Remarks by the incoming Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma following a consultative meeting with former African Heads of State and Government

We were very happy and excited to have received the delegation of former Heads of States and Government and the leaders of international organisations. It is really an honour and a privilege for us to have leaders like President Kaunda who is one of the founders of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and to have all the Heads of State that are here.

We are happy because they are a great resource for us and we feel that with their support there is a lot that we can accomplish and that there is a lot that they can do to make sure that we move this continent forward. I am also very happy that they have given us a lot of encouragement.

Like the founders, they too emphasised the issue of unity because the Organisation of African Unity was anchored on the unity of Africans. We cannot move away from that anchor because if we do we are left weak and because there is not much that we can accomplish as individuals but collectively there is a lot that we can achieve.

We feel much empowered by the fact that we have them at our disposal and they have the experience, wisdom and the vision which we can tap into and we can get their counsel and assistance. We think we can learn a lot from them.

Furthermore, besides being a great resource they (former Heads of State and Government) are a great inspiration to us because of their commitment to the continent. This was an introductive meeting but sooner rather than later we will be having proper discussions with them on how we should move forward as a continent.

We will be working together from now on as they have been working together with my predecessor.

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