AU summit to get underway in Johannesburg

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Johannesburg - There was a delay in the start of the African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg. The ceremony was scheduled to start at 9am but by 11am proceedings had not yet started.

The theme of the summit is “a Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063".

Leaders are confronted with a packed agenda that will discuss, among other issues, the African Union Commission’s Agenda 2063, the looming political crisis in Burundi, proposals for the continental free trade area and mechanisms to find new sources of funding for the African Union operations.

On Saturday, leaders, which included President Zuma discussed progress made in the implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) programe launched 12 years ago.

Despite criticism that most African states had been slow in implementing APRM, all leaders on Saturday agreed that the APRM is a tool to drive good governance in Africa.

The APRM is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the AU as a self-monitoring mechanism. It was founded in 2003. Its mandate is to encourage conformity in regard to political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards, among African countries and the objectives in socio-economic development within the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Chairperson of the APRM and President of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf emphasised that the programme should continue to be used as a vehicle to address challenges facing the continent. But most countries had been having difficulties in implementing the programme due to financial constraints.

NEPAD was also under the spotlight on Saturday during the Opening Session of the 33rd Session of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) on Saturday at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg. The HSGOC was established in 2010 at the AU summit, in Addis Ababa, in line with the integration of NEPAD into AU structures.

The committee provides leadership to the process of NEPAD, sets policies, priorities and programmes of action. NEPAD or the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, is a socio-economic programme of the AU whose objective is to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable growth and development and accelerate the empowerment of women on the continent.

Zimbabwean President and AU Chairperson Robert Mugabe said NEPAD has done an excellent job so far and requested that the organisation continue to do more for Africa.

He said NEPAD, as an economic agency of the AU, has made breakthroughs in various spheres such as project conceptualisation, coordination and implementation, which is exemplified by infrastructure development in Africa.

Meanwhile, there was no official statement from the South African government on the reports that dominated the media on Sunday regarding the International Criminal Court's request for South Africa to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir who is attending the summit. Bashir is wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Darfur conflict dating back to 2003. – SAnews.gov.za