‘Africa rising’ must be a reality now!

The African Union (AU) Day is set aside to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the AU, and it is celebrated in various African countries, as well as around the world.

The AU  was adopted in Sirte, Libya on September 9, 1999 in the Sirte Declaration. However, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government held its first AU Session in 2002 in Durban, South Africa.

The union has gone through challenges and chalked up successes, including fighting for the independence of almost all African countries, except the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.

On that note, it can be said that the AU has made a lot of progress. Nonetheless, the road to economic integration and the free movement of people, goods and capital is replete with landmines. Little or no progress has been made in that direction.

Africa, with almost a billion people and more young people than any part of the world, is a big market capable of competing with the rich economies on any continent if our leaders put personal ambitions aside to integrate the economies and break down colonial boundaries, so that their peoples and goods can move freely across the borders.

The bane of Africa’s development is the inability of its countries to trade among themselves and open up the borders to the free movement of goods, services, people and capital.

Just try taking a trip to Lome, Togo, from Ghana and the immigration formalities are like nightmares. At every contact with port health, customs, immigration and national security, travellers are compelled to part with money, otherwise they can remain at the border for as long as those officials desire.

Each year, when our leaders meet at the Summit of Heads of State and Government, they express their intention to break these barriers and encourage trade among countries and allow for the free movement of people. Unfortunately, after the meetings, the leaders do not take concrete actions to implement the protocols enshrined in the AU Charter.

Another year has gone full circle and today in Accra and in other national capitals across Africa, leaders will hoist flags to mark AU Day and pledge again to harness the resources of the continent for the greater good of their peoples.

Since 1963, apart from the successes chalked up in the liberation struggle, economic integration and the movement of people and goods still remain on the drawing board. The year these protocols begin to work, African leaders will start a real journey towards taking their people out of poverty, disease, squalor and ignorance.

Until then, the Daily Graphic will continue to remind our leaders of their commitment to implement all the protocols enshrined in the AU Charter, such that Africa will move away from being referred to as a ‘Dark Continent’ and really rise up to its new accolade of ‘Africa Rising’.

Africa can only rise when its peoples are able to feed themselves, get jobs, have access to good health and quality education, break the shackles of always relying on aid and be seen to be on equal footing with the rest of the world.

Our leaders should be bold to demand partnerships with their counterparts in the European Union, the United States of America and Asia. That can only happen if the continent’s resources are better exploited to such an extent that the exchequers of African nations will be full enough to call the bluff of donor nations that give us pittance against conditionalities that reduce us to second rate human beings.

The Daily Graphic salutes all Africans on the occasion of AU Day and urges all that as we celebrate, we must spare some thought for the task of making Africa a better continent to live on.