President Kufuor Bids Farewell To His Colleagues
President J.A. Kufuor bade farewell to his colleague African leaders at their summit in Egypt, expressing optimism about the future of the African Union (AU)
He also expressed optimism about the capacity of Africa to attain its cherished goal of a peaceful, united and prosperous continent.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the 11th Ordinary Session of the AU, which was the last to be attended by him in his capacity as President of Ghana, Mr Kufuor said the greatest challenges of the continent today were ignorance, poverty, disease and illiteracy.
Other difficulties, such as the debt burden, rampant ethnic and political conflicts and inequitable international trade relations, he said, had combined to keep the continent perpetually weak and vulnerable.
Compounding the situation further was the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the scourge of malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases, he said.
"Africa is the only continent today that stands in danger of not achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015," he stated.
On the international scene, the President said, Africa still operated largely on the margins, both politically and economically, in its relations with the developed world.
"Indeed, our continent may be described as "an after thought" to the conception and establishment of the current major international financial and developmental institutions," he said.
Notwithstanding those handicaps, President Kufuor said, he was optimistic that Africa could overcome if its leaders could act collectively and purposefully and if they could also relate to one another in good faith and mutual respect and share the common values of respect for human rights and dignity.
"We must be committed to co-operating relentlessly to launch Africa into the mainstream of global advancement. This task before us is monumental; indeed, Herculean.
But l am optimistic that with perseverance and a sustained clear vision, we will not only continue to improve on our current modest momentum in progress but also begin to achieve accelerated growth and development sooner than can be imagined," he stated.
President Kufuor said over the last six years Africa had witnessed over 50 democratic elections, although not all of them could pass the litmus test of being free and fair.
He underlined the need for the AU to ensure that elections within member states were conducted in free and fair environments.
In addition to the positive political developments on the continent, President Kufuor said the AU established the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and followed it up with the institution of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to address some of the political, economic and corporate governance issues on the continent.
Unfortunately, he said, the modest gains being chalked up were confronted with problems, including the highly competitive international economic environment, abnormal spate of natural disasters and the turbulent geopolitical situation.
Those challenges, he said, were even more aggravated by the current phenomenal escalation in global prices of food and crude oil.
Those problems, together with heavy indebtedness of many of the member states of the AU, threatened to derail the pursuit of the envisioned political and economic integration of the continent, he noted.
President Kufuor pledged his commitment to contribute his quota to the pursuit of the objective of the AU and also for the utilisation of the full ownership of the union, even after leaving office.
He expressed his deep appreciation to his colleague leaders for the support they gave him during his tenure as the AU Chairman.