T Mbeki: University of Cape Coast graduation awarding ceremony

4 July 2007

Your Excellency, President John Kufour
Members of the Council of State
The Chancellor of the University, Dr Sam Jonah
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Emmanuel Addo Obeng
Chairmen and members of the University Council
Pro-Vice Chancellors
Osabarina Kwesi Atta, Omanhene of Ouguaa Traditional Area
Members of Parliament
Registrars
Professors, lecturers, staff members and workers
Members of the Convocation
Alumni of UCC
Your Excellencies
Distinguished guests
Students
Ladies and gentlemen

Unity and integration of Africa

I thank you most sincerely for inviting me to share with you my humble
thoughts on the important matter of African unity and integration.

I bear warm and fraternal greetings from the people of South Africa, who are
equally seized with the same fervour about the future of our continent. Indeed,
it is important, at all times, to be part of a systematic, indissoluble process
of critical engagement by Africans themselves so as to arrive at the best
conceivable political and economic arrangements. We should do so while
simultaneously engaging actively the titanic struggle of deepening democracy,
of ensuring effective governance of, by and for the African peoples, attaining
peace and stability as well as accelerating development, thus helping to bring
to an end the indecencies of wars, conflicts, autocracy and poverty which for
centuries have been the defining marks of the existence of Africans.

This critical topic about the need for integration finds an apt historical
resonance in this land from which emerged Dr Kwame Nkrumah, a bold African
visionary who saw no alternative route for the future of the African continent
outside the vehicle of African Unity.

I am also pleased that we are meeting to share ideas on the challenges of
our continent in a university environment, an intellectual hub for the
manufacturing of ideas designed to improve humanity, but doing so on the basis
of human experience; and to subject those ideas to the rigour of rational
thought so that the product would be an all-rounded human society, free of
ignorance, free of want or instability and at peace with itself.

I am indeed proud and humbled to be here today to receive the degree of
Doctor of Laws, LLD (Honoris Causa). I do so, on behalf of the millions of
Africans who daily seek to help accelerate our march towards a developed and
prosperous continent, a task that is not made easier by the terrible and
deep-rooted legacy of over 500 years of slavery, colonialism and apartheid.

I see inside and outside this hall, the inheritors of our ancient wealth of
knowledge, from such prestigious places as the Egyptian Temple of Memphis which
originated modern medicine, mathematics and other scientific disciplines, to
Timbuktu, which for many years was the centre of advanced knowledge, research
and teaching, the evidence of which lies in priceless documents that are
currently being preserved for posterity.

I am confident that the University of Cape Coast everyday strives to live to
that great African tradition, so that itself as a fountain of knowledge and
ideas continues to help both individual students and the rest of the African
society to overcome the many obstacles that have confined Africa and Africans
to the lowest rung in the order of human society.

Many of us would know the book written by Ghanaian writer, Ayi Kwei Armah,
The Beautiful Ones Have Not Yet Born, which deals with the problems brought by
neo-colonial Africa, which included all that is wrong in many of our countries.
Through that book, Ayi Kwei Armah challenges all of us to deal with everything
that is ugly and repugnant if we are to transform Africa into a continent of
hope, a continent of development and a continent of prosperity.

As you are aware, the political leadership of our continent has, over the
past three days, gathered in Accra, for the 9th Ordinary Session of the
Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and government to deal with one
matter only: "The Grand Debate on the Union Government".

From the discussions it is clear that the political leadership of our
continent is of the view that the future of all our peoples and individual
countries lies in the socio-political and economic integration of Africa. This
is because it would be difficult for one or a set of African countries to
achieve higher rates of sustainable development while the majority are still
defined by poverty and underdevelopment.

Therefore, the political and economic integration of Africa has to happen
not merely because we share the same history, populate common geographic space
and exhibit identical physiological features, important as these are, but
because our destinies are intrinsically bound together.

Those who closely follow developments on this matter would be aware of the
enormous efforts that are being made by many countries and regions to ensure
that we do not unduly postpone our unity any longer. I am saying that the
various regional economic communities on our continent are engaged in processes
aimed at integrating our continent even when there is on-going debate about the
same modalities for integration.

This consensus, that Africans, who for centuries together traversed long
distances of misery and subjugation, would, through the unity of their actions
build a path to a better future, not in isolation from one another but as a
united force, is not something new.

Today, as in the past, Africans, wherever they are, always share the same
vision of a united, developed and prosperous Africa. Accordingly, it was not
surprising that at the beginning of the twentieth century the Trinidad
barrister, H Sylvester Williams, sponsored the first Pan-African Congress, held
in London in 1900, where WEB du Bois correctly identified racism as the problem
of the twentieth century, because to address the identified problem of racism
required Africans to unite.

On the African soil some of the early twentieth century visionaries took the
unity of Africa as indisputable and accordingly spoke about the contribution of
our continent to global development in a manner that discounted the possibility
of the independent development of some parts while the rest of the continent
languished in underdevelopment.

This view was propagated even when the prospects for freedom seemed, at
best, happening in the far and distant future and at worst, being a fantastic
hallucination.

History, the best teacher teaches us that the attainment of unity and high
levels of development is predicated on political, socio-economic and cultural
interdependent, between free nations and peoples.

Clearly, Africa, under colonialism had neither the possibility of realising
a dream of a united, integrated, developed and civilised continent nor the
opportunity to commence the process towards that goal while almost all of
Africa was still under colonialism.

While Africans were still struggling for their independence, their
oppressors, the Europeans, were already talking unity and integration. In 1929,
the French Prime Minister, Aristide Briand, addressed the League of Nations'
General Assembly, emphasising the notion of a united Europe and identified some
of the reasons necessitating 'a sort of federal bond' that needed to be created
between the European countries. As he said, these included:

* formal and regular contact on mutual interests and adopting common
resolutions * forming a bond of solidarity ready to respond to any threats to
any of the individual members
* ensuring co-operation and collaboration mainly in the economic domain.

However, Briand's idea seemed to be in danger of being destroyed by the
sounds of guns and bombs and the eerie silence and the sombre air attendant to
the death of the innocent when Hitler and the Nazis unleashed their madness on
Europe. Yet, that madness forced Europe forge a bond of solidarity to face up
to the serious and bloody circumstances as they had arisen.

By the end of the war, new global realities had emerged among which was the
replacement of Europe as the capital of global power and influence. The Cold
War was to define the global political landscape for the next fifty years.
Indeed, the war had left serious negative effects on Europe.

Apart from losing its hegemonic and global political power, the continent
was economically weak and some countries in political disarray. Some European
economies remained weak until a stronger and more united Europe intervened with
a rescue package in the last decade of the twentieth century with what is
called Structural Funds. I will return to that later.

To prevent continental wars that destabilised the continent and hampered the
overall development of Europe, some form of unity had to be found. The European
Economic Community traces its origins to 1951, when the Treaties of Rome were
adopted and European Coal and Steel Community was formed. Decades that saw many
processes of unity and integration culminated in the formation of the European
Union in 1993, more than 40 years after the Treaties of Rome were adopted. The
formation of the European Union helped Europe to advance to a higher level of
integration with many positive benefits for member-states than was the case in
the aftermath of the Second World War.

Clearly, Europe whose specific conditions led to its own process of unity
and integration, a phenomenon whose acceleration was occasioned more by the
fury, destruction and horrors of the two World Wars as well as the desperate
economic conditions than by the gallic love for the upper-stiff lips,
experienced many and varied dynamics throughout its decades of unity.
This is something which anyone interested in the unity and integration of
Africa should closely study, not to copy like a parrot, because the conditions
are clearly different, but to draw lessons that would help us avoid repeating
mistakes that may drag us back and defeat the same noble process of
integration.

Further, a process of continental unity, whether in Africa, Europe, Asia or
other places, can be both dynamic and complex because it must address itself to
a variety of processes, histories, traditions, conventions, cultures and
socio-political and economic systems and interests at country, sub-regional,
regional, continental and global levels.

Chairperson,

When many African countries gained their independence, mainly in the 1960s,
there was euphoria everywhere. Many saw the possibilities of unity and
development leading to prosperity for the majority of Africans.

Kwame Nkrumah expressed this positive mood but also urged Africa to work for
unity. In his book, I Speak of Freedom, he said: "Never before have a people
had within their grasp so great an opportunity for developing a continent
endowed with so much wealth. Individually, the independent states of Africa,
some of them potentially rich others poor, can do little for their people.
Together, by mutual help, they can achieve much. But the economic development
of the continent must be planned and pursued as a whole" (extracted from
http://www.africasource.com)

At the same time, former Tanzanian President, Julius 'Mwalimu' Nyerere,
identified one of the various problems facing the new African states, which was
to be a source of conflict within many countries and a possible obstacle
towards unity. He said: "The boundaries which divide African states are so
nonsensical that without our sense of unity they would be a cause for friction.
We have no alternative but to start from the position which we inherited after
the colonial partition of Africa. There is no one country which does not
include areas which would come under another political unit if any principles
of geography were considered�" (PP1-6, A united State of Africa, Journal of
Modern African Studies, Vol.1, No.1, Mar 1963).

Both these outstanding leaders of our continent were correct in calling for
unity, given the imposed negative conditions that made the lives of Africans
unbearable. Yet, the cruel combination of endogenous and exogenous factors made
our process towards unity more intricate and complex.

The formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was a logical step
in view of the many and varied challenges facing Africa. As we know, the OAU
united Africans around the total liberation of the continent from colonialism
and apartheid and huge efforts and sacrifices were made to defeat these twin
monsters.

The euphoria to which I have referred, that accompanied independence in the
1960s was not unexpected. Generations after generations of Africans had known
no other life except that of oppression, repression, degradation and
humiliation. It was not surprising that some even called the 1960s the Decade
of Hope. As Nkrumah had set his eyes on the next challenge of unity and
integration as a basis for accelerated all-round development on the continent,
there emerged many challenges, especially within the new independent states,
which were to postpone the possibility of such levels of unity and integration
necessary for higher and accelerated rates of development.

Guy Arnold observes, in his book: Africa � A Modern History, that: "At the
beginning of the 1960s Africa was the world's most precarious region, its vast
geographic centre was 'empty' of power, its northern and southern extremities
(Algeria and South Africa) in the grip of forces that appeared irreconcilable
to the rest of the continent. Its newly independent states with their fragile
infrastructure and miniscule economies desperately required help, but help that
would not be accompanied by political demands and 'strings'. Political power
depends upon economic strength, and economic strength was what Africa lacked.
There were also complex psychological problems associated with independence:
African nationalist leaders had to demand and take independence, they could
never appear just to receive it. Moreover, the scars of colonialism ran deep
for, as Nigeria's Dr Azikiwe had said back in 1948: "My country groans under a
system which makes it impossible for us to develop our personalities to the
full." And as another young nationalist said to a European at this time: You
have never known what it is to live under colonialism. It is humiliating" (P55,
ibid).

Indeed, the former colonial powers were not prepared to let Africa find a
development path on her own. In the midst of the Cold War, the western
countries unashamedly and unapologetically interfered and intervened directly
in the internal affairs of independent African countries, resorting in some
instances, to violence and assassinations of those deemed to be against their
interests.

Thus, neo-colonialism was not merely a descriptive political term but an
actual lived experience of many Africans who had to content with this new
insidious but still deadly phenomenon.

The fragile infrastructure and miniscule economies that Arnold talks about,
meant that many African countries were forced to agree to economic aid
measures, which were however accompanied by political demands and manipulations
as well as both political and economic strings, which, in some instances, had
invariably defined the destinies of some of our countries. Those African
leaders bold enough to refuse these forms of neo-colonialism became the targets
of the powerful nations of the North and their collaborators on the continent.
It would indeed be disingenuous to suggest that the same phenomenon is
non-existent today.

By the end of the 1970s, a number of African states had tried, with less
success, to take full control of their economies. At this period, many African
countries were faced with adverse terms of trade, rising debt, poor and
deteriorating infrastructure as well as declining economies. As a result, these
countries sought more aid, got into more debt and found themselves increasingly
at the mercy of former colonial powers.

Undoubtedly, the western powers liked what they saw because there were
limited possibilities for African countries to escape their economic
stranglehold. Clearly, the problems experienced by African states between the
1960s and the 1980s, stem from a number of factors, which include:

* The emergence of neo-colonialism which meant few African countries could
independently embark on any political and economic development route outside
those designed, approved and managed by the erstwhile colonial powers.
* The Western powers never envisaged independent African countries to decide
their own development paths; rather, they sought to create dependent client
states which could be manipulated according to the strategic and economic
requirements of these western countries.
* Through a number of measures, both political and economic, former colonial
powers maintained their 'spheres of influence' consistent with old colonial
divisions, hence the zoning and entrenchment thereof of our continent as
Anglo-phone Africa, Franco-phone Africa and Luso-phone Africa.
* The weak and fragile economies of the newly independent countries left them
vulnerable to the variety of political mechanisations of imperial powers.
* The coincidence in the 1960s, of the advent of African independence, with
African states still being weak, and, the height of the Cold War, made it
possible for new actors to enter the African scene in the form of the United
States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These two
powerful players used the continent as one of their sites for their global
confrontations at the time when the continent was trying to shake-off the
shackles of colonialism. Today, the lives of many Africans attest to the fact
that the wounds of those Cold War confrontations are yet to heal.
* The colonially-imposed boundaries became fetters in the processes of
nation-building serving as flashpoints of internal conflicts and instability as
well as fuelling inter-states conflicts.
* Debt, aid, manipulations by aid donors and unfavourable trade terms,
especially for exports, falling agricultural outputs, natural disasters and
others, became an albatross on many African countries.
* Conflicts, wars, military interventions and autocracy became widespread,
supplanting democracy.
* World recession in the 1980s had a negative impact on the continent's weak
economies.
* Economies became either stagnant or declined during this period.

Clearly, for three decades the combination of these negative factors
conspired to deny our countries, individually and collectively, the
possibilities of development and economic growth and thereby postponing the
attainment of a better life for millions of Africans. Unity and integration as
envisaged by Nkrumah could not happen under these conditions.

It is clear then that there are a number of conditions necessary for the
attainment of the higher level of unity and integration of Africa. One of these
conditions is that all of Africa had to be free. However, with many parts of
the continent not free even in the 1970s, especially most of southern Africa,
the matter of integration became practically feasible only in the last decade
of the twentieth century.

Chairperson,
In 1991, 51 independent African states gathered in Abuja, Nigeria, to establish
the African Economic Community (AEC) as an integral part of the OAU. The
following are the objectives of the Community:

* To promote economic, social and cultural development and the integration
of African economies in order to increase economic self-reliance and promote an
endogenous and self-sustained development.
* To establish, on a continental scale, a framework for the development,
mobilisation and utilisation of the human and material resources of Africa in
order to achieve a self-reliant development.
* To promote cooperation in all fields of human endeavour in order to raise the
standard of living of African peoples, and maintain and enhance economic
stability, foster close and peaceful relations among Member States and
contribute to the progress, development and economic integration of the
Continent.
* To co-ordinate and harmonise policies among existing and future economic
communities in order to foster the gradual establishment of the community.

To realise these objectives it was agreed that, among others, the existing
economic communities will be strengthened and new ones established; agreements
would be finalised with the aim of harmonising and coordinating policies among
existing and future sub-regional and regional economic communities.

Further, there would be the liberalisation of trade through the abolition,
among member states of customs duties and non-tariff barriers so as to
establish free trade areas in each regional economic community.

The countries also agreed to adopt a common trade policy, ensure a common
external tariff and establish a common market. Of importance, there was to be a
gradual removal, among member states, of obstacles to the free movement of
persons, goods, services and capital and the right of residence and
establishment.

The 51 African countries then agreed to implement these and other decisions
in six stages over a transitional period of 34 years.

The first stage of a period of five years, for instance, was for the
strengthening and establishment of regional economic communities. The second
stage of eight years was to deal among other things, with the gradual removal
of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers and gradual harmonisation of customs
duties.

Then, the third stage of ten years had to deal with the establishment of
free trade areas while the fourth stage of two years would address the
harmonisation of tariff and non-tariff systems among the various regional
economic communities with a view to establishing a continental Customs Union by
means of adopting a common external tariff.

The fifth stage would establish an African common market for a period of
four years and also include the harmonisation of monetary, financial and fiscal
policies as well as ensuring the free movement of persons.

The sixth stage of five years would be used for the consolidation and
strengthening of the structures of the African common market, the integration
of all sectors, namely economic, political, social and cultural; the
establishment of a single domestic market and a Pan-African Economic and
Monetary Union, the establishment of a single African Central Bank and the
creation of a single African Currency. This Stage would also see setting-up of
the structure of the Pan-African Parliament and election of its members by
continental universal suffrage.

Of course, as we have seen with the matter of the establishment of the
Pan-African Parliament, some of these processes may in fact come earlier than
envisaged.

But a review of the various regional economic communities (RECs), which are
the building blocks of our integration, will reveal that some of our regions
have not advanced beyond the first stages identified by the prescriptions of
the African Economic Community (AEC) as outlined in the Abuja Treaty.

For instance, there is uneven development of the RECs, resulting in some of
these bodies being unable to implement the prescriptions of the Abuja Treaty.
Accordingly, it would be difficult to argue successfully that we have
strengthened all the RECs.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has made remarkable
progress on many of the prescriptions of the African Economic Community. The
region has signed a protocol on free movement of persons including the
abolishment of visas for citizens of Ecowas; has approved the free movement of
goods, established an Ecowas common external tariff, removal of all non-tariff
barriers of a monetary nature and introduced the Ecowas travellers' cheque. So
clearly, this is great achievement in the direction of integration.

My own region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which has
not achieved as much as Ecowas, has adopted an overall strategy so as to
realise the lofty vision of the African Economic Community as contained in the
Abuja Treaty. SADC has adopted the Regional Indicative Strategic Development
Plan as well as Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics. These two
strategic plans are consistent with the vision of continental integration and
focus on policy harmonisation as directed by the Abuja Treaty and help with the
acceleration of SADC integration agenda.

There are views that, because we have difficulties in implementing the Abuja
Treaty, we should abandon our attempts to strengthen the building blocks of our
integration and go straight to integrating at continental level. I must say, I
have never heard of a builder who abandons the foundation and start with the
roof of a house because the building site is full of rocks.

Further, it is clear that the African countries that met in Abuja, Nigeria
in 1991, understood very well that integration should happen hand in hand with
development. Hence, the emphasis on drawing programmes aimed at the
facilitation of better economic activities and the removal of barriers to
economic growth and development.

Accordingly, integration is a means through which all Africans should and
must collaborate to harness diffused energies and competencies, utilise our
vast natural resources and internal economic strengths so as to give our
continent a comparative and competitive advantage in the world market.

Because our individual economies are small, our hope for a better market
share in the global economy lies in our combined efforts. That is why the Abuja
Treaty is such an important benchmark which we should use as we address the
many prescriptions it contains among which is the urgent challenge of
strengthening regional economic communities.

Clearly, the integration of Africa will be easier and faster when we have,
among others, dealt with the many challenges identified by the Abuja Treaty
because this is a Treaty drafted from the practical experience of the African
people and expressed by a leadership that is undoubtedly committed to the
integration of Africa.

If we are to look at the experience of European integration we will realise
that part of the challenge faced in this process of integration was to address
underdevelopment. Accordingly, the European Union (EU) set up what they called
Structural Funds to give financial support to under-developed and economically
weak EU regions and countries.

These Structural Funds comprised of the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund, Pre-Accession Aid and the Cohesion Fund. Between them, they now
make-up a major part of the EU budget.

Through these Funds, the EU has managed to help with the further development
of the economies of countries such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece as
well as the poorer regions of countries such as Sweden and England.

Clearly, Africa is different from Europe in many respects, especially with
regard to their respective economic development.

Today, the annual budgets of many African countries are made-up mainly of
foreign aid money. Usually, as we know, the donor countries exert pressure on
the recipient countries to pursue particular policies.

In this regard, the question that Africans should ask is: what impact will
the donor-recipient unequal relationship impact on our process of integration.
Will we achieve an integration that benefits the ordinary people of Africa, or
would this process ensure easy control of Africa by powerful nations since
these outsiders had an influence on the integration path of the continent.

However, these are challenges, which we cannot avoid but should be examined
fully and honestly by all of us. Whatever difficulties we encounter we should
not lose sight of our main objective of unity and integration. Accordingly, at
all times we should consistently and faithfully pursue the prescriptions of the
Abuja Treaty and the objectives of Constitutive Act of the AU, develop our
economies and ensure that integration and development proceed side by side.

Chairperson,

Some observers talk about the coincidence of historical processes
represented by the adoption of the Abuja Treaty with the evolving of a very
important era in modern African politics, represented by an unprecedented
democratisation process and the deepening of that democracy by measures taken
by Africans themselves with the participation of the masses of our people.

Although in the 1990s our continent still experienced a number of wars and
conflicts, the decade was characterised more by the return of democracy to many
countries such that by the end of the decade, multi-party elections and
democratic governments were more a norm than an exception. At this period, with
the exception of the Western Sahara, all of Africa was free.

The economies of many of our countries were beginning a process of recovery,
registering better rates of growth than had been the case for almost three
decades. The masses of our people were themselves, in the midst of
socio-political changes, redefining their role in society, away from the docile
and pliant citizens to being active agents of change.

Emboldened by these developments, we made bold to declare the 21st century
an African Century where our collective energies, the processes and programmes
that we have adopted would defeat the wretched conditions of the African people
as they confidently march towards a prosperous future.

We entered the new century having transformed the OAU into the African Union
and adopted its development programme, the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (Nepad). Many of the Nepad programmes are being implemented and
because we are dealing with a century-old colonial legacy, it will obviously
take years for some of these projects to begin making a visible impact on the
lives of our people. But the indisputable fact is that: we are on the
march!

On Sunday, in Accra, we launched the Pan-African Infrastructure Development
Fund part of the Nepad initiative � with the governments of South Africa and
Ghana, as well we African Development Bank playing a central role together with
private sector financial institutions from our continent.

We are indeed happy that the launch of this Fund, starting with an initial
amount of $625 million took place when Africa is celebrating Ghana's 50th
anniversary of independence.

The Fund, which will invest mainly in four key areas of energy; transport
including rail, roads, ports and airports; telecommunication; and water and
sanitation, will clearly have a positive impact on the lives of many
people.

We are happy that the initial investors are from Africa because they have
demonstrated, in a practical way, that we as Africans have both the
determination and the ability to meet the challenges facing our continent. As
we embark on the projects identified by this Fund, we will need the skills of
people such as these that have gathered at this university because we obviously
need a lot of expertise to build infrastructure on our continent.

We will also need our brothers and sisters who are in the diaspora to be
part of this initiative as well as the hundreds of thousands of the skilled
Africans who left the continent during the difficult years of the past.

In this regard, we have a duty to strengthen our universities, ensure that
they have requisite resources to produce graduates with high kills and attract
back into the continent, thousands of those skilled Africans who left for the
developed countries.

This is part of the building blocks that we must use to attain the important
steps identified in the Abuja Treaty for our integration. We may not have the
billions the EU has in its Structural Funds, but African initiatives such as
the Infrastructure Fund affords us the space, among others, to ensure that
Africans own their assets and we are able to determine our own loan terms that
will help develop our countries rather than put debt albatross in the necks of
succeeding generations of Africans.

Dear friends,

In one of the epic dialogues of his latest masterpiece, Wizard of the Crow,
the Kenyan writer and thinker, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, has this line of thought:
"Why did Africa let Europe cart away millions of Africa's souls from the
continent to the four corners of the wind? How could Europe lord it over a
continent ten times its size? Why does needy Africa continue to let its wealth
meet the needs of those outside its borders and then follow behind with hands
outstretched for a loan of the very wealth it let go? (P681 wa Thiong'o, Ngugi,
Wizard of the Crow, 2006, Harvill Secker, London).

The pathos embedded in our history as captured in this moving dialogue
invokes the need for Africans to look hard at the mirror of history and at the
challenges entrenched in the womb of the present.

We have already started this irreversible process to redress the failures of
history. We dare not fail!

Chairperson,

The African Union ordinary session to which I referred at the beginning and
which was ably chaired by President Kufuor, adopted the important Accra
Declaration. We agreed to accelerate the economic and political integration of
Africa and move towards the formation of a Union Government with a view to
ultimately realise the objective of the United States of Africa as envisaged by
the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity, and in particular,
the visionary leader, Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

The meeting recognised the need for common responses to the major challenges
of globalisation facing Africa and boosting regional integration processes
through an effective continental mechanism. We also agreed to open-up narrow
domestic markets to greater trade and investment through freer movement of
persons, goods, services and capital so as to accelerate growth an reduce
weaknesses of many of our member states.

Further, the meeting also recognised that the Union Government should be
built on common values that need to be identified and agreed upon. In all these
processes, it is agreed that the African peoples should be involved in order to
ensure that the African Union becomes, in reality a Union of peoples and not
just a 'Union of states and governments'. Both these masses of our people as
well as the African Diaspora should be involved in the processes of economic
and political integration of our continent.

Chairperson, if we implement fully all these decisions that will clearly
advance our processes of integration and development then we will have the
right to say to Ayi Kwei Armah that indeed the beautiful ones are now being
born!

Thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
4 July 2007
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/)