Bingu wa Mutharika highlights his priorities

(AU Monitor)-- The newly elected chairperson of the African Union (AU), Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika, stressed that his priority for the continent would be food security for all Africans.

During the closing ceremony of the 14th ordinary session of the heads of State and government of the AU, the new chairperson said ‘I am determined that in the next five years no child in Africa should die because of malnutrition’. His next priority would be infrastructure development and information communication technologies. ‘Superways end just before reaching the border. We need to connect Africa’, he said.

Listing affordable energy as his third concern, he asked the African Union Commission to suggest workable actions for energy ministers to implement in order to have affordable energy for the continent.

The Malawian president did not, however, forget to remind delegates of the challenges of peace and security that Africa is facing. Welcoming initiatives taken in Mauritania and Guinea to restore peace and order, he called for ‘collective and individual solutions’ to find peace and security in Africa, especially in Madagascar, Somalia and Darfur. ‘Never again to conflicts and wars in Africa starting from 2010 and beyond’, he said while inviting everyone to use all means to restore peace and prevent conflicts on the continent.

The AU’s chairperson called as well on the African Union Commission to identify and maintain all partnerships that bring benefits to African member states. He finally urged all member states to pay their contributions to the Commission and promised that he would look for alternatives ways of finding resources for the African Union Commission.

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