Africa Update#6-
Week of 9 August, 2010 – Vol.2.6-
African Union:
As the Pan-
In a communiqué issued in Kampala, Uganda, at the end of a consultative meeting to review the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, the Pan-
The Midrand-
AU chairman Bingu wa Mutharika has encouraged other countries to ratify the charter. The AU chairman’s country, Malawi, has yet to ratify the charter.
The Vice President of the PAP Cde. Gumbo said the charter’s main aim was to promote and strengthen democratic principles and procedures. Once passed, it will, according to UNDP programme advisor, Dr.Khabele Matlosa “prohibit the scourge of unconstitutional changes of government, which threatens stability, peace and security”.
AU on climate change
In an attempt to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change, the AU Commission is working on a strategy. The Head of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Dr.Khalil Timamy, says poor countries on the continent would be enabled through a fund to put in place mitigation measures.
Speaking at an African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) meeting, Dr. Timamy explained that though the strategy is late in coming, it is crucial to ensure there is a set programme for African countries to put in place structures that address environmental challenges since climate issues is not a one-
Timamy stressed the incorporation of climate information in planning by African governments to ensure that development projects are not devastated in the event of being affected by the vagaries of the climate.
· As the deadly bombings in Kampala, Uganda has brought into sharp focus the need to dynamise the African Standby Force (ASF), the AU Commission says that Africa’s proposed standby conflict-
The five regional units of the force are training personnel, some of whom will be ready for deployment in September, explained the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra. Each will provide no less than 5,000 soldiers, police officers and civilians.The AU summit that just ended in Kampala will have the authority to deploy the force to fight terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy and to work in conflict zones.
The AU Commission will continue to liaise with the UN and other agencies for financial and military hardware support for the proposed force.
· A multi-
The initiative, dubbed the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has been structured in a way that its sponsors will see maximum participation and consultation from a wide range of stakeholders.
It is to be carried out by the regional economic communities, working closely with their member states and AU specialized institutions. PIDA is intended to establish an infrastructure development programme over a time period up to 2030. Access PIDA website here: http://www.pidafrica.org/index.html
· Reports indicate that African countries are on track in meeting requirements for a monetary union set for 2021. This has raised hopes for the merging of African currencies.
A meeting convened in Nairobi, Kenya, early July that brought together more than seven central bank governors under the Association of African Central Banks (AACB), explained that the objective in having a common currency and a common central bank in the next 11 years, was on track as “most of the active members have been meeting a number of macro-
The decision and move to merge continental-
ECOWAS
The 15-
Still with ECOWAS, the Togo-
EAC
Addressing the 3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva in July, at a three-
Themed “Parliament in a World of Crisis: Securing Global Democratic Accountability for the Common Good", the summit focused on democracy, the role of the legislative institutions and their relationship with the UN.
A private-
The new committee is supposed to work hand-
EAC Assistant Minister Peter Munya assured participants that East Africa was set to achieve the objectives as outlined in the EAC Treaty, which would eventually see the region become a political federation. Critical to this is the viability of establishing a Monetary Union by 2012.
The EAC is also considering the establishment of an East African Development Fund that would assist the struggling countries to fully be a part of the EAC Community.
{C}· {C}Still on the EAC, further complicating the issue of overlapping membership of RECs, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), already a member of the AU-
The country’s ambassador to Tanzania, Juma-
DRC is a vast country with membership also of COMESA and SADC, two blocs that are working with the EAC to establish a Free Trade Area.
It is noteworthy that former ECCAS member Rwanda pulled out of that bloc in 2007 to join EAC, but DRC has chosen to remain both a member of ECCAS and an eventual member of the five-
SADC
The 15-
SADC authorities have been quoted as saying that they will not be deterred by developments in the Eurozone to deter or discourage them from moving towards a single currency by 2018.
When all’s done and dusted, there is the thorny issue of which currency should be used for the region once the conditions for the region to become unified under one currency have been met.
Still on SADC, the Angolan embassy in Botswana reported that the Early Warning Centre of SADC tasked with monitoring conflicts in the region has been inaugurated in the capital.
The regional reporting and monitoring centre will enable member States to collect data and assess eventual situations of instability in the sub-
To become fully operational, member states would have to create National Centres which will report to the Regional Centre in Gabarone, for assessment and analysis of potential threats to regional stability.
CENSAD
Leaders of the 28-
The new chairman of CENSAD—Chadian president Idriss Deby Itno, has been mandated to establish a limited ministerial committee in charge of preparing a new framework on the structure, objectives and programmes of the bodies of the Community.
Following a submission of the report and recommendations to Deby, the president will be compelled to convene an extraordinary summit within three months.
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