talk shop that did nothing to stop the oppression of Africans at the hands of their own leaders.
With the creation of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, African leaders now have the courage to criticise other African leaders, Mbeki said: ”When we now, from time to time, have the courage to say to another African leader you are misbehaving — we have essentially started down the road to peer review.” – Sapa-AP