African leaders meet on Monday morning in Durban for the 38th and final summit of the Organisation of African Unity, before setting up what is seen as a stronger and more effective African Union.
Most of the 52 leaders invited to the meeting had arrived in the port city by late on Sunday night.
The heads of state and their delegations are to assemble at the International Convention Centre by 11am and among items on the agenda will be recommendations for putting together the four key structures of the AU.
They are also expected to discuss the action plan for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), announced after the summit of the group of eight industrialised nations in Canada last month.
Members of the Nepad implementation committee, including South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo, met in Durban on Sunday afternoon.
The two other chief Nepad architects, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika, were also present at that meeting.
The South African President, who is set to become the first AU chairman at its official launch on Tuesday, also held talks for about 45 minutes with United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, a guest at the three-day meeting of African leaders.
Another major issue to be discussed by the heads of state is the position of Madagascar, which was earlier barred from joining the AU following a disputed general election on the Indian Ocean island state.
The morning session will comprise opening speeches, before the serious business gets underway behind closed doors.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance is among a number of interest groups set to protest in the vicinity of the international convention centre. Their likely target is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, a strong and vocal opponent of homosexuality.
The other demonstrators will include a group from Ethiopia, another from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a trade interest organisation, and members of the Socialist Party of Azania. – Sapa