On July 2007 the ordinary Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union will meet to discuss the nature of the continent’s integration agenda and the progress that has been made. This is the next, and probably the most important step to date in what started off as a desire to create continent-wide ministerial portfolio and has now grown into a full-scale drive to establish a Union government for the continent. This intergovernmental forum will assess the state of the Union and attempt to map a way forward in terms of nature, scope and time frame of a continental arrangement. In the lead-up to the grand debate there has been substantial consultation among interested parties at country and regional level across aimed at soliciting and articulating the views of the African people on the proposal for a continental government.

It is within this context that civil society groups met in Midrand, South Africa to first and foremost reaffirm the need for broad based consultation and input of the peoples of Africa. The meeting underlined the importance of the Pan African Parliament in seeking out and representing the views of their constituencies in the matter. The meeting stressed the primacy of democracy and rights-based governance. The groups also emphasized the need for governments to facilitate the input of their citizens on the issue. Of equal importance was the free movement of citizens of the continent through the abolition of visa requirements as well as exploring mechanisms for economic sustainability.

Nigerian civil society groups echoed these views when they met in May. The meeting concluded that whereas the idea of a Union government was desirable, there were challenges that needed to be overcome before the vision became a reality, such as common political and cultural values, identity, citizenship integration and state power. Again the issue of democracy and human rights was highlighted as an area of grave concern, and although fora such as theirs were taking place there was a need for greater attention to maintaining the vital link between the leaders and the people they represent in as far as the latter’s views were expressed and taken into consideration. Needless to say, this is a major challenge given that there still is a dearth of true democratic representation on the continent.

In June civil society groups in Kenya met to discus the proposed union government. In addition to echoing calls for greater attention to democracy, governance, human rights and free movement and economic participation for citizens across the continent, the meeting called for public access to information about the process, principles of good governance within the AU and African peoples sovereignty over the continent’s natural resources.

Debate in Ghana focussed on the institutional implications of the Union Government, as well as the need for the people of Africa to participate fully in the process. Concern was raised about foreign interest in the process, as well as the risks inherent in modelling western constructs of integration. As one speaker put it, “if indeed Africa has to come together in a continental and economic bloc, we all have to go back to school and unlearn what we have learnt in order to connect top the peculiar circumstances of Africa”.

Two schools of thought seem to emerge in the discussion. One favours a rapid formation of a Union government as a clear sign of intent and determination that will drive the process on. In other words, the political will involved in forming the union will provide the necessary impetus to ensure success of the venture, and advance the goal of a United States of Africa from a nebulous dream cherished since the heady beginnings of Pan-Africanism to a concrete reality. The other seems to favour a more gradual process based on strengthening the existing framework of the AU to ensure before creating a full-fledged United States of Africa. This school of thought is cognisant of the shortcomings of the AU as it exists today, and the challenges faced even at the level of regional economic communities in trying to forge greater integration.

African scholar Demba Moussa Dembele point to the lack of political will as evidenced by numerous agreements on regional integration dating back as far as thirty years that still remain unimplemented. He attributes this to a lack of willingness of leaders to put the interests of the continent above the personal and national. It is however impossible to have this discussion without considering the legitimacy of Africa’s leaders and whether their authority stems from the their own people. Dembele mentions external and internal factors that challenge the process, and states that the external factors both take advantage of, and aggravate the internal ones. He emphasizes the need for a leadership that both listens to its citizens and stands up to foreign domination.

At the Kenyan consultation forum Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem stated “it is better to have imperfection with ownership than perfection without any ownership”, underlining the primacy of the African peoples in the process. Whereas not all governments provide a voice for their people, other equally important channels continue to open up, through various national and trans-national civil society groupings that are increasingly articulating the views of the people. These channels must be encouraged and given voice. Whereas there have been various consultations, clearly this is by no means sufficient or widespread enough as far as the continent is concerned. Suffice it to say that there is a commonality of views raised at these meetings in terms of the issues affecting the rest of the continent

The debate has begun already and the voices of the people clearly say that they must lead and the governments follow on the road to a United States of Africa.

Useful links and Further Reading:

1. Grand Debate on the Union Government

2. Pambazuka News AU Monitor
http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/
3. Communiqué from Kenyan Public Forum to popularise and inform the Government’s position on the AU proposal on Continental Government.

5. Involve the masses in the fight for African unity. Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem
http://www.africa-union.org/comments.htm
6. The Untied States of Africa: The Challenges. Demba Moussa Dembele

8. Africa needs to look at the past to forge ahead. Dr. Mammo Muchie
http://www.africa-union.org/comments.htm
10. Afrimap – Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project http://www.afrimap.org/research.php

* Joshua Ogada works with Fahamu and is Links and Resources editor of Pambazuka News
** Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org