Relevant Articles on Africa Day

Speech delivered by Obed Bapela at the ANC’s foreign Policy seminar on the 16th of May at the Wits Business School:

Source: http://www.anc.org.za/docs/anctoday/2013/at17.htm#art1

WE ARE REDUCING THE BURDEN OF DISEASE

Our World, the African Continent and Our Country

As we celebrate the Africa and International Solidarity Month and the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU, the many of our writers and scholars will focus on the historic perspective and others on the analysis of the successes and challenges still faced by our continent.

As South African’s we need to continue to redefine ourselves. We need to continue to define our continental identity, reconnect ourselves as nation to fully embrace the fact that we are Africans first.  Our country, South Africa is on the continent of Africa and what happens in our continent is bound and will continue to affect us. 

In 2014 we will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of our freedom and democracy from colonialism of a special type, apartheid and oppression. From being isolated for so long it will take as longer to rid ourselves of certain attitudes, and this has an impact on our outlook and our view on Africa and the world. We still remain a very Eurocentric society.

This reminds me of a poem by the late Ingoapele Madingoane; “Africa my beginning, Africa my ending”, … “I was born there and will die there, in Africa my beginning and Africa my ending. Let us do something”.

The poem was like a prophecy for us, indeed we must do something to change our attitudes. Former President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki in his famous speech in Parliament at the occasion of the adoption of the constitution said; “On an occasion, such as this, we should, perhaps, start from the beginning. So let me start, let me begin. I am an African”. 

He continued and said; “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. And that Africa reaffirms that she is continuing her rise from ashes, whatever setbacks, of the moment, nothing can stop us now! Whatever the difficulties, Africa shall be at peace!

However improbable it may sound to the skeptics, Africa will prosper! Whoever we may be, whatever our immediate interest, however much we carry as our baggagefrom the past, however much we have been caught by fashion of cynicism and loss of faith in the capacity of the people; let us err/or make mistakes and say - Nothing can stop us”. 

The passage from the speech of by former President Mbeki reminds the country and our people, how we all became Africans. Everyone for weeks on end, black and white, went about proclaiming; that we are all Africans. But it soon evaporated. We soon retreated into our own cocoons, continued downplaying Africa, undermined ourselves as Africans, and looked down upon other African nationalities as sub-human. Why? 

Africa needs South Africa and South Africa needs Africa and in fact we are part of the continent and we have no choice. We cannot choose otherwise geography and nature has determined our fate. But colonization has damaged our minds, not only as South Africans but it has also divided us into Franco, Luso-phone, the Anglophone and each think is superior to another. It is time that we transcend the imaginary divisions and unite as a people of the continent. 

We are in Africa and we are Africans.  I know I sound like a poet, but I must make this call to all South Africans to redefine and continue to redefine themselves, until the mind is decolonized, and in words and deeds we must become true Africans in our new journey to 2063 when we will celebrating the 100th anniversary of the decolonization of our continent, as a strong and prosperous people.

The point in case here was to demonstrate how as South Africans we forget who we are, to the detriment of our being Africans. We are first and foremost Africans of the South African origin. That is how we must continue to define ourselves. We are too much Eurocentric and to some extend tend to look or view Africa as another continent, hence the unfortunate the xenophobic tendencies which resulted with Africans foreign nationals being the victims. Our perspective outlook and view on Africa must change for the better. This is Our Africa, Our Continent and Our Pride.

The theme of the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU is; “2013: The Year of Pan Africanism and African Renaissance”, and let us use this yearlong celebrations to know, understand and connect to Africa. Read about its history, know about the current developments and challenges, and seek for information. Contribute to its successes. Visit Africa, explore it, meet its people know languages spoken and understand our cultures, music, dance, traditions and customs in their diversities. 

The ANC remains shocked at some of the criticism, the condemnations and discouraging sentiments expressed loudly after the killings of our gallant soldiers in the Central Africa Republic. Many only woke up that day, to the reality and knowledge that our soldiers were there since 2007. Without flinching we heard noises and screams that said; “What do you want there! We have no business to be in the Central Africa Republic. “Our soldiers must come back home, let us only focus on our domestic problems” as many asked.

Some of the arguments were as a result of ignorance or lack of understanding our policies as South Africa, but some were legitimate and useful for which we welcomed their proposals. Our policy remains relevant, which that of; - Building a Better Africa and a Better World, to end conflicts, and for creation of peace, development and prosperity for our continent and the world as a whole.

We have resolved in every conference as the ANC that the role of South Africa will contribute to the ending of conflicts in the continent to bring about peace. That we will ensure Africa’s development and prosperity. Should we retreat from this noble goal of peace missions? We should not, but continue with the visionary ideals of our founding fathers of the ANC of those of the continent who had worked hard for the unity. 

We also want remind our people that it is not the first time South Africa engaged in a bilateral mission in additions to other multilateral mission in peacekeeping, peace enforcing or conflict resolutions in the continent. We have succeeded in helping Burundi, to get peace. And today the people of that country have achieved the peace that evaded them for many years. Should South Africa have looked the other way - we would still be having Burundi in conflict.

We inhabit a world in which the balance of power and the global structures that give effect to it are undemocratic, inequitable and in many cases inimical to the interests of the developing world. However there are clear indications of movement away from a western-dominated, unipolar and hegemonic exercise of power towards an interest-driven world, with new centers of development and development and alternative growth models around emerging powers such as China, Russia, India and Brazil.

We also inhibit a world in which resource issues are gaining prominence as economic growth and population pressure impact on energy, food and water. Patterns of conflict are also changing, becoming increasingly asymmetrical and driven by issues of access to resources. And shifting demographic dynamics, migration and impact of particularly youth unemployment present our country with challenges. At the same time we inhabit a world in which the interest underpinning military-industry complexes retain their ability to shape the global agenda and wage war to further these interests.

The changing world in which we live presents opportunities for South Africa to become part of a realignment of international political and economic interests to better reflect the balance of needs and less the balance of military power. The canons of Pan-Africanism and South-South solidarity that inform our international posture and work position us to engage in this process. We therefore strive to democratize international institutions and strengthen a rules-oppressed, promote the African agenda in the global arena, and work towards peace, stability and development. In essence, what we wish for the citizens of our country is what we wish for the citizens of the world.

Our country is simultaneously an integral part of the African continent, a continent that is asserting itself increasingly on the global stage with a clear self-understanding of the African agenda. The agenda is based on the need for. Economic growth and development on the continent, economic integration at the regional and sub-regional levels, investment and trade, and democratization and good governance. To this end continental structures and mechanisms have been set up, including the including the African Union, structures of regional integration such as the South African Development Community (SADC), and the New Partnership development on the continent, and support conflict prevention, peace keeping and peace making, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.

We simultaneous oppose and seek to counter any colonialist and Neo-colonialist agendas from abroad, as well as exploitative and rapacious agenda that strip the continent of its resources or seek to control them to the detriment of our people. South Africa is a sovereign, democratic, constitutional and developmental state seeking to ensure a better life for its people, bridge and heal the divides in our society, address a historical legacy of oppression and injustice, and build a national democratic society. In the short period since the advent of democracy in our country we have made strides.

Creating a constitutional democracy and embedding the structures of the state. Government programs focussing on reconstruction and development have borne fruit, and our democracy is maturing. The state strives to mobiles and marshal our resources as a country to ensure economic growth, develop and uplift our people, ensure freedom from want and fear, strengthen social cohesion, and create a shed national identity and sense of patriotism.

We have a two-fold approach to defining the National Interest. Firstly, we take as a departure point that the development and upliftment of our citizens forms the bases of the National Interest. We see the interests of our people at the core of our Constitution and a people-Centred approach therefore informs our work as a state. We emphasize human development and human security within and beyond our borders. Therefore our National Interest are informed by a people-driven perspective that prioritize and promoting the human rights of our citizens, enabling them to leave free from fear and want, and eradicating poverty, in other word building a society in which every citizen has access to adequate shelter, healthcare, education, security, work and opportunities to generate an income.

Our second departure point is the fact that our democratic state has inherited a society shaped by the legacy of apartheid, a legacy that will remain with us for a long time to come. This legacy presents a set of challenges that shaped the present and future of our country. South Africa’s transformation into a democratic state was informed by the liberation struggles of the latter half of the 20th century, and this collective experience informs how we understand and define our National Interest.

We can say therefore that the National Interest:

• Reflect the long-term goals, values and aspirations of our people
• Provides the ongoing purpose we see ourselves serving.
• Provides strategic direction to policy makers.
• Provides consistency to policy

In order to ensure a development of our people, protect our planet and ensure prosperity, we strive to eradicate poverty, because it is a source of instability, resolve conflicts through dialogue and negation, rather than through war, defend our freedom, the hard-won rights we have gained, and the institutions we have created we have created globalize these rights and freedoms wherever and whenever possible, and promote the belief that the future of the world is based on the shared destiny of all peoples.

Against this background, we define the core of South Africa’s National Interest as consisting of firstly the unity and integrity of our people, secondly the sovereignty and integrity of our state, and thirdly the growth and development of our economy.

The following are the six principles defines the South Africa’s National Interest:

• The development and upliftment of the South African people.
• The stability of the Republic, it’s constitutional order and it’s institutions.
• The sustainable growth and development of the South African economy.
• The development of the South African region. (SADC).
• A stable African continent enabling peace and development.
• Creation of a just and equitable world order.

These six principles of our National Interest requires that we do the following:

• The development and upliftment of the South African People
• Protecting and promoting the human rights of South Africans
• Strengthening the fight against poverty and inequality to ensure basic human dignity and opportunities for a life free from fear and want.
• Strengthening efforts to combat crime and corruption to ensure the safety of the South African people.
• Building human capital and capabilities to improve the country’s human resource and skill base.
• Improving public services to address the legacy of the past, meet basic needs, development human resources and build the economy.

Any debate on the national interests should be guided therefore by this principle. Pixley Ka Seme, predicted in his famous article called the Regeneration of Africa on 5th April 1906 and said; “Ladies and Gentlemen, the day of great exploring expeditions in Africa is over”.

From being known as a dark continent as pronounced by world leading economist and today, they now pronounce differently, and say; “Africa is Rising”; as was predicted by Ka Seme in 1906. He said; “The African already recognizes his/her anomalous position and desires change. The brighter today is rising upon Africa”. 

Ka Seme, continues, and praises Africa as follows:

Oh Africa! Like great century plant that shall bloom. In ages hence we watch thee in our dream. See in thy swamps the prosperous of our strength. Thy doors unlocked, where knowledge lies in her tomb Hath lain innumerable years in gloom. Then shall thou walking with that morning gleam. Shine as thy sister lands with equal being. In a recent interview at the World Economic World - Africa held in Cape Town the President of the ANC and the Republic of South Africa said; “In 50 years we would like to see an Africa that is connected totally, an Africa that is economically viable. An Africa that would be at peace with itself, where there will not be a single area of conflict. We want to be an Africa that is able to use its own resources to develop itself and trade with the world as an equal level. 

That is My Africa, Your Africa. That is Pixely Ka Seme’s Africa that is Kwame Nkruma’s, Julius Nyerere’s, Thabo Mbeki’s, Jacob Zuma’s Africa. It is Ingoapele Madingoane’s Africa as penned in his poem. Africa my beginning, Africa my ending.

Rise! Africa - Rise!

» Obed Bapela is an ANC NEC member and Chairperson of the ANC NEC International Relations Subcommittee

Source: Google Groups “Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum - South Africa”

24 May 2013, Johannesburg

 PRESS RELEASE

 25 May 2013, Africa Day Celebration

Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance in Action

The ACTION Support Centre (ASC) and the Proudly African Campaign, in collaboration with a range of civil society organisations, will be hosting a stage at the Africa Week Street Festival in Yeoville, Bellevue on Saturday May 25th. 

The Africa Week Street Festival will celebrate 50 years of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), and acknowledge the fifth anniversary of the xenophobic attacks that devastated South African communities in 2008. The event seeks to give an opportunity to all of us Africans, from South Africa and across the continent, to engage with one another in the collective sharing of music, song, dance, craft, clothing, food, film and art in an open vibrant community space.

During the festival celebrations, ASC and Proudly African Campaign will be hosting one of five stages at Corner Kenmere and Hunter Streets along Rocky-Raleigh Street in Yeoville.  Between 12:00 and 17:00 we will be filling our stage with a number of African solidarity-focused performances and addresses, in the spirit of celebrating our cultural diversity, promoting social cohesion and championing human and people’s rights.

Africa Day marks the day in 1963 of the formation of the Organisation for African Union (OAU), established as a vehicle for economic and political cooperation.  In 2002 the OAU became the current body, now called the African Union (AU).  South Africa began celebrating Africa Day upon liberation from the Apartheid regime in 1994.  Today, we acknowledge the important contribution of Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma who acts as Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

In addition to a celebration of 50 years of the AU, South Africans and members of the African Diaspora, remember 5 years since xenophobic attacks claimed the lives of over 60 migrants and South African nationals in May 2008.  5 years on, South Africans are still trying to understand the motivation for such violence.

A wide number of civil society activists and organisations, including the ACTION Support Centre, dedicate their time and energy to promoting peace, tolerance and solidarity within communities around the country, with a view to preventing such attacks in future and shifting the attitudes underlying such behaviours. 

The ACTION Support Centre is the Africa regional hub for organisations working in the fields of conflict and development.  ASC is part of a global network of individuals and organisations committed to transforming conflict around the world, ACTION for Conflict Transformation, and amplify the voices of communities through a focus on; human and people’s rights, capacity building, lobbying and advocacy, people to people solidarity, development, grassroots mobilisation, building movements, facilitating dialogue, training and initiating innovative forms of organising.

The Proudly African Campaign is a CALL TO ACTION to all AfriCan people across Africa and around the world to begin to think and act creatively and collectively and find solutions to Africa’s numerous challenges.

The Campaign seeks to give an opportunity to all Africans, including those in the Diaspora, to engage one another in an honest debate about Africa’s challenges, its position in the global socio and political economy and the future Africans seek for themselves.

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SOURCE: www.mistra.org.za       Issue: Monthly Briefing #14

Presentation by Joel Netshitenzhe to the Pan-African Parliament

On Thursday 9th May 2013, MISTRA Executive Director Joel Netshitenzhe made a presentation, entitled  Towards Agenda 2063: A Pan-African Renaissance in the next 50 years?, to the Pan-African Parliament. The presentation has also been published in the May 2013 issue of The Thinker magazine. 

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Towards Agenda 2063: A Pan-African Renaissance in the next 50 years? Over the past two decades, the conference circuit has been awash with events to reflect on ‘Africa strategies’. The irony though is that many of these engagements are organised by, and on, other continents to review other countries’ approaches to a region that has started to show much promise. Instructively, Africa itself – and indeed a majority of the countries on the continent – does not have an America or Asia or Europe strategy. The growing interest in the continent over the past two decades is understandable. Africa is showing great potential and its future development trajectory, undergirded in part by vast natural endowments, is becoming clearer. Countries such as China, India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, South Korea and Malaysia are enhancing their involvement in Africa and thus reconfiguring the continent’s multifaceted international relations that were historically informed by colonialism, neo-colonialism and the dictates of the Cold War. At the same time, the so-called “war on terror” has elevated Africa’s strategic significance in international security considerations. In the context of all this, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the OAU, it is appropriate to pose the question: whither Africa! Where will the continent be in another 50 years, in 2063? Africa not only needs to map out scenarios about where it wants to be in the medium- to long-term; it needs to do this proceeding from the premise that it is Africa’s own actions or omissions that will define its 50-year rendezvous.

• Paper presented at the Pan-African Parliament on 9 May 2013 and published in the May 2013 issue of The Thinker magazine.

SOURCE:   www.crisiszimbabwe.org

This week, the African Union (AU), formerly the Organization of African Unity (OAU) celebrates its Golden Jubilee: 50 Years of existence. As we celebrate the AU’s Golden Jubilee, we would want you, our readers, to remember that 8 years ago around the same time in Zimbabwe, the poor, vulnerable and the marginalized had their homes destroyed under “Operation Murambatsvina” (Operation ‘Clean-Up the cities’). We say this must never happen again in Zimbabwe. We sincerely hope that the new constitution signed into Law today (22/05/2013) by President Mugabe will be applied in letter and spirit to protect the ordinary citizens.

In this 110th edition of The Zimbabwe Briefing, we share with you updates from the high-powered Civil Society delegation that is in Addis Ababa to remind our leaders that Zimbabwe remains a hot spot needing their continued attention especially at this delicate moment. We share with you the Briefing Paper with issues and demands before a new election is held. We also share with you reflections on the AU at 50 from our Director, McDonald Lewanika. As we rekindle and keep alive hope for our nation, we also share with you an update on a new documentary: Beatrice Mtetwa and the Rule of Law which was launched in Johannesburg last week Friday.

SOURCE: Google Groups “COSATU-press”

Should Africa be Celebrating the African Union Day?

The Congress of South African Trade Unions takes this opportunity to convey a fraternal message of solidarity to the working and struggling people of our continent - within Africa and in the diaspora - on this the 50th anniversary of the birth of our premiere continental body, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) - formed by thirty one African governments on 25 May 1963, then transformed in 2001 to become the African Union (AU).

The history of Africa is yet to be told and by the rightful story-tellers - the freedom fighters, workers, peasants, women, youth and students, and the broad progressive

community of our people seeking freedom from poverty, war, hunger, inequalities and plunder of our natural resources.

It is a history written in the blood of and sweat of liberation martyrs and patriots, whose names disappear in the memory of our post-independent Africa as we begin to embrace our newly-found allies and friends, most of whom were not part of our rich legacy of struggle or even worse, were part of the enemy forces in our struggle for self-determination and end to colonialism and human rights abuses.

The prophetic warning in the title of Walter Rubusane’s seminal book: Zemk’inkomo Magwala Ndini (Gone are your cattle you bloody cowards), were as relevant then as they are now. The continent was suffering from colonial looting then, and still suffers from neo-colonial looting now.

The OAU’s objectives included:

(a) To promote the unity and solidarity of the African states;

(b) To coordinate and intensify co-operation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;

(c) To defend sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence;

(d) To eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa.

The AU Charter is substantially similar to the OAU one. Some of the reasons behind the AU were to accelerate the process of implementing the 1991 Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, in particular to:

·         Shorten the implementation periods of economic integration, through free trade areas and common markets under the Abuja Treaty,

·         Ensure the speedy establishment of all the institutions provided for in the Abuja Treaty; such as the African Central Bank, the African Monetary Union, the African Court of Justice and in particular, the Pan-African Parliament.

The OAU/AU political objectives have largely been achieved. However, African has not fully addressed sovereignty and territorial integrity issues, as evident in disputes in Western Sahara, DRC Congo, Sudan and South Sudan, Mali and others.

Economic development however, still remains elusive. A point frequently returned to during the World Economic Forum on Africa has been the inescapable fact that Africa’s economy will be shaped by its reserves of natural resources for the foreseeable future. Introducing the 2013 Africa Progress Report, Kofi Annan and his colleagues said that Africa’s mineral wealth has the potential to transform the continent, but resource-rich countries are leaving their poor behind. He also hit out at “shady deals” between mining houses and countries. Before the launch of the report, Annan was quoted as having some pretty stern words for those in the extractive industries, and in leadership positions. At the heart of this issue, he suggested, is a lack of transparency around production-sharing agreements and the sale of assets to foreign investors. “No country better illustrates the high costs associated with opaque concession trading than the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” where “Privatization of the DRC’s minerals sector has been plagued by a culture of secrecy, informal deals and allegations of corruption”. The report is at pains to state that they are not explicitly accusing political leaders, officials or the foreign companies involved of deliberately engaging in illegal activity – although they do suggest that investigation be carried out to determine whether or not the assets were “knowingly undervalued”. But in recent years, they note, other huge losses in the sector have been incurred through a mixture of “poor management, corruption and flawed taxation policies”. Up till now, however, there has been limited success in using mineral wealth to transform societies. The report makes clear that many resource-rich countries are leaving the poor behind. One particular damaging statistic is that nine of the 12 countries at the very bottom of the Human Development Index are rich in resources. The DRC, Chad, Mozambique and Niger all feature in the bottom 5. There are also countries – Mali, Niger and Tanzania – which the IMF classifies as “resource-intensive”, and yet still depend on foreign aid for at least 10% of their GNI. Other countries have seen their dependence on aid fall over the last decade as a result of natural resource revenues: oil exporters like Angola fall within this category.

Most successful industrial countries trade with their neighbours. The European Union’s intra-regional trade is 70.6%, high compared to other regions. North America’s intra-regional trade flow is 48.33% and Asia’s 52.8%. So European countries do more trade with each other than with countries outside the EU region. The same is true with China and Japan, South Korea and Malaysia and the US with its neighbours, Canada and Mexico.

In the main, however, African countries do not trade with each other. Intra regional trade is no more than 13%. This has the effect of marginalising Africa in international trade and indicates the absence of indigenous industrialists in Africa and the domination of multinationals.

SA’s main trading partners are China, Germany, US, UK and Saudi Arabia. It is not clear why SA buys a large portion of her oil from Middle East whist there is oil in Angola and Nigeria. The small share of regional trade means that all inputs SA needs will have to be imported from outside Africa. As a result it will be difficult for SA to prosper in a sea of misery and poverty. 

Today regional integration in Africa is not based on solidarity, mutual benefits and development, but on private-sector profiteering. This is why the priority of African countries’ regional integration agenda is about non payment of trade taxes or tariffs, rather than building hospitals, science and technology laboratories, and the clothing and textile industry.

The principle of “An African solution to an African problem” has not been applied in practice. The regime-change projects by former colonisers and imperialists indicate that solutions to African countries’ socio economic and political challenges are still imposed from the outside.

We cannot celebrate Africa day in the absence of justice for Africans. What is lacking is accountability of former colonies for their actions or omissions during the colonial era. The British government has not atoned for its violation of human rights and land dispossession in Africa, in particular in South Africa.

The Native Lands Act of 1913 was passed with the blessing of the King. It made it legally possible for Africans to become servants or slaves on their own land. The devastating results of this land dispossession continue to felt today in the form of high unemployment rate, poverty and inequality.

The recent success by Kenya’s Mau-Mau in suing the British government should encourage other African countries to sue the British government and other colonisers in court for damages arising from their colonisation project. 

Now Britain has just cut aid to SA by £19 million pounds (R264m) a year. This should be condemned because the British Empire’s colonisation of SA resulted in the current socioeconomic challenges in SA and some of its neighbours in SADC.

The non-resolution of the Congo political impasse shows that it would be premature to celebrate Africa Day. It is estimated that more than 6.9 million Congolese have been killed since 1996.

The recent report by an expert panel led by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, released during the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Cape Town in May is extremely damning. It finds that the DRC lost at least $1, 36 billion in revenues between 2010 and 2012 by under-pricing mining assets sold to foreign companies.

It calculates that each DRC citizen, in a country of 67 million, lost the equivalent of $21 from these deals. Because the offshore companies managed to snap up the assets at such a steal - $275 million – their rate of return on these deals was on average 512 %, and as high as 980% in one deal. Those are profits which would have been warmly welcomed in a country that ranks lowest of all on the Human Development Index, measuring wealth, life expectancy and education.

The report highlights some puzzling details. For instance ENRC, a London-listed Kazakh mining firm, waived its rights to buy out a stake in a mining enterprise owned by Gécamines, Congo’s state miner, only to acquire it for $75m from a company owned by Dan Gertler, an Israeli businessman, which had paid $15m for it just months earlier. Mr Gertler is close to Joseph Kabila, Congo’s president. ENRC, which is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office in Britain, was Congo’s third-largest copper producer last year. Both ENRC and Mr Gertler deny wrongdoing.

Last year miners in Congo, including Freeport-McMoran and Glencore Xstrata, shipped $6.7 billion-worth of copper and cobalt from the country.

It is an injustice that despite the use of DRC Congo’s minerals such as coltan in electronic devices such as Apple’s iPod and Nokia’s mobile phones, the Congolese continue to live in poverty.

According to the US Geological Survey Congo possesses more than 64% of the world’s coltan reserves and an estimated $24 trillion worth of untapped raw mineral deposits, yet currently there are no trade laws to trace and certify the origin of coltan that is used in electronic devices. It is highly possible that some of it used in cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices have their origin in Congo.

The fact that more than 50% of the AU’s budget comes from imperialist countries such as the US, EU countries and Japan means that African countries cannot determine the AU’s agenda.

The AU budget for 2013 amounts to just $278 226 million. Out of $160 million set aside for programs, more than 96% will be financed by the institution’s global partners. $122 million will be paid by members and $155 million is earmarked for programs by imperialists.

China built the new AU offices and Germany is paying for the AU Peace and Security building. A continent which is economically and financially dependent on other countries, whether former colonisers or not, will remain a junior partner in international affairs. 

Instead of celebrating, Africa should reflect on the challenges posed by suffering, exploitation and theft of natural resources by imperialists and their multinationals.

COSATU is proud to be part of the moment of truth for our continent and its people, united in action against colonialism, imperialism and systemic underdevelopment. It is for this reason that we, with workers all over the continent, pause for a minute to examine and critically reflect on the significance of the birth of the continental premier body and the future of our determined struggle for development, democracy and human dignity for all our people, on the continent and beyond.

Africa has been able to make all these strides, because of the political will and massive sacrifices by its peoples - the liberation movements and the working class - for the ultimate liquidation of colonialism and for freedom from ongoing poverty and hunger. The impetus given by various initiatives to the liberation efforts on the continent, including the Lusaka Manifesto of 1969, the OAU liberation Committee and the global anti-apartheid movement cannot go unnoticed.

The same will be required if we are to turn the tide in our determined struggles for democracy, people-centred development and a new society in which accountability, transparency and public participation in policy development are the core features.

That is why we must intensify our solidarity with:

·         The fighting peoples of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation,

·         Zimbabwe for democracy and freedom from state terror and for free and fair elections in line with the GPA package of reforms,

·         Swaziland for freedom from the reign of terror by a monarchy regime and for multiparty democracy,

·         Somalia from savage attacks and grinding hunger,

·         DRC from looting and war by forces of varying interests as case in point.

Therefore, on Africa Day, Africa has little to celebrate and should be taking stock of its shortcomings and measures to overcome these shortcomings. It should be about highlighting the untold suffering and looting of natural resources by imperialists and their multinationals in war torn Africa countries.

Human rights struggles should be linked to developmental struggles for human dignity. No freedom is meaningful without control of our natural resources, food security and jobs for all.

Our struggle for workers rights, democracy and popular sovereignty is not separate from that which is about the transformation of the whole continent from being a raw material supplier to advanced metropolitan countries to a manufacturer of finished and value-added goods, leading to changing global power relations and the international trade and division of labour system as a whole.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)

Congress of South African Trade Unions–