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Africa concluded the 15th AU Summit. A lot more needs to be done
Africa is in the news again. This time not because of the FIFA World Cup, but because Uganda hosted the 15th African Union Summit. The summit is highly significant ' not only for Africa but also for the world for peace ' for the simple reason that unrest in one continent can destabilise the whole world. Perhaps this is one bottleneck of globalisation. However, out of the 66 targeted during the summit only 49 heads of state and governments arrived to attend the summit. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a war- crimes issue, didn't attend it in spite of being invited by Uganda's President.
The theme of the summit was "Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa" but the significance of the summit primarily lies in the issue of African unity. The debate of a unified Africa is old but looking at Africa's efforts, the issue needs some attention. The truth is that the African Union may not be like the European Union in the foreseeable future, but then they certainly need to realise the importance of unity for mutual growth and prosperity.
Apparently, there are three primary impediments to unite Africa. Firstly, the foreign interventions. The crazy drive for Africa of countries like the US, the UK, China and other European nations is certainly noteworthy to mention. They are definitely not pouring a lot of money without any reason. And it's going to get worse as the US Department of Justice is expected to launch a new Kleptarchy Asset Recovery Initiative aimed at curbing large scale foreign official corruption and aiding recovering of stolen funds. It's not beyond imagination to foresee how foreign intervention will get dirtier and will have a deadly impact on the region. However, against the populist view, foreign aid has never been a solution for Africa. Poverty in Africa has literally gone up from 11 per cent to a staggering 66 per cent between 1970 and 1998 despite foreign aid flows increasing manifolds and which were at its peak during the same period.
Secondly, inefficient management of its vast natural resources is the other problem. Africa is a continent with 54 countries and about a billion population. It has 9.49 per cent and 8.22 per cent of world's oil and natural gas reserves with over 117.481 billion barrels of oil and a whopping 14.58 trillion cubic metres of natural gas stocks as of 2007. But the mismanagement in handling natural resources made it a curse than blessing. Over 6.9 million people have died since 1998 in civil wars due to coltan, a dull black metallic ore in Congo alone.
Thirdly, the resurgence of non state elements has become a threat to peace. The most recent and horrifying serial bomb blasts in Uganda by Al-Shabab which took the lives of over 70 people because they were watching football is a classic example of it. Uganda's President rightly focused upon issues like turning rich, natural resources into wealth, to be not too dependent on foreign aid and redefine Africa's role in the international arena. It will be a distant dream until others realise it. Middle East is a failure, when it comes to uniting the region. It was suffering from similar problems. Africa is undergoing the same transition now. It has to ensure that it corrects the mistakes that Mid-East made.
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Africa concluded the 15th AU Summit. A lot more needs to be done
Africa is in the news again. This time not because of the FIFA World Cup, but because Uganda hosted the 15th African Union Summit. The summit is highly significant ' not only for Africa but also for the world for peace ' for the simple reason that unrest in one continent can destabilise the whole world. Perhaps this is one bottleneck of globalisation. However, out of the 66 targeted during the summit only 49 heads of state and governments arrived to attend the summit. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a war- crimes issue, didn't attend it in spite of being invited by Uganda's President.
The theme of the summit was "Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa" but the significance of the summit primarily lies in the issue of African unity. The debate of a unified Africa is old but looking at Africa's efforts, the issue needs some attention. The truth is that the African Union may not be like the European Union in the foreseeable future, but then they certainly need to realise the importance of unity for mutual growth and prosperity.
Apparently, there are three primary impediments to unite Africa. Firstly, the foreign interventions. The crazy drive for Africa of countries like the US, the UK, China and other European nations is certainly noteworthy to mention. They are definitely not pouring a lot of money without any reason. And it's going to get worse as the US Department of Justice is expected to launch a new Kleptarchy Asset Recovery Initiative aimed at curbing large scale foreign official corruption and aiding recovering of stolen funds. It's not beyond imagination to foresee how foreign intervention will get dirtier and will have a deadly impact on the region. However, against the populist view, foreign aid has never been a solution for Africa. Poverty in Africa has literally gone up from 11 per cent to a staggering 66 per cent between 1970 and 1998 despite foreign aid flows increasing manifolds and which were at its peak during the same period.
Secondly, inefficient management of its vast natural resources is the other problem. Africa is a continent with 54 countries and about a billion population. It has 9.49 per cent and 8.22 per cent of world's oil and natural gas reserves with over 117.481 billion barrels of oil and a whopping 14.58 trillion cubic metres of natural gas stocks as of 2007. But the mismanagement in handling natural resources made it a curse than blessing. Over 6.9 million people have died since 1998 in civil wars due to coltan, a dull black metallic ore in Congo alone.
Thirdly, the resurgence of non state elements has become a threat to peace. The most recent and horrifying serial bomb blasts in Uganda by Al-Shabab which took the lives of over 70 people because they were watching football is a classic example of it. Uganda's President rightly focused upon issues like turning rich, natural resources into wealth, to be not too dependent on foreign aid and redefine Africa's role in the international arena. It will be a distant dream until others realise it. Middle East is a failure, when it comes to uniting the region. It was suffering from similar problems. Africa is undergoing the same transition now. It has to ensure that it corrects the mistakes that Mid-East made.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
When foreign shores beckon
An array of unconventional career options
A language that divides
Ragging rights and wrongs
Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students
Role of Media in the moulding of youth
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