Zimbabwe Vice-President Joice Mujuru greets President Robert Mugabe after he arrived at Harare International Airport from the African Union 22nd Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 1, 2014. Mugabe was elected as Deputy Chair., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
‘No EU Summit without Zim'
Sunday, 02 February 2014 00:00
Zimbabwe Sunday Mail
The African Union (AU) has resolved to cancel the European Union-AU Summit scheduled for Brussels, Belgium, in April this year if President Mugabe is not invited, thereby setting the stage for the EU to climb down on its punitive stance on Zimbabwe.
Leaders who attended the 22nd Ordinary Session of the AU General Assembly, which ended in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, also agreed that the continent should take control of its natural resources and not allow foreigners to dictate their exploitation.
The leaders also resolved to realign the education systems of African countries with policies that promote entrepreneurial skills and job-creation.
Addressing journalists soon after arriving back home from the AU Summit yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the African Heads of State and Government elected not to attend the EU-AU interface if the Europeans do not invite Cde Mugabe.
He said it was “absolute madness” for the bloc to exclude the President, especially after his election as AU First Deputy Chairperson. He added that the AU Commission has been tasked with ensuring that every leader is invited to Brussels.
“We were never in any doubt that they were going to climb down and capitulate. We do not even know why they decided to try this in the first place because they tried it before and they were forced to capitulate.
“And it seems they have very short memories: they tried it again this time. Of course, Africa took a very firm position to say if President Mugabe is not invited to this Summit, then there will be no Summit because no African Head of State was going to attend a Summit where President Mugabe is being excluded.
“That is the decision that was taken at the African Union that all Heads of State and Government must be invited without exception if the Summit is going to take place. And so, faced with this situation, I do not think the European Union has any option. One never ceases to marvel why the European Union always wants to come up with self-imposed humiliation.”
The EU-AU Summit is expected to be held from April 2 to 3. It will mainly focus on strategic priorities between the two continents and review the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES).
The strategy seeks to deepen relations through a “strengthened political partnership and enhanced co-operation at all levels”. It is also tailored to promote sustained development and implemented through successive short-term action plans.
One of its overarching objectives is “reinforcing and elevating the Africa-EU political partnership to address issues of common concern”.
The EU did not invite Zimbabwe to the Summit, ostensibly as an expression of its long-standing impasse with the country.
The bloc imposed targeted and economic sanctions on the Southern African nation at the instigation of former colonial power Britain, which was vehemently against the land reform programme. It is this month expected to review the punitive measures.
Cde Mumbengegwi said the firm position taken by the African leaders was likely to force the EU to rescind its decision on Zimbabwe as the grouping was keen to hold the Summit. He said: “They did not have to take this position and now they are humiliated. And so, as it is, I do not know if the invitation has arrived yet, but we know that it will have to come because they want the Summit to go ahead and Africa will only go there if President Mugabe is invited to this Summit.
“After all, President Mugabe is now the First Deputy President of the African Union. How can you hold a Summit between two organisations and then one organisation has the arrogance to say to the other organisation, ‘Yes, let’s meet as two organisations, but we don’t want your Deputy President to be present.’ I mean this is madness! This is just madness!
“The AU Commission has been tasked to follow up on this decision of the African Union that each and every Head of State must be invited. They have been mandated to follow up this issue and ensure that it is done because, if it is not done, then there is no Summit.”
Regarding the AU’s Agenda 2063, a vision expected to guide the continent over the next 50 years, the minister said the summit resolved that Africa must take control of its natural resources following glaring evidence of poverty in the midst of wealth.
He said member states would harmonise approaches to ensure they do not lose out to foreign investment. On education, he revealed that during plenary sessions, President Mugabe spoke of the need to reconsider the present job-market-oriented system and move to one that promotes entrepreneurial skills and job-creation. Agenda 2063 seeks resource control, education realignment, greater participation of the African state and a shift from donor-dependency, among other elements.
Foreign ministers, who attended a retreat ahead of the Summit, unanimously agreed that a “strong, bold leadership” was required to steer the continent to prosperity.
“As you are aware, Agenda 2063 has become extremely important on the agenda of the AU because it is an effort to come up with programmes of action over the next 50 years. It is work in progress. The AU wants to formulate that action programme. It was underlined that Africa is rich in resources and yet Africans are poor. Therefore, Africans must control these resources, then we can become masters of our own destiny.
“Another point endorsed by Summit was that of the education content in Africa. It was underlined by the President during discussions that it was good our children attend school, but the concern was about the content.”
The 22nd Ordinary Session of the AU General Assembly — held under the theme “2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security” — closed with the leaders also making major decisions on agriculture, peace and security as well as relations between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC). On agriculture and food security, member states are expected to implement key activities that will be discussed after six months. Summit also reinforced its position that no sitting African Head of State and Government should be brought before the ICC.
President welcomes AU postPrint
Sunday, 02 February 2014 00:00
News Editor
President Mugabe says he is pleased with Zimbabwe’s election to the African Union (AU) Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government as Deputy Chair and has pointed out the need to work diligently.
Speaking to journalists at the Harare International Airport after his arrival from the 22nd Ordinary Session of the AU General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday, Cde Mugabe said it was routine for member states to rotate the AU leadership.
He said Zimbabwe was not new to the responsibility as it has held a similar position in the past.
The AU Bureau comprises Mauritania (President), Zimbabwe (First Deputy President), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Second Deputy President and Rapporteur) and Nigeria (Third Deputy President).
“Well, that is to be expected. Surely, as a member of the Organisation of African Unity from 1980, now the African Union, we must also have a turn to preside over the organisation and there is nothing new.
“We have done it before.
“But we are very happy. We will take over in January next year. Just now, we are Deputy as Zimbabwe. Come mid-year this year, we will take over the chairmanship of Sadc. So, it means everybody should work hard.
“At the AU, we were mainly focusing on agriculture. That was the theme, a theme that is actually driving us this year. It is a very good theme for us. We want to mechanise . . . We must ensure that what comes from the soil and the heavens benefits us.”
President Mugabe, who is also Sadc Deputy Chair, said he presided over an Extraordinary Summit of the bloc on the sidelines of the AU Summit because the Chair, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, was unable to attend.
He said Sadc lifted sanctions on Madagascar, which successfully held elections late last year.
“Madam Banda was not able to come. So, I was doing it on her behalf. But that was to say to Madagascar at least we have had a democratic election, an election which has been long-accepted by Sadc, an election accepted by the AU.
“So, let’s erase the hardships, remove the hardships.
“We had imposed sanctions on Madagascar not to be a member of Sadc and the AU. So, what we need to do now is congratulate the people of Madagascar and remove all the restrictions that we had imposed on them.
"That is what we were presiding over. It was a very short meeting.”
Commenting on Agenda 2063, Africa’s guiding vision over the next 50 years, Cde Mugabe said resource-control was critical to Africa’s development.
He said while the vision was ambitious, the continent was working towards realising it.
Investing in young people will also help produce prosperous generations, he added.
“Well, yes, that vision is a very ambitious vision. It was presented in a very dramatic way by Madam Zuma (AU Commission Chairperson). She was already in 2063 and looking back and seeing how we had developed, how agriculture had developed and seeing also how the rivers had been utilised, the Zambezi, the Limpopo and then the whole of Africa.
“How the children had benefited and how the schools had arisen, industries and all sectors had managed to be developed. It is very ambitious, but we need investment, investment in agriculture, investment in mining, investment in manufacturing, investment also in infrastructure, roads and, of course, ICTs, but, most of all, investment in our children who will take over from us.
“I will be dreaming from some grave somewhere and perhaps you (referring to a journalist interviewing him) will be an old lady by that time, saying all my children, all of them, are now engineers, well-married and so on.
“That is good. That is what we are doing.
“To us, it did not really mean much except to say shall we have the resources, all of us in Africa, to bring development to Africa, to that important level?
“For now it is a level that we have agreed to work towards. So, that is our ambition. Well, with us, Zim Asset is part of that ambition.”
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