Parliament marked Africa Day with a lecture under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating conditions for Africa’s development to achieve the goal of a conflict-free Africa.
A day observed to remind all Africans of their commonalities. Among those commonalities, strife, colonisation, and war.
But, the University of Johannesburg’s Pan African Institute Head, Professor Adekeye Adebajo, says it’s no longer all doom and gloom, saying in more modern times, positive steps have been taken.
“The OAU Charter, for example, the AU’s constitutive Act of 2000, actually allows for intervention in cases of egregious human rights abuses, instability and unconstitutional changes of government, and that is revolutionary when we consider the OAU had a very rigid, non-interventionist stance which prioritises human rights abuses to happen across the continent in places like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi.”
He says African governments need to address the ongoing governance challenges and observe rules of democratic governance.
National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise agrees. “South Africa must use ever position, every fibre in our bodies to ensure that we deal decisively with issues of conflict around our continent. We must resolve the Southern Sudan conflict, we must look at Libya, we must look at Somalia, we must help solve the issues at the Sahel region, and all the other issues which are very complex for me to understand, which still persist in the est of the DRC. We cannot begin to talk about integration if we are unable to make people talk, to make people resolve their everyday issues.”
Adebajo also called for the United Nations to take the continent seriously, by including Nigeria, and South Africa, as permanent members of its Security Council, making the UN more representative.
He adds that security sector reform, disarmament, reintegration of soldiers, and more investment in the delivery of social services would go a long way in silencing the guns.
Today marks the 57th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity, which is now referred to as the African Union.
The day has been celebrated through a virtual broadcast of speeches by the organisations’ officials as the continent faces the battle against the coronavirus.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the coronavirus pandemic has shown Africa’s ability in working together to solve its own problems. Delivering the Africa Day speech as African Union Chairperson, he says Africa is firmly managing the global public health crisis.
The continent has more than 96 000 positive cases of COVID-19 with more than 3 000 resulting in death.
Ramaphosa says the positive thing that can be taken from the pandemic is that governments have accelerated their development agendas.
“This COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting impact on our ability to meet the aspiration of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 of a peaceful, united and prosperous continent. The virus has exposed the deep inequalities that continue to exist on our continent and across the world. It has shown how far we are from realising our developmental goals and our responsibilities to the citizens of our continent. But at the same time, this global crisis should enable a new Africa to come to the fore. It should be an Africa of heroic acts of solidarity; an Africa of cross-border collaboration and sharing of knowledge and resources; an Africa that is united by a common goal.”
Africa Day celebrated differently this year because of the coronavirus:
Youth called into action
African Union Youth Envoy Aya Chebbi used the celebrations to call on young people to rise up against the current challenges.
“Because we do not need permission to serve our continent. Wherever we are, young people have a role to play. We can commit today to change COVID-19 into an opportunity for transformation and inter-generational leadership.”
Fight against poverty
The only remaining founding father of the continental body, former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda reminded the current leadership of the job at hand.
“And now it is up to you and your colleagues on the continent and in the diaspora to push ahead and fight for our people’s dignity and freedom. Freedom from poverty, hunger and disease,” says Kaunda.
Many Africa Day commemorations were virtual as the world battles to contain the invisible and unrelenting virus.
Below is the history of the AU:
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Additional reporting by Noma Bolani
