/ 1 August 2011

AU is being ignored — but it is not weak, says Mbeki

Au Is Being Ignored But It Is Not Weak

African Union (AU) proposals on Africa that were ignored by the rest of the world did not mean that the organisation was weak, former president Thabo Mbeki said on Monday.

“There is an attempt to ignore the African voice,” he said at the launch of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute in Pretoria.

Ignoring the African voice was more of a reflection of “the wrong attitude” in the rest of the world, rather than the AU being a weak organisation, said Mbeki.

He said that while the AU had many policies and many agreements had been reached within the continent, the continent lacked the skills or people to carry out many of these policies.

He hoped that the leadership institute would train people from across the continent with the skills to implement the policies that had been decided on. — Sapa