Madam Chair and you Madam Speaker sitting over there, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, I'd like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the hon members for taking this time to engage in this important debate on the African Union government.
A few weeks ago, during our Budget Vote debate, we did indicate that it would be good for the House to debate this matter. But let me hasten to add that the debate is not new, but what is new is the level of participation by civil society, parliamentarians and different socioeconomic formations on the continent.
At Ghana's independence 50 years ago, the President of Ghana at the time, Kwame Nkrumah said, and I quote: "Our independence is meaningless if it is not linked to the total independence of the African continent."
After that speech there were many discussions and many meetings, from 1958, to generate consensus around this issue. These important meetings took place in Brazzaville, Casablanca, Monrovia and Lagos, and would culminate in the founding of the OAU.
Maybe the questions we should ask are: Why the integration? Why was the OAU established besides its task to decolonise Africa? Again, I think the answer lies with what Kwame Nkrumah said in 1963, the year in which the OAU was formed, and I quote:
Our continent gives the second largest stretch of land in the world. The natural wealth of Africa is estimated to be greater than that of almost any other continent. To draw the most from our existing and potential means for the achievement of abundance and a fine social order, we need to unify our efforts, our resources, our skills and intentions. We need unity to secure total African liberation. We need to carry forward our construction of a socioeconomic system that will support the greater mass of our steadily rising population at a level of life that will compare with those of the most advanced countries.
He further argued that:
The forces that unite us are intrinsic are greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart, and our goal must be the establishment of Africa's dignity, progress and prosperity. 0 Here is a challenge, which destiny has thrown out to the leaders of Africa. It is for us to grasp what is a golden opportunity to prove that the genius of the African people can surmount the separatist tendencies in sovereign nationhood by coming together steadily for the sake of Africa's greater glory and infinite wellbeing into a union of African states.
The golden opportunity of which Kwame Nkrumah spoke with such urgency was not fully realised during his lifetime. "We must act now," he said, "tomorrow may be too late". It is therefore obvious that while the collective political will was strong, the right conditions had not yet been attained.
The integration process started in earnest with the OAU, even though it was not through the "union of African states" that Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure and others had pressed for. The question is: Are those conditions now met? Maybe we should remind ourselves of what President Mandela said at his first meeting of the OAU as a head of state in Tunis in 1994. He said, and I quote:
Finally, at this meeting in Tunis, we shall remove from our agenda the consideration of the question of apartheid in South Africa.
Where South Africa appears on the agenda again, let it be because we want to discuss what its contribution shall be to the making of the new African Renaissance. Let it be because we want to discuss what materials it will supply for the rebuilding of the African city of Carthage.
More importantly, he went on to say:
One epoch with its historic task has come to an end. Surely, another must commence with its own challenges. Africa cries out for a new birth, Carthage awaits the restoration of its dignity. If freedom was the crown, which the fighters of liberation sought to place on the head of Mother Africa, let the upliftment, the happiness, prosperity and comfort of her children be the jewel of the crown.
The current leadership of the continent, realising that the OAU belonged to the epoch with its historic task that had ended and that another had commenced, with its own challenges, launched the African Union, the AU, with clear objectives that included: one, the acceleration of the political and socioeconomic integration of the continent; two, the promotion of peace, security and stability on the continent; three, the promotion of sustainable development at the economic and cultural levels; four, the integration of Africa's economies; and five, embracing gender equality.
The question, therefore, is: What model of integration is best suited for us to realise these objectives? Maybe we need to look at what the EU did. The EU came together with the objective of making sure that there would never be another war and ending conflict within the region using iron and steel. Furthermore, they wanted to create free economic space where there would be movement of people and eventually a common currency. They are on course.
They also had their own vehicles that drove that process, and those were initially France and Germany. Therefore, we may need to look at Africa and ask: What is it that we want to achieve eventually?
Having seen some of the objectives of the OAU again, the African leadership decided to develop Nepad. Nepad was to accelerate Africa's social and economic transformation, and it had the following objectives: one, eradication of poverty; two, placing African countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development; three, halting the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process; and four, accelerating the empowerment of women.
Madam Speaker, I must say that we must also understand that the integration of Africa started in earnest with the OAU. It is a continuous process. As we speak, we have our own Peace and Security Council and we are in the process of establishing a stand-by force for peacekeeping, in order to deal with the conflicts on the continent. This is part of integration.
The Pan-African Parliament is located in this country. Again, that shows that integration is proceeding. The establishment of the Human Rights Court is further evidence of this. Indeed we need to integrate. The question is: What model do we need to use to accelerate this integration, which is already taking place as we speak?
The questions that we must ask, Madam Speaker, are: Are we ready for the African Union government? Has the time come to form the united states of Africa or the union of African states?
Some people say, "Yes, it has come". Amongst those who say it has come, there are some slight differences in emphasis. Some say that we must start with just a few areas, such as trade, finance, transport, foreign affairs, amongst other things. However, others feel that we should just go on a fully-fledged union government.
The questions are: Are we ready? Do the conditions exist for a union government? Or should we do more in rationalising and strengthening the regional economic communities as building blocks? Should we strengthen the AU commission's capacity, both human and financial? Should we give it stronger mandates? Should we do more to mobilise financial resources for the implementation of infrastructure, human resource development, agriculture, and so on, which are the priorities of Nepad?
If we agree to form a government, which areas will be covered in the union government? Of course if we do agree to form a government, it will mean that we have to harmonise all the policies so that we can have continental policies in the areas we choose. There would have to be proper funding of this government and all that a government entails.
Madam Speaker, it would not be desirable for me to pre-empt this important debate, so I have just posed questions and given options to allow the House to have proper deliberations. The forthcoming Ghana summit will consider nothing but this question of the African Union.
Should it be established now? And if "yes", then all the attendant questions will need to be considered. If not, what then needs to be done to accelerate integration?
All governments across the continent are consulting their respective citizenry on this matter, because as yet there is no consensus on how to accelerate the integration; hence the grand debate that will take place in Ghana. Maybe I should just conclude my opening remarks by reminding us of what President Mbeki, then Deputy President, said in his famous speech when we adopted our own Constitution, "I am an African". He said, and I quote:
I am an African I am born of the peoples of the continent of Africa. The pain of the violent conflict of the peoples of Liberia, Somalia, the Sudan, Burundi and Algeria is a pain I also bear. The dismal shame of poverty, suffering and human degradation of my continent is a blight that we share. The blight on our happiness that derives from this and from our drift to the periphery of the ordering of human affairs leaves us in a persistent shadow of despair. This is a savage road to which nobody should be condemned. This thing that we have done today, in this small corner of a great continent that has contributed so decisively to the evolution of humanity, says that Africa reaffirms that she is continuing her rise from the ashes. Whatever the setbacks of the moment, nothing can stop us now! Whatever the difficulties, Africa shall be at peace! However improbable it may sound to the sceptics, Africa will prosper! Whoever we may be, whatever our immediate interest, however much we carry baggage from our past, however much we have been caught by the fashion of cynicism and loss of faith in the capacity of the people, let us err today and say - nothing can stop us now!
So how best can we achieve this peaceful and prosperous Africa that President Mbeki spoke about? I look forward to a fruitful debate. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, Minister, Speaker and colleagues, since Africa's independence from colonial rule, various initiatives have been explored, aimed at trying to forge closer continental co-operation for the purposes of African unity. Such calls are not new in Africa, on the contrary, the very formation of the Organisation of African Unity saw the emergence of two schools of thought which differed on the exact path that Africa should take towards her eventual unity.
The current debate regarding the creation of an African Union government must therefore be seen within such a historical context whereby there are different visions and ideals in Africa on how best to strengthen and forge greater continental co-operation, integration and unity.
Given the significance of this matter, the African Union Summit of Heads of States to be held in Accra in Ghana, will only have this issue on its agenda in July 2007. The July 2007 summit is to be preceded by different forums and meetings aimed at allowing different stakeholders to engage in discussions regarding this idea.
One of such meetings is the recently concluded gathering of the AU Ministers of foreign affairs held in Durban, South Africa, from 8 to 9 May 2007. The report released at the end of this meeting suggests that the issue of the African Union government was thoroughly debated during the meeting. The report noted that during the deliberation the delegates raised a number of issues, concerns and suggestions in paving the way for the African Union government. It was agreed that there was a collective commitment to political and economic integration of the continent. Beyond this, there was divergence on how this should be achieved.
The Minister has already spoken about the European Union, so I won't go into that. The African Union Commission released the framework document in 2005, which outlined the set of principle guidelines for the creation of the African Union government. Among other things, the framework document makes the following proposals:
The Union Government will be a political transitory arrangement towards the United States of Africa; and that the union government shall consist of a more focused assembly and an executive council and commission.
The above structures will be supported by an effective permanent representatives' committee and result-oriented, specialised technical committees. The framework document for an African Union government also states that the creation of such a government should derive its strength from Africa's shared values, common interests and constraints.
These shared constraints entail, for instance, the fact that Africa continues to be overdependent on the external world for its economic development and that the continent continues to suffer due to the underexploitation of its enormous development potentials at national, regional and continental levels. However, it is worth mentioning that this observation is not new and that in fact efforts by the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, are meant to specifically address these and other challenges.
The commission of the African Union government would share executive functions together with the assembly and the executive council. This, it is observed, would be a departure from the current arrangement whereby the commission functions as secretariat. The framework document also calls for the review of the Pan-African Parliament in the context of article 25 of the protocol of the Pan-African Parliament. It also calls for provisions to be made for the direct elections of the Pan-African Parliament MPs through a proportional representation system. That of course has to be debated. How does that happen? All of the above proposals would require some revision of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. In context of the proposed African Union government, one of the key amendments to the Constitutive Act would be the inclusion of the principle of a community domain through which members of the union will agree to delegate, authority partially or totally, to a continental body. The question that we need to ask is: To what extent are African states ready and willing to even partially relinquish their state sovereignty?
The question of sovereignty is complex, especially in Africa where states do not share similar levels of economic and political independence; where there are small and strong states operating side by side. The question of sovereignty must therefore be approached with outmost care and it may be too ambitious a goal to expect that in a short space of time, all African states will be willing to give up their sovereignty.
The creation of a union government also has implications for the continental financial institutions such as the proposed African Central Bank and the African Monetary Fund. For instance, it is envisaged that the African Central Bank would play a role in ensuring that there is greater co- operation among African states in the sphere of monetary policy.
The Framework Document proposes that a United States of Africa should be created by the year 2015, following a three-phased road map each lasting for three years. That, of course, is up for debate. As far as the challenges with the proposed African Union government are concerned, one of the questions that should be asked concerns the timeframes that have been outlined for the creation of a United States of Africa. That is, Parliamentarians should be able to evaluate whether or not 2015 is a realistic timeframe for the successful conclusion of such a project?
The above question must have as its background the fact that in terns of the Lagos Plan of Action the process for the creation of an African economic community was to take 34 years. Thus the question becomes, what is it about the current sociopolitical and economic conditions in Africa that warrants a belief that the United States of Africa could be created in such a short space of time? This is one of the important questions, because the African leadership has the responsibility to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated, where unrealistic plans and timeframes are outlined without the necessary machinery to ensure their realisation.
Furthermore, parliamentarians and other African stakeholders should be able to reflect on whether the AU has been able to achieve the objectives for which it was created. The AU has not concluded a decade since it replaced the OAU as a continental body. Thus, the question should be: Are those pushing for the replacement of the Union government convinced that enough work has been done to meet the objectives of the African Union and therefore warrants the transformation into an African Union government?
Is there a study that has been conducted that thoroughly informs the African people about the strides or failures therefore, by the AU to achieve its tasks? It appears that it would defeat the purpose to transform the AU without such a study being done and without providing an opportunity for a third examination of the progress by the AU.
One of the foreign policy priorities in South African government is the consolidation of the African agenda. Amongst other things, one of the key objectives of this priority is to strengthen the AU, its relevant organs as well as specialised technical committees. From the point of view of the South African government, more work is still required to ensure that the African Union functions effectively. Therefore, it may well be that the AU still requires strengthening before Africa decides to forge co-operation by creating an African Union government.
I am going to pass on to the decisions taken by the Pan-African Parliament. The Pan-African Parliament sent the recommendations to the African Union, and they are as follows: the first is that the transformation of the Pan- African Parliament into a legislative organ be accelerated to enable it to contribute to the integration of the continent, through among other things, the harmonisation of policies, laws and regulations relating to the various issues of development.
The second is that the evolution towards the Union government should take into account modern global forces and pressures, and that the AU sets a realistic calendar in order to facilitate the evolution of the AU towards the creation of the union government. Third, is that as a prerequisite to setting up a union government, the AU redouble its efforts in order to accelerate the establishment and the strengthening of existing institutions and those which are in the process of being created.
The fourth is that the present process of rationalising and harmonising the AU institutions and regional economic communities which are the actual building blocks, as well as their policy programmes and projects be accelerated and finalised following a realistic calendar. The fifth is that African political leaders show their political will to move towards the union government by paying the respective country's contributions to AU's budget and subsequently to the union government.
The sixth is that the African Union clarifies the type of union government it has in mind. The Pan-African Parliament for its party, is in favour of a federal type of union. The seventh is that the nomenclature "United States of Africa", with the English acronym of USA, be replaced by another acronym which better reflects the history of the continent.
Eighth, the AU takes all the necessary steps to encourage and promote the full participation of peoples of Africa in the debate and process towards the creation of a union government. Ninth, the Nepad, APRM and other similar specialised institutions should be incorporated as specialised technical institutions of the future union government with appropriate levels of autonomy of powers and resources.
I want to very quickly come to the meeting held in Addis Ababa by civil society, trade unions, some legislatures, the military and some women's movements. The meeting articulated the commitment to the unity and the development of Africa. The delegation agreed that efforts towards integration should be informed by the basic development needs of the people of Africa within a peaceful and stable environment.
It expressed support for the decision to order the AU and its institution and organs. Furthermore, it was argued that greater efforts should be made to harmonise continental policy frameworks, particularly within the judiciary and economic domains. Furthermore, greater convergence in government framework should be encouraged and developed among African states through greater support of the APRM framework. Lastly, with the few minutes left, I want to put in that one of the things that was said was that to consolidate continental unity, the people of Africa must be included in the debate in the union government. We should broaden the participation of the debate to civil society and the decision should be taken by the people of Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Chair, hon Minister and hon members, coming from a visionary perspective, may I say and state that today we stand, not at the edge of a cliff but on a rolling hill staring far into the distant horizon - so near yet so far. It is the far-off goal which we must work towards today.
Many on the African continent, including South Africa - you know, we are part of Africa and I state this to remind all and sundry - may not live to see the goal attained. But as Africans loyal to Africa's renaissance, growth and destiny, we must be part of the roadmap to Africa's unification, peace, stability and prosperity by laying the first stones - the building blocks! Being African is not dependent on skin pigmentation or necessarily race or tribal origin. Mama Africa embraces all her children from Cape to Cairo, Morocco to Malagasy in all their hue and splendour. Deny yourself or deny others of this parentage at your own peril.
Before we can start building a unified Africa, we must start to build and strengthen the very African Union, which is sadly lacking in various departments. The AU is lacking, not because there is anything inherently wrong with the structure or the mandate of the organisation, but because some member states continually let the other member states down. Too many wars are fought; too many governments are corrupt, undemocratic and abusive of human rights when in fact other governments have sworn to mend their damaged countries and behave with a sense of morality and benevolence.
The AU must be bolstered by vibrancy and sustainability based on positive attitudes and actions from our leaders on the continent and also supported by all citizens otherwise the AU effort will be flawed.
In striving for unification of Africa, we must not shy away from learning from other nations' experiences lest we repeat or make mistakes that were made in these areas. Take note of the journey thus far travelled by the EU and our own regional bodies and related efforts. Surely the EU's journey has been long and fraught with stumbles, missteps, and misadventures but the Euro has been introduced to the world. The lesson for us in our quest for Africa's unification is this: No learning is accomplished without stumbles, missteps and even misadventures. The intrepid yesteryear lads know that ``faint heart never won fair lady''! So, Africa, we have to be courageous.
When looking back at the difficult history of the EU, where major mistakes were made and paid for by developed First World countries, it becomes clear how far Africa must go before the concept of African unification has any real effect on our day-to-day actions. Until then, we must strengthen or fortify the processes and institutions already put in place towards making the continent a better, safe and secure place to live in, before we think of merging. Each sovereign state or country or building block, as I have said, must be strong in the democratic tenets and protocols that we so ably verbalise and espouse.
Take heart though, the picture is not that bleak. There is hope even if it is flickering hope to some, and there is also the will and courage to forge ahead to the ultimate goal - the unification of Mama Africa.
Closer to home, many countries in the SADC region would be good candidates for a free trade area. Peaceful countries like us, Namibia, Botswana - to name but a few - are beacons of hope. Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya and Malawi could be incorporated in the near future in this free trade sphere.
I hope this happens one day - and very soon. It would be a great privilege to watch African countries slowly joining, like the plates of a tortoise shell moving together to create one strong and formidable whole. The African dream, the African mosaic and tapestry has great potential! A mmaruri, ngenene, ngempela. [Truly.]
Until that time comes, we must focus our efforts on improving the ability of the AU to lead the way. This can only be achieved by member's improving their diligence and commitment to the AU and following through with the promises they made when signing the various treaties. I thank you, Madam Chair. [Applause.]
Madam Chair, guided by the Pan-Africanist philosophy, the African continent has, since independence from colonial rule, consistently pursued the twin objectives of unity on the one hand, and collective self- reliance in the field of economic and social development on the other. These twin objectives aimed at promoting socioeconomic development, protection from neocolonialism and reduction of its dependence from the countries of the North.
As African states finally became independent, they recognised the need to establish an organisation that would act as a vehicle for African unity, and this was realised in 1963 when the OAU was established. The founding fathers of the OAU envisioned a united Africa functioning under a union government with a common defence, common diplomacy, common currency, an African monetary zone, an African Central Bank and a common African citizenship.
The formation of the AU in 2000, replacing the OAU, was necessitated by, among other things, the new context marked by globalisation, the partial end of colonialism in Africa and the end of the Cold War.
The AU established Nepad, which was supported by the Constitutive Act, the objectives of which were inter alia, to achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the independence of its member states and so on.
The AU Assembly, then mandated the AU Commission to pursue the projects of the United States of Africa by holding the All-Inclusive Continental Consultation Conference on 29 to 31 May this year in Addis Ababa, where participants, including civil society organisations, agreed that there was a need for the establishment of a union government as the political transitory arrangement towards the United States of Africa.
Many member states, with the exception of few, agreed to the project of the United States of Africa. Their fundamental motivation was that such an eventuality was going to effectively address the issues of underdevelopment, eradication of mass poverty, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law and the defence of their political independence and position in the world.
All participants agreed that that process would be a gradual, incremental and multilayered approach, bearing in mind that of course there are sensitive issues such as the African Bank and sovereignty which are very crucial, the removal of trade barriers, African armies and defence, judiciary systems, African security issues, common currency, common language, etc.
It was further realised that there can be no integration of the continent without strong regional economic communities which would serve as building blocks towards the realisation of that dream.
The biggest challenge is in aligning, synchronising and harmonising the integration efforts of member states, the RECs and the AU. Therefore, a roadmap for the attainment of deep continental integration and the establishment of union government should learn, first, from the difficulties experienced with the two previous roadmaps - the Lagos Plan of Action and the Abuja Treaty. Thank you very much, Chair. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chair, Julius Nyerere once said that African nationalism is meaningless, dangerous and anachronistic if it is not at the same time Pan-Africanism. The ID wholeheartedly supports this view, and we believe that we have to continuously fight for the long-held dream of a united and prosperous Africa.
I stand before this House as a proud African who has travelled the length and breadth of this continent. I've been struck by the enormous creativity and resilience of ordinary African people, which I believe must be unlocked in any future governance structure of Africa.
It is often said that Africa is resource-rich but governance-poor. We must set about changing that. Seeing that today is my birthday, I want to make a wish. [Interjections.] That wish is that in my lifetime I will see Africa merge as a united superpower that can lead the world on a new path of sustainable development.
It might be just a wish, but 10 years ago, after travelling through the despair of the then Congo, I never believed that I would be sitting in Parliament listening to the poignant address of a democratically elected President of that country. In Africa the impossible is possible. Let us all work towards the vision of a united and prosperous Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chair, Madam Speaker, Minister, the present integration of African states resembles the EU rather than the United States of America, but is not much different from the secret Accra Agreement in its goals of eliminating tariff barriers, forming one customs union, the creation of a single African bank and a single currency.
It may be useful in this debate to look at some perceptions with regard to the impact of the EU on its member states. These include centralisation of power in Brussels, loss of sovereignty and interference in decision-making. For example, 80% of German legislation since 1998 has its origin in Brussels directives.
With no EU community of people to give it a democratic legitimacy, EU control is seen as an assault on nation states and the national democracies that underpin them. Rampant corruption has been acknowledged by EU auditors and on the EU's own figures, the single market costs three times as much as the benefits.
It is estimated that EU membership cost the UK between 15 billion and 25 billion each year, or 1 000 per household. That would be around R1 000 per month here in South Africa. The UK's membership has been described as an economic and social disaster.
A Zimbabwean delegate at a public seminar on Africa Day was reported as saying that he was attracted to the optimism of continental integration and that the idea of a united states of Africa was good. Very likely, from the perspective of some failed states, the benefits will look good, but what are the implications for South Africa?
The fact that this debate, up till now, has taken place exclusively at the level of heads of state and excludes the people of Africa is, as we have said, of great concern for the ACDP. It is the people of Africa and indeed South Africans who should be applying their minds to this concept as it is the people who stand to gain or lose the most. [Time expired.]
Mr Chairman, the Minister asks: How best can we achieve one, united, prosperous Africa? We answer as the FF Plus by being realistic and not overambitious when we talk of one United States of Africa.
If we are unrealistic in our dreams, we shall fail. Everything will be delayed by many years. Are we really ready at this moment to choose one leader for Africa? I'm afraid not. You know, we struggled to decide who must represent Africa at the Security Council, and it was much easier to do that.
Are we ready for one single currency, meaning putting together the strong pula with a weak Zim dollar? I'm afraid the answer is no. So these are unrealistic dreams.
The European Union started in 1957 with six members and then built up slowly. After 50 years, they now have 27 members. So what is our advice, if I may put it that way? Let's keep the dream alive; let's be realistic. Start regionally with SADC. Build up the infrastructure of SADC. There are lots of possibilities there. Get co-operation going at regional level, start dreaming about the bigger one and then slowly build up to that. I think that's realistic, that's within our reach and can be achieved within, hopefully, our lifetime.
Chair, the unification of Africa is not a choice; it is an imperative. Africa must unite or perish. Through a courageous policy of unification, an integrated economic and technological development continentally, Africa can take her rightful place among the powerful nations of the world.
It is for this reason that, from our inception in 1959, we in the PAC strongly identified ourselves with the entire Pan-African Movement and advocated a union of sovereign states.
A united states of Africa does not mean loss of sovereignty by independent states. On the contrary, as Kwame Nkrumah stated: A united states of Africa will strengthen the sovereignty of the individual states within the union. The longer we wait, the stronger will be the hold on Africa by neocolonialism and imperialism.
Africa has been a great actor in history. She must come alive again and take her destiny in her own hands, once more. The African Union government is a catalyst in this noble journey. Forward to a giant, monolithic state of Africa! Forward to a social order original in conception and Africanistic in orientation! [Applause.]
Chair, Madam Speaker, hon Minister, the MF affirms that it is Mama Africa with all our brothers and sisters that was raped by colonialism. While some of us were led into harsher trenches, such as apartheid, many of us managed to haul ourselves to recovery. Furthermore, some on the continent remained savaged by political agendas, poverty, exploitation and cruel, inhumane social retardation.
Those of us who have managed to escape these shackles need to realise the duty we have to rescue Mama South Africa and give her the opportunity to sprout into the continent we were derailed from.
We cannot allow Western opportunists to fix Africa as this would not be done without an agenda. Africa needs to unite through the AU, PAP, Nepad and independent democratic initiatives to liberate Africa. Let us be the mediator between the colonial aftermath and the future political agenda.
Allow a united Africa to take up its place in this world as the strong Africa that we are. We emphasise, however, that the colonial masters of Africa be held responsible for the African debts as these were accumulated under duress from colonialism.
The MF calls for a united Africa and better Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, in honour of President Kabila, Azapo wishes to start off by quoting from a secret agreement that was signed in Accra on 8 August 1960 by Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba, and I quote:
The President of the Republic of Ghana and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo have given serious thought to the idea of African unity and have decided to establish, with the approval of governments and the people of their respective states, amongst themselves, a union of African states. The union will have a republican constitution within a federal framework. The federal government will be responsible for foreign affairs, defence, the issuing of common currency, the economic planning and development.
There will be no customs barriers between any part of the federation. There will be a federal parliament and a federal head of state.
In Azapo's terms this agreement represents a vision that is relevant today as a point of departure towards the unification of Africa.
Africa has come a long way from the time of colonialism, followed by the political revolution ending direct colonial rule to the period we are in now. The period is in essence a prerequisite for the revolution to bring about a radical transformation of Africa.
With the national liberation struggle to get rid of colonialism over, it is now possible to come to grips with the struggle against the continued exploitation by former colonial powers of African resources and wealth.
Azapo believes that this is the more difficult and protracted struggle, where the enemy is less obvious and is supported by the more complex international, monopoly-financed capital. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chair, hon Speaker, Minister, Deputy Minister and colleagues, for many years Africa has suffered from its horrifying colonial past, and in the recent past many of our liberated states suffered under the greed and self-interest of many of their own people in leadership positions.
It therefore stands to reason that we, as Africans, face huge internal and external challenges if we are to consider the notion of a united states of Africa. The debate around these issues is always marked by comparisons with the European Union and even the United States of America. These are comparisons that would be very misleading. These two models have very distinctive variables contributing to their respective economic and social successes or failures.
The most important variable for successful African unification is quality and visionary leadership that has the necessary political will. Sadly, our recent history reflects a relatively negative response to this requirement. Far too many of our African countries lack leadership that is accountable to its own citizens, a fundamental prerequisite for the intended goal. We need African leadership that will put African people at the centre of the project.
Therefore the African people have to be at the centre of decision-making and implementation of public policy - in short, respect for democracy. I thank you.
Chairperson, Ministers, hon members, I want to start by saying to the hon Dudley from the ACDP: I understand why you were trying to parachute your speech into statement time. It was because you were not prepared. You debated about the EU instead of the African Union government.
Sihlalo, kule nyanga kaNhlangulana, kule nkulumompikiswano yanamuhlanje ngizothanda ukwethula inkulumo ehalalisela intsha yonke yase-Afrika, ikakhulukazi intsha yaseNingizimu Afrika ngegalelo layo emzabalazweni wethu wenkululeko, nangendima esayiqhuba ekuvikeleni amalungelo abantu.
Sihlalo, ngivumele ngicaphune amazwibela amanoni avela kwenye yezinkondlo ezingasoze zabuna zoxoshidada, esakhula ngazo, esihloko sayo sithi UNomtobhoyi:
We Nomtobhoyi Kukhiwa amanzi Uyafa uyafa Kuyaphekwa Uyafa uyafa Kuyagezwa Uyafa uyafa Kuyadliwa Chwi umlenzana!
Lokhu ngikusho ngoba kule Ndlu yesishayamthetho sinabo oNomtobhoyi. Uhulumeni oholwa yi-ANC umile uthe qingqo, ulokhu ephuma phambili kuhle kwesixhumo senyamazane ngokuhola abantu baseNingizimu Afrika ngezinkambiso nemihlahlandlela yokuletha intuthuko kuleli lengabadi ye-Afrika yonkana.
Isibonelo kulokhu yingesikhathi uhulumeni ehlaba umkhosi wokuthi kunezinhlelo azenzayo zokufinyelela ebantwini , ngalokho-ke zonke izinhlangano nomphakathi wonkana kumele zisebenzisane, okungukuthi "tiriswano". Waphinda futhi wenza uhlelo lwe-Asgisa okuqondwe ngalo ukuvula amathuba emisebenzi. Khona emuva kwalokho nje wenza nohlelo lwe-Nepad, okuqondwe ngalo ukuthuthukisa izwekazi lethu lase-Afri-ka.
Kodwa-ke koNomtobhoyi yonke le mizamo iyize leze kubo, abayigqizi qakala; kufana nokuthela amanzi emhlane wedada nje kubo. Balokhu bedukuza oswini, behlezi phansi bethe dekle. Abanagalelo abalenzayo, kodwa uma bebona izintatheli zamaphephandaba, ezemisakazo kanye nezomabonakude bavele bathi chwi umlenzana.
Ngithanda ukukhumbuza iNdlu ukuthi uMongameli wethu, uComrade Thabo Mbeki bekuthiwa uhamba isikhathi eside futhi uhlale esemazweni angaphandle, akahlali lapha ekhaya. Bacabanga ukuthi kumele ahlale lapha ekhaya kuphela kube sengathi iNingizimu Afrika iyigatsha labo ngoba bona abanawo amagatsha. Bona-ke abakuboni ukubaluleka kokuthi kudingeke ngani aphume ahambele izwekazi lonke nomhlaba wonke jikelele. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, as it is the month of June, I want to honour all the youth of Africa, especially from South Africa, for the role they played in our struggle for freedom, and the role they continue to play in protecting human rights.
Chairperson, allow me to quote briefly from one of the classical poems which is meant for the kindergarten grades which we also grew up reciting. The title of the poem is Nomtobhoyi:
We Nomtobhoyi Kukhiwa amanzi Uyafa uyafa Kuyaphekwa Uyafa uyafa Kuyagezwa Uyafa uyafa Kuyadliwa Chwi umlenzana!
I quoted from this poem because in this House we have people who behave like Nomtobhoyi. The ANC-led government is standing firm, and it is, like a young buck, leading the pack when it comes to making policies and guidelines for the people of South Africa and Africa as a whole.
An example here is when the government made a clarion call that there are programmes that are being implemented to reach to the people. Therefore it was up to the community organisations and the community at large to work together, hence the word "tiriswano". The government also came up with Asgisa with its chief intention of creating job opportunities. And Nepad was also started with the intention of developing the African continent.
And yet all this seems to be nothing to the Nomtobhoyis. They do not care. To them, it's all just like water off a duck's back. They have neither the direction nor the action. They play no role, and yet when they see the media, they jump with joy.
I want to remind the House that our President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, is said to be always out of the country. And his critics say he spends most of his time out of the country. Those who say this believe that the President must idly sit in this country like they do in their branches. These people do not see the importance of visiting other African countries and the world.]
Allow me to remind the House that it would be a great mistake in our history to forget the great heroes of our continent who have contributed to the African dream that Africa must unite. There have been leaders like Dr Kwame Nkrumah who championed the clarion call for the African Renaissance in the 1960s.
This led to the creation of the OAU on 25 May 1963. This call was accepted by African leaders who pushed it in different ways. I need to mention other leaders like Julius Nyerere who initiated Ojama - African socialism - not forgetting Milton Obote who allowed the Makerere University to flourish.
What Dr Kwame Nkrumah verbalised was already in the blood of Africans. The clarion call he made was also embraced by African communities. In Africa there were many communities that had distinguished themselves before Western civilisation arrived, particularly in culture, technology, education, economics, etc.
Umbono wokwakhiwa kwe-AU wavuselelwa ngabaholi base-Afrika ngo-1990, okwalandelwa yi-Sirte Declaration eLibya mhla ziyi-9 kuMandulo ngo-1999. Leso simemezelo sasicela kwakhiwe ubumbano lwe-Afrika ngokuthi kwakhiwe i- African Union.
Leso simemezelo salandelwa yingqungquthela yaseLome ngo-2000, lapho kwavunywa khona umthethosisekelo wokwakha ubumbano lwe-Afrika eLusaka ngo- 2001. Ngalowo nyaka kwenziwa imizamo yokwakha iNepad. Inhlangano yobumbano lwe-Afrika yethulwa eThekwini mhla zi-2 kuNtulikazi, 2002. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[The idea of forming the AU was revived by the leadership of Africa in 1990 which was followed by the Sirte Declaration in Libya on 9 December 1999 which pleaded for the formation of the Africa Union.
This announcement was followed by the Lome conference in 2000 after which the constitution of the African Union was adopted in Lusaka in 2001. In that very year endeavours to form Nepad were made. The African Union was launched in Durban on 2 July 2002.]
The AU seeks to unite Africans as they have a common and shared identity. The first task is to achieve unity, solidarity, cohesion and co-operation among all the people of Africa and the African states.
The AU also aims to end ignorance on our continent by investing in education and research in all fields and it endeavours to develop capacity in science and technology. A key challenge it has to contend with, is to end the levels of unemployment that have been characteristic of almost all societies.
Regarding development, the AU has established the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, as a vehicle for development.
Ngiko nje namuhla onkhe emave ase-Afrika atibophelele ekutseni umnotfo wawo ukhule udlondlobale ulandzele imigomo yeNepad. Tinyenti tinhlelo letentiwako letenta kwekutsi timbiwa nalokunye kungatfunyelwa emaveni angesheya kuseluhlata kepha kucolisiswe bese kuyatfunyelwa-ke. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)
[That is why, today, all African countries have undertaken to ensure socio- economic growth according to the Nepad objectives. Numerous programmes have been initiated to ensure that minerals and other raw materials are now processed locally and not exported in their raw form.]
With regard to cultural development, in Limpopo the Venda people of Mapungubwe mastered the technology of melting gold that was used to paint, among other things, the world-famous artificial wooden rhino which experts have dated back to 1 000 AD.
In the Eastern Cape there were miners diggers called "Amambo" who were also able to melt iron and manufacture a lot of things from it. All these innovations were inspired by the spirit of the African Renaissance.
Emave ase-Afrika atiwa kakhulu ngekubambelela emasikweni awo lekuyintfo lengatiwa eYurophu, eMelika naseKhanada. Loku kwenteka nakhona umoya waseNshonalanga walinga ngawo onkhe emandla awo eminyakeni leyengca lengu- 500 kubulala emasiko, tilwimi kanye nenkholo yebantfu base-Afrika.
Badzeshi bebakwenta loku ngobe basitsengisa ngesikhatsi sebukholoni. Bawuchuba lomkhankhaso wabo nangesikhatsi semamishinani lapho emasiko, lulwimi nenkholo bebakubetsela ngesipikili balinga kukubulala. Bebatsela emanti emhlane welidada ngobe nalamuhla loku emasiko solomane asekhona.
Angisho kwekutsi ngelishwa lamanye emave, lawa labetfujwe yiFrance nemaPhuthukezi alahlekelwa ngemasiko, tilwimi nenkholo yawo. Phela, kubulala emasiko, tilwimi kanye nenkholo yebantfu, kukubulala buntfu babo. Umuntfu longenabo buyena ufanana nemuntfu lofile. Umuntfu lonjalo uhlala njalo adla ematse ebelumbi.
Lamuhla bavakashi labanyenti bavakashela i-Afrika batewubona imihambo ye- Afrika kutsi ichutjwa njani. Lubumbano lwe-Afrika lubukene nensayeya yekugcugcutela nekutfutfukisa emasiko. Injongo lenkhulu kwakhiwa kabusha kwebu-Afrika.
Kubonakele futsi kuyatiwa kutsi intfutfuko nebuchwepheshe lebebukhona e- Afrika kadzeni abukefiki kulivekati laseYurophu nakulamanye emavekati.
Lucwaningo lusivetela kutsi imphucuko yeMagrikhi yavela e-Afrika. Inyuvesi yekucala yasungulwa eGibhithe. Ngubani longaphika kwekutsi tibalo betivele tifundvwa kwakadzeni e-Afrika. Imibhalo yaseTimbuktu, eMali iyakhombisa kutsi belumbi bangesheya babetele kutewukwendzela lwati lwesayensi, lwetemitsi, lwetebunjinela nalokunye kubantfu labamnyama.
Loku kuniketa Hulumende Welubumbano lwe-Afrika insayeya yekutsi kucedvwe lenkholelo lengenaliciniso yekutsi i-Afrika bekulive lelatfolwa belumbi, imnyama, ingati lutfo kube kunebufakazi bekutsi beyinotsile, inako konkhe kwekutiphilisa kepha labamhlophe baweba wonkhe umnotfo wayo.
Asingakhohlisani bekunene, i-Afrika beyikwati kwenta yonkhe imisebenti yebuciko. [Saphela Sikhatsi.] [Tandla.] (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)
[African countries are famous for clinging to their culture, something which is very unusual in Europe, America and Canada. This is so despite Western elements trying by every means over the past 500 years to invade and destroy the culture, language and religion of the people of Africa.
White people did this because while we were colonised they owned us. The campaign to subdue us was continued by the missionaries where culture, language and religion were being crucified in an effort to destroy them completely. This proved to be like water off a duck's back because we still have our traditions today.
I should say that unfortunately, other countries that were colonised by the French or the Portuguese lost their culture, languages and religion. To take away ones culture, language and religion is to destroy one's identity. A person who has lost his identity is like a dead person. And a person like that remains a slave to foreign ways.
Today most visitors come to Africa to experience the different cultures and to see how we live. As such the AU is faced with the challenge of encouraging and developing our cultural heritage. The greatest aim is to return Africa to its former glory.
It is a known fact that ancient civilization and technology available in Africa in the ancient days have spread to continental Europe and to the other continents. According to research, Ancient Greek civilization came from Africa. The first university was started in Egypt. Further, who can deny that mathematics was being studied in Africa since ancient times? The writings of Timbuktu in Mali are evidence that white people had come to acquire knowledge of science, medicine, engineering and other things from the black race.
This gives the AU another challenge of eradicating the false belief that Africa was discovered by white people even though there is proof that Africa had been very wealthy. She had everything necessary to sustain herself before all the wealth was stolen by the whites.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us be honest with ourselves; Africa has always produced artefacts. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Chairperson, I thank all hon members who are taking part by speaking or listening to this debate. Africa is the cradle of humanity and Africa is a continent of hope and endless possibilities. But the future of Africa depends on what we, the Africans do with these possibilities.
Now, Africans was defined by one of the speakers as whoever claims his birthright as an African is an African. So, in this debate what seems to be clear is that there is consensus that Africa needs to unite and even some young and old people amongst us cherish the hope that it happens in their life time. It is clear that there is a strong view that if we do not unite, Africa, as we know it will perish.
But there are also reports that by 2050 Africa will probably have the largest young population whereas Europe will have an aging population. Africa has the second largest land surface as a continent, has large amounts of natural resources but individually we do not seem to the able to harness all these possibilities.
So it seems again that we are all saying yes to integration, but some are saying we should strengthen and rationalise the economic communities as building blocks and that we should also strengthen the AU and its institutions.
In concluding this debate, it seems that we are also saying that there are issues that can be dealt with at a continental level, as Nepad has isolated those already. Therefore, we need to have a kind of twin track: firstly, strengthening the building blocks at the regional level whilst at the same time doing what we need to do at the continental level, especially around the Nepad priorities. We need to mobilise resources because without the resources we can't even begin to integrate the continent.
I am glad to say that at the insistence of our own President, South Africa is leading in the establishment of the Africa Development Fund, which is looking at using some of the pension funds and some of the private sector funds to put together a fund that will build the infrastructure to start with on the continent, because without infrastructure we cannot even begin to integrate. So, infrastructure development is very crucial for any integration.
We hope that this House will support this fund as a way of accelerating the integration. But I also heard that you as parliamentarians, including me are saying, that this debate must not end here - it must go out to the public so that South African's should pronounce on it. But who is best placed other than yourselves as public representatives to go back to the people you represent and ask them what their views are, because I take it today that these were your views? Now, we need to go out and ask our constituencies what their views are on this matter. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.