Johannesburg – The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has warned that the growing number of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing Africa to Europe in search of better opportunities will have devastating effects for African states grappling with skills shortage and struggling economies.
Dlamini-Zuma on Thursday challenged African leaders, who are preparing to gather for the African Union's 25th Summit in Johannesburg, to do everything they can to stop the migrant crisis or risk reversing the gains the continent has made in the past decade.
“Africans should only move out of Africa when they want to, not when they are forced by circumstances,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
She was speaking during the opening of the Executive Council meeting, a gathering of foreign ministers representing the 54 member states of the African Union. The ministers’ discussions over the next two days will form decisions to be adopted by the Heads of State who will gather for the assembly later this week. The meeting is chaired by Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbegwegwi.
“Africans should be able to acquire and use skills within the continent. We want to ensure that African citizens can use their qualifications to work anywhere in Africa,” Dlamini-Zuma said. She called on African leaders to ensure that conditions improve in their countries in order to stop the rampant migration to Europe.
The European Commission statistics reveal that the EU received approximately more than 600 000 applications for asylum in 2014, reportedly the highest number of asylum applicants within the bloc since 1992. Many migrants have perished in oceans as they try to get to Europe in unsafe boats and vessels.
On Thursday, Dlamini-Zuma warned that if Africans continue to leave the continent in droves, the continent may find it difficult to achieve its Agenda 2063 goals for a prosperous continent at peace with itself. The AU Summit is taking place in South Africa for the first time since the formation of the AU in 2002.
The official theme of this week's summit at the Sandton Convention Centre is "Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063", but it may not be deliberated fully due to other emerging critical issues among them the escalating political turmoil in Burundi. There could also be those who may want to force into the agenda the instability in the DRC and Central African Republic. Ministers will also draft recommendations on the alternative sources of funding for the AU, the first decade of implementing Agenda 2063 and how the continent will continue its fight for the transformation of the UN Security Council.
Dlamini-Zuma has been championing the need for African countries to increase their contributions to the AU ever since she came into office in October 2012. She wants to end the AU’s over reliance on foreign donors to fund its programmes. Dlamini-Zuma won this battle when the AU summit held in Ethiopia in January this year took a decision to increase member states funding of the union to ensure that at the end of five years, starting in 2016, member states will be financing 100 per cent of the AU operational budget, at least 75 percent of the programmes budget and 25 percent of its peace-keeping budget.
President Jacob Zuma will hold a gala dinner on Saturday in a bid to persuade private funders to pump money into the AU Foundation. Recommendations made at Thursday’s meeting of ministers will be taken to the Heads of State Summit for approval and adoption.
When the summit ends on Monday next week, it is expected that the communique would outline how the continent’s leaders plan to solve the Burundi matter and how will they convince that country’s President Pierre Nkurunzinza to reconsider his intention to stand for a third term, despite the fact that the constitution limits him to two. It’s being reported that Nkurunzinza is not joining his fellow Heads of State for the summit in Johannesburg. Also on the agenda is the report on progress in implementing the African Standby Force. – SAnews.gov.za
