AU has been weighed and found wanting

The African Union to promote African unity among African states, among other core aims, is not fulfilling its mandate. It has not only failed to foster unity among African states but also failed to position African countries to engage the globe for their benefit. Member states are always divided on how to address continental problems such as the ongoing civil war in Somalia. Consequently, Somali citizens have never known peace. The African union is doing nothing to curb the rampant corruption, human rights abuse, dictatorship and environmental degradation among its member states. There is urgent need for the continental body to be overhauled.

What has made the European Union a force to reckon with? It is the Union’s strong bench marks that a country aspiring to become must fulfill. An aspiring country should have stable and strong institutions that guarantee democracy, rule of law, human rights observance, respect for and protection of minorities, a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with the competitive market forces within the union. In addition, member states, are expected to always adhere to the aims of the political, economic and monetary union
 
You can now see why it is not easy to become a member of the European Union. Mind you, the European Union began in 1957 as European Economic Community (EEC), then comprising of only six countries: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Membership later extended to Ireland, Denmark and United Kingdom. Greece joined in 1981 while Portugal and Spain joined in 1986. Today, as we talk, the European Union has only 27 member states, that are strongly united in their dealing with both local and global socio-political and economic issues.

You cannot simply wake up and export your products to the European Union market. Before you do it, you must, first fulfill set standards. In Africa, this is not case. Africa is a dumping ground of unwanted products from abroad. Many machines, food stuffs, clothes and electronic junk which are no longer in use abroad are dumped in African countries. Some of these products pose dangerous health and environmental risks. What is the African Union doing about it?

For African Union to be stronger and relevant to its citizenry, there must be a deliberate move to set new membership benchmarks that entail respect for the rule of law, establishing strong and independent institutions, respect for human rights, respect for media freedoms, political tolerance of divergent views, respect for minority views, acceptance to work in uniformity in dealing with global issues, among others. In the new arrangement, the new African Union member countries and those that aspire to join it must implement these benchmarks. It would be much better for the African Union to have few countries that are totally committed to set continental ideals than have many countries that are pulling in different directions.

Some African leaders in countries such as Ghana, Seychelles, South Africa and Botswana are trying to light the way. A big percentage of African leaders are however pursuing selfish interests at the expense of their citizenry and country core interests. Implementation of these benchmarks is what will differentiate good leaders from the bad ones. As it stands out today, the African Union is a mixture of dictators, looters, vampires, non-visionary as well as visionary leaders. This must not be allowed to continue. It is time to separate the wolves from the sheep.

Attaining true functioning democracy is still a dream in many African countries. The so called democracy we are witnessing in Africa is cosmetic. Elections are always characterized by bribery, intimidation, rigging, multiple voting and stuffing of ballot boxes. The electoral commissions are always manipulated by the incumbent for their own victory. This is why election results in Africa are always disputed. It happened in Kenya during the December 2007 elections and led to the death displacement of many people. It also happened in Zimbabwe. In both cases, the forceful formation of coalition governments engineered by western powers cooled down tempers. The situation is no different in Nigeria, Angola, Senegal and Gabon, among others. What is the African Union doing about this? We don’t need a union composed of leaders who are an obstacle to the building of a true and functioning democracy. Their countries should not be allowed to be members in the new arrangement of the new African union.

Most African leaders are exploiting their countries’ resources such as oil, gold, timber, diamond and copper for their own benefit rather than for the local masses. The rich mineral resources in DR Congo are benefiting the ruling elite. This is also the case in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola among others. Transparency and accountability are not observed. Rule of law is almost absent. The leaders are institutions themselves. They lead  extravagant lives, wear expensive clothes and perfumes, own fleets of expensive cars and dine abroad while  the electorate  sleep hungry, cannot afford medication and  die of famine. Africans do not need a union composed of such leaders. Today’s African Union, is not tasking its members to be accountable to their masses. It needs an overhaul.

A vibrant and a well functioning media is a vital element in the promotion of strong and sustainable democracy, transparency, accountability, respect for human rights and good governance. Media practitioners in African Union member countries are working under extremely hard conditions. They are always intimidated by state security operatives and in some cases, some, have lost their lives, under unclear circumstances. In 2004, Deyda Hydara, who was at one time Editor at the point newspaper in Gambia was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. In this same country, many other reporters have fled for fear of their lives. In Libya, Morocco, Gabon, Cameroon, Rwanda, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso and Sudan, writing a piece that criticizes the ruling establishment is an assured ticket to prison cells. Media, in these countries, is not independent. Media outlets perceived to be critical of these governments are shut down by the ruling authorities. This happens right under the nose of the African Union. The union must be overhauled.

In sum, it is only real and meaningful unity attained through proper democratic channels that can propel development of the African Union member countries. Today’s African union has failed to meaningfully unite member countries into one strong regional block, capable of approaching issues in uniformity. The Union thus ought to be overhauled and set new  membership benchmarks as outlined that all countries aspiring to become members in the new reborn African union initiative must adhere to. African people are tired of cosmetic unity.

By Hategeka Moses

The author is a Ugandan based independent governance researcher, public affairs analyst and writer.