Another Futile AU Summit Under The Theme “Boosting Intra Africa Trade”

The African leaders gathered in Addis Ababa on July 15-16, 2012 for the 19th session of the African Union Assembly under the theme “Boosting Intra Africa Trade.” 

Indeed an ambitious goal.   Every year African leaders gather in Addis Ababa to discuss issues affecting the continent. These summits are ridiculously expensive and at the end of the day they come up with ambitious agendas, riddled with heavy vocabulary that none of them understand nor have any strategies on how to execute them.   Let’s put this year’s theme into perspective: “Boosting Intra Africa Trade”.   According to the Africa Trade Policy Centre, only 12% of African trade is within Africa. 40% of intra-trade is with North America and 63% of European trade is within other European countries. African leaders seem not to realise the simple fact that by trading within the continent itself, Africa stands to not only generate billions of revenue but also to create jobs thus lifting millions out of poverty and into middle class status. With most of the African leaders holding various degrees gotten from various European universities, one is left to wonder whether all the knowledge gained during those studies suddenly disappeared upon being elected president.   It is highly lamentable and irresponsible of our leaders to waste tax payers’ money on these “well-intended” summits that have no impact on the daily lives of Africans.  They stay at 5-star hotels, chatter expensive first class flights and are driven around in expensive limousines including bodyguards and police escort. Let us not forget the entourage of family and friends that they bring along with them, all at the expense of the suffering people of Africa.    I have no problem with leaders gathering to deliberate on issues affecting Africa; I am, however, opposed to dumb and unproductive gatherings.   One would expect that after such an “inspiring” meeting, the leaders would return to their respective countries, roll up their sleeves and get to work implementing what had been discussed. Instead I watched with amazement as they all rushed to China, abandoning their pledges the same week they had been adopted, in a bid to get their greasy hands on Chinese loans. Hu Jintao had pledged $20bn in credit for Africa over the next three years, in a push for closer ties and increased trade. In other words, our leaders would be further opening our markets for Chinese goods and totally disregarding the impact it has on the locals.    What happened to “Boosting Intra Africa Trade”, I wonder? What an extraordinary contradiction and unfortunate situation for the millions of Africans going to bed hungry every night.   For countries that claim to be democratic and transparent, isn’t it a wonder that when it comes to issues that greatly affect their people, those same people that put them into power are never consulted? Africans are not aware of the conditions of such loans. They do not know what the interest rates or payment terms are. They deserve to know this as it is the African people who will still be paying back the debts long after the so-called leaders are gone.    According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), African countries have, since 1960, received nearly $650 billion in loans or aid. Unfortunately, Africa has nothing to show for it. Most of these loans have vanished into western banks and sinkholes of fraud due to mismanagement and corruption. To put it bluntly, loans or aid to Africa have not only failed to work; they have compounded Africa's complex problems. They have contributed to massive corruption, a dependency culture and destroyed Africans ambition to grow and prosper.   It is about time Africans started questioning their leaders about their policies and values. It is about time Africans started voting wisely and not blindly.    In most developed countries, citizens have pressured their governments into investing in socio-economic development and improving the legal and judiciary systems. Take for example, the labour movement in the west, civil rights movement in U.S, feminist movement, the emancipation of slaves and religious freedom. In all of these instances, it was the people who said “enough is enough”, organized themselves and challenged their leaders. It is now time for Africans to organize themselves, challenge their leaders and hold them accountable.   African leaders are standing in the way of development and progress. Despite being the richest continent in terms of natural resources, Africa continues to remain the poorest continent on the planet. The continent has the highest child mortality rate, the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world, and is at the bottom of every positive economic data published by United Nation Human Development Index. In fact, according to the United Nations, 68% of the least developed countries are in Africa.   Since attaining independence, Africans have continued to vote for their leaders along tribal and religious lines. 50-plus years down the road, we are yet to learn that it does not work. When will we open our eyes and minds wide enough to see that we need to vote on leaders based on their policies and track record in leadership positions? When will we challenge them to invest our hard-earned money in infrastructures, health care and education and when will we start holding our leaders accountable for their actions?    With the ongoing financial turmoil in the U.S, Europe and other parts of the world, Africa has so far been relatively unscathed. It has of course seen demand in its exports falling but its banks have not been as largely scarred as have the European and American banks. This is largely due to its undeveloped financial markets; which brings me to the topic of globalisation and how Africa can benefit from it.   Globalization is a unique and unprecedented opportunity for African countries to eradicate poverty. The global economy is increasingly integrated, information technology has improved significantly, financial institutions are interconnected and the advancement in transportation and telecommunication systems has seen a rise in investments in Africa. All these factors present major opportunities for Africans to grow their economies.  However, Africa can only benefit from globalization if they introduce economic and political reforms. This should be driven by the people themselves since the leaders have pathetically failed to do so in the last 50 years.    The political reforms should include free and fair democratic elections, term limits for leaders, reformed justice and legal system and free press. Economic reforms should include sustainable investments in education, health care and infrastructure. It has been proven time and time again that ultimate development can only ensue in a democratic and free market system (with the invisible hand of the government in play).    Africa needs leaders that can inspire and motive their people and challenge them to rise up and pursue greater economic freedom and prosperity. We need leaders who can tell us how and also show us how. We need leaders who can set examples and to whom our children can look up to as role models. We need leaders who can articulate their policies (both inland and foreign) and their economic agendas including how to achieve them. We are tired of empty promises made for the sake of winning elections already rigged. We need presidential debates so that the people can make informed choices when it comes to voting. We need a media that serves as a mouth piece of the people and not carriers of government propaganda.   Informed and educated people make wise decisions.  Wise up Africa!   About the Author: Khalil Dukuly is a native Liberian and columnist on socio-economic affairs of Africa. He is a recent graduate of International Business and Management Studies. Khalil Dukuly currently resides in The Hague, the Netherlands.   

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });